In the Pursuit of Happiness

I’ve been in pursuit of happiness.

What do I mean by that? I mean I’ve been looking around for signs of happiness and joy.

Walking down the street – are there any happy people here? In most cities people are arguing or preoccupied with worry or rushing about because they are late for something. In Santa Fe, New Mexico I see lots of happy people. Why is that?

I checked out the television. Fear Factor shows people terrified at the ridiculous things they are being asked to do. I hope they are getting paid a lot. The news – well that was pretty grim. No uplifting stories there.

Hey look, here is a show where they are demolishing a person’s house and then rebuilding it completely new. Wow, those people are really happy. Those people are jumping up and down, praising God, kissing people. There is actually happiness here. Why is that?

I went to a park. Guess what I found? There are many happy people in the park. There are smiles and laughter. Children laughing, running and playing. People going up to someone walking a puppy and stopping to smile and pet him or her. The dog wags its tale and tries to jump up and lick the person. There is lots of laughter from the person and the dog’s owner. Why is that?

Where has the happiness and joy gone in your life?

I couldn’t find mine for longer than I’d like to admit. But it is definitely very present now.

How did I manage that?

Why are people in Santa Fe happier than those in many other locations? Because most of the people walking around Santa Fe are here on vacation. Santa Fe is one of the most popular spots in the world for travel. It is currently ranked number 10 Best City in the World by Travel and Leisure, number 5 on the 2003 Favorite Destination list by Conde Nast Traveler, and number 1 Most Healthy City by Organic Style Magazine.
The people visiting aren’t “doing” their normal life. They have taken time out to enjoy walking, shopping, visiting museums, learning about different cultures, they are savoring the beauty of the southwest and the adobe architecture and they are treating themselves to fabulous meals, fine hotels, and spas. And they are smiling because of it. They have gotten out of their normal routine and allowed their mind to focus on something new.

Shift your focus. Try something new.

The people who are getting a new house on television are thrilled because everything old is new again. Nothing is the same. There is a freshness and beauty that wasn’t there before. And a dream that they never thought possible has come true beyond their expectations. They have experienced a dramatic change. And they are in gratitude.

What are you grateful for?

The reason its easy to find happiness in the park is very simple. The park is you connecting with nature. The park has trees and grass and flowers. There are birds singing. When you walk in the park or sit down on the ground you have connected with the earth and the natural rhythms of nature and God. It is one of the most nurturing things you can do for yourself.
Whether you sit in the park or on a mountain top or by a stream, you become still within. You feel rejuvenated. If you sit there long enough you will stop thinking about your worries and you will begin to notice the beauty and the sounds. You will be fully present in the now. It is so refreshing, so soothing, so healing and nurturing.

Spend some time in nature every single day.

How did I achieve happiness in my own life? I worked through – and continue to work through as they present themselves – all the issues and illusions that cause me to worry about things, to react to people and situations, to feel depressed or angry.

Anytime I am feeling anything less than happiness and joy, I know it is because I have an issue to resolve.

Because you are reading this, I will assume that you:

– are dedicated to your personal and spiritual growth journey

– are actively in pursuit of happiness and joy

– are following your inner guidance system – your intuition – knowing it is God’s way of communicating with you

– understand that the reason you chose to come to this planet is because it is a classroom and that everything that happens in your life is a reflection – a mirror – for you to look into to learn about yourself. Every person, every word, every strange situation, every trauma is an event designed specifically for you to observe and learn from

If these are new concepts, or you want to know more, just visit the other articles on this website and start reading.

What prevents you from being happy?

What prevents you from experiencing joy and gratitude in every moment?

There are many issues, but here are two big ones that negatively affect a person’s life. The first is physical pain. The other is their financial picture.

Imagine for a moment how your life would be different if you had no pain and no financial worries. When you’re in physical pain, nothing else can get your attention. Your body is screaming and you have to listen. And you will spend all of your time and money trying to make the pain go away. Money. Whether you are trying to live on a budget of a few dollars a month, or a few million dollars a month, huge amounts of time and energy are spent focusing on and worrying about money. At least that is largely the case in North America.

As with all issues, there is an underlying cause for these as well.

The underlying cause of any issue is ALWAYS an illusion – a fear, a belief, a judgment, an expectation that is false. It is NOT the truth about God, about you, about how life has to be. It is something that became part of you that is in direct opposition to the Truth. And those blocks, issues, energies, resistances to the Universal Flow – by whatever name you choose to call them – are the reasons you are in pain, have to worry about finances, don’t experience joy in every moment, and can’t manifest every desire you have.

Lets be honest. I have not cleared all of my issues. Nor do I pretend that I have. But I have permanently healed a bunch – definitely more than the average person. I have successfully removed numerous forms of trauma. And along with those traumas, I have reprogrammed, transmuted, and released most of the fears, limiting beliefs, and judgments that I took on because of them. I’ve permanently removed many thought forms that were projected at me from others. And I learned how to experience happiness and gratitude a lot more often.

“How?” you ask.

Well some dolphins came to visit me one day and they never left. I’m not kidding. I was minding my own business trying to learn to meditate while in the midst of the worst personal crisis I had ever had, and this dolphin just popped into my meditation. He nodded at me and made his funny little sounds with that silly grin on his face. And do you know what I did. I began to cry tears of joy. I began to laugh. I began to feel wave upon wave of love. I began to heal the emotional pain that was literally killing me.

O.K. so now you are thinking I’m this crazy woman who has hallucinations. You know what, all of life is a hallucination.

If something feels good, if it uplifts people, if it empowers instead of disempowers, if it brings joy instead of pain, if it heals and helps make whole, if it assists someone in strengthening their personal connection with God, then it is definitely worth at least learning about.

So in the end the dolphins taught me how to permanently heal issues, illusions, fears, judgments, limiting beliefs, blocks, disharmonious energies – those things that disrupt the flow and take us out of joy. They taught me the dolphin spiral techniques. And that’s all I have to do.

Well I have to ask the right questions. And I suggest you do the same.

What is the single most empowering thing you can do for yourself?

Learn to ask the right questions.

One of the best questions to start with is why. Why do I have this pain in my body? Where did it come from? Why do I get upset every month when I have to pay the bills? What am I afraid of? Where does that fear come from? Why haven’t I been able to manifest ____ (you fill in the blank)?

Listen for the answers. Write in your journal or sit out in nature and ask questions and observe the answers. After asking a question and getting an answer. Ask why again. And continue asking why until you know you have reached the root cause. Every time you notice that you are not feeling joyful or happy, ask yourself why. What were you thinking, or doing, or saying that took you out of joy? Become the greatest detective that ever lived looking for clues about what is really happening in your subconscious mind – the 95% of your brain that causes you to act and react without logical explanation. The 95% really running the show that you probably aren’t even aware of.

And once the reason has been revealed, then use the techniques you know to permanently heal the cause.

Succeed in your pursuit of happiness.

Blessings,