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The Path of Unconditional Happiness
by Michael A. Singer

The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating experience. But first you have to approach life properly, or it can be very confusing. To begin with, you have to realize that you really only have one choice in this life, and it's not about your career, whom you want to marry, or whether you want to seek God. People tend to burden themselves with so many choices. But, in the end, you can throw it all away and just make one basic, underlying decision: Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy? It's really that simple. Once you make that choice, your path through life becomes totally clear.

Most people don't dare give themselves that choice because they think it's not under their control. Someone might say, "Well, of course I want to be happy, but my wife left me." In other words, they want to be happy, but not if their wife leaves them. But that wasn't the question. The question was, very simply, "Do you want to be happy or not?" If you keep it that simple, you will see that it really is under your control. It's just that you have a deep-seated set of preferences that gets in the way.

Let's say you've been lost and without food for days, and you finally find your way to a house. You can hardly make it to the doorstep, but you manage to pull yourself up and knock on the door. Somebody opens the door, looks at you and says, "Oh my God! You poor thing! Do you want something to eat? What would you like?" Now the truth is, you really don't care what they give you. You don't even want to think about it. You just utter the word "food." And because you really mean it when you say you need food, it no longer has anything to do with your mental preferences. The same goes for the question about happiness. The question is simply "Do you want to be happy?" If the answer is really yes, then say it without qualifying it. After all, what the question really means is "Do you want to be happy from this point forward for the rest of your life, regardless of what happens?"

Now, if you say yes, it might happen that your wife leaves you, or your husband dies, or the stock marker crashes, or your car breaks down on an open highway at night. Those things might happen between now and the end of your life. But if you want to walk the highest spiritual path, then when you answer yes to that simple question, you must really mean it. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's not a question of whether your happiness is under your control. Of course it's under your control. It's just that you don't really mean it when you say you're willing to stay happy. You want to qualify it. You want to say that as long as this doesn't happen, or as long as that does happen, then you're willing to be happy. That's why it seems like it is out of your control. Any condition you create will limit your happiness. You simply aren't going to be able to control things and keep them the way you want them.

You have to give an unconditional answer. If you decide that you're going to be happy from now on for the rest of your life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened. Unconditional happiness is the highest technique there is. You don't have to learn Sanskrit or read any scriptures. You don't have to renounce the world. You just have to really mean it when you say that you choose to be happy. And you have to mean it regardless of what happens. This is truly a spiritual path, and it is as direct and sure a path to Awakening as could possibly exist.

Once you decide you want to be unconditionally happy, something inevitably will happen that challenges you. This test of your commitment is exactly what stimulates spiritual growth. In fact, it is the unconditional aspect of your commitment that makes this the highest path. It's so simple. You just have to decide whether or not you will break your vow. When everything is going well, it's easy to be happy. But the moment something difficult happens, it's not so easy. You tend to find yourself saying, "But I didn't know this was going to happen. I didn't think I'd miss my flight. I didn't think Sally would show up at the party wearing the same dress that I had on. I didn't think that somebody would dent my brand-new car one hour after I got it." Are you really willing to break your vow of happiness because these events took place?

Billions of things could happen that you haven't even thought of yet. The question is not whether they will happen. Things are going to happen. The real question is whether you want to be happy regardless of what happens. The purpose of your life is to enjoy and learn from your experiences. You were not put on Earth to suffer. You're not helping anybody by being miserable. Regardless of your philosophical beliefs, the fact remains that you were born and you are going to die. During the time in between, you get to choose whether or not you want to enjoy the experience. Events don't determine whether or not you're going to be happy. They're just events. You determine whether or not you're going to be happy. You can be happy just to be alive. You can be happy having all these things happen to you, and then be happy to die. If you can live this way, your heart will be so open and your Spirit will be so free, that you will soar up to the heavens.

This path leads you to absolute transcendence because any part of your being that would add a condition to your commitment to happiness has got to go. If you want to be happy, you have to let go of the part of you that wants to create melodrama. This is the part that thinks there's a reason not to be happy. You have to transcend the personal, and as you do, you will naturally awaken to the higher aspects of your being.

In the end, enjoying life's experiences is the only rational thing to do. You're sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Go ahead, take a look at reality. You're floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experience. You're going to die anyway. Things are going happen anyway. Why shouldn't you be happy? You gain nothing by being bothered by life's events. It doesn't change the world; you just suffer. There's always going to be something that can bother you, if you let it.

This choice to enjoy life will lead you through your spiritual journey. In truth, it is itself a spiritual teacher. Committing yourself to unconditional happiness will teach you every single there is to learn about yourself, about others, and about the nature of life. You will learn all about your mind, your heart, and your will. But you have to mean it when you say that you'll be happy for the rest of your life. Every time a part of you begins to get unhappy let it go. Work with it. Use affirmations, or do whatever you need to do to stay open. If you are committed, nothing can stop you. No matter what happens, you can chose to enjoy the experience. If they starve you and put you in solitary confinement, just have fun being like Gandhi. No matter what happens, just enjoy the life that comes to you.

As difficult as that sounds, what's the benefit of not doing it? If you're totally innocent and they lock you up, you might as well have fun. What good does it do to not have fun? It doesn't change anything. In the end, if you stay happy, you win. Make that your game, and just stay happy no matter what.

Copyright © 2007 Reprinted with permission by New Harbinger Publications, Inc. From the book Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
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John Of God and the Power of Healing through Faith, Meditation, Love, Spirituality, Energy and Matters of the Heart 

"People around the world have credited John of God, and the spirits that they believe work through him, with miraculous healings. Others have accused him of impropriety. Despite his detractors, those whose lives he has touched say he is a simple man with a gift. John of God charges no fees and takes no credit for what he does. He says it is the power of God working through him."

 

 

Dr. Jeffry Rediger, a skeptic psychiatrist, witnessed first hand the power of belief, "If you can say something to the effect that 'I believe this in my head, but I don't believe it with my heart, I don't get it, it's too much,' and then a little incision manifests on the skin over the area of your heart...that means none of this is what we think it is."

Whether John of God's work is a slight of hand or actually a miracle, Dr. Rediger says it's clear that the power of faith is something that needs to be explored more.

"I believe the power of belief, the power of the mind, are far more powerful than we have begun to explore," he says. "I believe that's an unexplored wilderness in terms of research."

This touches on what Michael Singer talks about in his book, The Untethered Soul.  We are all energy and the heart is the largest energy center in our body.  The good Dr. Rediger wraps up his experience with a beautiful statement regarding the heart, "Perhaps the real heart in us in not just a pump.  Perhaps the real heart in us is about love and faith. Perhaps the physical body is not who we really are. Perhaps we are these invisible souls walking around, and the body is just an instrument or metaphor for something we are trying to learn."

Love and Hugs,

Donna Marguglio

www.emotionalhealingthroughyoga.com

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Something to lift our spirits today...Laughter!  Laughter soothes and rejuvenates the soul.

 

 

Have a good nurturing laugh.

Donna Marguglio

www.emotionalhealingthroughyoga.com

www.charlestoncorporateyoga.com

Removing Your Inner Thorn

 

This article is a continuation of my thoughts on Micheal Singer's, "The Untethered Soul".  You can find the first article regarding opening the heart right here: http://wp.me/pJNw6-6n.  As I continue to read this powerfully moving book, its POW effect does not diminish, but rather goes into more detail unveiling what I find so many of us are seeking, none of which has anything to do with what is outside of us.  This week I am reflecting on the Chapter 9, Removing Your Inner Thorn.

 "In order to grow, you must give up the struggle to remain the same, and learn to embrace change at all times."

  

Real transformation takes place when we embrace instead of hiding, protecting, or covering up that which feels uncomfortable.  He refers to these feelings as our "Inner Thorns"  We all have them.  Instead of feeling the brief pain we might feel, however intense, of removing the thorn, we sometimes choose not to remove it, and instead, keep it there, trying to avoid allowing anything to brush against it or touch it in any way, making daily life very difficult. 

"The Thorn is a Constant Source of Disturbance"

We have 2 choices:

1.  The first choice is to make a decision to keep the thorn and make sure nothing touches it as the pain is too much to bear.

2.  Make a decision that the thorn itself is too much to bear and take it out.

What you choose will affect the rest of your life.  Of course I say this knowing full well I have my own thorns that need removing and am still trying to make everything in my life safe and comfortable so nothing will rub against it.  Don't get me wrong, I have definitely come a long way and I continue to grow, but there are still these uncomfortable moments I try to avoid.  These cover-ups come in the form of control, including but not limited to my weight, my food intake, keeping the house clean and prefect, the lawn, the people I talk with, who my son gets to play with, , my eyebrows or lack thereof, right down to the depth of intimacy I share with my own husband. You all know what I mean.  We've all been there in some form or another.  Control, Control, Control!  All in an attempt to keep ourselves from disturbing the thorn.  There is no freedom in that.

"It Turns Out That the Life of Protecting Yourself From Your Problem Becomes A Perfect Reflection of the Problem Itself"

I haven't actually solved anything and neither have you.  Because we have tried so hard to control everything in hopes of protecting ourselves, the table, it seems, has turned, and the thorn is controlling us, running our lives.  Minimizing the problem is not solving the problem.  And so, if we want to be free, we must remove the thorn.   And we can.  It is possible.  We can free ourselves.  Our inner thorns are simply blocked energies from the past.  They can be released.

"You Can Look Deep Within Yourself, to the Core of Your Being, and Decide That You Don't Want to be the Weakest Part of You Running Your Life.  If You Sit Within the Self, You Will Experience the Strength of Your Inner Being Even When Your Heart Feels Weak.  Once You Learn That It's Okay to Feel Inner Disturbances, and That They No Longer Disturb Your Seat of Consciousness, You Will Be Free."

Love A Little!  Stay tuned for more on "The Untethered Soul"

 

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Matters of the Heart

 

Everyone has read a book or two that has that "POW" effect, the one that grabs your heart and touches you so deeply you can never fully go back to the way you were.  You have this new sense of awareness, a tool you can work with to change your entire life.  Books that have a profound impact must be shared.  So here it is:  "The Untethered Soul, the journey beyond yourself", by Michael Singer.  This book was highly recommended to me by my yoga teacher.  Had I known what effect it was going to have, I wouldn't have waited so long to pick it up.  This book is fabulous for anyone who is looking to move forward, live lighter, and let it go.

So many of us have lived through pain.  We have grown from it and we have stopped growing because of it.  We have defense mechanisms that show up when something feels uncomfortable, something that reminds us of a place we don't want to revisit.  So we get busy, drink, shop, get angry, or completely shut down.  We don't want to feel it, so we don't let it go.  It gets captured, blocked and locked.  Your energy goes way down and you can't figure out why you're not feeling the good stuff.  By the good stuff, I mean the energy you feel that doesn't require sleep or food, the energy that builds up inside you and makes you feel like you can take on the world.  We've all had that as well.  So why don't we feel it all the time? 

 

Micheal Singer explains the largest energy center in your body, The Heart:

 

" The only reason you don't feel this energy all the time is because you block it.  You block it by closing your heart, by closing your mind and by pulling yourself into a restricted space inside.  This closes you off from all the energy.  When you close your heart or you close your mind, you hide in the darkness within you.  There is no light.  There is no energy.  There is nothing flowing.  There energy is still there but it can't get in.  This is what it means to be BLOCKED.  That is why you have no energy when you are depressed.  There are centers within that channel your energy flow.  When you close them, there is no energy.  When you open them, there is energy.  We all have our defense mechanisms.  It seems only natural when you have an upsetting or traumatic experience. that you shut down at the mere thought of experiencing such feelings ever again.  The problem is that shutting down, closing our hearts, is not doing us any good.  Contrary to our beliefs, it does not really protect us from anything.  He goes on to say, "It just cuts you off from your source of energy.  In the end, it only serves to lock you inside."

  

Keeping Your Heart Open: Yoga and Meditation

 

The good news is that we can learn to retrain the heart, if you will.  We can learn to keep our hearts open, that is if we choose to.  We all want to feel love, joy and enthusiasm.  We all want to be free.  What would it feel like if we could, regardless of any experiences that come up, stand in a place of total freedom, total inner freedom?  What would it feel like to allow our life experiences to pass through us without getting locked and blocked, losing our flow of energy?  How would it feel if the energy kept flowing and the rush of love, joy and zest for life filled us up and we had access to it anytime all the time?  My guess?  Pretty awesome.  Look out for my next few posts regarding this fabulously intelligent, heart warming book.  Maybe we can learn something together.

Two things we can practice to keep the heart center open:  Yoga and Meditation.  There are all kinds of heart opening poses.  Click on the video below and learn one of many...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Words Affect Us

 

After teaching an evening class the other day, one of the students talked with me a bit after class.  She talked with me about healing.  Healing her relationships, healing herself, and as she told me the story of her own evolution, she reminded me exactly how much words can hurt, but more importantly how they can heal. 

Many years ago, in my teens, I had sex with a boy.  It was my first time.  Due to the unfortunate timing of these circumstances, I was labeled "SLUT" of the school.  I remember one particular girl who stalked me every single day, waiting to corner me to shout at the top of her lungs so everyone with in miles would hear, "SLUT!!!!"  I was scared to death of her.  Even though I knew intellectually that it was not true, I began to internalize the words and fear wrapped itself around me choking my voice, my heart.  I could not find my voice at the time and so tried very hard to shrink away so no one would see me.  I did this for many years.

 

What Words Are We Using?

 

When I finally did start speaking up, words of anger came out.  I spoke words of anger for years.  It didn't feel good.  I always felt like I was sticking my foot in my mouth or speaking up at the wrong time, again just wanting to shrink away.  My saving grace were the kind people I met along the way. People who were balanced, loving people.  The kind of people who were gentle with me, who helped guide me to a better place through beautiful words, loving thoughts, and tremendous patience.  I learned how to speak gently to myself.  I learned slowly how to be kinder to myself, how to love myself.  I am still learning and growing so much, slowly finding the voice that helps me create healthy boundaries.

When I started practicing yoga, I became so much more aware of my words.  Learning about the Yamas and Niyamas has taught me to be kinder toward myself, and in doing that I am also kinder toward others.  One particular Yama, Ahimsa, is another name for truth or love.  The general meaning is non-violence in thought, word, deed or action.  When a little gossip sounds like it could be interesting, I ask myself now whether I really want to engage if such talk will result in unloving thoughts about someone.  The answer is no.  So I will take a more diplomatic approach, excuse myself if necessary.  If I am having a bad hair day, and I curse about something, I check in with my body, my heart, and observe how I feel.  When what I am speaking or feeling feels ugly, then I know it is time to sit quietly, breathe, and speak kindly to myself.  When I take the time to check in, no matter what has happened in the past, I know all is well.  You are loved.  You are loved.  You are loved.

 

I Welcome Inspiring Stories of How Words Have Touched Your Life in the Comment Section Below

[caption id="attachment_391" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Relaxing at the Heidelberg Castle"][/caption]