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Yoga Retreat Deposit and Fees

Yoga Retreat Deposits and Fees

Sunday, April 25, 2010

A Realization of Happiness

A friend asked me the other day, “How do you know if you are really happy, or just afraid of being unhappy?” At first I laughed, but the question stayed with me and led to some interesting reflection.

The core values that the United States of America proposes to offer her citizens are “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. This concept came to mind as I considered my friend's question. We are in constant pursuit of happiness, or avoiding being unhappy. And often that happiness seems to hinge on something that we are pursuing; more income, recognition for our work, the love of our beloved, a well-behaved child, more free time, etc. Even while we recognize it as illogical, who among us does not have the thought that once we meet our soul mate, or buy our dream home, we will then feel fulfilled?

However, the more that happiness hinges on something else than what is present here and now, then happiness is inherently outside of you, beyond you. In other words, spoken by Reverend Michael Beckwith “the more that you pursue happiness, the more it will run away from you.” Rather than pursue happiness, he says, we must have a realization of happiness, here and now.

Sound difficult? This is completely within your capacity, if you want to try the following exercise, which you can repeat as often as you need, in order to practice bringing yourself, moment to moment into the realization of happiness. Take a moment to be still, close your eyes and go inward. Focus a moment on the sensation of your own heartbeat and the awareness of your breathing, your awareness that you are alive here and now.

Call into mind a few things that you are grateful for in your life here and now. You could start with your own body, and the fact that you are breathing effortlessly, and then expand outwards to loved ones, home, whatever it may be that you are grateful for. Notice what this sensation of gratitude feels like in your body, especially in your heart. Now try to expand that to fill your whole body. Take a few deep breaths, making a cellular memory of gratitude and happiness.

Happiness is found in moments, such as this one you just experienced. And life is lived from one moment to the next. So how can we realize happiness if we are not able to be in the present moment of our lives? Each day has the potential to hold infinite moments of unexpected pockets of joy and appreciation, and it is my goal to live inside them. Hope to see you there!

1 comment:

  1. Really great food for thought Lucine! Thanks for the good reflections.

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