What is our philosophy on “How to be Happy”?
You cultivate happiness through love.
Be loving. Act in loving ways. Allow love to pour out of you and happiness follows.
As we mentioned on the Pursuit of Happiness, when you act in loving ways to all around you, you cultivate joy in any situation.
Think about it – which feels better giving a gift, or getting one?
Giving.
In the act of gift giving, joy is cultivated for both the giver and receiver. Let me say that in another way…
Joy is cultivated when the “gift” of love is given.
Gifts aren’t limited to presents. Gifts can be a smile, a hug, washing dishes, helping with homework, walking the dog. Asking someone, “how are you?” Sharing your wisdom. Taking care of your garden. Picking up a piece of trash. Doing your job well.
“Gifts” are ACTS OF LOVE.
Acts of love CULTIVATE happiness.
Just as a plant needs water to grow, happiness needs loving action to surface.
But, hmmm… you might be wondering…
It seems like some people experience happiness when doing unloving things, too.
Think back to a time when you felt happiness from doing something that didn’t originate from a place of love. Stealing a candy bar when no one was watching. Leaving your trash on the table at a picnic. Winning at all costs by playing a game on the shady side. Lying about something you said you would do, but did not. Excluding someone so you might “look cool” to another. Landing a deal you know isn’t fair to a client as it is for you.
How did that make you physically feel in your body? Did you feel a rush of junky energy▣? Did your head tilt down as you congratulated yourself, almost as if your body was shrinking a bit? Did your energy shift down to your stomach? How long did the rush of junky energy last?
Happiness from unloving acts is not self-sustaining. It’s temporary, fleeting, and ultimately self-defeating.
Now think for a moment about the recipient of your unloving act. What does receiving an unloving gift look like in their body? The shop keeper’s body where you stole the candy bar? The next park goer who sees a pile of trash? The other team who lost but played with good sportsmanship? The person you lied to, the one you excluded, or client you duped?
Can you visualize your victim putting their head down? Their shoulders falling? Can you see how they feel sad, their body shrinking down a little? Can you see they no longer trust you, that they no longer want to be around you?
There is karma in the world and what you reap, you sow.
Unloving gifts ultimately hurt you as much as you hurt another.
Now imagine the feeling in someone’s body when they gift a loving act… do you see their body growing and expanding in joy? Do you see them standing taller? Do you feel your heart overflowing with love?
That is living with your BIG ♡.
This is what doing good feels like.
It makes you happy and creates sustained feelings of inner peace, love, and happiness.
Our philosophy on how to be happy:
Be loving. Act in loving ways. Allow love to pour out of you. You cannot help but feel happiness.
Go BIG ♡
Be BIG ♡
Think BIG ♡
Act with a BIG ♡ and you will…
Live a BIG ♡ Life
You will be happy
…and we will change the world for the better!
Although the thoughts on this site are all a reflection of “Unpuzzling Spirituality: An Introduction to Spiritual Thoughts to Create a Big, Happy, Peaceful, and Loving Life (Ages 9 and up),” the copy below is cut and paste from our book, with slight alterations so it makes sense outside of the entire body of work.
Body, mind, and soul
Nourishment
Our mind, body, and soul all survive and thrive from the energy that runs through them. Further, the energy produced from one area helps to nourish and balance the health of all of the parts of us.
If our bodies don’t feel good, our minds don’t want to work well and our soul may start to feel uncomfortable. If our mind feels sluggish and bored, our body and soul often doesn’t feel motivated. If our soul feels a strong connection to ∞, everything and everyone else, then our body and mind often feel more energized and less likely to believe fearful thoughts.
Because each part relies on the other parts, it is important for us to fill all three parts of us – our body, mind, and soul, with the kind of nourishment that will sustain a healthy energy.
Try out the belief that the energy of your body, mind, and soul work together to support each other.
Body Nourishment
Your body creates energy naturally through the foods you eat and regular exercise. The healthier the foods you eat, the better your body will feel. With good foods, you create a healthy sustaining energy that lasts a long time and makes your body feel good. When you eat only junk food, like soda pop, cookies, and potato chips it gives your body a temporary energy that might feel good right away, but won’t sustain your body like the healthy food does.
You can keep your body healthy by nourishing it with healthy foods, exercising, and rest. When you do this you create a long term healthy energy in your body. When your body feels good, notice how your mind and soul (or feelings about life) also feel better.
Just like your body, your mind and soul’s health depends on the kind of nourishment you are giving them.
Mind Nourishment
When you are reading, drawing, playing, talking, laughing, being silly, being creative, and thinking positive thoughts you are nourishing your mind and keeping it healthy. Your mind responds and you will feel more energy and excitement towards life.
If you just sit and watch TV, play video games, and interact on social media apps, it is a little like eating junk food, since much of the shows, games, and apps have little nutritional value for your mind. They can give your mind a nice rest sometimes, but if you spend too much time with them your mind can start to get lazy.
Your mind likes being active and useful. It won’t feel healthy if you continually fill it with useless content (or junk food for your mind).
Your mind needs exercising too. The more you actively use your brain the faster and easier it can come up with new and creative solutions. You nourish your brain by keeping it active and learning. Remember to learn, create, problem solve, share your thoughts, and also give your brain a rest when needed. When your brain is feeling healthy and at peace, your soul feels happy and your body feels more energetic overall too.
Soul Nourishment
Like your body and mind, your soul can either be nourished or filled with junk energy.
When you are feeling your connection with ∞, working to deepen that feeling of connection, and acting in compassionate ways, you are nourishing your soul with good loving energy that helps your soul to feel good. When your soul is properly nourished, you will feel more like actively supporting others, caring for our Earth, smiling at the antics of pets playing together, and seeing faces in the clouds overhead. When the soul feels nourished, people often feel more happy, secure, and at peace.
When you forget that you are connected to ∞ and feel separate from the world around you, your soul is not being nourished. This feeling of separation can tempt you to grab onto some junk energy that might come from behaviors like bullying, controlling others, and lying. The undernourished soul will not feel the joy, inner peace, and security it deserves.
Throughout your day, take the time to feed your soul what it needs to feel nourished. Choose loving thoughts and actions that help your soul feel connected with ∞ and everything and everyone around you. Your soul will thank you for the good care!
Try out the belief that your soul feels good energy when you feel your connection to ∞ and feel part of the world around you.
Feel the Loving Energy
To feel the loving energy, it is important to:
Nourish your body with good foods, exercise, and rest. Don’t fill it with junk foods.
Fill your mind with joyful, peaceful, and loving thoughts. Keep learning, exploring, and expanding your understanding about life.
Feel your connection to ∞. Fill your soul with loving energy. Remind yourself that you are not alone - you are part of all that is around you.
The choice to feed your body, mind, and soul junk food energy or nourishing energy is up to you.
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What is spirituality? How does spirituality relate to my life? How do I develop spiritual beliefs? How can I use my spiritual beliefs in my every day life? What is death? Understanding your spirituality can feel like you are putting together a puzzle without a picture to guide you. Unpuzzling Spirituality invites the reader to explore answers to these questions and more. It helps the reader to put the pieces of the puzzle together to create a big, happy, peaceful, purposeful, and loving life.
Exploring your spirituality is a journey that can help you to figure out who you are, who you can be, and how you can understand and make a difference in the world around you.
Let’s unpuzzle your spirituality together...
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