Anyone up for a challenge?....

[illusions]

Since watching this video ...

Srikumar Rao: Plug into your hard-wired happiness | Video on TED.com

... on Wednesday (10th March), it's been really interesting because - okay I haven't had any dramatic challenges during that time, only a few small ones, but the interesting bit is that, in becoming aware of deliberately being happy just in myself, regardless of what's going on outside me, I've realised just how much of my time (at least 65%) is spent feeling either bland, or irritable, judgemental, critical, angry, worried etc. - automatically! (I'm stunned as I think of myself as a positive person, and of course I use the LOA etc...)

Despite my positivity and everything I know, despite sending Unconditional Love to everything when I remember to ..... how quick I am to jump to a reaction of feeling irritated, angry or critical when people say things/ do things, or at things I see or hear....... and how I play out scenarios in my head, of telling people what I think etc; and how much time I spend just feeling nothing in particular lol.... and it's been amazing to keep catching myself, and reminding myself that I'm happy lol.

And considering everything I know and teach about the LOA, I am Fascinated by this discovery lol.

So, I've set this challenge for myself - I am remaining in a state of happiness within myself - completely independent of whatever else is going on.

Who's with me?

I'm actually REALLY enjoying this game! And that's really what it feels like, a game.

As I said, I haven't had any major challenges during this time, but have caught myself reacting to things like the computer going very slowly or freezing altogether; my headphones being broken; the neighbours being really noisy late at night; remembering something someone did and planning what to say to them if I ever get the chance; worrying that something would/ wouldn't happen; the freezing cold weather; an inconsiderate driver; a dangerous driver; running late; a few things that people have said/done that I disagree with; dropping a plate of toast with the butter and jam side on the carpet.... and many other little things like that - it's flabbergasting just how many little things bring out a reaction that is not happy

And what has been particularly astounding is that I've managed to remain in awarness consistantly for these last three days, and correct myself right in the moment - litterally flicking a switch from irritation to happiness (I remind myself I'm happy independently within myself no matter what), from critisism to happiness, from anger to happiness, from frustration to happiness... and so on.

And of course, the feeling of being happy within myself regardless of what's happening, is exactly the same feeling as the Unconditional Love I've posted about before - but for some reason I'm finding it easier to REMEMBER to do it in the moment, in this context.

So, if you're interested in joining my challenge, watch the video, see if it resonates with you, and then see what percentage of your time you can remain happy within yourself independantly of what's going on "outside" of you. And then post here as you go.

Have Fun!

Love and Light and Magic xxx

[maggieb]

Happiness

I very much enjoyed the video, but I think that it is not only investing in outcome of happiness that gets us in trouble, but how we define it. As you say there will always be challenges - but are they really opportunities?

I have been spending a lot of time reading Ken Wilber's work and on his website - Integral Enlightenment. One of my favorite speakers is Fred Kofman. Check out this video (there are two)- He speaks about outcome -



Admirable Attributes | Integral Life

[serenac]

Love that video Odille!

Well I don't know about all of you out there, but I don't feel happy when I see dangerous drivers trying to mow someone down (I suppose I could TRY and feel happy about the fact that so far they haven't mowed anyone down yet, but I guess that I just DO anticipate that if they keep behaving this way - and they certainly show no signs of changing within the next 5 seconds - it won't be long before they DO mow down some nice innocent person who doesn't deserve it!), or if the weather were freezing cold, in fact freezing cold weather is one of the things I can least endure which is why I moved out here to this lovely almost tropical climate, and even so as far as I'm concerned it's STILL too cold for me, summer hasn't arrived yet! (Not to worry it's summer most of the year here and it should be arriving any minute now, but so far, well it's already March and it hasn't arrived yet brrrrrr! ) I know I'd be real annoyed at dropping toast with jam onto the carpet, not that the carpet's exactly immaculate and germ-free hehe! But no matter how dirty the carpet looks already I'd still have to clean up the toast-and-jam and that's not exactly a fun task as far as I'm concerned! I certainly do worry a lot about something that I suppose in our physical world people normally would consider quite worrisome anyways. (But no more about that because as Esther Hicks and Abraham say, if you want something out of your world you should first stop talking about it and thinking about it anyways, or it will never leave, because talking and thinking about something all the time only re-affirm their existence and their reason for being in your world. But anyways to get back to the subject of this thread........)

I know when people say unkind things to me, or things that I don't believe in, it certainly does bother me a lot. I'm not one who can feel happy while someone is saying to me things like, oh well let's see, things like for example if maybe they said to me that I'm, well something that I don't feel like I am, for example if they said to me that I'm a dimwit or something, or a slow and lazy person. Or if they say things to me that don't help to re-affirm new beliefs that I'm trying to cultivate, like for example if they say to me something like, LOA is silly escapist fantasy, or, GET REAL get out of never-never-land!

Oh by the way on that subject do you ever watch SpongeBob Squarepants? It's hilarious and often it so seems to personify LOA in action. SpongeBob always appears to be living in the bubble of his fantasy, and great things happen to him, he wins prizes and doesn't even notice that other people aren't winning them, good things happen to him and he thinks it's normal because he is expecting good things. Then there's a character who's always snarly, sarcastic, cynical, I don't know his name in English because here everything is dubbed into Spanish so of course his name here is in Spanish too but he's a squid, maybe it's Squidward or something like that? Anyways bad things always happen to him, he always loses the game, he loses things even when he makes a big investment, etc. And he just can't get how come SpongeBob always wins. But whenever he does something he is already expecting to lose, and that it won't work, before he even starts, because he is chronically pessimistic and cynical.

[Kevin]

Hi Odille,

Have not watched the video...but I love your challenge.

There is an old proverb....Rejoice in Everything!


I fall down, but my goal is to do just that...rejoice in everything, be positive in all situations. Your challenge is a healthy one that I am joining you in it.

[Gary]

Great video Odille,

I really like how he applies mental models to this. I believe I will be taking you up on your challenge!

Thanks..

[noises]

Ah serendipity. back at these forums after almost a year long bout of chronic depression. It's not that I'm a negative or unhappy person, but there are negative and unhappy influences and situations in everyone's lives, and they can't always be pinned on the lower self, and they can take a toll, especially if the negative influence is long term.

As a staunch advocate of the essential and beneficial qualities of a positive mental attitude, it's very difficult to say "I suffer from chronic depression." But again I'm reminded, take it back to the source. In this case, that means trace the problem back to where it really comes from, and deal with that.

The personal journey of spiritual growth is difficult when you do it right. Trauma is a part of every birth, so too as awareness of each facet of the soul is reborn anew within you, you will feel pain, change can hurt. It's the progress that's important though, what gets me motivated to press on is the thought, "keep your eyes on the prize."

Discovering and owning up to your negative aspects is an essential part of becoming whole within yourself. Because if you don't admit them, then you must only be denying them, and that's not progressing, that's harmful to yourself and every single soul with which you connect or interact with. So to be positive, one must embrace the simple, inescapable fact, sometimes you'll feel negative. I guess the only thing we can really do is, as you said, challenge ourselves to remain in a state of grace, gratitude and joy, but let's be fatalistic and real for a minute. What about the day of your parent's funeral? Will you be all smiles and bubbles then? Or will you meet your grief, allow it to be, observe it, experience it from a rational, consciousness place and let it pass? Will you know it when it bubbles up again years later well enough to say "oh, this is grief, why am I grieving now?" and save the poor person you interact with that day from becoming the imagined source of whatever negative feelings your grief has brought back up, however you may have been reminded of it?

We all do that, I've noticed, mistake the source of the fear, apprehension, anxiety, stress, grief, sadness, loneliness or we feel in life, and project them to someone who's done something to us, letting us blame, lifting our burden and saving us from aknowledging the duality of our true self. We're a yin and a yang, a dark and a light, a happy and a sad, and while it is certainly important and ultimately beneficial to opt for positive choices and beliefes about ourselves and the people around as, I think it's just as unhealthy to repress the black as it is to never be the white part of that whole symbol.

So I'll be down when I'm down, up when I'm up, and all I'll do is challenge myself to make sure I accept my state of mind from day to day as an expression of who I truly am, a part of a whole universe full of good and bad.