TUESDAY

Last night there was a PBS program telling people how they could be happy. It irritated me, as I wasn't in a mood to have somebody tell me how to be happy. I love irony. Everything he said was true, of course, but he didn't invent it, nor was it new research. The pretense that this was some kind of new research was amazing, as this info has been around for my entire adult life and, I am sure, existed for generations in some form or other.

I don't mean to pan this or any program like this. They do a valuable service by reminding people that their life path is their choice and they indeed, can choose to be happy. I didn't finish listening to the spiel so I don't know if he talked about the challenges. All these canned therapeutic approaches last for awhile until the ego finds a way to bring you down. That doesn't mean they don't help. They do. But their effect wears off and it feels like your back to square one. Which is fine if you expect it and are ready to do more work, but very discouraging if you are naive. However, you never really go back to square one, you do make more progress than you know.

If we are unhappy, we have deep programs that keep feeding us negative thoughts. This negativity will eventually circumvent the superficial program you are using. The ego will make sure it can express itself. The ego uses thoughts geared to trigger emotions. The emotion determines whether you experience happiness or not.

But, as the presenter was saying, the expression of emotion is a choice, too. You can learn to experience the emotion without expressing it. I don't mean repressing it. That just reinforces the negative programming. I mean, allowing your body to feel the emotion and let it dissipate into space, all the awhile acknowledging that it is but an illusion. As you feel it and let it go the negative programming loses power and it eventually fades away.

I do gratitude affirmations every morning and have been for many years, but by themselves, they will not bring you to the heaven of happiness.

Learning to love unconditionally is the permanent solution. It is a life long process. One of the things I remind myself is, "I don't have to have my way" and its corollary "I don't have to be right". I find it very freeing. Since I can be rather opinionated, I have many opportunities to practice. Knowing, I don't have to be right, is an especially peaceful awareness. As we learn not to let our ego express itself, we grow in  peace. {Don't ask my wife or close friends how I am doing}

Love and Peace,  Gregg