Online Newsletter
November 2011 ~ The School of Happiness
Carol Heideman in her book Searching for the Light describes the curriculum in the School of Happiness this way:
- Level 1: Communication Skills
- Level 2: Relationship Skills
- Level 3: Problem-Solving Skills
- Level 4: Decision-Making Skills
- Level 5: Skills for Managing Abundance
- Level 6: Leadership Skills (includes Teaching and Parenting)
- Level 7: Flow Skills (expanding your capacity for Joy).
It goes on to say: "Our primary reason for creating this ‘school curriculum’ is to help you to perceive happiness as a learned skill."
So, what is our part in the School of Happiness? As in all schools, our job is to do our homework and to pay attention.
Learning to communicate – with ourselves and with others – is a lifelong learning process. When we are clear about what we think, about what we want and we pay attention to the communications from others, our life becomes much easier. We don’t "create stories in our head" about people and situations – we see and hear what is real, not what is our imagination.
When we learn to relate better to others, our life becomes smoother. We meet people with openness and a smile, and treat them all as equals on the journey of life.
When we learn to solve problems — rather than giving up or feeling like a victim — we also have a smoother life. We learn to work with others to come to a mutually agreeable solution for the situation.
When we learn how to make decisions – based on both facts and our own intuition – we feel more in control of our life. We learn where we might have made mistakes in the past and can adjust for more success in the future.
When we learn to appreciate all that we have already, we can create more of what we want in the future. We are grateful for all the great things that happen to us every day. We learn how to create a reasonable budget and live within our means, we share what we don’t need and we help others along the way. We learn to accept help when we need it and know that everything in our life is temporarily for our own use, then we can pass it along when we no longer need it. And, we learn to create more abundance through giving our gifts to the world in return for more gifts coming back to us. That is the Law of Circulation.
When learn leadership skills, we learn how to raise our children to be strong independent adults and we learn to teach others what we know. We learn to respect other teachers and leaders, and how to learn from them as well.
And finally, we learn how to be "in the flow" of the Game of Life – allowing it to flow easily and effortlessly, directed by our own goals and intention, allowing for changes along the way. We see Joy in every part of our life and know that this very moment is the true reality – not the past or the future – just the NOW moment. And, we live that now moment to the fullest we can.
When we can do all those, we can graduate from the School of Happiness and know that:
No one can make us happy and nothing external can change our happiness when we have it. Happiness is OUR own inside job — no one else’s.
For all those people who thought the world was going to end on October 28, 2011, it just goes to prove: worrying and fretting about the future is a huge waste of time and energy. Let the Game of Life continue!
Making a choice to be happy every day is the very best possible thing you can do for yourself. It may also be the best thing you can do for those who know you and love you.
We wish you a happy and joyful month!
If you are thinking about creating sources of income, new business ideas or exploring expansion of a existing business, our book Income Without a Job has some great creative ideas and exercises to assist with that. The book is a great gift for friends who have been laid off or need extra support during these times.
This page is http://www.income-without-a-job.com/news/nov2011.htm
