Spiritual Practices for Happiness
By
Jackie Wells Smith
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
Wells-Smith Partners on Smashwords
Spiritual Practices for Happiness
Copyright 2011 Wells Smith Partners
Smashwords Edition License Notes
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Spiritual Practices for Happiness
Spiritual practices are habits or rituals that are performed on a regular basis to strengthen your faith, and deepen the connection you feel to God and other people. Our brains are designed to seek a spiritual connection according to Andrew Newberg, M.D, Director of the Center of Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania. Whether that is a faith in God or the belief that we are part of something more, we are happier when we attend to our spiritual needs.
The study of spiritual practices and their affect on happiness has been the focus of some of the top research universities in the country. These practices include prayer, meditation, mindfulness and the inner work techniques used by Eastern religions. The results of these studies by behavioral scientists and neuroscientists show that spiritual practices have a profound effect on happiness with an impressive list of benefits that includes:
- More emotional stability
- A greater sense of calmness
- An increase in the natural brain chemistry that supports happiness and well-being
- A more alert mind with better cognitive function
- Resistance to mental and physical aging processes
- Natural healing of emotional illness
- A stronger feeling of contentedness and well-being
What's most encouraging is that spiritual practices have a permanent effect on the brain. Unlike medications or traditional therapy, spiritual practices actually alter the brain for healthier, happier functioning. While many studies estimate that more than 90% of people in the western hemisphere believe in God (about 88% worldwide according to an Oxford University study), you can still benefit from spiritual practices even if you don't believe in a higher power. Many atheists meditate and use mindfulness techniques (the practice of staying in the present moment).
In the last two decades, spiritual practices have become part of therapeutic protocols for mild to moderate depression, eating disorders, weight loss, obsessive-compulsive disorders, trauma recovery, PTSD, anxiety disorders and panic attacks. Not only are they effective, they are more effective than drugs or traditional therapy at causing lasting change and healing.
Other studies have shown that people who have a strong faith are more content with their life. They worry less and are more resilient when facing life's challenges.
Unlike medications, spiritual practices are 100% safe and have no side effects. They also have an immediate effect on feelings of calmness and wellbeing. The more you practice, the stronger these feelings grow. In this booklet, we've included ten simple practices that will have an immediate impact on your happiness. They all take just a few moments and can easily be blended into your day.
Spiritual practices make your faith more real with practical applications in your daily life. They use the power of your soul in every part of your life healing and strengthening you. Your faith deepens as well because God is in the details of your daily routine.
We refer to a higher power as “God” in this booklet. You can substitute whatever name you use for your particular faith. If you don't have a belief in a higher power, try using “All” for the quantum field that connects everything and everyone. You might also try “Nature” and visualize the Earth.
Practice #1: Quiet Reflection for Insomnia
Quiet reflection for a few minutes every day is a habit of the happiest people. This allows time for your mind to stop and process the events of your day and your reactions to those events. Just ten minutes a day of quiet reflection can help rid yourself of racing thoughts, worries and the feeling that you have too much to do.
Ten minutes of quiet reflection about an hour before your bedtime can help you sleep. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder and more than 20 million adults in the U.S. suffer from it. One very effective way to manage insomnia is to use quiet reflection to prepare for sleep.
At the end of your day, unresolved thoughts and emotions are still racing around in your mind. Quiet reflection will allow your mind to sort through these thoughts and release any emotional energy attached to them. You have three kinds of thought patterns that interfere with your sleep:
- Worries
- Upsets
- Things you need to do
Allow yourself a few minutes to release these thoughts and emotions and your mind will not keep you awake or wake you up at 3 a.m.
Here's How It Works
Sit in a comfortable chair with no television, phone or other distractions. Begin by taking three slow deep breaths. Your inhale should be twice as long as your exhale. Allow whatever thoughts and worries you have to enter your mind. As they enter, respond to them in this way:
Worries - “I am worried about this, but there is nothing I can do about it tonight.”
Upset - “I am upset about this but I will let it go until tomorrow.”
To-do's - “I have this to do, but it will keep until tomorrow.”
Many people believe that to resolve these thoughts you have to solve the problem or “fix” the upset. The opposite is true. Thinking more about it will interfere with your sleep and the problem-solving capabilities of your mind. While doing quiet reflection, you don't want to analyze your problems or review the upsetting things that happened. You just want to acknowledge they are there and then let them go until tomorrow.
During sleep, your mind processes the events of the day and stores the memories. It makes associations with other similar experiences. Dreaming is part of this sorting process. Getting good sleep enhances your ability to solve problems. You are more likely to wake up in the morning after a good night's sleep with a new idea for what to do, than you are when you worry about trying to figure it all out.
As you reflect on the day's events, don't get stuck on what people should or should not have done. Don't focus on who was right or wrong. Simply acknowledge that you are upset and let the upset go.
Any “to-do's” that can be scheduled for tomorrow let them go. If there are some things that must be done before you go to bed like a load of laundry or packing lunches for the kids, then get it done after your reflection time.
As you review your thoughts, worries, upsets and to-dos, take a deep breath and exhale as you acknowledge them. Release each one by taking a deep breath and letting it go with the exhale. If you find yourself worrying or ruminating over the days events, come back to this exercise and just release the thought.
This practice was inspired by yoga nidra. Not all yoga involves the pretzel-like positions normally associated with it. Yoga nidra is a practice that was used to prepare the mind for an extended period of meditation. It's a purification practice to get all of the realities of life out of the way so you can focus on meditation. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Spirituality and the Mind have found that it is also an effective treatment for insomnia. With regular practice, it can significantly improve even the most severe cases.
“There are three methods to gaining wisdom. The first is reflection, which is the highest. The second is limitation, which is the easiest. The third is experience, which is the bitterest.”
- Confucius
Practice #2: Expressing Gratitude
The practice of gratitude is part of every major religion in the world. It's no accident that the happiest people are also the most grateful. The way our brains work, it's impossible to feel grateful and angry or depressed at the same time. You can immediately relieve your depression and any other painful emotions by simply shifting your thoughts to gratitude.
Here's How It Works
Begin your day with gratitude. As soon as you wake up, get into the habit of thinking of one to three things for which you are truly grateful. It can be something big like being grateful for a good job or a loving relationship. It can also be something small like being grateful for the automatic coffee maker that just finished the pot of fresh coffee waiting for you in the kitchen. Starting your day with gratitude establishes a mindset for happiness. You prepare to face your day by looking for what is good in your world and not what has you worried or upset.
As you go through your day, thank everyone who is kind or thoughtful to you. Look for opportunities to be thankful and you will see many more than you ever expected were there. Say thank you to cashiers at the grocery for the extra care in bagging your eggs. Say thank you to the bank teller who processed your deposit efficiently or the person who holds the door for you.
Gratitude is an effective anger management strategy. If you are upset by the actions of someone at work, stop and think of three things for which you can be grateful. If you really want to experience the power of this practice, find a reason to be grateful for people who have hurt or offended you - like the neighbor who always lets his dog in your yard to chase your cat. Take minute to be grateful that his dog is slower than your cat before you confront him and you'll be calmer and more effective at getting what you want.
Gratitude is a stress reliever and lowers your blood pressure, heart rate and other physical stress responses. Whenever you feel stressed, you can interrupt the reactions of your body by changing your thoughts to gratitude.
End your day by thinking of three things that happened that day for which you are grateful. Even on a really miserable day you can be grateful for sunshine or much needed rain.
Keeping a gratitude journal intensifies feelings of gratitude. Choose one to three things from your week and write about them. Daily practices can become routine, and a journal connects you to the emotional satisfaction of gratitude as you write about your experiences.
If you start looking for reasons to be grateful, within 30 days, you will find your life has completely shifted - for the better.
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
- John F. Kennedy
Practice #3: Meditation for Stress Management
Meditation has been around for thousands of years. In recent decades, it has been studied extensively and the benefits of establishing this practice as routine in your life are astounding. The physical benefits include lower blood pressure and a stronger immune system. One study indicated that regular meditation practices might add as much as 15 years to your life span!
The psychological benefits are equally impressive including relief from depression, anxiety and increased emotional stability. Meditating for just ten minutes a day dramatically lowers the effects of stress on the body, but it also releases the natural brain chemistry associated with happiness. This includes dopamine, a natural anti-depressant, oxytocin, the hormone that allows you to feel pleasure, and serotonin, associated with self-esteem. What this all means is that meditation creates the conditions in your brain so you can experience happiness more completely.
There is no drug or therapy protocol currently available that produces so many positive benefits for the reduction of stress, or for increasing your happiness, that meditation offers. Meditation works by clearing the mind of unhealthy mental habits. It allows the parts of the brain that are used during a spiritual experience to become active. One researcher calls these the “God circuits.”
There are many different styles of meditation. Generally, almost all styles reduce the activity of the part of the brain that processes fear and anxiety (the amygdala). It increases activity in the part of the brain associated with social awareness and compassion (the anterior cingulated). Meditation increases neurotransmitters, the chemical that makes your brain connect thoughts to other thoughts, memories and emotions. Regular practice makes you more alert and better able to solve problems. It also increases activity in the central processing area for sensory perception and mood regulation resulting in greater emotional stability (the thalamus).
Those are an impressive list of benefits, yet many people resist the idea of a meditative practice. Meditation is often associated with Eastern religions and less so with Christianity. Meditating to the culture of another religion can feel uncomfortable. (Christianity has a meditative practice know as contemplative prayer.) However, meditation does not require the cultural elements of Hinduism or Buddhism to be effective.
All meditations begin by following your breath. The breath is how energy moves through and out of the body. Meditation is best learned by taking a class or workshop, but that there a simple one you can try to see how it feels.
Here's How It Works
Sit quietly with your eyes closed or focus on a single object. Give yourself about 15 minutes with no interruptions. Turn all of your attention to your breathing. As you inhale, say to yourself, “I am breathing in.” As you exhale, say, “I am breathing out.” Do this for about five minutes as you feel the tension drain out of your body. These simple statements about your breath gives you a point of focus to help keep your mind from wandering, but when you first try this, you will lose concentration several times. Always come back to your breathing.
After five minutes, discontinue the statements and just focus on your breathing without the structure of the statements. Notice how your breath feels moving in and out. If your mind starts to wander, focus your attention back to your breathing as soon as you notice.
Another common reaction to meditation is to fall asleep. As soon as your mind becomes quiet, your body will seize the opportunity to catch some Z's if you are not getting enough rest at night.
A good time to do this practice meditation is after the quiet reflection exercise described on page 7. Quiet reflection is a practice of sorting and releasing the unhealthy thought patterns of worry, upset and to-do's. You acknowledge and then release them. It's a good preparation for a meditation which is more active. Meditation is the practice of learning to discipline and control your thoughts. Meditation helps you manage the unhealthy thought patterns before they cause you to feel stressed.
You might compare meditation to teaching a puppy to walk next to its owner. First you use a leash, but eventually, the dog learns to follow commands without needing the leash. Meditation will help your mind learn to obey your commands without “leashes” like anti-depressants, sleeping pills, television, alcohol or over-eating. You train your thoughts to do as you command instead of chasing after every distraction. Once you have mastered this simple daily practice, you're ready to move on to more powerful meditations under a skilled teacher.
The reason meditation is considered a spiritual practice is that once thoughts are quiet and all of the mental chatter is silent, many people experience a powerful connection to God in the form of a deep, profound happiness known as bliss. Some people have insights to the problems in their life or receive guidance as to the direction of their life. Meditators call this profound silence the “gap” in their thoughts. God is in that gap.
“Prayer is when you talk to God; meditation is when you listen to God.”
- Author Unknown
Practice #4: The Power of Prayer
Prayer has many of the physical and psychological benefits of meditation. It's also been shown to support healing. Many people think of prayer as asking God to fix something they don't like about their life. Short, anxious prayers, or those that plead for something, can make you feel worse and have no beneficial effects to the mind or body. The most effective prayers are long enough to experience the calming that is similar to the results from meditation.
Prayers in group situations support social awareness and feelings of connection. How do you pray to receive maximum benefit for your happiness? In one study of group prayer, researchers found it helped support healing.
Here's How It Works
One of the most effective formulas for how to pray can be found in the Lord's Prayer:
[Gratitude]
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
[Acceptance]
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
[Present Moment Living]
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
[Forgiveness]
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
[Purpose]
but deliver us from evil.
Gratitude We've covered the benefits of gratitude. Beginning your prayers with a simple statement of gratitude relieves feelings of anxiety, sadness or depression and reminds you of what is good in your life.
Acceptance Many anxious prayers are requests to change something we don't like. Acceptance alters your attitude to relieve frustration and anxiety. Acceptance simply acknowledges that there is something (or things) in your life that you would like to change, but you accept your life as it is right now.
Present Moment Living In Eckert Tolle's best selling book, The Power of Now, he talks about how there is no pain in the present moment. We worry about the future and regret the past but when we stay focused on the here and now, there is no suffering. Your prayers are an opportunity to bring your thoughts back to the present and what needs to happen today. Praying for the resources to do what needs to be done is an effective way to refocus your thoughts to the present moment.
Forgiveness When you pray for the people who have hurt you, it softens your heart and lowers the tension you feel. Most of the time, people take the actions they do trying meet their needs. If they hurt you, it's often unintentional. Praying for the ability to forgive someone who has hurt you opens you up to be more compassionate with yourself and others.
Purpose Choosing a direction for your life and what you stand for helps you avoid false starts and mistakes. You are aimed at a goal that you have carefully considered and your actions are directed at this purpose. Praying for the resources to meet this goal helps you stay focused.
This five-step formula for prayer directs your thoughts. Your mind doesn't wander to unhealthy thoughts of worry or rumination. When prayer is directed this way, it has the same benefits as meditation plus the added benefit of focusing the power of your mind to achieve your goals and solve your problems in a constructive way. It can be a powerfully spiritual experience connecting you deeper into your faith.
Practice #5: Feeding Your Mind
The Buddhists believe that your thoughts define your life. Many motivational speakers teach that the key to changing your life is changing your thoughts. Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.”
Research on optimistic and pessimistic thought patterns from the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center shows that your thoughts significantly impact your happiness. As a matter of fact, one of the most effective treatments for depression is to alter the way you think to a more optimistic point of view.
Inspirational reading is a common practice of the happiest people. Filling your mind with positive, uplifting thoughts inspires you to see beyond your fears. It also increases your set point for happiness. Your set point is how receptive your mind is to being happy. This set point is partly the temperament you were born with and partly life experience. The good news is that it's not fixed and can be adjusted for more happiness.
Managing your thoughts is one very important key to adjusting this set point. We've talked about meditation, but another way to do this is a thought diet. Feeding your mind a healthy diet of positive, inspirational thoughts is just as important as feeding your body nutritional food.
Many of the messages you get daily are about what is wrong with the world. Sometimes they are from the media you choose like the television shows you watch. Sometimes, these negative messages take the form of criticism and disappointment from the people in your life. Since your happiness depends on your thoughts, it's an effective practice to protect your thoughts from the toxicity of negative media and critical people.
The most successful people in the world use something known as the mastermind effect. To use this technique, you deliberately seek out people who are more successful than you are. These can be people who are more knowledgeable in an area where you have little experience. It might be someone you admire. What's important is that all of the people surrounding you on a daily basis are positive and directed at a purpose. In a mastermind group all of the members have a common mission and the group supports its members in achieving this goal.
Here's How It Works
Entrepreneurs pay to join mastermind groups that are directed at growing their businesses. In your personal life you can use a similar strategy:
Join a group to support your faith. This can be a church or a group at a spiritual center.
Talk about your dreams to people who support you. Listening to the nay-sayers when you are trying to accomplish something can be very self-defeating, even if they love you and are simply concerned. Listen to the people who support your goals to feed your mind with support to achieve your dreams.
Avoid people who are critical. If you have a person in your life critical of you, limit the amount of time you spend with this person. If it's a family member put up clear boundaries about what you will listen to and what you will not.
Turn off the news. Reading the headlines in the newspaper or online will keep you current. Listening to and watching the news can leave you feeling depressed.
Read for inspiration. Start your day with an inspirational quote. Read sacred texts or books that inspire. Look for the life stories of people who have done the impossible. Fill your mind with as much positive information as you can.
You are as happy as you believe you can be. Fill your mind with the information and inspiration that encourages happiness and you'll feel your thoughts shift from fear to fearless in a matter of weeks.
Practice #6: Just Breathe
Breathwork is a meditative practice that uses breathing techniques to release and move energy through the body. Breathwork is used in the martial arts, yoga and in Buddhist meditative practices. So, why all the attention on breathing?
Emotions are nothing more than energy. Your senses perceive a situation and you have a thought. This thought triggers an emotional response. Emotions move from your mind to your body with an electrical impulse. Your body reacts.
This energy can become “stuck” in the tissues of your body when emotional reactions are suppressed. Emotional energy can affect your body when emotions are over-expressed with angry lashing out or by turning an uncomfortable situation into a catastrophe.
Your breath is a catalyst for releasing emotional energy that accumulates during the day. Regular breathwork practices can help you prevent headaches, backaches, stomachaches and many other common physical stress reactions.
Breathwork is used by martial artists to focus their energy and gain more power behind their attacks. It's used by practitioners of meditation to move emotional energy through the body and to calm an over active mind.
Here's How It Works
There are several different approaches, some more aggressive than others. One very simple and calming style is the counted breath. You breathe in to a steady count of four, pause for a count of four, exhale to the count of four and then pause for a count of four. Breathe deeply filling your abdomen and chest. Continue breathing for several minutes focusing all of your attention on your breath. After a few minutes, return to your normal breathing pattern. After about five minutes you will feel your muscles relax. The increased oxygen in your system will energize you.
If you are feeling an energy low in mid-afternoon or the first thing in the morning, an energizing breath practice will perk you up more than a cup of coffee. Begin by taking three deep breaths into your abdomen and releasing them. Next, take a series of very short and shallow breaths in and out through your nose. Try to match the pace of a panting animal on a hot day, but instead of breathing through your mouth, inhale and exhale through your nose. Do this for about 10 seconds. When you first start using this technique, you will find it hard to do this for longer than a few seconds. As you practice, you'll be able to go for a longer period of time.
Breathwork is a spiritual practice because it moves emotional energy, tension, through and out of the body. There's also a therapeutic form of breathwork that releases painful emotional energy. This technique requires a trained practitioner. More advanced breathwork practices can be learned from a yoga teacher or in a Tai Chi or Qi Gong class.
“I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am. I am.”
- Sylvia Plath
Practice #7: Your Body Is a Sacred Temple
Your body is the place where your soul resides in this life. Treating it with care and respect can result in a stronger spiritual connection. It's very hard to experience your faith on a deeper level in a body that in full of aches, pains and tension.
The human body is the ultimate multi-tasker. Besides taking in oxygen, pumping blood and fighting off infections, your body remains on high alert for potential threats all while you go about your daily routine. For the most part, you probably just take for granted all the many amazing things it does, until something goes wrong and then you become very aware of it. The human body also has incredible powers to heal itself if it's supported with a healthy lifestyle.
We all know that we should eat a healthy diet, drink water and get exercise, but there are spiritual practices for the body to help keep it strong and deepen your connection to God. These are purification practices that give your body a break from all the work it does on your behalf.
Fasting is a practice that cleanses the body by consuming only fluids for a set period of time. During the fast, you spend time in quiet contemplation, meditation or prayer while the fast clears your body and rests your digestive system.
Here's How It Works
Fasts can be total abstinence from food or simply restricting the kinds of foods you eat, such as avoiding sugar or caffeine for several days, but otherwise eating a normal diet. If you have never fasted and decide to go without eating any food, begin with a limited period of time (8 to 12 hours) and avoid strenuous activity while fasting. Whatever fast you decide to do, continue to drink water.
Fasting for a spiritual connection shows you that you have more inner strength than you may have realized. It also gives your digestive track time to clear itself of all contents. Your digestive system stays active all day processing the food you eat and this consumes a lot of the body's energies. Some people feel energized by a fast and from resting their system from this daily task digestion.
In every moment of your life, your body senses many things you are not aware of and it responds to these environmental triggers. Think about how often you pay attention to the chair you sit on or the room you're in. You only notice these things if there is a problem. At the end of the day, you may feel the accumulated tension of these perceptions. One simple practice you can do to relieve this tension is a body scan.
Here's How It Works
You can sit comfortably in a chair but the body scan works best lying down. Take three deep, slow breaths into your abdomen. Watch your belly rise and fall with each breath, then continue to take slow deep breaths. Close your eyes and focus all of your attention on your feet. Sense any tension or heat. Then curl your toes and tighten the muscles for a count of five and release.
Focus your attention on your legs, notice any tension, tighten for a count of five and relax the muscles. Follow the rest of the muscle groups in your body focusing on your hips and buttocks, your abdomen, your chest, your shoulders and neck, and finally your face. When you have worked through all of the muscle groups individually, tense your entire body for a count of five and release. Remember to take a deep breath in between muscle groups and end the meditation with three more deep breaths.
The body scan will make you aware of the areas of your body where you are storing emotional energy or tension. Those areas will feel tight or maybe a little hot. Often when you focus on the body, it will tell you the parts of your life that are out of balance. Emotions may surface during this practice letting you know that this tension you feel has a cause. If you can identify the source, you can take action to improve your situation.
It's also a common reaction to fall asleep once you have relaxed all of your muscle groups. Once you release the tension in your body, sleep naturally happens.
It's easy to get off track with your life because there are so many choices and pressures. Learning to read the tension in your body will give you clues as to the source of your stress, anxiety and fears. Your body will let you know when you are making a decision that isn't in your best interests. The body scan increases your awareness of these subtle clues and helps you make choices that are more in line with your true nature - your spiritual self.
“There is deep wisdom within our very flesh, if we can only come to our senses and feel it.”
- Elizabeth A. Behnke
Practice #8: The Act of Creation
Creative expression is another way to experience a deeper spiritual connection but it is one that is often overlooked. Being creative engages all areas of your mind and emotions, and absorbs your attention completely in the moment.
Spiritual creativity can be something simple such as flower arranging, writing poetry or painting while focusing on your feelings for God. It can be more involved like taking on a special project for the purpose of doing something good in the world. The creative act does not have to be a direct expression of your faith it can be something that expresses love for the people in your life. Your skill level doesn't really matter. The point is to use all of your abilities and thoughts directed at making something that expresses how you feel and think.
Here's How It Works
If you don't consider yourself a creative person, one simple exercise that can get your creative juices flowing is writing letters to God. You can start with letter of gratitude expressing how you feel about the positive things in your life. Letters of acceptance and forgiveness can be very healing as well as deepen your connection to God.
Write from your heart by talking about how you feel. Don't place any restrictions on what you write or make any judgments about how you “should” feel or think. This is just between you and God. You don't have to worry about being seen or heard. Just express how you feel.
These letters can be a few paragraphs, or they can be very detailed. After you practice releasing your thoughts into letters, you might try something more challenging like painting, pottery, dance, learning an instrument, writing short stories or poems, sculpting or woodworking. It should be something that you feel very excited about trying. Don't worry about being good at it. Just enjoy expressing how you feel.
Spending time getting creative with God is an empowering experience that comes from deep inside of you. The more you practice this, the more creativity you bring up in all parts of your life.
“Happiness... it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”
- Vincent Van Gogh
Practice #9: Make a Joyful Noise
Have you ever thought about why churches spend so much of their budgets on a music program? We've all had the experience of listening to music and feeling inspired. Music is the universal language and no matter who you are or where you come from, it lifts your spirits and touches your heart.
Music affects every part of your brain, stimulating your mind and integrating your thoughts and emotions. Stroke victims, who have lost their ability to recall language, may still be able to remember songs and sometimes even sing, though they no longer could talk.
Music is something that uses your whole mind in a way that no other activity does. This can be used to affect your moods and deepen your connection to God. It doesn't have to be hymns or religious songs. It can be love songs, songs of social conscience, songs that inspire or motivate, or any song that has a personal meaning for you. Listen for 30 minutes a day to uplifting music. You get more benefit by singing along and the most if you play an instrument proficiently.
In one study of musicians who received brain scans while playing their instrument, at some point in the song their brain activity shifted to being similar to a very young child - balanced open and receptive in all parts of their mind. The true benefit of music is that it shifts you out of your worries, stress and even anger into a more peaceful mindset.
Here's How It Works
Maybe you've heard the expression that music soothes the savage beast. Music can be used to manage mild depression, anger, sadness or just a case of the blues.
Start by listening to something that fits your mood. Gradually over a half an hour, increase the emotional tone to happier, more inspiring songs. Some people put together collections of songs to use for shifting their moods. Others make collections for gratitude and appreciation. Use these collections daily and over the course of 30 days, you'll start to notice a brighter and calmer outlook on life.
Music is something that affects your moods, but it also inspires. It can help you heal when you are sick and certain types of classical music can help you concentrate when you have a difficult task to do. Make a joyful noise every day and feel happier.
“I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality.”
- H.A. Overstreet
Practice #10: Give Yourself Away
In every major religion in the world, caring for the poor and helpless is an important expression of faith. We usually think of this as a social responsibility, but in fact, giving is one of the most direct paths to happiness and a deeper connection to God.
In studies of job satisfaction, the people who were the most content in their work were the ones who served others in some way like firefighters, special needs teachers and ministers. The act of caring for those in need is considered by many to be a calling, but as it turns out, it's also a way to be one of the happier people.
Here's How It Works
Giving money is a way to feel good about your life and commitment to others. There are places in the world where $25 can raise an entire family out of poverty by giving them a means to earn a living. You can change the educational future of a child by donating children's books to programs that give away books to preschoolers living in poverty who have never owned a book.
However good it feels to give donations, giving time will make you feel happier with your life and the positive feelings last much longer than other sources of good feelings. Giving time has some powerful long-term benefits to your happiness. If you really want to feel happier, have stronger self-esteem and feel the positive emotional boost for days and weeks afterwards, volunteer for a few hours every month.
If volunteer work isn't possible with your schedule, look for opportunities to give small acts of kindness. Start with your family with simple things like doing an extra chore on a heavy homework night. Offer a shoulder rub to an exhausted spouse. Schedule a day or two for some household repairs for an elderly relative.
Then extend this to holding doors, letting a mother with small children ahead of you in line or pass by that parking spot close to the building and let someone else have it - just because.
If you want to do something more lasting, but have limited time, test for the national bone marrow registry. If you're a match, you could save a life with a simple outpatient procedure. Locks of Love is an organization that accepts donations of hair to make wigs for critically ill people who have lost their hair. Next time you get a short-cut hairstyle, consider mailing the rest to make a wig.
Make kindness a part of your daily routine and in a few weeks time, you'll feel your heart open to more happiness than you may have realized was available to you. The benefits are cumulative and your happiness continues to grow.
The kindness and generosity we show others comes back to us in the depth of our connection to God and to others. This feeling of true happiness comes from within and continues to grow stronger with each act of generosity. Giving is something that benefits the giver as much as the recipient of the gift.
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.”
- Jesus
Spiritual Practices
Spiritual practices can increase your ability to be happy by altering the way your mind works. Andrew Newberg, M.D. is a neuroscientist who has conducted brain scans of monks and nuns from just about every major religion. What we know from this research is that a belief in God has a very positive effect on the mind. Including spiritual practices like the ones in this booklet into your daily life has the practical benefit of making you happier, healthier and better able to manage the stress in your life.
Spiritual practices also alter the way that you think by interrupting the self-defeating thought patterns of worry, rumination, trying to be right and holding on to the past. Letting go of these non-productive thought habits frees up your thoughts for more constructive and happier living.
Most of these practices take minutes a day and can become a habit just by focusing on one practice at a time. At the end of a month or two, you'll see a substantial change in your life, even using just a few them.
Practices like these help you feel happier, but they also deepen your faith by making God a part of the routines of your life. The science of spiritual psychology and practices is being used by more therapists as they include the spiritual needs of their clients in the healing process.
The good news is that you have control over your happiness. By learning certain skills to adjust your set point for happiness, and to establish a happiness lifestyle, you can be happier than you have ever been. For more information about how this works visit our website at:
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About the Author
Jackie Wells Smith is the developer and writer of "How to Create a Happier Life," a home-study program that uses the process tool of the Enneagram of Nine Personalities symbol to discover how to use the strengths of your personality and develop a happiness "mindset" and achieve your goals.
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www.HowToCreateAHappierLife.com.
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