Have you ever slowed down enough to ask yourself, “What’s my deepest desire”?  I encourage you to do so.    

Everyday I talk with someone that is not satisfied with some part of their life:  whether it’s their job, their relationship, their health, etc.  Every time I find myself in those conversations, it brings me to a point that I can relate to earlier in my life.  I’ve been unhappy in my job.  I’ve had a miserable relationship(s)!  I’ve struggled with chronic lower back pain, anxiety and depression.  There’s issues every one of us has been through on one level or another.  You can overcome the obstacles, the frustrations and the pain.  You can be at that point where you love your life.  You love who you are.  You love the people you surround yourself with.   

Will there still be bumps?  Count on it!  But you can also count on riding those bumps with a knowing that there’s amazing lessons along this winding, hilly, potholed, beautiful journey. 

Reflect on your life.  When you’ve been through the toughest times, what did it teach you about yourself?  What lessons did you learn?  How did it change the way you went forward?  How did you grow from that experience?  

It’s easiest, of course, to just stew in it and complain.  Unfortunately, stewing just makes it richer.  Instead, just bring your awareness to the situation, look at what’s brought you to the point that you’re at, and start changing the way you think about it.  (Finding your happiness starters are listed below).

My deepest desire is for people to feel good.  I want to help you feel good about yourself, your life, your ability to share the gifts you were born with.  We all came here with a purpose.  We all have an inner stirring of ‘there’s got to be something more’.  We are all capable of unveiling our purpose.  And it all comes down to discovering what it is that you truly desire.  What you desire, deep within your soul, will directly relate to your purpose.  When you open yourself up to the infinite possibilities of discovering your authentic self, you will find doors open and synchronistic events that will guide you along your path. 

It starts with asking for help.  Whatever you believe in….God, a Higher Power, Universal Wisdom, Angels or Guides….it’s all energy and help is available to you whenever you ask.  Now, I’m going to discourage you from asking to win the lottery or for that new Mercedes.  Rather, ask for what it is that you need with the intent of what is for your highest good, or the highest good of all.    

Start paying attention to the subtle, gentle signs that unfold.  When you ask with the loving intent of the highest good, energetically, amazing synchronistic events start to happen.  The right person comes into your life.  A job opens up.  A book jumps out at you that has just what it was you were wanting to know.  You meet someone that knows someone that can ease your pain.  The list goes on and on.  Just pay attention to everything that happens around you, and then be patient. 

With every coincidental event, be sure to say “Thank you”.  Gratitude is the freight train that carries away your burdens, your complaints, your negativity.  It is amazingly powerful.  Two thoughts cannot occupy your mind at the same time (as much as we think they can!).  When you are feeling grateful it creates in that moment, optimism and happiness.  Start before you even get out of bed in the morning.  Be grateful that you’re alive!  Be grateful that you have a bed to sleep in and blankets to keep you warm!  Be grateful for the sunshine…the trees….the beauty that surrounds you! 

It all gets back to what you ‘think’.  Think of what’s good and what you’re thankful for.  If there’s something you don’t like, try spinning it around and notice something you do like about it.  If you still don’t like it, have the courage to do something about it. 

Empower yourself!  You are capable of ANYTHING!  “Be the change that you want to see in the world” – Ghandi. 

Here are some happiness starters that have helped me as they relate to my purpose.  Your list may look different, but my hope is that you find something helpful that kick-starts your quest for happiness.

• Energy work (massages, reflexology, Reiki)
• Surrounding myself with positive people
• Looking for the good in everyone and everything
• Books, books, books 
• Taking risks….asking, trusting….and getting out of the box
• Changing “I can’t” to “How can I?”
• Online classes (for me, it’s Parapsychic Science through http://www.aiht.edu/)
• Radio programs that are educational and positive.  My favorite is 7^th Wave Network on http://www.voiceamerica.com/
• Taking time to discover my authentic self and fall in love with ‘me’!
• Releasing guilt
• Forgiving myself and others
• Changing the way I look at things
• Being grateful EVERYDAY!
• Gently releasing all that no longer serves me (I do this by literally asking myself, “May I gently release all that no longer serves me”.)  Be sure to say ‘gently’!
• Realizing and accepting that what ‘they’ say doesn’t matter.  It’s what I feel that does, especially with the intention behind it that is for my highest good.
• Trusting my inner voice
• Being patient.  The teacher appears when the student is ready.
• Taking classes in all this fun stuff that intrigues me.  (Soul coaching is one.  Wonderful classes are available within an hour east of Mpls/St. Paul, MN at http://www.lightalliancehird.com/)
• Giving myself permission to be silly, a nut!, goofy and happy!
• Sharing something positive with most everyone I come in contact with.
• Keeping clutter free
• Exercising and making better choices in the foods I eat
• Drinking less alcohol and more water

Blessings to you on your infinite quest for happiness by discovering what it is you truly desire!

Deanna

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:  “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”              – Dr. Wayne Dyer

Do you know what being truly happy is? 

Have you felt what it’s like to feel blissful right through the core of your being…the innate joy, inner peace, compassion and unconditional love that you were born to know and feel?  And, don’t you hate it when you meet someone that is? 

Well, I’m one of them, and I hope you hang with me long enough to ‘splain myself, Lucy, because I believe happiness is a part of who we really are.  We might just be a little stuck….

Being happy doesn’t mean one doesn’t get frustrated, angry, or get in the occasional funk.  Those are all legitimate feelings. 

The key is acknowledging those feelings, but not allowing them to create the negative self talk novel in our minds that festers and feeds on more negativity, and pretty soon creates our reality that interestingly enough isn’t even real, or the “what ifs” that never even happen. 

In a matter of minutes, things are “really” bad.  We imagine the possibilities that will come out of that situation.  We place blame on ourselves or others.  The self-sabotage kicks in, telling ourselves we’re not good enough to deserve to have anything different or better.  The sad part is, it starts at a very young age, and our society is such that it feeds it. 

Think about the messages we’ve been told for years:  “Big girls/boys don’t cry” (suck it up and stuff your feelings)….”Children should be seen and not heard” (so we’re quiet because what we have to say isn’t good enough or important)….”No screaming, yelling or hitting” (don’t express how you feel)…..”Be polite” (fake what you’re really thinking)….”Better not do that, what would people say?” (not speaking your truth, or expressing your creativity)…..and my favorite, “Don’t be so silly” (what?!).

Now don’t offend yourself, thinking this is directed at you.  I’ve caught myself saying those same things.  I have wonderful parents, and they’ve said some of those things.  Some of the people I respect most are guilty too.  We all are.  That’s our society.  That’s what we’ve been taught.  And it doesn’t mean it’s all of the time, or for that matter that it will always be.  We do the best we can with each other based on what we know. 

My intent is to bring enough awareness to the way many of us have grown up, and to see why we are so hard on ourselves, and don’t allow ourselves to be authentic and happy. 

So with that in mind, now what do we do with all that stuff?  For starters, CHANGE!  Change the way you look at things.  (Outstanding book by the way by Dr. Wayne Dyer, “The Power of Intention” Hay House publishing). 

Out of any situation….ANY situation, you can find something positive, a lesson learned, a new direction, or a different way to look at things.  Face your stubbornness.  It requires looking within.  Actually feeling (there’s that word again).  What’s done is done.  The past is the past, and the future hasn’t gotten here yet. 

You have right now….this moment to change your thoughts.  And thoughts become things, so choose the good ones.  (That’s another tip from a great web page, www.tut.com).  Did you do something horrible years ago that you are still hanging on to?  Did someone do something to you?  What you have is an opportunity to learn and grow from that experience. 

Then, forgive.  Ahhhhhh….now there’s a big word, “forgive”.  That could be the most important thing you can do to get to that state of happiness.  To forgive does not mean atonement.  It doesn’t make what happened right.  But forgiveness does release the bitterness and the cord that still connects you that feeds your resentment and anger. 

Love yourself enough to forgive yourself.  We all make mistakes.  We’ve all hurt someone.  We all have regrets.  Now, change the way you look at those things.  How did that help shape you into making better decisions now?  What do you know to be true about yourself because of that experience? 

When you are able to forgive, you are able to see the lessons learned and have gratitude for the opportunity to have grown.  Forgive yourself.  Then, forgive everyone else that you feel has done you wrong your entire life.  Realize that people do what they do based on what they know.  What good does it do to hold a grudge against someone over an event from years ago?  That person may have a completely different spin on the events, and is quite possibly not the same person today, so why limit your happiness because of something someone else did?  Why let old events continue to make you angry? 

Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it can transform your life, releasing the stronghold of negative thoughts. 

So start with this:  Imagine the people you feel have done you wrong are attached to you by a cord that’s connected to your torso.  Imagine also, the situations you have created in the past that make you unhappy or frustrated, and those too are connected by a cord to your body.  Know that it is no wonder why you haven’t found that blissful state, as you are buoyant in a sea of resentment and anger.  Now, either physically take your hands and wipe away, or imagine cutting those cords away from your body.  Release them with light and blessings to whomever they belong to.  Do this with the positive intention to gently release all that no longer serves you.  And then ground yourself, allow yourself to be only in this moment of time, not hanging onto what is no longer a part of you. 

Here’s a grounding exercise I learned from Chris Tonnar of Light Alliance [http://www.lightalliancehird.com].  Close your eyes and take three deep breaths.  Breathe from your abdomen, allowing your stomach to go out as you take a deep breath in, and your stomach comes back in as you exhale slowly.  Next, imagine a beautiful cloud directly above you.  Beyond the cloud is a glorious ray of light.  The light comes down through the cloud….through the top of your head….down the back of your neck and through the base of your spine (or out the bottoms of your feet).  The light continues deep into the center of the earth and wraps around a beautiful crystal.  As the light wraps around the crystal, it comes back up through the earth, through the base of your spine (or bottoms of your feet), along your back, neck and out through the top of your head, through the cloud and as high as you can imagine in the beautiful blue sky.  Continue to do this as you coordinate it with your breath, exhaling down to wrap around the crystal, and inhaling up through your body into the sky. 

This is an exercise that works remarkably well when you’re having a stressful moment.  Take less than a minute (or much longer if you’d like) to ground, and you will immediately feel calmer, more focused, and have better clarity of the situation at hand.  Try it!  I’ve done this when something ticks me off.  Rather than letting my thoughts take me away to something I’d stew about for a couple days, I ground, and amazingly release my former way of thinking and see the situation for exactly what it is at that moment.  If it’s a thought that doesn’t serve me well, I let it go…I change the way I think about it. 

This simple exercise can change the way you experience life.  It can help you shift out of the negative thought patterns that you thought were a part of you.  Try it every day when you first get out of bed.  You may find, like me, that you’re hooked because it actually works. 

Now dig in.  While it’s a little work to peel back the layers of gunk initially, it is so very worth it to get back to who you really are. 

You were born happy, and born to be happy.  I believe that you are amazing!….magnificent!….and you have wonderful gifts to share!  If you’re already there, good for you!  Share that silly happiness with everyone you come in contact with.  If you’re not there yet, work on it.  You will be. 

Trust that you are not alone, and don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether it’s from another person or a Higher Power, it’s all there for the asking. 

I’m sure there will be more blogs posted on the subject of happiness, as I’ve barely scratched the surface.  So stay tuned…and remember, if you gain anything you like from this site…cool, please share it with others.  If you don’t, no worries, I appreciate your time spent in my thoughts.

With hope, gratitude and giggles…..

Deanna