There are many teachers in the world to help you build your life, the quality of it, and your contribution to society. They all have something to offer. My teacher is nature, and this is what I share with people.

Nature is teacher of non violence. It teaches that everything is connected to everything, and therefore how we treat others is really a measure of how we treat ourselves. Violence is not required.

The main enemy of nature is narrow mindedness. Narrow minded thinking separates the thinker from nature. There is a sort of individuality that can do harm without conscience or consideration. This narrow-mindedness is a disease of our culture that is spread through the idea that our individual experience is more important than other people’s experience. Therefore, we can do harm provided that harm cannot come back to haunt us.

Separation from our acts of violence have been achieved over the centuries through discrimination. We have claimed skin colour as a differentiator, or religion as a justification to feel superior. Now, even western Yoga practitioners will argue superiority based on the form of yoga they practice. Separation from nature is at the heart of this justified violence. Individuation means, I, and the group of like minded people I associate with, are more correct in our thoughts, words and actions, than another group. Righteousness is the beginning of all violent acts. Being right.

In Canada I worked on reservations – communities created by the Federal Government of Canada to deal with the franchise of Indigenous peoples. In that community there is an extraordinary amount of violence compared with non native community statistics. But, I suspect the statistics to be biased. It is my discovery that non native people commit greater and more prevalent acts of violence than native people. However, they are more likely to commit them in less physical ways. Domestic violence for example is often verbal and emotional abuse, rather than the more detectable physical form, which is the measurement used in reservation management.

Violence is caused by separation. The idea that we are somehow separate, and therefore superior to, or inferior to, something or someone else. And this brings us to the law of compensation. Which is natures way of maintaining order in business, health, relationship and community.

If you see that you are not separate to nature, then you will not act in a way that could trigger compensatory action. This is called evolution in the middle path. Nature evolves, and therefore, if you can accept the idea of non separation, so do you. We evolve at the border of chaos and order, hence, Chaos causes compensation in the form of order, and Order causes compensation in the form of chaos.

The middle path is small doses of both. Neither chaos or order is required in large amounts if both are seen to be essential parts of inner and outer peace. Rarely do people see this. They gravitate to chaos because it builds a sense of worth, or order because it builds a sense of comfort. But this either or, mentality creates compensations in large doses.

The business that grows faster than its systems or qualification of its staff will experience compensation in the form of breakdowns in profit and sales. A relationship, in which one or both partners suddenly gets immersed in a spirituality that dishes up too much too fast (the average American teaching method) will trigger a compensation in the relationship to slow it down. This will be called chaos.

I recently wrote a book about sacred love. The real theme of this book is non violence in relationship. My intent in this book is to demonstrate that we are connected and inseparable from the laws of nature, and therefore each other. We cause and heal our relationships, because we are the cause of the compensation that drives them. Hence, by living in relationship, in tune with natures law, we avoid the violence of severe emotion.

Emotions are the intellectual manifestation of violent minds. The individual who is most separate from nature, and therefore most self obsessed, will be the most emotional, and inspite of their protestations about deforestation and war, they are in fact, the most violent of individuals. Emotional uppers, emotional downers, these are the modern forms of violence that result in compensations.

The opposite to emotion is love. We can call love by many names but one such name that explains the word best is compassion. The sense of being connected to someone who is suffering, or to nature in all its beauty. You can love many things and many people. Compassion is the experience that comes from love.

Compassion in relationship comes in the form of romance. Every comment you make in relationships should be spoken with compassion. People become as you treat them, so it is wise to treat others as you would love them to treat you. Compassion is this equality. Treat the world as you would have it treat you. Being aware of the potential for superiority. You are not more important than the ant, the tree, the cow, or the land on which you walk. You are connected to all things. Even the petrochemical plant is a part of nature, and therefore a part of you.

Those who destroy nature are a part of nature. Beware of the tendency to be exclusive. Many people feel connected to those things they like, and disconnected from those things they don’t like. This again is a form of violent superiority, emotional justification for separation and violence in the form of righteousness.

In your work, you cannot be separated from the experience of those you serve, those you govern and those who govern you. This is impossible. If someone hates you, then the only way to neutralize that is to have compassion for them. Hate is behind much of the compensation that takes place in the form of ill health, and emotional abuse.

In bringing up children, encourage them to love nature. Being in nature is not enough, to love nature one must have compassion for it. To understand the plight of a tree, the life cycle of a butterfly, this is how one understands and therefore feels connected to nature.

I hope this helps you understand the laws of nature. Connecting us to the whole, connecting us to ourselves and recognizing that how we treat the world outside is actually how we will be treated within. Compassion is the link between love and emotions. Emotions separate, compassion humbles us. May you heart be open again and again and again through the understanding of the five great spiritual laws of nature.

With Spirit

Chris Walker

http://www.chriswalker.com.au Chris Walker is a world leading change agent, an environmentalist and author of more than 20 books. Born and bred in Australia, he consults to people and organisations throughout the world on improved relationships, health and lifestyle through the application of the Universal laws of Nature. The result he offers is that we stay balanced, share loving relationships, work with passion, enjoy success, and live our personal truth. To learn more about Chris’s work and journeys to Nepal, visit http://www.chriswalker.com.au — http://www.chriswalker.com.au

The spiritual scene is a very diverse environment. There are so much conflicting information that a seeker will have great difficulties deciding who and what to believe in.

Having said that, this is not an article about what is the truth, though.

In my opinion, there are many falsehood, half-truths and misinformation in the spiritual scene. All of which are fodders for our curiosity and most are really red herrings and decoys. Also we are often drawn to these sidetracks because of our innate need to feel safe and special.

Within this arena, the subcategory of Enlightenment Path alone contains many models and descriptions of Enlightenment. For example, some traditions described I AM Presence as enlightenment. Yet some say that when enlightened there is no person there, let alone an I AM Presence. Yet others described Awakening as being touched by a Bright Light. You see, the descriptions can confuse one as to who is telling the truth.

To even confuse things further, there is also a whole plethora of New Age materials based on channelling so-called otherworldly Beings. These materials are not cohesive and expound conflicting information too. In addition to that, I have yet to come across a channelled material that can accurately describe the enlightenment states and stages. Could it be that the channelled materials are not the best source of spiritual information?

I think there is no way to find out whether any belief is fabricated or not merely through speculations. What if Faith (in some information or sources) turns out to be some form of imagination of how we want things to be.

The only way to find out is to walk the path, discern and experience it for oneself. All else will be inconclusive. Please do not blindly believe or follow just because others are doing so.

I think the benchmark for spiritual authenticity must lie in the teaching’s ability to produce real and tangible results. Ultimately, what the seeker want is to find a solution for a happier existence. However, isn’t everyone doing this? To some, the way to happiness maybe located elsewhere such as in financial success or relationship fulfillment. Regardless of the mode of expression, everyone is seeking a better life. However, the spiritual seeker wants more. He/she wants to find a more lasting solution to happiness. Perhaps, he/she had some setbacks in life and is questioning the validity of the conventional mode of seeking happiness.

In conclusion, one must find the solution through the myriads of conflicting information and sidetracks. And the only way to do so, is to use our own discerning intelligence and benchmark it against direct experiences. From my experience, this process (of discernment and direct experience) must be cycled through many times. With each cycle, our understanding is refined, thus bringing us ever closer to our objective.

For your necessary discernment. Thank you for reading.

The author runs Dream Datum, a website
which features writings on spiritual realisations and enlightenment .

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I were enjoying a nutritionally packed meal at McDonalds one afternoon, when I overheard on of the employees talking to someone about her recent compensation increase, “ I’m more excited about the increase in my insurance than the pay raise!” she exclaimed. This my friends, is at the heart of most of the decisions we make in life…that is a given, it’s biologically, neurologically, and physiologically wired into us. Okay, maybe that was overkill, but I wanted to make sure that you understand how much a part of us this concept is; we are motivated by both pain and pleasure, but when it comes right down to it, we’ll usually do far more to avoid pain than we will to gain pleasure.

As a reader of after hours, you already know that human life isn’t just pain and pleasure, and that we are in fact motivated by at least 14 other drives, but for this particular article I’m going to deal with this pain and pleasure thing. When someone needs to exercise each day to lose weight…but doesn’t, the thought of exercising is exerting more pain on this individual, than the thought of not exercising.

It would seem that the only way out of this conundrum would be to eliminate the pain of not wanting to exercise, and let me tell you, I know a lot of fat people who fail miserably with that strategy. They convince themselves that when they get to the point that they enjoy don’t wince when they think about exercise, they’ll start. This is like standing on top of a big rock and trying to pick it up; from one perspective it seems like it should work…but it never will.

What can we do then? Pain can be associated to anything! The thought of quitting cold turkey when you’ve been a smoker for 30 years is most likely very painful, but I submit to you that no matter what pain you’re feeling, something else can always be more painful.

While working with a smoker in June of 2001, I was doing my initial “belief shattering” protocol with a lady who had been smoking 2 packs a day for 19 years. I always started here; it’s very common for someone to pay $400 to quit smoking, and to also show up with a firm belief that they can’t! Therefore, I always liked to deal with that right off the bat. I told her, “Will you agree to do anything I ask of you, as long as it won’t cause you any harm….anything at all?” She reluctantly agreed.

Even though I had no intentions of having her follow through this way, I said, “I want you to quit cold turkey today, with no help from me, for 48 hours, and then we’ll do your first session. It will be tough I know, but that’s the deal.” Her face revealed the obvious horror she was feeling inside. “I can’t do that Vince! There’s no &*^%^*&^ way…that’s why I’m paying you!” “Yes, you are paying me” I said. And presumably because you don’t know what to do anymore…everything you could think of has been done already, am I right? Why don’t you think you can do it?” She was digging her heels in deeper and deeper with each question I asked.

Knowing that she had a nephew that was her heart and soul, I presented her with a scenario that suddenly changed what she would be able to do. “Are you telling me that if you walked into your house, and a terrorist had John sitting tied up in a chair, with a gun pointed right at him, and he told you that if you smoked during the next 48 hours he would kill John…are you telling me that John had better be concerned?” Tears began to stream down her face, but they were tears of realization and empowerment; she knew instantly that she did in fact have the ability to not smoke if she chose. She knew that she’d go through hell for a few days quitting cold turkey, but to save the life of her nephew, so what! “Hell yes I could go 48 hours!” she said in a stern voice.

I simply attached pain to something else, something much more painful. By contrast the pain of the withdrawal became rather insignificant.

After she had realized that she could gut her way through it if needed, she was ready to take a more humane approach, and work with me to eliminate the withdrawal symptoms and use her mind with laser like precision to lock the changes into place.

The pain of exercising is right now; the pain of seeing your family around you death bed is later…..unless you are willing to experience it now. Those aren’t things we feel very comfortable thinking about, so, we usually put them out of our mind as quick as they come. I’ve watched grown men be reduced to a puddle of tears when I take them through the experience of dying from lung cancer in the future RIGHT NOW, in the present moment, and help them to make that as life like as possible. Once the agony of leaving young kids behind has been experienced fully, it’s very difficult to simply push that thought aside any longer.

Our dear McDonalds lady was more excited about the insurance, something that she’d have to get sick to use, than she was about the pay increase that she could begin using right now. Do you think pain has a significant influence in our lives? What have you been associating pain to that has been limiting you? In what way could you attach MORE pain to not doing it, which by contrast would make it seem kind of silly?

Stop trying to eliminate pain, and begin to use it with as much precision as a surgeon uses a scalpel. Make pain your friend, and watch how many things in life suddenly become “possible”….this strategy can change things in an instant.

Next time we’ll look at the other side of the equation; pleasure. Remember pain and pleasure are both at work, we’re usually just more conscious of one than the other.

© Copyright 2007, Vincent Harris-All Rights Reserved.

Vincent Harris is a professional speaker, trainer, and consultant. He is an expert on the new science of happiness, positive psychology, and teaches others how to become the kind of speaker that can leave the audience spellbound. Join his Free weekly Newsletter today, a $97 value and a Free ebook ” A Step by Step System for Achieving Any Goal” , a $29 value, and a Special Report, ” How to Stop Offending People Unconsciously, and Win Them Over in Record Time” Just visit http://www.successpath.info or http://www.vinceharris.com

Even if you are a goal-oriented, driven achiever, you may realize that fulfilling oneself is not always that easy. Trying to find something new and exciting that life has to offer isn’t always the answer. While pleasures in life are satisfying, sometimes the emptiness seems to creep in and touch many sensitive parts of our lives–even in the best of times. What’s it going to take to be totally satisfied?

We ask ourselves, “Why do I feel such an emptiness?” We try a new look, buy a new car we really can’t afford, take an exotic vacation, or sit on the pity pot feeling sorry for ourselves. We could also “Fake It Until We Make It” because we have a higher regard of who we are not rather than who we are. Somehow we just can’t surrender that masquerade…even to ourselves.

Today everyone is searching for love and they will do almost anything to find it. Some are so starved for attention and affection they even resort to taking drastic measures by going before millions on TV reality shows or U-Tube. We’ve gotten so used to compromising our beliefs and values that we can actually loose touch with reality. No matter what aspect of our lives, this “emptiness” becomes obvious with relationships, jobs, family circumstances, finances, and our future. However, there is hope — we can change our own world!

Spending time reflecting on who we are and where we are going is not always in our busy schedules. Ignoring the emotions that are being stirred up in our lives is often the case. Let me suggest some ways that may help give you some ideas on how to bring true goodness into your life that will result in total fulfillment.

STEP 1 - Have an attitude of gratitude! Be grateful, courteous, and acknowledge others in a positive way. Think on those things that are positive about someone and then reach out to others with a friendly gesture such as just sending a card, e-mail note, or phone call. Do not take friendships for granted and forget to make a personal contact that could really make a difference. It could be for no other reason than just to say “I was thinking about you”. There is no need to wait for a holiday or tragedy before taking the time to spread joy to someone. Acknowledge others with a sincere compliment. Your thankfulness and appreciation will bring good things into your life.

STEP 2 - Take the time to be quiet and alone. Appreciate what’s around you…find ways to relax whether it be through music, a massage, prayer, mediation, or a candlelit room. Express yourself in a personal journal to sort out what is going on in your life and what you want to change. This reflection time brings health, healing, and tranquility. Let go of all your problems and worries and never give up your goals and aspirations. Clarity and peacefulness is good for the mind, body and soul.

STEP 3 - Stay active. It is easy to be addicted to the computer or caught up with sports or TV. There was a time when no one really exercised….they just walked, ran, washed their cars, climbed a mountain, went swimming, danced, or worked in their garden. They burned calories while enjoying the good life without fancy equipment and workout videos. Doing something you love rather than what you have to do will give you more energy, positivity, awareness, and excitement. Find a new way to exercise as you enjoy life.

STEP 4 - Set goals and dare to think BIG! Eliminate “I can’t” from your vocabulary. If you are not scared about your goals, they may not big enough. Do not keep thinking about the “how” as much as why. Focus on the fact that you do not know how it is going to happen, but BELIEVE it will. Then, just keep working towards your game plan. Visualization, written affirmations, reading inspiring books, and simply dreaming and giving attention to your aspirations with action toward your goal will get you there. If you don’t believe me, think about all the things that have come into your life by simply planting a seed in your mind. Ask yourself how you got that car, how you got accepted to college, how you received honors in sports, how you mastered an instrument, how you found your true love… get the picture? Where your mind goes, so will you.

STEP 5 - Change your course of action. Work on disciplining yourself by making a list the night before and complete tasks. Be versatile enough to change the route you take, the food you cook, your hairstyle, planned vacations, the music you listen to, and the books you read. Variety is definitely the spice of life! Boredom will never set in and you will be amazed how invigorating it could be.

STEP 6 - Create meaningful memories. Plan something with your family and friends that you do together and enjoy that event in a way you have never experienced. It does not have to be outrageous, just put some thought into it and have fun! You’ll be surprised what can happen when you get those creative juices to explode! Know that you have God-given talents, then use them. When life gets you down, you can always close your eyes and re-visit those wonderful times.

STEP 7 - Always have ongoing traditions you look forward to. Change is great, but so is tradition. Spend special holidays, vacations, reunions, and events with your family. If you don’t have any, create your own traditions…. something unique that you and your family will always look forward to every year. Traditions are the bonding force that we need to give meaning to life.

STEP 8 - Be generous. If you haven’t understood the saying, “It is better to give than to receive” means, I highly recommend you make it an ongoing habit. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a monetary gift—just something meaningful. Give of yourself to someone in need or perhaps forgotten. The best way to give is to be anonymous. Giving is a gift to yourself because it gratifies oneself in every way.

STEP 9 - Find the time for others. Our most familiar excuse is….”I never have time!” Well, I say…find it! I’m sure if we evaluate every minute and hour of the day, we will find some time that we can offer if we really wanted to. The key is to have the desire to make time. Prioritizing the way we use our time is to have an awareness where our time is spent. If someone is important to you, take a few minutes to show him or her you care. Satisfaction guaranteed!

STEP 10 - Forgive and forget. When you carry on the haunting burden of someone hurting you and want to take revenge, remember you’re only hurting yourself. Realize that none of us are perfect. Before we spend time condemning, judging, making assumptions, or dwelling on the past, know that the person who hurt or offended you may not even be aware of it. Rise above it and just forgive them—move on! Remember, to forgive IS to forget too. If you hold on to those ill feelings, bad memories, or words that cannot be retrieved, the results are never positive. If you can look at someone in a new and different way —focusing on something good—you will always be the winner. The same applies when you are at fault. Try to make amends quickly and sincerely.

Take the emphasis and focus off of YOU by removing the “It’s All About Me” attitude and see how that emptiness vanishes.

Doris Piña is a successful licensed realtor in Las Vegas, Nevada, publisher and webmaster at http://www.DorisJeanPina.com who provides various resources to develop entrepreneurial skills in a successful and productive way.

She promotes building innovative online businesses with visual instructional resources and topics on Mastering the Secret Law Of Attraction is found at http://www.dorisjeanpina.com/thesecret/

What are you going to do to make your dreams come true?

I hope your answer is not, NOTHING…

Hi,

Do you have a dream that you’ve been sitting on for some time? Are you too busy or too tired to put your energy into it but, at the same time, you know that if you don’t do something, one day you’ll regret it?

This technique is how you deal with dreams you want, but just can’t quite make the leap to jump into right now.

First thing you do is to write down the final result. Like “win an academy award for nudity” or something like that. Make it simple, clear and very final.

Ok?

Now, you have to choose a real time for it to happen. Usually when I coach people, the rule of thumb is to take how long they think it will take and double it but that’s just me being cautious. You choose the time and date for this dream to happen. Got it?

Ok now, here goes.

Assume you said “win the academy award for nudity” or “become an enlightened monk” – and you chose a date, say, 10 years out. The question you ask is “what happens just before that?”

So you might say, “just before I became an enlightened monk, I sat in a cave for 6 months in the high Himalayas of Nepal” – then ask “and what happened just before that?” you might say, “I meditated on bananas for 2 weeks without food” and what happened before that? I attended retreats with the lama…..

And what happened before that? Oh, I did a workshop with a meditation group… And what happened before that? Oh, I read a book on meditation and practiced that. And what happened before that? (I know this gets frustrating but this is how you deal with laziness, or resistance, or ego that fights) oh, I joined a yoga class. And what happened before that? “Nothing”

If you can get back to the word nothing happened before that, then you are ready to begin. What we are trying to do here is chunk down a dream into a daily habit. Daily habits are your “got to’s”. If create for yourself a list of got to’s it means that you can simply focus on the day, be in the moment, and if they are right, they lead to your dreams.

Got to’s include, exercises, (like Got to do 10 situps every day) and food (got to eat one apple) and self growth (got to read a Chris Walker article everyday) and for your love life, (got to do one romantic thing for my lover) and for your money wealth (got to save money everyday) – the list can get large.

Then you make a check list and you print it or put it on your daily organizer. You can’t do a day without finishing your got to list. If you do, you’ll explode in a million fragments of dust. Or get constipated or something you don’t want..

So that’s how it’s done. Big dreams – small steps.

You can use this to
Loose weight
Gain health
Stay young
Be wiser
Get more spiritual
More happiness

The key is to avoid big jumps in lifestyles. Like “ahhh, I am going to be spiritual and try to do it all in a month. This just leads to short term infatuations, and long term failures. Small steps, long time lines is the key.

The “GOT TO’s” of your life are the daily habits that will turn into dreams come true.

Enjoy

Chris

http://www.chriswalker.com.au Chris Walker is a world leading change agent, an environmentalist and author of more than 20 books. Born and bred in Australia, he consults to people and organisations throughout the world on improved relationships, health and lifestyle through the application of the Universal laws of Nature. The result he offers is that we stay balanced, share loving relationships, work with passion, enjoy success, and live our personal truth. To learn more about Chris’s work and journeys to Nepal, visit http://www.chriswalker.com.au — http://www.chriswalker.com.au

It’s not hard to be depressed and angry and without hope that God will do anything. As much free will as we love to express, we sure don’t appreciate having it when it comes to healing, daily troubles, and our emotional issues in life. At times when all is falling down around us, we want the Damascus experience. Where God just arrests Paul and turns him around to a whole new life. We want God to just take care of it for us, when generally we’ve had little experience of letting Him take care of much in our lives as we busily go about our daily events.

When times are low, we sure do hear those self-pity spirits talking to us. All that self-pity just deepens the rut we’re already trudging through. We may have started out knee-deep in trouble, but self-pity takes us up to our neck in misery, despair, grief and depression. At this point, the reality is that we ourselves are the only ones that will get us out and back on a path of joy, peace and contentment.

Magic, mystical, miraculous conversions are not a daily occurrence. I think the road to Damascus has been closed down for repairs. We may think it would make life easier for God to change us so quickly — to have a grand conversion like Paul, but would we want the rest of Paul’s life? He was a man of great faith and power, but look at the trials he had to endure. The devil never stopped trying to shut him up.

Many of us were raised, and have been led to think, that life should be free of trouble, with happiness on trees for the picking … but the Bible doesn’t tell us that. The natural world around us doesn’t show us that , but as long as we whine and cry about not having “storybook happiness” we keep the devil winning in our lives.

It doesn’t matter what our past looks like. Where we have come from in our family generations … or what we have left behind us in the life we have lived before or even after becoming a Christian, doesn’t matter for today. Today gives its own opportunities and just as the sun rises every morning, we have the power to let Christ arise in us and stand up to the devil.

We can choose to believe the Word. We can choose to know that God has the best for us today and every day no matter what it holds. We can change the generations after us and we can make our own life joyful in the process. I spent much of my early life as a Christian no better off than I was before accepting Christ. We choose salvation and we choose joy and peace by our Faith in Him.

Pentecost gave us the power of Christ within us by the Holy Spirit. Renewing our minds, while we clean out the trash we’ve believed and spent years thinking about, is the only way to walk through this world without misery. Living in the other realm of choice is only slow suicide.

Don’t let self-pity put you neck deep in the mire and muck that Christ died to release you from. Take the power you already have and use it. Find a verse or two and hang on them. Don’t try to remember 10 or 50 of them. Even verses all around the house on cards and notepaper can be overwhelming and confusing. Just grab hold of one or two that you can believe, memorize and build Faith with and begin now to tear down the strongholds that the devil has set up in your mind.

Don’t let the Enemy tell you there is no hope left! You have the power to change who you are and he knows it. Take your position over him and renew your thoughts and do not allow him access any longer.

Choose ye this day whom you will serve.

Donna L. Watkins lives in Central Virginia with her wonderful husband enjoying birds, wildlife, gardening, forests, nature travel and her cat, Squeek. She has one grown-up son who inspires her life in many ways. Read more of Donna’s articles at TheHerbsPlace.com and subscribe to her free mailing, A Healing Moment. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

Worry according to wikipedia refers to negative self-talk that often distracts the mind from focusing on the problem at hand. Why is it that so many people allow themselves to be affected by worrying? Worrying can destroy a person’s life if he or she do not take control. Do you know that worrying can be eliminated. Yes it can. The secret to eliminating worry can be found:

1) In the Bible. The Bible says we should be careful about nothing but through prayer and supplication we should make our request be known to him. It is simple that is if you know God and you can talk to him through prayer. That is how I overcome my worries. When I see people who know God worrying their mind out I wander if they read their Bible. Because it is simply stated as above do not worry about anything but pray and believe.

2) The old I grow the more I realize that most of the things we worry about do not or will not happen. Think of some of your past worries. Did they happen or you were just worrying for nothing. If you realize that whatever you are worrying about will not happen then you are one step ahead of your worrying problem.

3) To conquer your worries, determine the worst outcome of the situation you are worrying about and accept it if it happens. Once you have determined the worst outcome of the particular situation you are worrying about, it makes a whole lot easier to face it if it happens.

Combining all of these three keys, your worrying has no chance. No matter what form it comes you can combat your negative self talk with positive ones and transfer all the worrying to God through prayer. Believe that He is able to do what He has promise. Then finally come face to face with the final result and face it with God’s help if it happens. But most of the time it will not happen anyway.

Kwame Ofori-Atta is an experienced marketer, who has written a number of informative articles on the topics of Making Money Online and Living A Successful Life. http://www.charlesclicks.com

Most humans spend their entire life in pursuit of happiness, but many never stand a chance of finding true happiness. So what is the reason that so many people are not happy? What is the secret to happiness? There are actually three important roadblocks to our personal happiness.

The first, and most critical, hurdle to finding true happiness is that we do not know ourselves. The real secret to happiness is knowing what is important to you personally. The simple truth is that there is not one universal path to happiness because every person is different and has different dreams and needs. While for one person creating something might be the path to happiness for another person it might be nurturing others. However, we are too often focused on the wrong goals because we listen to popular culture or other people. If we spend the time and energy to really concentrate on our dreams, and shut out the distractions, then we can find the key to unlocking our own happiness.

Another roadblock in our pursuit of happiness is giving too much power to things that do not matter. I have a friend who obsesses over having a clean house and making sure her family is clean and neat whenever they leave home. She gripes about how much time these obsessions take away from her time with her family. I am the opposite. While I do wish my house was cleaner I decided when my son was born that when I was old I would not look back and regret having a messy house but that I would regret not spending time with my child. While cleaning is on my priority list, it always falls below my child and when he is old and gray I am confident he will remember that as well as I do. Too often we spend a lot of time and energy focused on things that do not matter in the long run. Letting the dishes sit in the sink one night while you play a game with your child or pursue a hobby you love will contribute more to your happiness than making sure you do those dishes and then missing out on the life you love.

The final critical element that blocks true happiness for many people is not giving the things that make us happy enough weight in our life. Too often we dwell on the things we do not have–the bigger house, the newer car, the better job–rather than what we already have that makes us happy–the significant relationships, the happy home, the rewarding career. The next time you feel unhappy make a list of all that is going right in your life. Chances are that list is a lot longer than you thought and simply reviewing it will make you feel better.

The pursuit of happiness should be a lifelong journey but the path to finding true happiness can be rewarding and enjoyable if we remember to know ourselves, let go of the things that do not matter, and remember the things that do.

Learn more about the Pursuit of Happiness and Finding True Happiness at http://smilesbydawggone.com where you can download a free ebook about Happiness

Because women can identify and verbalize how they feel easily, they naturally know when they are happy and when they aren’t. But they may not know what truly makes them happy. The secret to being happy varies from person to person and research has shown that we may be wired for happiness by our genetic makeup. But like everything else, we can learn to create happiness by putting in some conscious effort to change the set point our genes have laid out for us.

The following are 5 strategies that contribute to increasing one’s happiness quotient:

1. Focus on things that give you purpose and meaning. In other words, participate in whatever makes you feel good, like gardening, socializing, volunteering, painting, etc. People who are involved with life, tend to be happier, because the fulfillment they feel is based on enjoyment rather than responsibility.

2. Develop the relationships that are important to you. Be with close friends and relatives. Appreciating your time together helps you relieve stress and gives you something to look forward to when you make future plans. When you are around others, you become more generous, supportive, friendly and caring, which results in greater life satisfaction.

3. Show gratitude for your blessings. Take a personal inventory of what you have in your life to appreciate all the many gifts and special rewards surrounding you. Gratitude elicits positive emotions, like joy and hope and instills a sense of genuine thankfulness.

4. Surround yourself with items that give you pleasure. Decorate your home with things you love to look at. Treat yourself to things you love to wear. Read books that teach and inspire you to boost feelings of well-being and contentment.

5. Take life less seriously. Laugh at yourself. Laugh at your situation. Laugh at life’s absurdities. Complaining, whining, moping just brings more focus on what you don’t want. Therefore, develop your sense of humor by enjoying the lighter side of life and you attract more happiness into it.

Happiness is a journey and the benefits are priceless. When you’re happy you increase your health and personal well-being. You’re better able to cope with stressful or challenging situations and your level of overall satisfaction for life is raised. Joyful people have a greater life expectancy, a greater inner peace and experience more successful long-term relationships, which leads to greater overall fulfillment.

Amy Sherman, LMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor in private practice. Amy is the author of the ebook, “Distress-Free Aging: A Boomers Guide to Creating a Fulfilled and Purposeful Life.” She specializes in issues specific to the 40+ generation and is available for telephone coaching and face-to-face therapy.

For more information, go to http://www.bummedoutboomer.com and receive 75 Stress -Reducing Activities when you sign up for her free newsletter.

She can be reached by email at amy@bummedoutboomer.com or by phone at 561) 281-2975.

Can you really create the life that you want? Furthermore, can you create it in an easy and relaxed way, unfolding gracefully? Is it possible to offer no resistance to life, to be in a state of elegance, effortlessness, and buoyancy while still getting what you really want? Can you move beyond being dependent on things being a certain way, good or ill, and gently move toward the life that makes you feel content, safe, and successful?

I think the best answer to this question can come from someone who has done it.

Here is what Eckhart Tolle, in The Power Of Now, says about experiencing a life that is worth living, where there is enough joy and freedom in each day to express your unique and authentic self:

“It seems almost paradoxical, yet when your inner dependency on form is gone, the general conditions of your life, the outer forms, tend to improve greatly. Things, people, or conditions that you thought you needed for happiness now come to you with no effort or struggle on your part, and you are free to enjoy and appreciate them–while they last.

All those things, of course, will still pass away, cycles will come and go, but with dependency gone there is no fear of loss anymore. Life flows with ease. The happiness that is derived from some secondary source is never very deep. It is only a pale reflection of the joy of Being, the vibrant peace that you find within as you enter the state of nonresistance.”

Yes, life can be wonderful, if you let it. And that is the trick: letting it be the way it is. In that space of allowing, new opportunities that you had not dreamed of come your way, and a new and splendid life comes to you of its own accord.

How does this happen? When you stop pushing, forcing, and trying to make things go a certain way; when you stop beating yourself up; when you stop berating the world for its obvious shortcomings; and when you stop using other people to be part of your internal script, then life itself begins to unfold the way that is best for you.

Your resistance to life is the cause of all your suffering. This resistance is expressed though struggle. This struggle, in turn, becomes increasingly more complex, exhausting you, and the harder you try to figure things out, the more confused you get.

We aren’t talking about becoming a sluggard, or not thinking, or not acting. We’re talking about creating sufficient inner mental quiet to observe what is actually happening so that you can effortlessly act intelligently in any situation. Our tension creates confusion, which then creates unintelligent living.

Allowing your life to flow with ease, then, is not about abandoning your goals and drifting or hoping something better shows up soon. Instead, it is about deciding what is best for you and allowing it to unfold in a very natural way, without coercion, second-guessing, or getting in your own way.
Once you lower your resistance to events, your mind becomes sharper and your energy is more expansive. All sorts of wonderful things then happen. Some of them are quite logical and make perfect sense. Others border on the mystical. Serendipidity and synchronicity start to show up more often.

Another way of describing this entire process is learning how to dance. Instead of grimly marching from one event to another, believing you are making some small progress and feeling unbelievably frustrated in the process, dance with life as it unfolds for you. Set your intention, release it, do what comes to mind as the best course of action, but stay mindful, stay open, and allow grace, ease, and lightness to inform your experiences.

Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His book Never Ever Give Up tells you how. It is offered at no cost as a way to help YOU succeed. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html
Copyright 2004 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this
article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or
newsletter. It’s a shareware article.