Category: Uncategorized

In Pursuit of Happiness

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”  – Abraham Lincoln

If you want to envision happiness, imagine one foot rooted in the present with mindful appreciation of what one has – and another foot reaching toward the future for yet-to-be uncovered sources of meaning and joy.

This of  course is easier said than done!  What blocks this process is our fear, control and lack of motivation to believe and trust we deserve happiness.

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama XIV

So in order to find happiness, we need to motivate ourselves and take action towards our goals.  Overall, I have found the people who are the happiest tend to be superior at sacrificing short-term pleasures when there is good opportunity to make progress toward what they aspire to become in life.

Making advances towards achieving our dreams and goals not only causes us to feel more engaged, it helps us tolerate any negative feelings that arise along the journey.  Most importantly be true to yourself.  Make sure that the dream you are following is really what you want and not what you believe others want for you.

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence” – Aristotle

Below are some suggestions that can help bring contentment and happiness into your life.  When you take responsibility and action to change your attitude and thought process, no matter what your circumstances are, you will find life gets easier.  Remember that life is always a matter of choice not chance.  We always have the choice to react negatively or positively.

  1. Build close relationships in which you can share your personal feelings and reveal your authentic self.
  2. Volunteer or care for others on a consistent basis.
  3. Engage in a healthy, active lifestyle that promotes physical vitality.
  4. Find spiritual engagement and meaning through meditation, prayer, yoga, or spiritual exploration.
  5. Practice mindfulness and positive thinking like optimism and gratitude everyday.
  6. Find an activity or hobby that you can become deeply involved in on a regular basis.
  7. Identify your unique strengths and use them for a purpose that is greater than yourself.

“Faith is moving forward even when things don’t make sense, trusting that in hindsight…that everything will become clear and things will be exactly as they should be.” – Mandy Hale

 

 

See the bigger picture

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”  – John Lubbock

We all share a passion for finding the bigger picture in smaller moments, for looking beyond the mundane to find the sacred and profound, for being able to keep sight of what really matters to us and those we love.

When stress, control and fear come into our lives we often lose sight of those passions and we forget to look past what is happening right now and see the bigger picture unfolding for us.

So often I have been worried about situations that often are short-lived and that is because I do not trust in the bigger picture and that my situation can shift at any moment.  I have found it is always my attitude towards this process that determines whether it will be a positive or negative outcome.

“There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk.”   Guy Gavriel Kay

We do not have to follow negative thoughts that come to us while we are working towards our goals. We can watch them arise and see them fall away.  Only keep thoughts that are worthy of your dreams.  Through my meditation practice, I am able to control my thoughts.

“Dream as if you will live forever.  Live as if you will die today.”

If you are always expecting a negative outcome, or you find it hard to believe you deserve the bigger picture of your dreams, then find the original point of the seed that allowed you to believe this and forgive that situation and let it go.

There is always going to be change around us, eg.  financially, mentally, physically and environmentally and we sometimes have no choice but to change.  This of course doesn’t have to be a negative situation.  It will always depend on how we view it.

“What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity.”   – J Sidlow Baxter

In every challenge that confronts you, try to look beyond what at first seems impossible.  There are infinite possibilities around us, there are miracles everyday.  Open your mind to receive and practise stillness, as this will help you rise above every situation.

Become Disciplined

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

“Discipline provides a constancy which is independent of what kind of day you had yesterday and what kind of day you anticipate today. “ – Jon Kabat-Zinn

Everywhere you go, you see people trying to get motivated to do something or to make a change.  They read an article on a new diet,  or work out a new way to get rich or attend a seminar on positive thinking or watch a show that moves them.

The trouble is that although we come away from these situations highly motivated, it often  doesn’t move us into action or the discipline we need to complete our goals.

Discipline doesn’t just “happen.” It’s an intentional act and it needs to be repeated every single day.

There are several stages of discipline, the first being to accept that change is needed in some area of our life.  We then need to make the decision to take action and commit to a program that will keep us focused towards our goals.

“Self-discipline is the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state”.

It is the assertion of willpower over more basic desires and the ability to push through each day with self-control, that will help you to have discipline.  Each of us has different levels of self-discipline, depending on our personality and our upbringing.  Once you know what it is that needs change, you need to work on getting out of your comfort zone and become responsible in your choices each day.

Change is difficult but as you move through the initial stages of discomfort, you will begin to see progress and this will increase your feelings of self-worth and confidence.

Being disciplined gives you the strength to withstand hardships and difficulties, whether physical, emotional or mental.  It allows forgoing immediate satisfaction, in order to gain something bigger and better, but which will require effort, time and patience.

The positive effects of discipline will always out-way the lessons we face.  As you work through each phase of your journey, take small steps.  At first, our goals may seem overwhelming and not possible to complete and so we need to approach each day as a new beginning.

Allow time for stillness, meditation and yoga as part of your daily discipline, as this will keep you focused and remind you why you started.

Be patient for change and give yourself permission to take time out and nurture yourself when needed.  The journey is long and yet we only have this moment, so embrace your life and be thankful for all that you have and are able to achieve today.

“Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” – Abraham Joshua Heschel

 

Mindfulness

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

“Being mindful means simply letting our thoughts come and then go – without reacting to them, without allowing the circus of meaningless mental activity to persuade us that it is more real than we are.”

The healing benefits of mindfulness is the reduction of stress.  It is being focused on the here and now, rather than being distracted by the unrealities of what might come to be, or what might have been.

Being mindful does not happen overnight.  Daily practising of meditation and yoga has helped me understand the many layers of mindfulness.  Mindfulness is an understanding that when we let go of conditioned mind patterns and detach from thoughts that do not serve us, we are free to live in the moment

Stress is the root cause of human unhappiness, and most of us believe that stress is caused by the events that happen outside ourselves, when in fact it is caused by our minds and that often ends up in our bodies, manifesting as pain and disease.

There is plenty of scientific evidence that proves that mindfulness practice has many health benefits including blood pressure and helping depression and healing diseases such as cancer and chronic illness.

The choice between mindfulness and mindlessness is up to us each day in our choices.

“Stress comes from how we perceive events, rather than from the events themselves.”

Ultimately we are responsible for our health and how we react in our daily life.  Mindfulness can help restore our vitality for life and embrace life fully.  When we let go of our cluttered thoughts that steer us into to the illusion of the world, we are able to see life from a higher perspective and understand that we don’t always have to react in the same way.

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Become aware and mindful of your thoughts and your reactions. When you react differently to the stress of life, you will begin to see how life reacts differently to you and you will understand the power of mindfulness

“Respond; don’t react.  Listen; don’t talk. Think; don’t assume.” – Raji Lukkoor

Stand in your truth

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

“The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.” ~ Shakti Gawain

Standing strong in what we believe is right for us, is extremely difficult at times. We stand in our truth not because it’s easy or because we particularly want to, but because we know that the power of our truth will effect the change we need to move us forward.

When you plan to do or believe in something that you know will not be easily followed, your ego, vulnerability and strength will be tested over and over.  If you allow fear to take over early on, you will never fully understand the power of your truth and you will fail to find your own answers within your heart.  You will also miss valuable lessons of wisdom, patience and faith.

“You have the power and courage to defeat, conquer and crash through any barriers, obstacles and challenges that stand in your way.”

When we decide to stand in our truth, we need to understand that there will always be controversial opinions coming in and so we need to learn to digest them and take on what will nurture your truth and goals and let go of the rest.

We must let go of the judgements and the opinions and sit in the silence of what is right for us.  The opinions of others will become mixed with your own doubts and when you allow them to take over, you will limit your true potential towards your goal.

“When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart and you shall see the truth and it is the truth that will lead you to your freedom”.

In Divine space that you can create through yoga and meditation, you will find the answers that you seek.  There will be doubts along the way but if you can stand in your own truth and integrity, you will come to see that there is no separation between any of us.

“You never know how strong you are… until being strong is the only choice you have.”   ― Cayla Mills