Friday, January 28, 2011

Feeling Guilty about Being Happy

Guilty Pleasures



Some people feel guilt over being happy or feel they don’t deserve to be happy; it is our birthright to be happy.


Happiness is an experience we all long for and deserve in our lives. We may wish for the happiness that comes with a much-needed vacation or an exciting new love affair, yet when the actual experience of happiness emerges, we may be too overcome with guilt to enjoy it. If guilt is interfering with your ability to feel joy, you may find relief in looking at the beliefs you hold about yourself and what it means for you to be happy. 

Guilt about feeling happy can arise for different reasons. Deep down you may believe that you don’t deserve to be happy because you hurt someone in the past, had more than others growing up, or maybe you received a mean comment from someone you admired. Perhaps it once seemed that painful experiences always followed happy ones; now whenever you begin to feel happy, you find yourself waiting for the other shoe to drop. Happiness may even just feel uncomfortable because you’ve gotten so used to feeling down. The truth is that when you feel too guilty to let yourself enjoy positive emotions, you are denying a part of yourself that has a right to exist. By limiting your life experience to just the negative feelings, you are cutting yourself off from the fullness of life - which includes all of the positive emotions as well. Fortunately, you can begin to shift the way you respond to happiness even in this moment. 

From now on, when happiness begins to blossom in your heart, try to accept it, relish in it, ask it to stay. It’s okay to feel happy even if you believe you don’t deserve it. Feeling good is an expression of your wholeness and your connection with life. The next time happiness appears for you, try not to feel guilty about it. Instead, welcome your happiness in like a long-awaited friend. - Daily OM

Thursday, January 13, 2011

God is within You


There obviously is a reason why you and I have been created as human beings. Else, we could have been created as the swine that spreads the flu. Why be created as the human who gets that dreaded flu? So, stop cribbing. Instead, celebrate being human.

The problem with most of humankind is that we lament being human. We say, justifying our limitations and frailties, 'After all, I am human'.

When we look at our creation from that perspective, we miss seeing the limitless power and potential within us. We are so overwhelmed by stories from history that we fail to see our true self.

When Krishna was born, the prison gates opened and the serpent sheltered the baby as the father crossed the overflowing river in pouring rain. When Jesus was born, the three Kings were guided by a star in the sky. When Nanak was born, those visiting the child found a halo around the baby's head. But who recorded what they saw when you and I were born? Who tells the stories of our birth? Therein lies the reason as to why we don't recognize who we are and what we are truly capable of.

Know that if Mother Teresa's life had a Purpose, if Swami Vivekananda's life had a Purpose, if the Prophet's Life had a Purpose, so do our lives__yours and mine.

Swami Sathya Sai Baba says it beautifully,"The difference between you and me is that I know that I am God. And you don't or you refuse to accept that you are God!".

We will start living intelligently when we know that we have been created as humans with a specific Purpose. We are 'avatars' too....or 'messiahs', if you like.

Being human is to know that the Godlight is within you. This life is not about searching for it outside you, but to find it exists in you. When you find the God within, your life's Purpose will manifest itself and you will 'awaken' to a lifetime of Loving, Serving and Living! - AVIS Motivational Speaker Imagequity.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Best way to use the Last Five Minutes of Your Day - Peter Bregman