7 Tried-And-True Spiritual Tools The Happiest People Use Every Day
The pursuit of happiness does not have to be a labyrinth.
bojanstory | Canva My writing teacher recently commented, “Susan is always happy!”. While I love the affirmation, the reason she feels this way is she sees my after photo and not the before shot.
Yes, I was once extremely unhappy and clueless about how to have a happier life. Causeless joy is the experience of happiness people are searching for and rarely find. Avoid trial and error and consider these strategies to save yourself a million dollars I invested. This works for me and for hundreds and hundreds of my clients whose true goal is happiness.
Four key things happiness is not:
First, here is what Happiness is not!
1. Happiness is not wealth.
Wealth creates the absence of fear, worry, and stress about poverty. And since the absence of wealth causes so much unhappiness, always focus on the pleasure of your wealth when you have it and when you’re planning for it even before it arrives because when people have a lot of money and worry about losing it, disasters can begin.
2. Happiness is not love.
If you have been deeply in love, then you know you eventually must focus on the end of love when one of you dies. To fully enjoy love, you need to discipline your mind and enjoy loving right now.
3. Happiness is not a career.
If you have a career, you understand the ups and downs of any work or job or entrepreneurship so again, you need to be in a state of creation all the time, living in the now and refusing to worry while you move towards your goals.
4. Happiness can be family — but not in every way (or for everyone).
Yet, happiness isn’t family, either, because, as with love, the loss of a family member will upend your happiness in minutes unless you have powerful inner tools. You also want to prepare yourself because when you become happy, this may trigger a form of jealousy in others.
The quick solution is to remind them they can get there, too. If we want to be happy, we need to hold onto our happiness without making huge waves around other people who live in a different reality and may wonder, “What’s wrong with you?”.
How do we get to happiness? If wealth, health, family, and career are not happiness, then what is happiness?
Happiness is a self-generated emotional state dependent on a biochemical mix of natural opiates in the brain, including dopamine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters. What does authentic happiness feel like? When we feel pleased and even joyous for no reason at all, that is happiness.
Happiness requires we learn, practice, and master a few inner tools. Here is what I do to feel happy every day. These same tools have worked for my clients who have an interest in happiness. To be willing to devote a certain amount of time, energy, and resources to the discovery of your happiness, you have to believe it is possible for you, and it is.
Seven tools the happiest people use every day, when they need them:
1. Sunshine is the fastest, easiest way for some of us to feel happy.
Sunshine is available without doing anything except living in the right place and going outside at the right time. I moved to California, where we have sun almost every day. The full-spectrum lamp on my windowsill is an inexpensive solution for gray days anyone can use it if they lack natural sunshine because full-spectrum light from the sun or any lamp brings a feeling of well-being and happiness. The ultimate happiness booster for most people is enjoying a sunny day in a beautiful natural outdoor environment.
2. Brain-breathing
This quick technique is based on yogic breathing to re-oxygenate your brain, calm, and ground you back in your body. This always gets me from an anxious thought back to peace. It is a technique to shift focus, use full breath, awaken more of the brain, and create peaceful and joyful thoughts.
3. Working on your brain chemistry
Supplements or medication may be a helpful strategy to feel happier every day. For people who describe themselves as depressed, seeking professional advice can benefit as it proves this malaise is not imaginary and it can be solved.
4. Meditation to silence the mind and bring happiness
Meditation is a time-consuming process that will get us to feel peaceful and happy if we select an authentic teacher. Your teacher needs the ability to activate your energy system called the kundalini. If you feel nothing when you sit to mediate in the presence of your teacher, I urge you to move on to a different teacher. When you are in an authentic presence, the experience is magnificent, and awe-inspiring, and your mind becomes silent.
Photo: Alfield Reeves via Shutterstock
5. Self-soothing words
Self-soothing words are a huge component of happiness because the common denominator for the thousands of unhappy clients I have worked with in 25 years is the harsh and often violent words they tell themselves repeatedly. Instead, learning to notice their feelings and needs replaces “should” and “shouldn’t”. When they learn new phrases to say to themselves instead of judgments, these words have a powerful impact on their subconscious mind, where all results are first conceived.
6. Sexual connection
Sex isn’t the solution to happiness for everyone, yet the brain chemistry great sex creates is one of life’s miracles. One of my friends believes “Happiness” is a synonym for “Ha-penis!” and for him, that works. You need to be careful so the loss of a partner’s affection and touch doesn’t cause a downward spiral for you if sex is your go-to solution for happiness.
7. Tools to alter brain waves
Altering our brain waves is an essential part of happiness. Alpha, Gamma, and Theta waves are where happiness can live as opposed to the day-to-day Beta brain wave state we need for being busy bees. Numerous free audios on YouTube guide you into these states. Over time and with practice, you will arrive there without the audio tape prompts.
Ultimately, our commitment to finding happiness and being happy is the road we must take to arrive there. It will seem like a labyrinth because you have a goal but no clear path. For me, a willingness to do anything and everything has been proven to work for people I respect and trust is a great way to begin any journey to success.
Along the path, these are 3 valuable lessons I learned:
An old proverb says, “You become the company you keep.” Yes, I have found this is true, so pick your friends for their "happiness quotient," in addition to other attributes you respect.
Happy people can become more successful, healthy, wealthy, and beautiful, so don’t believe seeking happiness conflicts with your other goals. It always makes life easier.
Happiness isn’t important to everyone. This may shock you, but humans value different lifestyles, and the environment I was raised was not a happiness-centric one. Success and accomplishment were the keys there, and moving to a different geographical location was a significant support for my search and finding happiness.
Susan Allan is a Life Coach whose Evolution Revolution Trainings offer proven tools to experience joy, and happiness and let go of suffering.