SelfHelpCollective.com

Authentic Happiness and You...

The key to true happiness (should you be interested). Quick answer: it's being content with life, as is, warts and all...

• Dr Martin Seligman thinks it's genetics, but mostly it's choices
• Spiritual teacher Guy Finley believes "Real happiness is indeed effortless, once the causes of unhappiness are weeded out."
  
• And I think it's there for all of us, if we just dare to accept it.

What do you think? Do you dare accept true happiness into your life? Do share your keys to happiness!

How to Experience True Happiness

Authentic happiness - what I say...

Well, what do I know about authentic happiness? It's not as if they sell this kind of happiness at the local store, is it. Yes, you can probably find an fix of 'happiness' at Tesco or Walmart - a pair of new shoes, a fine wine at 50% off, etc. - but you'll be looking for a long time for happiness with an authentic flavour, I'm sure.

Well, a bit like 'unconditional love' versus love (i.e. real love is unconditional), I believe that true happiness is authentic - anything else is a 'knock off'.

So, what is happiness?

Well happiness doesn't depend on 'things'; e.g.

• You don't have to be rich to own it
  (Some of the happiest people I ever came across earned less than $20US per month - in Malawi, Africa.)
  
  
• You don't have to be beautiful to wear it
  (Maintaining 'beauty' can become an unhealthy obsession for some.)
  
  and...
  
  
• You don't have to be lucky to be blessed with it
  (Yes, bad things can happy to the authentically happy - they get over it.)

Why are you happy, then? You just are! Now that's happiness!

It's about accepting yourself, your life, your situation, and enjoying all of these things without wishing for more...

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude."
-- Denis Waitley

The art of happiness?

This can be described in one word: acceptance - acceptance of what is. It can be further described via the words, 'ease' and 'flow' and 'allowing. And it can be experienced as the art of not doing anything out of need - you do things because you want to do them, with no expectations on the outcome.

The point of the ride is the ride, as spiritual author Jed McKenna once put it. Or, more succinctly:

"If you're doing things in order to be happy, you're doing them in the wrong order" -- Michael Neill

So, the key to happiness?

The key to happiness is to stop pursuing it, to realise instead that happiness awaits... within!

• It is acceptance of what is.
• It is acceptance of what isn't.
• It is enjoying each and every moment.
• It is living in the Now.
• Yes, happiness is an inside job as Herb Ammons also believes

Or at least I think it is, I could easily be mistaken! You might actually be able to buy it after all, at Walmart, and I just didn't look hard enough!

Hmm. What do you think about this thing called happiness?

What this recommend resource says...

Authentic Happiness : "You don't think your way into happiness, you think your way out of it" - so says a brand new (for 2017) "How To Be Happy E-Course", written by me. A look at authentic happiness, you might say, or happiness from the Inside-Out. Or an unconditional happiness available to all right now...

Find out more here - wwww.smnash.com/happiness-within/