Good morning! Let your eyes close, take a deep breath. Find that quiet
place within and have a healing during today’s message. This season
celebrates love, but we will look at happiness  because Jesus called
and said he wants you to be happy. Also,  I read a wonderful book and
want to share! Besides,  a person expressing happiness with a full
heart is  amazing and unstoppable!
I  read “The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner. In it you get humor,
insight and travelogue all in one!  Turns out there is a National
Database of Happiness, put together by Dr. Veenhoven in The
Netherlands. Through asking a lot of questions and collecting a lot of
data, there is a list of the happiest countries. Weiner decides to
visit some of them to meet the people and see what ‘happy’ is around
the globe. He is curious to learn who is happy, and why they are
happy!  The book is a wonderful adventure, and we will look at some of
the ways people create happiness in their lives, and see if there are
any aspects that we would like to embrace more of in our own lives!
The United States is 23rd on the happiness spectrum. Ironically, being
only 23rd  has to do with our ‘pursuit of happiness’ which is  in our
Declaration of Independence!  Being raised in a  culture that focuses
on consumerism results in a society full of people who need money to
buy the things that will make them happy! This results in working too
long of hours, commuting too far, and spending far less time in
community with family and friends. As well, we spend less time
expressing creativity, less time in nature and other forms of inner
and outer connecting that happy people experience, regardless of their
status or whether they own a house etc… Our focus on things also
results in a lot of comparing and judgments. Happy countries don’t
dwell there!
Lets look at some of the aspects in other counties that help them have
happiness and heal ourselves. As old souls in a young soul country, it
is challenging to live our vibrational truth. There is a lot to
distract us from living from love and wisdom. But to create a change
in your life, simply decide first to be happy, and then move forward.
It is a wonderful energetic platform to leap from!
One indicator of happiness in a culture is tolerance. The Dutch
tolerate a lot, from immigrants, to drugs and prostitution. Tolerance
helps the Dutch be happy.  It can also be seen as,  “Don’t sweat the
small stuff.” Being overwhelmed with worry or obsessing about what
others are doing or not doing leads to much unhappiness! Releasing the
need to micromanage and control others and let people ‘Be” is very
happy-inducing!
Is there something or someone you worry about that it would feel much
better to release? Have you ever helped a situation by worrying?
There is power in living with challenges. It is hard to feel safe at
times. It forces us to tune into a sense of abundance and safety that
radiates from within and that is a powerful space to master.  Imagine
a bubble out in front of you and let it fill in with something you are
worried about. Ground that bubble. Let go of the energies in the
bubble that keep you distracted from the present moment. As spiritual
people, you probably already realize that anything that helps create
happiness is going to have to have something to do with loving the
present moment!
When we worry we are not in the moment. We are projecting into the
future or we are stuck in the past.  Instead of worry,  send love and
healing to this issue in the bubble and attract to you the
peacefulness of a spiritual solution.  Decide to be happy. Breathe and
release this bubble to manifest.
Weiner visited Switzerland and Thailand, which both scored high on the
happiness meter! There is a fun dichotomy within  these two places.
The Swiss rate very high in overall happiness, despite having no sense
of humor. When Weiner asks his Swiss friend, Deiter, if it’s true the
Swiss have no sense of humor, Derter responds, “Define sense of
humor.”  Meanwhile, over in Thailand, they just love to laugh and smile
— joking, laughing and poking fun all day, even in business meetings.
A woman tells him, “Thai people are not serious about anything.
Whatever it is, we can accept it.” She continues. “I will give you an
example. In the U.S., when you trip over something and fall no one
interferes. It’s as if nothing happened. But Thai people? We laugh and
laugh nonstop. We still run over and help, but we are laughing at the
same time.”
Quite a difference between Switzerland and Thailand in that
department, yet the majority of residents in both places  rate their
happiness as high.
When asked why they are happy, individual Swiss cite clean restrooms,
punctual trains and no potholes on their roads.  But a cultural reason
expressed by most Swiss was  their connection to nature. No matter how
cosmopolitan a person was, they didn’t lose their connection to the
land!  Weiner visited the alps and noticed how calming it was in the
mountains. Nature is easy to tap into here in Colorado as well! Be
aware of your grounding cord and your connection to the planet. When
you consciously connect to the planet you get a healing right away.
You not only release energy, but you have a  chance to match the
present time vibration of Mother Earth!
There was a test done in 1984  by a psychologist named Robert Ulrich.
He studied people recuperating from gall bladder surgery. As they
recovered, some were in rooms with views of trees, and others in rooms
with views of  a brick wall. Patients with the nature windows had
shorter post-operative stays, fewer negative comments in the nurse’s
notes and had lower scores for minor post surgical complications like
nausea or headaches. They also required less pain medication!
Do you find time to be in nature? Look up into the sky! Enjoy a park,
really get to know a tree and notice the birds, insects and other
creatures. What are the trees and plants around your home? Have you
said hello to them and validated them lately? Give yourself permission
to increase your connection with nature in this moment, and in your
life! Go for a walk, buy some flowers, send Mother Earth a hello when
you ground! It is so simple! We are blessed to live in such a
beautiful place with  mountains  within sight nearly always! Don’t
take it for granted!
Meanwhile, over in Thailand, their culture is  happy because they are
laughing a lot and not thinking! Common  people sayings are: “Don’t be
too serious” and “Don’t think so much!” These aspects are not
stressed  so much in our part of the world, where we thinking is like
breathing and take things seriously, even our fun!
The Thai people are suspicious of too much thinking. They see it  like
running: just because your legs are moving doesn’t mean you are
getting anywhere!  So this happiness tip is just a reminder to pay
attention to your thoughts! Are they helping you or hindering you?
Are you using your amazing capacity to visualize and imagine in a way
that supports what you truly believe in? Are your thoughts fear-based
or superficial? We have looked at clearing our space to manage our
minds many times this year. So let this be another reminder for the
new year to be in present time! Let your thoughts be supportive
towards you and others about the now, and see the inspiration come to
you!
I have my most amazing thoughts and revelations when I am walking or
doing yoga.  And one of the best ways I have learned to train my mind
is through my creativity, which brings us to the next country high on
the happiness scale: Iceland! He titles this chapter “Happiness is
Failure.” Weiner visits  Iceland, during the dark time of year to
really get a sense of what people do there in the dark to stay happy!
Healthcare is provided there, so people commonly change careers when
they want to because they don’t have the worry of losing healthcare.
This certainly lends itself to a lot more freedom!
But their ‘happiness is failure’ philosophy really kicks in with their
support of creativity! Icelanders love to write, play music and do
their art. Every other building in their capitol is an art gallery,
cafe or music store. A man tells Weiner there is so much creativity in
Iceland because there is no envy. Artists help one another and share
information and ideas. People support one another in their creative
endeavors rather than critique or diminish them. They support people
for being creative, regardless of how well they are doing. That is
quite different from how most of us were raised!
Icelanders do not fear failure because they do not depend on success
to be happy. Here in the U.S. we love a good failure story as long as
it results in success. In Iceland it’s admired  that you tried. People
don’t pursue their artistic endeavors because they think they have to
be famous. It’s about being in a flow and a certain state of mind
where they lose track of time and it is a quality they admire in each
other.  Again we are  back to being in present time! Spirit is pure
creativity, and when we are creating, we are being spirit! In spirit
there is no time.
Imagine a bubble out in front of you for your creativity space! Ground
it. Maybe there’s something to the Icelandic attitude about creativity
that you would like to embrace! Release  fears and conditioning about
being creative that would limit you. Fear of making  a mistake, or not
being good enough. Energies that would cause you to compare yourself
to others and be in competition. Energies that won’t let you spend
time being creative, free of judgement! See more freedom of expression
in your creativity bubble! Bring this bubble up over your head and let
it fill you in!
Breathe and validate your space of happiness. December and the
holidays is a time of love. Love is said to be the  most important
quality of all, and I agree. But happiness is right up there! I don’t
think people are truly happy if they haven’t learned to love. And
being in present time, in the now, is about beingness. And we can’t
“be” in the moment without some level of peace or happiness felt within!
As I write this, my dog, Angus  is getting ready to transition.  One
time when Angus was here at the center running around in his
exuberance  greeting people, a student said, “I love Angus. I can’t
imagine not being happy with him around!”  I acknowledged that he did,
indeed, come into my life to help me cultivate a happy heart. I am sad
to see him go, but also happy and grateful for him! Happiness doesn’t
mean we don’t feel!
A happy, loving heart needs to be expressed, and  our expression of
happiness as humans come  in many varieties! The Swiss are uptight but
still happy. In  Iceland there is a lot of darkness and cold but
happiness rules. In our daily lives chaos ensues in varying degrees,
yet can you be happy? The Dalai Lama says love is the absence of
judgment.  Right here, in present time, with a peaceful mind and happy
heart, we are in love!
Ask yourself, right now, how happy are you? What is your gross
personal level of happiness? Is there anything causing unhappiness in
your life that you can release? Are you feeling responsible for
someone else? Is there an expectation you can release? Did you take
something seriously? Have you lost your spiritual, loving perspective
about something? Because you can get that back! It never goes
anywhere, it just gets forgotten or covered over!
Being happy with what is, in the moment—and letting that happiness be
fueled by a sense of love of self and a sharing of ourselves is
wonderful! Happy people enjoy community with others and nature. They
don’t think too much, and they have released the need to be attached
to expectations and outcomes. They laugh and don’t take things so
personally and seriously. And one of  my favorites is to be of
service! People who volunteer, or have jobs where they see people
happy because of a service they provide, are happier!
All great reminders as we wander through these last weeks of 2015 and
into a brand new year of growth and miracles! Some cultures may have
it easier than others to embrace happiness, but we can all learn and
grow no matter where we are! We are where we are because it’s where we
can grow and evolve the best this lifetime! Hugh Laurie says: “It’s a
terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have
this feeling now that actually no one is every ready to do anything.
There is  almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you
may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as
any.”
What do you want to do? Inspire yourself. What will you do, how would
you like to experience yourself in 2016? Right now? It comes down to
you realizing and feeling your inner light and power. Having it in
your body, and expressing your unique version of loving, spiritual
happiness with the world.  Bring it in! Wherever you are, be the soul
of that place. Amen.
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