Happiness is the simplest expression of life without the limitations of our mind. Unfortunately, most people are used to looking for happiness outside of themselves. In this article, we will explore the reality of finding happiness within. For most people, happiness depends on their interaction with the world around them. For some people, their source of happiness is no longer there and causes disappointment. Let’s look at what happiness is: Every experience in our body is created in our brain and, though a full experience of happiness is definitely one that is shared, there are times the source of happiness that people are accustomed to, is no longer available. It could be because of illness or any other trauma in your life. If you are used to looking outside for happiness, you naturally define yourself into a limiting situation.
There are two main life skills people need to develop to establish happiness. The first is our self-image. We think to our self-image and our self-image responds to our thoughts. If we have a negative self-image, we get negative responses to whatever we think. It is possible to change your self-image immediately from a negative self-image to a positive self-image by creating conscious habits that recondition your mind to connect to the positive times in your life. Almost everybody has times that they can remember where they experienced a positive self-image. For those who cannot remember those times, it is possible to be creative and imagine positive experiences. The reality is, when we identify with a positive self-image, we get positive responses. It does not matter how that self-image is created. You can literally create the self-image that serves you and creates the experience you want. If we can learn to interpret our situations from a positive perspective, we can be genuinely happy during our darkest times.
The second life skill is simple self-trust. When we put importance into our thoughts, we see life as less significant than our mind-made reality. There is an art to how we use our brain and it requires self-trust to make this inner reality serve us. The experience of veterans when they were in combat was that no thought in their mind was as important as their life. That same principle is true with cancer and AIDS patients. When they made their life more important than the creations of their mind, they found a deep happiness as they dealt with their challenge from The Wisdom of their Body. In that happiness are powerful inner resources they need to fight their illness.
There is a profound happiness at the core of every human being, which is tied into the will to live. If we found that happiness in our day-to-day life, we would face our challenges free from limiting thoughts and self-imposed boundaries. When we develop a positive self-image with self-trust, our brains have the ability to float beyond the limitations that miss the miracle of life.
Marc Lerner is the President of Life Skills Institute and has been working with people in a health crisis since 1982. Learning to discover oneself in difficult times is the theme of A Healthy Way to be Sick, the e-book Marc Lerner wrote. Go to http://ahealthyway.org to read a mini-version. Learn this same technique to deal with any difficult time with the e-book, A Light Shines Brighter in Darkness, at the same website. Marc Lerner is available for public speaking and tele-seminars. When you learn to master inner resources and avoid negative thinking, you automatically tap powerful inner resources to become an active partner with medical professionals. Patient participation can influence the results of the doctor’s treatment. The doctor’s relationship with the patient can also influence how the patient participates in healing. Marc’s work is dedicated to establishing this partnership.