Happiness means being at peace with ourselves
wherever we are, who ever we’re with, whatever we feel, whatever we’re going
through and whatever we have or lack.
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| Photo by Teisha Preece |
Life doesn’t always turn out the way
we hope or expect. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by discouragement, fear, and anger. Satan
uses such feelings as an opportunity to attack us and lead us to self-criticism
and finding fault in others. The more we focus on negative emotions, the
stronger they become, until they begin to dominate our thoughts, diminishing
our ability to feel the Spirit and find happiness. The proverb “As [a person]
thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7) applies both to negative thoughts
and positive thoughts. One way to counter our negative emotions is to ponder
and express gratitude for the many ways in which we are blessed.
How can we acknowledge our
difficulties without becoming consumed by them?
In the midst of affliction, it may be
hard to see the good around us when we feel weighed down with so much pain and
sorrow. However, we have many reasons to be grateful. To those who struggle to
see God’s hand in their lives because of their challenges--tonight, and
tomorrow night, pray and ponder, asking the questions: Did God send a message
that was just for me? Did I see His hand in my life or the lives of my
children?
There are many tender mercies that
enrich our lives and let us know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us
and is mindful of us in a very personal way. As we consistently take time each
day to ponder and record the things for which we are grateful, the evidence of
God’s hand in our lives becomes clearer. We appreciate more fully the many
blessings that have come to us in the past. We also watch for, recognize, and
rejoice in the blessings that come each day. In our journey of healing, gratitude changes
our hearts and helps us experience joy through the goodness of God and the
redeeming power of Jesus Christ.
If selfishness and pride are the seedbeds and daily diet in
the Valley of the Addicted, the antidote is Gratitude and Humility. Gratitude remembered daily will protect
against each day's challenges and will allow us to endure difficult
moments. Gratitude is
acknowledgment. To feel gratitude is to
know we are not alone.
What else helps you recognize the hand
of God in your life?
Above all things, we are grateful for God.
He has been by our side, walking with us through good and bad times. Every good
thing in our lives is a blessing from the God. In the words of Isaiah, “God is
my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my
strength and my song; he also is become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2). Our
gratitude for God inspires us to be a little better, love a little more, and
become more like Christ.
How
can you show your gratitude to Him?
We are told that meditation is helpful
to grow closer to the God and the Savior.
Meditation is creating stillness and
peace in the mind, beyond the usual chatter and clutter that usually fills
it. This is not to say meditation is
about nothing. To the contrary, it is about everything. Some people say that when they meditate, they
fall asleep. Does it really matter? In the sleeping state, we often receive
information or answers to questions as well as information about the past,
present and future…answers to nagging questions or just plain unsolicited
wisdom comes. Meditation is not about taking a test, but about taking an
adventure. Meditation is surrender
to the guidance of Spirit.
Keep meditations simple. An attitude of
openness, interest, exploration and curiosity will help let go of
judgments, expectations and other distractions that keep us from being fully
present. It has been
discovered that right brain practices such as meditation and imagery will
actually alter the blood chemistry, producing the body's natural equivalent of
tranquilizers and antidepressants.
Meditation is the exercise of singular, mindful attention in a relaxed
but focused and alert way. Scrubbing
pots, watching horses graze, playing golf, sketching, when done in a highly
focused and mindful way is meditation.
"Belief
isn't absolutely necessary…but a clear intention is extremely important."
We are all counseled to meditate, pray
and be still. When do we find time in
our busy world for that? How do we work
on spirituality and inner growth when we have families to care for and jobs to
attend? Every day we need to exercise, read, pray, meditate, visualize, do
affirmations, improve relationships and express gratitude. How do we get that all in? Meditation is simply learning to quiet the
mind. How many times have we been on a
phone call and someone in the room is trying to talk to us? We get frustrated because we can’t hear both
conversations at the same time. That’s
what it’s like when we begin to meditate.
We won’t feel inspiration when mind chatter is going on. Meditating is
clearing our minds of clutter and “self-talk”. Meditating is creating awareness in thoughts,
feelings and emotions and tapping into spirit which allows us to be receptive
to information and from God through the Holy Ghost.
What are some other ways to
incorporate a "moving meditation"?
Personal Learning and Application
Keep
a journal of your thoughts, feelings, insights, and plans to implement what you
learn. As the needs and circumstances in your life change, repeating these
answers will provide you with new insights.
Go back to the questions in the chapter.
Write your answers. Each time you
go through a chapter, your answers might change.
1. Try THE HOLY CHILD meditation. Envision the infant from your past standing
in your heart, filling you with knowledge. The child has come so recently from
heavenly home. If they don't have
anything to say, just concentrate on their presence. Do this meditation five minutes a day for a
month. Find a photo of yourself taken
in the first year of life. Write down
the memories and mental impressions that come up for you…colors, sounds. The more we remember, the more we can follow
our true lives.
2. Practice gratitude instead of misery. Search for everything, anything, just to put
gratitude on it.
Is a situation, problem or issue
causing you misery?
Do you need guidance to make an
important decision?
3. If you had a magic wand to instantly change
any situation, which one would you transform?
4. Make a gratitude List, usually within 1/2
hour of waking up.
“Today I am
grateful that…..”
Include
emotions you are carrying around that you may think are bad or wrong to feel,
that you have been resisting, denying.
Resentments
and fears make an excellent focus, so do fears.
Don’t
overthink. Let it pour out. When you’re
writing what you’re grateful for, consciously breathe into your emotions,
especially those you’d call “negative”
Write about
any “shifts” you notice.
5. Make a list of people you resent, people you
haven’t forgiven, refuse to forgive or cannot forgive. You can include “forgiving these people” in
your goal list. The list can include
more than people.
6. If you are
obsessing or worrying over something, tell yourself to feel afraid or obsess
for 15 minutes or half hour. Or that you
HAVE to sit and worry. In each of us is
an unruly child. Telling him to do
something, makes him want to stop.
Write about
what happens when you do this.
7. What does the word Miracle mean to you?
8. Make a list of miracles you’ve seen or heard
about or experienced.
9. Have you ever asked for a miracle? Make a
list of the miracles you wanted, maybe asked for, but didn’t get.
Were you or are you still angry about not
receiving them?
If you could
ask for and receive a miracle right now, what would it be?
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