Which Kind of Happy Makes You Happy?

I just read an article on HBR titled "What Kind of Happiness Do People Value Most?"

People were asked to answer the question of whether they preferred experiential happiness or remembered happiness.  They were also asked to explain the reason for their answer.  You can read the full article at the link I provided above.

I am curious to ask myself and others:

Which happiness choice do you typically make?

Experiential happiness or remembered happiness?

You are the Soul Within

“I am not this hair. I am not this skin. I am the soul that lives within.” -- Rumi

You are not your hair. You are not your skin. You are not your name.  You are not your clothes.  You are not your social media.  You are not your stuff.  You are not what you do.  You are a radiant, beautiful, magnificent soul that lives within a temporary earthly, physical body.

Nurture Yourself Within

"...all human experience is generated from within--either with the support of external stimuli or without." 

--Sadhguru in his book Inner Engineering

Develop and nurture within yourself a way of thinking, being, and living that is not enslaved to what is happening outside of yourself. Tenderly and regularly care for the self within so it can remain true to who you really are regardless of the external circumstances.

Only Sacrifice for a Life Well Lived

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said: 
"Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

Seek Adventure in the Depths

Are you caught up in the routine and mechanical or are you adventurously exploring deep in the mysterious?

     "The greatest danger in yoga, that by necessity involves routine, is becoming mechanical and regimented. I find that the beauty of a mind-body discipline, such as yoga or qigong, is that it is an endless process of discovery and surprise. This is frequently overlooked by students, driven by gain and bent on mustering as much strength and flexibility as possible. I think that yoga, rather than a path leading to mastery, is an invitation to evoke mystery and channel a powerful, subtle, and ultimately unnameable energy that roams inside. A dedicated practice is like a rite of passage that guides one to sense, feel, and remember that which inevitably resists identification. I can testify that the further I travel into the inner processes of the body and mind, the more I realize I don’t know.
     The following words of Ken Kesey speak to this process of discovery and the necessity to invoke mystery. The answer is never the answer. What’s really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of the answer, you’ll always be seeking. I’ve never seen anybody really find the answer—they think they have, so they stop thinking. But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden where strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer." 

-- Tias Little in his book Yoga of the Subtle Body

Catch a Glimpse

As we develop a deeper awareness of our self, others, and the world around us, we catch glimpses of the magnificence in the ordinary and the sacred in each day. We live and move through our world with greater awe, being truthful to who we are, allowing walls and barriers to drop down and fall away. Stay open, curious, and flexible.

Play with Your "Edges"

Whether in Life or in Yoga, it is so important to "play around" with your edge rather than fearing it or avoiding it all together.

"There are valid reasons for fearing your edge--danger lurks there. But so does growth. If fear prevents you from playing your edge, that same fear is preventing you from learning, from progressing, from developing your full potential, including full health..."

"...the edge is the cliff of challenge and change. It may be high, it may be scary, but it is necessary. There are many kinds of edges. There is the physical edge...the emotional edge...the psychological edge...the spiritual edge..."

"Edges are where something is about to happen..."
                                                                                          --Bernie Clark in his book Your Body, Your Yoga

What edges are you playing with today?
How is that playfulness challenging and growing you?

What edges are you fearing, avoiding, or running away from?
How is that fear or avoidance keeping you stagnant?

I have an immense fear of heights. However, I play with my physical and mental edges by hiking mountains and getting as close as I mentally can to the edge to enjoy the incredible view. That view from the high points is exhilarating. It is worth every sore muscle and the occasional shaky legs, and it makes me feel wonderfully alive!

As long as we have life and breath, let us not stop playing, learning, growing, adventuring!  Savor every moment of this gift of life.

Consciously Choose Your Path

“We set out to better ourselves, only to find legions of reasons to break our commitment to health.  We say it is too difficult to make the hard choice today.  And yet, the obstacles in our path are the path.  Every time we stretch beyond our resistance and our fear, we make a choice for life.  And every time we choose life, we find that fear loses its grip on us.  We all know more than we think we do, and we are stronger than we believer ourselves to be.  We come to [the] mat and to our lives to learn by going where we have to go.”  

--Rolf Gates in Meditations from the Mat

Should I Put on Boxing Gloves?

This week I read a wonderful article written by Srinivas Rao titled Everything You Fight Has Power Over You.  Everything You Accept Doesn't. 

I do not believe we should "surrender" with a defeated, apathetic, this life will never be better, woe-is-me attitude.  The surrender referred to in this article is one of acceptance with continued progress.  We benefit and are empowered by accepting the circumstances over which we have no control while also taking a position of graceful actions, continued progress, and alternative paths.  A quick example is my own personal experience with back pain over the past years and some of that time the pain being quite excruciating.  I accepted the fact that I had injury which must take a long time to heal, but I did not lie down and stop moving.  Instead, I found plenty of ways in which I could still have an active lifestyle and a fulfilling yoga practice that continued to strengthen and heal my mind, body, and soul, all within a pain free range of motion.  I chose the route of acceptance with continued progress.

The article is full of excellent life wisdom. In case you don't want to take the time to read the entire thing, I've included here some of my favorite excerpts.  

POEMS - Light Within

Light Within

Open your eyes to see

The wonders of even the darkest skies

For beyond the stormiest clouds

Radiates an infinite light

It cannot be extinguished

And does not die out

Continue to persistently seek it

With an adventurous heart

Though the storms may cloud your sky

Do not walk away in defeat

And altogether miss

The miraculous revealing

Of this vibrant light down deep

© MaryAnn Broussard
July 1, 2018