Secrets of Spiritual Happiness

When someone is impatient and says, "I haven't got all day," I always wonder, how can that be? How can you not have all day? - George Carlin

The first secret of spiritual happiness is to stop running everywhere all the time! Change your schedule, change your life, and see how much you're able to simplify things. Stop and consider whether all the activities that fill your days are truly necessary, beneficial, or even enjoyable. If you spend all your days doing unnecessary things that waste your precious time and energy, then you won't have enough time and energy to devote to what would make you more spiritually happy.

If your schedule is too full to allow any spaces of peaceful enjoyment and reflection, then consider thinning out your schedule. Maybe your kids would also rather spend some quiet time with you, and not just get home and turn on the TV because everyone's too exhausted to do anything else. See if you can create more space in your life by thinning out your schedule if it is too busy, or by considering other ways to simplify your life.

In fact, if your life is simpler, then your expenses will probably also be less. You won't need to be running around doing as much extra work just to get enough money to pay for all the costs that are required to maintain a busy, frantic life.

Some people's lives are so action-packed that the only time they really get to take a break is when they must stop and sit in the bathroom. In fact, some people I know have actually turned their bathroom into a kind of rest and reading room. One friend even memorized an entire set of Trivial Pursuits Q&A cards in the bathroom, so he could win when we played.

Truthfully, you can create inner space any place where you can take a few moments to sit quietly and enjoy some peaceful contemplation, devotion, and rest. Find places for spaces in your day. Get in the habit of taking pauses to calm the waves of worldly concern, and strive to sanctify every moment and each action with a peaceful approach.

Breathe deeply, and with ease.



A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.
- Aesop

There are many ways to create more inner space. Here is a contemplation practice that you can do right now, or anytime:

Sit quietly, and allow all your thoughts to soften. Watch the flow of your breath as it moves in, and as it moves out, as it moves in, and as it moves out.

Allow your body to relax fully. Calm the waves of your mind, quiet the adrenaline rush of your day, and focus your attention inside - toward the center of spiritual happiness in your divine, pure, unsullied soul. See your soul shining brightly like a golden star in the center of your being.

Now, repeat the word "happiness" as you breathe in, and "happiness" as you breathe out. Symbolically receive happiness from this universe, and offer your happiness back with love. Think, feel, and breathe happiness.

Remember that even a few minutes of peaceful sitting can make a huge difference in how you feel and in how you approach each day.