Search the Community

Good morning everyone The best thing about this last weeks practice was being told I could choose to either sit or lie down at the beginning of the meditation I chose to lie down and did not fall asleep progress.. Im fairly comfortable with physical unpleasantness as I know my body is telling me something and it’s often the only invitation I take to slow down as I am usually super active and feel like I’m not doing enough when I’m not. I’m lucky to think of housework as good exercise and take that attitude into most movement, but when I have real pain, I give my self permission to stop. Saying that, the mind is tricky and can tell me, ‘You didn’t get enough sleep last night, you could do nothing today’, when doing nothing is not necessary. I try to find a good balance to honour my energy. The meditation on emotional pain was timely though. I’ve moved home to be closer to my 94 year old grandmother who lives alone and has done for 36 years so while she needs a hand with some things, she doesn’t really want me around full time and there’s a sense of not being needed or useful. I notice after I finish my breakfast in the sun which I enjoy so much, I immediately think, ‘Right, I should get up and do something’ and then I wonder why sitting enjoying the sun is not something? Having a sense of purpose and what the purpose needs to be is something I’m looking at at the moment. Coinciding with this week’s meditation was a visit from my aunt who comes to stay with my grandmother for a few days every few months and who tells me that she is the only one who can live with and care for my grandmother and I don’t need to think that I need to be here. Her words and actions have been a real challenge for me throughout my life and I’m really working on trying to understand what experiences have shaped her and made her the person she is today. As I write this I’m aware of tears forming behind my eyes, of a sense of tightness in my chest and I’m taking long, deep breaths. As I pause and look out the window at the gum trees and the backdrop of the vast blue sky I also know that I can choose to focus on something else and come back to working on compassion when I’m not feeling the emotions so strongly in my body. That said I will get of the internet and go outside into the garden. and the journey continues .......

@jolaine what you wrote brought up an old story that I think of often: In a group sitting with a zen monk many years ago, another participant asked how to get his friend to grow. He can see so many patterns where his friend has potential where he could overcome self-made obstacles and move forward. Sometimes he just wants to shake him. The monk answered: "All you can do is work on yourself and your ability to hold space for others to grow. When and how they grow is up to them alone. All you can do is work on yourself and hold space for the ones around you." This story is soothing, but I also sometimes feel the loneliness you referred to, and it's in the story as well. I guess that's why a shanga of some sort - even online here on happiness.com - is so essential for us - to recharge, connect, exchange, open up about our struggles and learn.

Hello! Have you ever heard of the emotion code? I would look into it! It’s all about the meridians in our body and self healing. It’s one of the most powerful healing techniques I’ve found yet. If your interested, look up Bradley Nelson’s video on The emotion code or message me for more info. Have a wonderful day!

I just read an article about gratitude and the benefits of having a gratitude practice, and it really resonated with me! I recently also saw a video that reminded me of how our thoughts control so much of how we're feeling, both physically and mentally, and I think a gratitude practice plays a big part in that. It's easy to wake up and think 'Ugh, am I getting ill? Am I actually really tired still? Will this day suck?" and that will then influence your day and your state of mind negatively. It is so easy for us to focus on the negative, and allowing problems to take over our whole mind making everything feel terrible. But, making a habit of writing down, saying out loud, our just thinking to your self, 3 things that you are grateful for can really help with that mindset. 'Count your blessings' might sound super cheesy, but it can actually be a great place to start your gratitude practice. Do you have a gratitude practice? In what way has it been helpful to you?

Merry Meet! My name is Jennifer I live currently in the mountains of West Virginia. I'm a single mother of an adult disabled daughter at home, as well as and 2 other "adult" children...trying to find my roots by the sea where we belong. I'm an Eclectic Witch that has been self aware since birth and have come from a family bloodline that was unspoken. I'm a Healer, Empath, and gifted as well as a medium ( I speak to the dead and they also use me as a vessel) I used to help solve murder crimes and find missing and deceased loved ones for families filled with uncertainty and grief. I can no longer do that since my health is not the greatest. I'm a type 2 diabetic which they can not seem to get under control, I have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and Epstein Barr Virus at times. ( Came from Mono when I was a child ) Sometimes you get the curse of it staying in your blood...yep that would be me. I can also communicate with Animals, trees and such. and believe everything has a spirit and energy. I have 3 dogs and 3 cats that give unconditional love. Looking for friends of like mind and maybe the universe will unite me one day with my twin flame. Many Blessings, Jennifer

Painful but enjoyable..... thank you for the midway self assessments. and it looks like the iPad changed stress to Stephens somehow in my post...... thanks for being there.

Midway Self-Assessment [PDF] So you climbed a mountain this week, huh? Lol!! It does sound kinda painful ?

The Artist's Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1509829474/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IdMpEbEM4Q1VK Hello Captian, Thank you for your message, I love yoga too, it is a great way to start the day, also takes away aches and pain ? I just bought the above book, will let you know how it is, it might help you too ? Hope you will create again ?????

Hi Calvin, Thank you for the suggestion, I have researched it on google and then amazon, and I stumbled upon a similar book called the Artist's Way Discovering and recovering your creating self...a 12 weak program ? I ordered it, the book will be with me on Monday. Thank you for your help, have a lovely weekend ? x?

Hello Everyone, This is the original poster. I had deleted my earlier account as I felt I needed to take a break from online activities and focus more on inner activities. However, my inner self sent me a sign that indicates it is not possible to delink ourselves from the outside world as long we have not taken Samadhi. And I am still having lot many years of activism to go down that road. So I am here again, thanks to the pursuation of Tine and will try to contribute as much as I can Love and Peace

Welcome to happiness Amanda ✨ We're glad you found your way back to the site and look forward to hearing your thoughts about self awareness ?

I am glad it works for you. Do what works. I practice yoga and reiki as well as my own self designed affirmations. All of these I see as spiritual or energy related but not religious and not incompatible. I am a Unitarian Universalist by religious persuasion which is a multi path sort of religion which has some parallels to Hindu, Baha’i or maybe something along those lines. I would not be able to participate because your rules prohibit other practices. Because of past experience with other spiritual practices or religions that exclude other ways or traditions, I respectfully have some reservations. I looked for a diversity friendly way of being that allowed for my transgender identity. I have to say I went through my fair share of fundamentalism as well as agnostic and pagan before I found a way that allowed for me to be myself without an unpleasant conflict of the hegemony of their world view vs. my own. It’s a powerful thing to break the hegemony.

I have already written about the theory in another post. But as I was explaining to a learner today, the first part which is living a neutral life is the difficult part. Second most difficult is silencing the mind and starting to communicate with our soul and last one is the energy meditation which is maximum 10 minutes but delivers enough energy to last a week. Regarding details I doubt I can explain it by text. Creates about 40 minutes of video (available on udemy) and also published a 50 page book (published on amazon) using which one can try to self learn. I also have a 1 to 1 personal guided 7 day course both online and offline. Not sure I am allowed to share it here all

Yes I started living a simple or I would call it a Neutral life some 8 years ago. I started by first getting rid of my addictions. Being a geek that I am, I had this urge always to get the latest gadget out there. And I let go off this addiction in 2012. Now, if I buy a gadget it is more for utilitarian application then for peer pressure. The other addition that I had was eating and I simply could not resist what I LOVED. Be it creamy pastries or street food. I decided that I need to eat to live and not live to eat and certainly not waste food. I had long given up meat and fish and plants are also alive so I started eating on as much as I need to live and be healthy and never waste food. The third thing that I loved was fast cars and at one time I had 2 and if I had continued down this path would have had many more. But as I awakened and decided to follow a neutral life, Uber came along and many other share riding services so getting a car that will only add to the environmental mess was not something part of neutral lifestyle. I sold both my cars and started walking as much as I can and taking to public transportation for longer distances and if I need to go somewhere in a huff hike on a bike. The final thing that made my life simpler was stop thinking just about myself and think about the rest of the people around me. Do I need to have all these things when others are barely able to survive. My soul which had already woke up and buzzing me all day with directions on a neutral lifestyle made sure I gave more to others then take from them. That made my life so much simpler. No expectations. No attachments. Not so many desires. Yes some do remain such as using the computer, using a cellphone and my love for travel. But living a simple neutral life does not mean giving away everything. It is about living with loving your own self and others including nature and all that is part of it.

Welcome to happiness ✨ I hope you find the site helpful on your journey to personal growth and self love, we're glad you found us! ?

I’m excited about reading your posts and exploring what’s on offer, particularly in regards to personal growth and self love. Definitely been lacking in the latter over the last year and I’m carrying some negative feelings about events that have happened. Looking forward to better times ahead and feeling more contentment.

Hi I’d like to say self love is the first step to growth once you start to love yourself so many beautiful and amazing things start to happen for you. When you are at your best you can do your best. Love and light to you ?

Thanks for asking Candy. To understand soul communication require one to first accept the existence of the soul. One may accept the soul as a spiritual entity or as I do as a quantum particle as I am more logical and rational in my thoughts. Once one accepts the existence of the soul, one has to connect with the soul. According to me the soul exists as a quantum particle in the quantum universe. And though the soul creates a unique individual conscious existence in the form of a human or living entity, it is not singular but rather unitary or one for all and thus we are all connected in the quantum universe. This is basic theory that I understand. Now the physical body is a creation of the soul to experience consciousness and thus forms an electromagnetic spectrum around the body which is connects the mind to the soul. While the body exists in the physical dimension, the soul exists in the quantum dimension connected by the EM of the physical dimension. The consciousness of the soul is not the same as the subconsciousness of the mind. The mind exists because of the brain and the physical body. The mind stops when the body stops or ceases to exist. Yet our body our thoughts and actions are dependent on the mind and this becomes a prison for the consciousness of the soul which is unable to express itself to the mind. The mind being forever trapped in the learning of the body and the brain. The mind stops listening to the murmurs of the conscious soul as we grow older. A baby or a child has a better connection between the two than grown ups. Unless ofcourse we learn to silence our mind and allow it connect to the conscious soul and its vibrations. Which is like intuition or inner voice as we say commonly. The more one learns to silence our mind the more connected we get to our soul and thus we lead on a path of spiritual awakening as the soul always speaks the truth and offers unlimited knowledge and power. But the soul can only connect with the subconscious mind of the physical body it has created as it is not reached the spiritual levels or state of vibration that can allow it to communicate with other souls. Intense focused meditation such as the one I practice enable the soul to receive energy from the supreme energy source (which some of us call as God) raising the souls vibration to higher level and thus enable it to communicate with the souls of other physical entities. And what is in one persons mind can be transmitted to another person through soul communication transparently something like telepathy (which is a wrong term as it involves mind to mind communication) I simply call it soul communication. When one soul communicates to another soul what the mind senses to the other, there is no manipulation as the subconscious mind does and no negative thoughts or energy pass through unless one is practicing something that is focused on negative energies. So I practice neutral energy meditation which cannot attract or generate negativity to self or others and thus all soul communication is neutral or positive in state. So summarizing, the following steps are to be learned and practiced for engaging in soul to soul communication. 1. Living a neutral lifestyle 2. Silencing the mind 3. Practicing focused meditation (focusing on the person you want to communicate) 4. Attracting energy for the soul from the supreme source and raising its vibrations for communicating your state of mind to the person you are focusing on. All of this requires dedication and selfless practice that take months if not years to achieve. But someone who has been practicing for years such as myself, I am able to offer to be a medium for others to engage in soul communication with the ones they seek. I first tried this method with my wife with whom my relationship was breaking down to the point of no return. Since then, we have stopped arguing and communicating more at the soul level thus keeping the balance in our thoughts towards one another. More recently, I tried soul communication with a third unconnected person I never met or spoke with for a person who asked for my assistance in offering to connect her soul with the third person. ?

I can only speak for my self. But in the relationship i am, we have a "rule" that if something bothering the other person we sit Down, and speak about it before it become a problem. Honesty and kindness toward each other is important to us. In the 4 years we have been together we have had two more serioues arguments and a little of raising voices. But other then that we speak to each others in a normal voice. And personally i had to do many adjustments in the way i lived when i first got in to the relationship With her. I had my own way of thinking because i had been single all my life until 4 years ago. so i was used to do Things my way. and it did not alwys go along With how my girlfriend wanted it, or even accepted my routines. (i am a lot more spiritual then she is) So in my experience it is important to adjust to each others for the happiness to last

Many of the problems we experience in life comes from Our own past and until we learn to see that it was Our own action, Words or thought in the past that created this situation, there are bound to be times we feel we experience the same suffering over and over again. In my experience, the only way to stop suffering is to understand Our own past and let it go and With letting it go it means to not be Attached to those Things we did or experienced in the past. But to Accept that they was the way it was. and from now (present moment) we stop doing the same old wrongdoings that lead to suffering. When we stop clinging to emotions, greed, anger, frustration, like/dislike, happiness, sadness. we will see that we create Our own life by how we react to past and present situation, People, Words, and so on. As long we can live a truthfu life, have compassion toward all living beings(also in other Dimension) and be benevolent, this is the buildingblocks in the universe. so when we follow this, the universe will see that we have become pure and good People. But if we keep doing the same wrong action Words and thoughts, then we will not experience advancment in the spiritual life. we will be stuck in same situations. All is Down to Our self to get out of the suffering we feeling

Hi, and welcome to the forum I am my self a New member too, and i must say i enjoy it so far here Hope you will be as happy as a member here as I am right now. Friendly from Amanaki

Awakening spiritually has been a part of my spiritual Journey for as long as i can remember Not that i would Call my self an enlighten being or awaken one. But the idea of awakening to the truth of Our existance and what it actually mean that is something that i been pondering about many times. So far i would say, i do not have the full answer to even my own awakening, but i have an idea what is needed to actually achieve it. But as soon as the thought has arising in the mind, Enlightenment fall apart It is not what i been thinking it is. What is Your experience about the topic of awakening or enlightenment? Is it a part of Your spiritual Journey?

It is true that we must experience the dark side of life too, and work Our self out of it in the spiritual path. Spiritual awakening can not be explained in Words, but can only be experienced of each one of us So even we have different understanding of what enlightenment is, it can be said to be the end result of Our cultivation of mind and body. So instead of it is something we "find" it is what we experience. And as you say, it is not everyone who will get the experience called enlightenment. actually only a few will experience it in this time of Our human existance.

Very welcome Yes meditation is the "tool" or technique to calm the mind from daily thought pattern that is often very messy form of thoughts. Meditation in my experience make it possible to tap in to Our inner self in a way we normally can not do (non practitioner of meditation). When the mind become silent we "see" or understand more clearly Our problems and also it make it more easy for us to see the solution to how we should solve daily problems we experience. "note" daily problems does not stop occuring for meditators but the problems seems smaller because we are able to see the solution earlier and we have a feeling of more time to fix it before it get out of hand. In the spiritual sense, meditation let us tap into the spiritual realms where we normally do not Access. meaning for those who believe in a God or other deities will by meditation have a more easy way to understand the "unseen" aspect of life, or should i say, we see the spiritual realm and can interact With them. (them as in spiritual beings) When it comes to the moral side of Our life, again meditation let us see what is "right action" and what is "wrong action" and lead us more toward the right effort, right speach and right thoughts. So in my experience Meditation is the tool to open Our mind to become a person With higher moral, ethics and it lead us to speak truth,, not wanting to harm others, and meditation also help us let og of attachments we clinging to in life.

Living in the moment where past and future no longer affect us can be a very difficult task to master. But With a lot of meditation and reflection inward it is fully possible to become someone, who live only in the present moment. Nothing within spiritual Growth comes of it own It is a 24/7 cultivation of Our mind and body. In my past i spend more then 20 years practicing Theravada Buddhism, and my Focus was at living in the moment. It was not difficult when living alone, but when suddenly there become a Family, where they wanted my attention a lot, then it become very hard to only stay in the moment. What helped me was to let og of as many attachments to life as i could. And now when i have converted to Falun Gong, to let og of my attachments are still something i working on every day. I can say that to not think of past or preparing for futre events are more or less impossible if we do not embrace spiritual living 100%. But in my understanding what it means to only live in the moment is to Accept the past as it is. an Accept whatever we experience in the future as it is Our Destiny to experience it anyway. All we do in life is to learn about Our self and to fix Our own poblems