The Happy and Prosperous Blog

A few days ago I published a post about paying attention to what you are thinking about. Today let’s get a bit more specific.

Ask people what they want in life and most people will say ‘I just want to be happy’. That’s fair enough - everyone wants to be happy. The question then is What makes you happy ?

Money

Lots of people would say that having a lot of money would make them happy. If that’s what you believe then tell me, what are you going to spend that money on ? Are you going to buy things ? Which things ? Why and how will they make you happy ? These are important questions if we want to go a bit deeper into happiness. Incidentally, most lottery winners are not happy !

Perhaps, rather than buying things, you would buy experiences (holidays, courses etc). Which experiences ? Why and how will they make you happy ?

Maybe you would like to have money to give away to charity or to family and friends. It what way will that make you happy ?

I’m not trying to suggest that any of this is wrong or misguided. I’d just like you to be clear about what you would do with money and why doing that would make you happy.

Other Sources of Happiness

Maybe it’s not money, or not just money, that would make you happy. What else would make you happy ? Are there things you want for your children ? Maybe you want a partner, maybe you want to run your own business.

Your Challenge

My challenge for you today is to think about all this and to write down 5 things, 5 clear and specific things, that would make you happy. For each one, say why it would have that effect on you.

If you can be clear, specific and definite about this then you have a much greater chance of making it happen. Vague ideas lead to vague outcomes. Clear ideas can lead to definite outcomes. That’s the Law of Attraction again !

Let me know how you get on. Thanks for reading.

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The answer to the question ‘Who Are You ?’ depends on what level you take the question. Let’s look at several levels.

• A collection of organ systems that work together
• Each organ system consists of cells
• Each cell is made up of sub-cellular structures
• All these sub-cellular structures are made up of molecules
• Molecules are made up of atoms
• Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons
• Each of these is made up of…….. energy

Yes, digging down through the levels we find that we are all made of energy. Yes, we have physical form AND that is made up entirely of energy. Everything is made up of energy - rocks, water, diamonds, you name it.

Now with us humans, the cells in our bodies are constantly being replaced. Here’s an interesting quote:

Think of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really there. After all, you really were there at the time, weren’t you? How else would you remember it?

But here is the bombshell: you weren’t there. Not a single atom that is your body today was there when that event took place….Matter flows from place to place and momentarily comes together to be you. Whatever you are, therefore, you are not the stuff of which you are made. If that doesn’t make the hair stand at the back of you neck, read it again until it does, because it is important.

This was said by a scientist called Steve Grand. It’s an incredible thought - the cells in our bodies are replaced but our memories remain. So we are made up of energy and we have consciousness. It’s that consciousness that makes us human.

Using this consciousness we can influence the energy from which we are made. That energy is not isolated within us - it connects up with energy outside of us, which connects to other people and things.

This is the mechanism behind the Law of Attraction. We control our thoughts (see yesterday’s post) and we focus on what we want. That influences the energy field around us and those things we desire can become part of our lives if we go about that in the right way. This is the Law of Attraction - what you think about becomes reality. Thoughts become things.

The Law of Attraction applies to everybody all the time - you can’t avoid it. Once you accept this you can have much more control over what happens in your life.

Yes, pay attention ! Attention, not so much as to what is going on around you, but more to what is going on inside you. Your thoughts are a powerful force in creating your life and your experience of that life. It therefore makes sense to be mindful of our thoughts. This is about cultivating a habit rather than making a big change in one step.

Clutter

If you’re anything like me then you will know what it is like to have seemingly random thoughts cluttering up your brain. Some of these thoughts can be critical about ourselves (and others) and it is really important not to dwell on these but just to let them pass by.

Thoughts and emotions affect the physiology of the body. Take, for example a situation where you’re embarrassed. This emotional state can cause you to blush. Thinking about a time in the past when you were angry, can bring about changes in your body such as an increased heart rate and sweating. So, controlling our thinking affects our body too.

What Do You Want ?

It is far better if you can focus your thoughts in more positive areas. If you know what you want in life then think about that. If these things are what you genuinely want then thinking about them will bring you pleasure. As I mentioned in a previous post, being clear and definite about what you want is also more likely to make it happen.

Being grateful for what you have and congratulating yourself for things you do well are also helpful in creating a calm, productive state of mind, which in turn will have a positive influence on your health.

Action

Try this for a week. First thing in the morning, write down 4 different things that you are grateful for and 2 things you did well yesterday. I hope this will reduce your internal critic and it will lead to you having a better week all round. Let me know how it goes.

Thanks for reading.