“Hello, happiness! Will you be my friend?” This is a common quest made by people for the most sought after emotion in our lives. Happiness in the everyday lives of people has become a “search” rather than a “feeling.” A search for happiness in material things, in wealth and in relationships.
Before understanding happiness, let us recognise factors leading one to be happy. Happiness is a feeling which is aroused within our body when one encounters certain situations or events. These feelings are produced by certain chemicals in our body, chemicals known as (DOSE): Dopamine Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins. These chemicals rush into one’s body and arouse a feeling of happiness. When and why are these chemicals released? The release of these chemicals may be induced by external reasons or because of one’s internal state of being, there are multiple reasons why one becomes happy. May be because of a new car or a new home or when one achieves promotions and high results in exams when a person gets his things done or maybe because of some award or accomplishments, and so on. All this happiness that we derive from outside is known as pleasure. Pleasure and happiness are always considered same. Both seem to be similar but the sources they come from are diverse. Pleasure is achieved from outside and happiness is derived from within. Both external outcome and internal state of being can evoke happiness. The former gives pleasure and the latter gives genuine happiness.
It is the interaction of our inner thoughts and feelings with the outer situations which creates true happiness and not those external things which brings temporary pleasure. Happiness is an inner state of being.
I learnt from Science of Silence Yoga, the real secret to being happy. A person is in pure happiness when he is happy for no reason. True happiness is felt when it is linked to ‘no reason’. This arises from being content and fulfilled from within. The main aspect here is how can one achieve the state of happiness without depending on any sources. Is money essential? Is the job crucial? Is the family important?
Life is about enjoying every moment you live. Life is about exploring this wondrous world. Life is about enjoying creating beautiful things. Life is about enjoying the gift of this birth on mother earth. Life is about being happy for no reason.
Love your life the way it is. A person who lives with this understanding feels fulfilled within and remains in a permanent state of happiness. Then how does one achieve happiness, the simplest answer is through meditation and self-love.
Meditation
Meditation brings a ray of light and changes our perspective towards the situation. Life is all about how you look at it. Problems exist in your life, if you view them as problems. These are actually opportunities coming your way to give you a chance to learn and grow. The mental spectacles we wear defines the colour we see. So if we change and we wear transparent spectacle we will definitely see a clear and transparent world. Dr Wayne Dyer once said, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
Self-love:
Love yourself the way you are. The way to do this is, on waking up spend the first one hour every morning for yourself, with yourself. This is the time for your introspection. Start by allocating 15 minutes for meditation and another 15 for planning what you wish to implement, next 10 to hear an inspirational talk or read a motivational article. Spend another 10 minutes to write and read aloud your visions and spend the last 10 minutes as gratitude time. This one hour every morning will help you to remain at high vibrational energy levels throughout your day. By giving love to yourself and starting your day on a happy note, your entire day becomes joyful. Happiness is not a place you search for. It is a space you are in. Look within yourself and say “Hello, happiness! You are my best friend!”
The writer is a life and business coach
