Carrying on from our previous blog on the seven pillars of a purpose-driven and heartfelt life, I want to bring you the final three pillars that I sincerely hope will make as much a difference in your life, as they have in mine.
Happiness is a Choice
HAPPINESS is a choice. Many of us spend so much time feeling miserable or sorry for ourselves that we forget this simple truism that happiness really is a choice – it’s one we make every day. I hear so many people proclaiming they’ll be happy when… the mortgage is paid off, I buy that new house, the kids graduate, we retire, we travel, I get that promotion… on and on, ad infinitum. What a total waste of their time – to feel lousy, miserable, and sad, for the short time that we have on this earth. As I’ve mentioned in the past, we are spiritual beings embarking on a human journey. Surely, surely, we want that journey to be a happy and fulfilling one – I know I do.
In my three recent blogs on happiness, I gave you some simple, yet very effective, practical steps you can take to ensure that you make that choice of happiness every single moment of your day. You can find the first of these blogs here: Be sure to check them out.
There’s a wonderful quote that sums this up and puts it very succinctly and perfectly:
“Happiness is a journey, not a destination.”
Ben Sweetman
Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude
Maintain an attitude of GRATITUDE. Most of us think we are grateful people but when we sit down and analyse it, are we really? How quick are you to blame other people when things go wrong? How often do you say, “why me, what did I do to deserve this?” or “damn, nothing good ever happens to me”.
Why is gratitude so critical?
“Gratitude is the rich soil, in which our future grows.”
Lisa Nichols
Clichéd ? Perhaps, but there is a reason why clichés become imbedded in our consciousness – at their core, there is always a kernel of truth, a veritable gem or nugget of wisdom we can hang our hats on. The way we think, speak, and act today, directly impacts on where we will be tomorrow. If living in the present is one of the keys to a successful and happy life (and it is) then gratitude is a massively important part of that process.
We live in a world of duality and in every bad situation, there is always something positive that can be taken from it. Granted, in this sometimes seemingly cruel and violent world it can be difficult to find that kernel of positivity in every bad situation or event, but it is definitely there. We owe it to ourselves and our future happiness to find it and to be grateful for it.
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is, thank you, it will be enough.”
Meister Eckhart: 13th Century German theologian, philosopher and mystic.
Fear Less
Fear less! So often, in our daily lives, we rob ourselves of experiencing joy and fulfilment for one simple reason, we are afraid! We are afraid of trying something new, or afraid of being ridiculed by our friends, or simply afraid of failure. What an absolute waste!
Now, don’t get me wrong, there is fear that is good and legitimate. It is what we know as the “fight or flight” response. When we are in potentially lethal situations, we have imprinted into our DNA an automatic fear that is meant to save us from these dangers. I’m not suggesting, for a second, that we get into a cage with a tiger, or try to cross a gorge on a thin tightrope (unless that’s your thing, of course). No, what I am talking about here is psychological fear – the type of fear that stops us from achieving our true potential as human beings.
How often have you seen some new activity, sport, or recreation and immediately thought, “oooh, I’d love to give that a go,” but seconds after that thought, your mind (actually, it’s that insane little character in your head, known as your ego) begins to tell you all the reasons why you shouldn’t even consider trying something new. Your ego craves stability, hates change and more than anything else in the world just wants you to plod on through life never trying anything new or exciting.
It’s time to break out of that timid shell and embrace all the excitement and joy that surrounds you. Why shouldn’t you; try ballroom dancing, jump out of an aeroplane, play bridge, write a book, take that trip to Greece… whatever it is that takes your fancy, why shouldn’t you? Almost all the things we were worrying about happening, this time last year, never actually happened, so why did we waste so much time worrying about them? As for what other people might think about what you do – why is that so important to you? At the end of the day we can only control one thing and one thing only – ourselves.
So, forget that wild little ego chatter, forget what people will say (who cares?), and forget your innate sense of failure – failure is and has always been a crucial building block in success. Very few people get it “right” first time – but here’s the rub; if you don’t participate in the race, you sure can’t win it. You want to do all these things; whatever they are. They are the things that give you passion, joy, excitement and achievement – and it is your right to do them; but if you don’t even try because you are paralyzed by memories of past failures, you have condemned yourself to nothing more than mere existing.
In the immortal words of Mr. Nike,
“Just Do It!”
I’d like to finish this revisiting of the pillars of life by reminding you of something incredibly important, that we are all prone to forget about in this hectic and busy world that we sometime feel like we are locked into. YOU ARE AWESOME!
You are incredibly special – you are a unique individual who has creative talents and abilities that nobody else that has ever lived or will ever live, has. When we realize that we are limitless in our potential then we actually can change the world. If we live to our own potential and continue to grow – if we become who we really are, instead of a facade or a mask that we put on every morning, we will live a life that is infinitely happier and more joyous than we do now. Imagine the effect of that on your loved ones, your work colleagues, your friends. They will marvel at this free, happy, contented you and as in the famous line from; “When Harry Met Sally”, they also will exclaim:
“I’ll have some of what she’s having”.
Find the essential you and be an inspiration to the world!
So, there we have it, the full seven pillars of our purpose-driven and heart-led life. Remember, I have covered all these topics in many of my previous blogs, along with some simple, practical steps you can take to assist you in changing your way of living. Almost all of us want to be happy, purpose-filled and heart-led – I’ve met very few people in my time who don’t want that. By making these pillars the basis of your life, you can go a long way to achieving that goal.
If we all adopt these simple life “hacks” what an incredible difference we can make in this world – TOGETHER.
If you liked what you read here, please do check out our previous blogs. The last four can be found here:
Seven Pillars of a Purpose Driven and Heart-Led Life (Part 1)
Reincarnation – New Thought Movement.
Reincarnation – Is It For Real?
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Finally, today, please do pop on over to the section of my website that highlights my Visionary Fiction “whodunit” mystery, Spirit of Prophecy, which incorporates many of the ideas and philosophies discussed in my blog into a fast-paced, fictional, thriller. I know you’ll enjoy it. You can find that here:
Life is SUPPOSED to be wonderful: This is absolutely true and for many, something that is equally hard to accept. Many of us were brought up in an environment where there was a scarcity of everything, where Mum and Dad (or whoever was responsible for us) worked relentlessly hard every hour in the day, 24/7, just to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. We grew up with the mind-set that life was hard, that nothing came easy, and that we would always struggle to make ends meet in this cruel, unforgiving world. The problem with that type of thinking is this: “Thoughts are things and they create the reality of the world around us “ If we believe life is hard and an eternal struggle, then that is what life will be. Let us aim to adjust our thinking, to believe in abundance and more specifically in abundance for US, personally. There’s a quote from Rhonda Byrne in her seminal work, “The Magic”, that I think describes this paradox perfectly.
Attitude is EVERYTHING: Your attitude determines what you think about, your emotional state, and your beliefs. What you think about, your beliefs, and your emotional state absolutely determines what will come into your life in the way of circumstances and people. Positive thoughts, positive emotions and positive actions will lead to an upgrade of positive outcomes. The reverse, is of course, equally true. This is an immutable law of the Universe – this is Newton’s Third Law of Thermodynamics – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sometimes called Karma, it’s really quite simple; what you put out there into the Universe is what you’ll get back, from the Universe. What goes around, comes around.
LOVE is the ultimate power of the Universe: Almost every single leader, teacher, philosopher, and prophet, throughout history, has had the same basic message for us – LOVE one another. (The Golden Rule). There’s a reason for that – they knew the “secret”, they understood that love is the most powerful force in the Universe and that all positive things in life come from love, whilst all negative things, come from a lack of love. What an incredible shame it is, that we, humanity, have chosen to largely ignore this simple precept in favour of other dogma that suits our EGO, our plans, our ambitions, or our need for dominance over others.
The PRESENT is absolutely all that really matters to us. We cannot change what happened yesterday – yes we can apologise for our mistakes, perhaps try to atone for them but we cannot change what we did, how we reacted, or what we said. Yesterday is gone. Similarly, why waste our precious time worrying about the future, about what might happen, what potential pitfalls lie ahead? We make our own future by the way we think, act and react today! We are the masters of our own destiny, if only we realise it.
This post is not promoting any one particular religion, or religion as such, 
Today, however, I want to concentrate on the man himself – Gautama Buddha (born Sidharrtha Gautama). There is plenty of argument about when Buddha was born and when he died but there is little argument about the difference he made in the society of the time. Born sometime between 583 and 480 BCE, Buddha is said to have died somewhere between 483 and 400 BCE at age 80, but his legacy stretches across the centuries to this very day. He was born in Lumbini, of the Shakya Republic in what is now modern-day Nepal, into a wealthy influential family but as he grew up he became especially upset at the extent of suffering in the world, so he renounced his privileged life. Buddha [which means Enlightened One] became a monk, a mendicant (a beggar), a sage, and whilst sitting in contemplation under a fig tree – (the Bodhi Tree of Awakening) he had insights that became the basis of his philosophies, teachings and religious/spiritual leadership
His main impact on the society of the time was to teach that there was a “middle way” between typical sensual self-indulgence and severe self-discipline and denial, which was the common belief amongst the people of the region. The basic concept Buddha brought to the world was the idea that the purpose of life was to seek “ultimate enlightenment” as described in Buddha’s discourse – “The Noble Eightfold Path”. There are many tales of Buddha’s life. How many of them are true or not is perhaps moot; what matters most are the teachings and the philosophies he has left behind. One particularly famous event occurred, it is told; of Buddha seating himself under a “pipal [old sacred fig]” tree, in Bodh Gaya, India. He vowed to never arise from that tree until he had found the “truth”. His companions decided Buddha had just given up and left him to it. After forty-nine days of meditation, at the age of thirty-five, he was said to have attained “enlightenment” at which point he became “The Buddha” or the “Awakened One”. It is said, at that time, that Buddha completely understood and had insight into the “Four Noble Truths” and thereby achieving freedom from the endless cycle of rebirth, suffering and dying again, which is a key concept in Hinduism. He would later develop this idea into training the mind (meditation or “dhyana”) as required to take a person to nirvana. Nirvana is characterised as the process of extinguishing the fires of desire, hatred, and ignorance that keep the cycle of suffering and rebirth going. Once Nirvana has been reached it is said a person has lost all personal identity and no boundaries remain to the mind. In this state the person is said to possess the “Ten Characteristics” belonging to every Buddha. As I said earlier, I will be delving much more into the actual study and beliefs of Buddhism in the next blogs, suffice it to say that Gautama Buddha and his Buddhism; like Jesus Christ and Christianity, and Muhammad and Islam, has stood the test of time. After two-and-a-half millennium have passed there are said to be almost five-hundred million practising Buddhists in the world, the bulk of them in Asia. That makes it the world’s fourth largest religion behind Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. 
Meanwhile, it is deeply sad to witness, some of the ways in which humanity has perverted their pure thoughts, and ideals for life, to their own means. Buddha’s teachings of peace, love, respect and self-introspection, one day came to be totally ignored, by some of his followers, intent on racial or cultural genocide. The same points can be made about the other religions also. It is deeply disappointing that a religion which greatest precept is; “love thy neighbour as thyself,” should use their beliefs to subjugate, dominate, or completely eliminate whole other classes of humanity. We are surely reaching a stage on this beautiful planet where religious tolerance needs to flourish, and we focus on our commonality, community and connectedness rather than our divisions/barriers and illusions of separateness. 
The Cycle of Rebirth (Reincarnation): 
