Happiness is an emotion or a sense of feeling when we are content with our surroundings, the people associated with us, and our personal life while we connect with ourselves and the outside world. When we are connected, content, and happy, we have a more positive outlook on life and a better perception of ourselves and others. We see the world around us as a joyful place. It is the inner joy reflecting outside!

Here are some simple, cost free tips for being happy, time tested by Happiness experts.Want to try a few of them out? Here we go…

The basic expression of Happiness is smile. You don’t have to lift a little finger to do it! It is the easiest act one can perform. All it requires is a smile in your mind. Then without any effort it reflects on your face. And the only assured reaction you can expect is a smile in return. The mere act of smiling can brighten not only your day but that of others around you. Cross-cultural studies have shown that smiling is used as a means of communicating emotions throughout the world. Smiling is a very simple thing to do, and yet it has great effect.

It costs you nothing to smile. On the other hand, you enrich the one you are smiling at and in the process become richer too! When you have an argument, fight or even a temper next time, just try a smile. You will be amazed at the instant result. That little curve on your lips can set so many things straight! It can cause boundaries to melt, hearts to warm up, and distances to reduce.
It just takes a moment to smile but the memory can last forever. As you read this, try and  recall those many smiles you cherish – the loving smile of your mom, the proud smile of your dad, the appreciative smile of your teacher, the assuring smile of a dear friend, the romantic smile of your sweetheart – Don’t you feel Happy?

When someone is too tired to smile lend them one of yours and they will instantaneously return yours along with theirs. It is a simple act, but sometimes takes a lot of effort.

Smile is the most inexpensive beautification aid and accessory for people of all ages. It is the best accessory you can adorn yourself with. Infact without one you are not fully dressed!  They say it takes only seventeen muscles to smile while you exert almost forty-three for a frown. Want to shed away those extra pounds of sadness? Simple. Just smile. It is the best exercise and it is worthwhile making it your favorite exercise to shed out those accumulated layers of worries.      

                            
In today’s highly fluctuating economy, with this continuous decline of money value, smile is a sure shot stock to increase your face value and you are assured of many fold returns as you keep investing in it. When you do not know to flash your smiles it is like you have loads of money in your account but with out a cheque – book!

You can’t speak French to non French, English to a non-English. But then there is no language barrier for a smile; everyone smiles in the same language. Smile is nature’s best anti dote for trouble. Try it next time. Try it every time, whether it is a familiar face or a stranger. Give one- get many free. When you learn to smile for every reason then you can smile for no reason. Keep smiling!  Merry Christmas.

Smilingly yours 

Hi folks, I am back after a break. Shall I call it hibernation? Well, hibernation is necessary sometimes. Hibernation can make the batteries in your laptop computer last longer. Animals hibernate to save energy in winter when there is little food for them. To prepare for hibernation, they also eat a lot to add excess fat to their bodies. They also add a lot of leaves and grass to their den to keep them warm. I hibernate; to pause and enjoy the spiritual gems gathered in time, to assimilate the words of wisdom, to assess my own growth – not when there is nothing else to do, but when there is plenty to do physically and mentally, when major decisions are to be made. Those are the real ‘time tests’. I am the student; I am the examiner!

Ask any one in this world what they want. The universal answer is Happiness. Even if it is indirect, if you follow the track you will end up in ‘Happiness! Wonder how? Let’s say you ask a young kid
“What do you want to do?”
“Go to school; go to college, secure degrees”
“What for?”
“To get a good job”
“What for?”
“To earn money”
“What for?”
To acquire all things I need in life”
“What for? ’
“So that I can be happy”

So, that is what we ultimately seek … all of us.  The need for happiness or fulfillment is something fundamental and universal. It is inherent in every human being. Instead of being enamored by the deluding means we seek to attain the end, why not understand and attain the end directly? I can hear you mumble,” But how? That must be difficult”. No. It’s simple. All it needs is simple understanding; understanding the mind; minding the ego; egoless mind.

The source of happiness is not in the mere physical presence of something or someone but in the capability to ignore the thought of that something or someone in our mind which seems to ‘offer’ happiness. Once we know that objects or people are incapable of giving either happiness or unhappiness but have their own uses and places in life, then they no more invoke pains or pleasures. We no more get disturbed by them.

If you analyse carefully, you will understand that every time you enjoy a moment of happiness, it is ‘being’ with your Self. But not knowing that The Self is the source of Happiness, you look for it everywhere else– in objects, people, relationships, emotions, wealth, power, name etc. This search is never ending. What a wonderful life man would have, if only he knew “I am the source of Bliss, Happiness itself”, while tasting, touching, seeing, hearing and experiencing everything. There will no more be any ‘search’ for Happiness. Life becomes a five star luxury and every experience is a big bonus.
Your happiness is your responsibility. Why blame outside conditions or other people if you’re not happy? While things around you could change and go ‘bad’, it is you who decide how you will respond to them. You can decide to be happy and when you decide, you are happy. Nothing stops that.
We will discuss some easy ways of doing it in the next few articles.

Till then Be Happy!

Happily yours