Mental Health on and off the mat
Commit the first step to happiness
Spoiler alert!
Happiness does not come from money, fame or power.
Martin Seligman, pioneer of positive psychology and author of Authentic Happiness, postulates that happiness has three dimensions: positive emotion, engagement, and meaning. There is a progression of these dimensions, which ultimately lead to an overall Meaningful Life: belonging to and serving something that you believe is bigger than the self.
Tony Robbins, one of the leading life coaches of our times, says the same: “To truly feed your spirit, remember this: The secret to living is giving. No matter how busy or broke you may be, you have something to offer others.”
I have been known to call it “the creation of a legacy” that you can be proud of when you leave your body and the astral planes of this earth. Go beyond existing, and start creating your own, meaningful life.
The 7 steps to happiness
In Kundalini Yoga, we refer to 7 steps of happiness reaching the same conclusion.
The secret of happiness is in your power to sacrifice and uplift others. Happiness is in giving, not in taking.
The first of these seven steps is to commit. Commit to life, commit to your family, commit to your goals, commit to whatever, but commit and mean it.
Commitment gives you CHARACTER: when all your characteristics—all facets, flaws, and facts—are under your control.
Character gives you DIGNITY, when people start trusting you and you receive respect.
Dignity will give you DIVINITY. Divinity is when you put yourself and your life on the line to serve another person or a creature.
Divinity gives you GRACE. Grace is when you’ve developed a presence that works.
Grace gives you the power to SACRIFICE. The power to sacrifice is when God sits in your heart and presides in your head. You can stand any pain for another person.
That sacrifice takes you to HAPPINESS.
Consistency
A major part of committing to building your legacy, is being consistent in your actions and activities.
I myself admit that I have been led astray in the last few years, from my own meaningful purpose. That’s why I am putting consistency back on to the agenda.
Just remember that consistency has to flow through your entire being: the core alignment of your thoughts, your values, your actions and your doings. This is the reason why we have to work on ourselves until we get it right.
Coach-ing
It’s hard to pun with the word “coach”.
In case you have a good idea, please let me know.
The purpose of this third C in the row derives from the previous: get guidance to help you make this consistent commitment.
Remember, you have been doing something your entire life according to an implanted behaviour. It will be a constant hamster wheel loop until you can break free from it. You will not be able to break free from it until you reprogram your brain to do so. And you can’t reprogram your brain with new information if you live with the software of your current version.
Just remember that once you have updated and rebooted yourself to also apply the changes to your life. That’s really why you want to get a life coach or a spiritual teacher. What I am saying is, get someone who holds you accountable for your actions.