How To Be Happy In Business and In Life
June 1, 2010
“Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place” ~ Eckhart Tolle
What does everybody, universally, throughout humanity desire most?
Happiness.
Psychological and spiritual thought leaders all point to one fact – that we cannot find happiness, without first cultivating inner peace. Happiness, or joy, grows from inner peace. In my experience, our nature is peace, joy, freedom, love. Yet our nature is mired in interference – a powerful force that pushes our egos into the driver seat, causing us to become unconsciously motivated by fear (with its subtler forms of anxiety and worry) and greed (with its subtler forms of “wanting” more). This only creates suffering, which can occasionally be medicated by pleasure – shopping, drinking, eating, numbing out to TV – yet with no progress toward sustainable inner joy.
How do we release the interference and access inner peace and happiness?
There are many paths, and no one size fits all. A progressive release of attachments to the finite material world constructed by our minds is critical. A journey into authenticity, heart and humility is vital. A prayer ritual is powerful. Finding a teacher, and beginning a meditation practice cultivates all of the above.
In my journey, I’ve found that the access point to peace, and then joy, is Presence. Presence is the Way to open the door to the ‘absolute’ unmanifested – from our ‘relative’ finite worlds, and receive the flow of life force. How do we achieve Presence? I suggest a five step daily practice.
- Awareness on a moment to moment basis (become aware that we’re not present);
- Choose to be present;
- Breath – connecting mind body and spirit;
- Feel the internal energy field that arises, regardless of whether it’s pleasant or uncomfortable; (which takes us out of useless mind activity); and
- Practice becoming focused on – becoming one with – the task at hand
As the frequency of awareness increases, and the choice to “be” is made in the moment, presence is deepened, inner peace is expanded, and joy is available – to arise from the foundation of presence.