Volume 2, Issue 6   |  June 2008                                      www.anjawellness.com

Don't Worry -
Be Happy

If you are like me , you've been pursuing happiness much of your life. And just like Bobby "Don't Worry, Be Happy"  McFerrin, modern science wants us to be happy too. Most of us have already surmised that money can't buy happiness, even though it doesn't stop us from trying.

We all know that there is no such thing as a heartache-free life. But our culture, especially in the United States, does its best to convince us otherwise. There is almost an admonition to be cheerful, to smile, to look happy, to put on that well-known happy face. The problem with this is that it leaves us all ill-equipped to deal with the other side - the dark side. The human experiences of fear, grief and sadness. The paradox with all of this is that when we allow the dark emotions in, that's when we actually release them. We give ourselves permission to be what we all are - human. And in doing that we open ourselves up to be happy:

So how can we become a happier society? Philosophers, scientists and even grandmothers agree that you can make yourself happier with practice. Here are some tips:

HAVE GRATITUDE
Rather than insist that if only you had that new car, a bigger house or a higher paying job you’d be happy, cultivate an appreciation for what you’ve already got.  Your homework is to write a letter of appreciation to someone you love.

PRACTICE MAKES HAPPY
Optimism is an acquired skill. Learning to look at the bright side takes practice—and mindfulness meditation is the ideal training. Just sit down for 20 minutes once a day and notice how your mind reacts to pleasant versus unpleasant sensations. You’ll realize how conditioned your mind is—and how simple it is to change it.

SIMPLICITY IS KEY
 The simpler you make your material life, the easier it is to notice the everyday joys—birds chirping (turn off your iPod), kids laughing (turn down the TV) and your feet hitting the pavement (walk to the grocery store—you’ll probably beat traffic).

SHARE COMPASSION
Research shows that people who offer their time and energy to others tend to be happier themselves. There is a trick though and that is that you can’t fake it. Find an activity you already enjoy, and share it with another. You’ll be surprised how fast the warm fuzzies multiply.

COMPLETE HEALTH
Happiness isn’t limited to your brain—the rest of your body has to be in on it, too. Treat your body with kindness and care and it will make a better vessel for achieving your emotional goals.

SUPPORT FROM RELATIONSHIPS
When your schedule gets overloaded, your social time’s often the first thing you give up. But a fulfilling relationship is vital to a person’s sense of well-being, so don’t hoard that “mental health day”—take it before you really need it, and share it with a friend.

ACCEPT BEING HUMAN
Being happy doesn’t mean being cheerful—or manufacturing a constant smile. Give yourself permission to be human. Remember what the band R.E.M. taught us back in the early ‘90s—“Everybody hurts, sometimes.”

Since we all know how to basically achieve happiness ~~~ then just BE HAPPY!  It is a gift for the culture that has everything. 
 

  ANJA'S READING ROOM

Over a quarter century ago, Dr. Brian Weiss introduced us to his patients' experiences with past life regression and the guidance of masters in the higher realms as conveyed in Many Lives, Many Masters and other books.

Recently Dr. Weiss appeared on the Oprah show, along with Dr. Oz, and discussed as well as demonstrated the phenomena of hypnosis and past life regression. In his recent book, Same Soul, Many Bodies he shares remarkable experiences of those who have progressed into future lives to find answers to inexplicable mental or spiritual trauma, chronic illnesses or unresolved fears. This book gives a revealing glimpse of the reincarnation process as he shares stories of soul lessons as seen over lifetimes, including the future. Lessons such as compassion, patience, non-violence, relationships, free will, contemplation and meditation, spirituality and unconditional love.

This months pick Same Soul, Many Bodies provides us with much food for thought - that perhaps the past, present and future are one and that we are creating our future by how we live each moment of every day. That we can perhaps change our past, present and future by changing our perceptions and consciousness. As Oprah stated on her show "Keep an open mind".

 HYPNOTHERAPY - THE PLACE WHERE HEALING BEGINS

Healing happens where woundedness is embraced. It happens when we dive down deep to the source, to the place where images and words come from. It is in this space that we meet the Self, the I AM-ness behind the light and sound show that is our life.

 If we define ourselves too narrowly, we suffocate in the box we have made, and our life force pales. When we use clinical hypnotherapy to by pass the critical conscious mind, we literally go into the bottom drawers of the old bureau that haven't been opened for a long time. It is in this space that we find collected beliefs, pieces from another time when we felt alive and forgotten moments that we long to embrace like a lost child. Within each piece we find an aspect of ourselves, an essence of energy that acts as a mirror and guide for what is unfolding in us now as we forge forward in life. We re-remember ourselves. We are a kaleidoscope of an ever-changing self.

Hypnotherapy allows us to gather these lost parts of ourselves, not in a fixed way - this is who I am - but in an awakening to a larger dance, to the real mystery of who we really are. We all have a magnificence to our own story. By staying with ourselves we begin a journey that leads us down a path towards a larger sense of self. Isn't it time you met yourself at your own front door?

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

A FATHER CARRIES PICTURES WHERE HIS MONEY USED TO BE ~~~

From a child's perspective:

4 years: My Daddy can do anything!
7 years: My Dad knows a lot ~~ a whole lot.
8 years: My father does not know quite everything.
12 years: Oh well, naturally Father does not know that either.
14 years: Oh, Father? He is hopelessly old-fashioned.
21 years: Oh, that man-------he is out of date!
25 years: He knows a little bit about it, but not much.
30 years: I must find out what Dad thinks about it.
35 years: Before we decide, we will get Dad's idea first.
50 years: What would Dad have thought about that?
60 years: My Dad knew literally everything!
65 years: I wish I could talk it over with Dad once more.

Here's wishing all the wonderful fathers out there a perfect Father's Day. May you be blessed with a life of contentment, peace and happiness forever.
 

Celebrate your Father June 15!

 

Until next month use the energy of desire to manifest your highest vision and purpose -        

Blessings, Shayn