On The Course Of Being Happy In The New Year.....Really!

As 2016 rolled over, I could not believe how quickly time flies. It seems like yesterday we were all fighting the Y2K bug and now we are well into the new millennium. The movie “Back to the Future” was about 2015 and we felt like that was so far in the future. And, now, we are past that! I suddenly realized we are truly in the future. Our lives are run by our iPhone, iPad, Google Hangouts, and fake Facebook lives.

As optimistic creatures of habit, we have made our resolutions for the New Year to lose weight, quit smoking, spend more time with our families etc. Even Oprah said, “Let’s make this the year of our best body.”

Shouldn’t we be thinking, “Let’s make this the year I am most happy on the inside? It should be the year of Me?” Between hectic schedules and virtual meetings and constant rhythm of rushing, have we forgotten to smell the proverbial roses? Or will another year pass by as we struggle not to lose ourselves in the whirlwind of our lives?

When I came to this realization, I decided to make a difference in my life. I read all sorts of books on time management, achieving happiness, interpersonal relationships etc. None of them gave me practical, short, and simple ways that fit into my busy lifestyle of achieving a simple goal --Happiness. I started to look around and stumbled upon a Philadelphia-based teacher who was teaching “The Happiness Course.” Really? Could this be true? A course on happiness? As a scientific researcher, I must be skeptical and question everything by nature. I decided to try it out.

It turned out to be a simple course on breathing. Breath right and you will not only be healthy, but also happy was the simple message. In the next few days, I learned simple breathing exercises that naturally allowed my mind to relax and fall into a meditative state. Suddenly, my days started to improve. I became more focused at work leading to more productivity. Being more relaxed, my morning rush with the kids slowed down! I did this without an Excel sheet to tell me how and when! A side effect of these exercises was that I was happier! Just by learning to breath right. This was fantastic! I decided to research more, of course.

I learned that the breath or prana (life force) and our state of mind are closely related. When you feel agitated, your breath is short and warm. When you feel sad and lonely, it is a long sigh. On a happy day, your breath is deep and long as if you were breathing in roses. This is apparently a two-way street. Not only do your feelings affect how you breathe, your breath affects how you feel. So practicing breathing exercises in the correct way makes you feel better. Simple. Clear mind is more focused and a focused mind is more productive. A good productive day leads to a happier you.

The point is if you want a simple, practical technique to improve your state of mind and be happy, then take time to take a course to breathe happiness into your life.

Want to know a bit more before you signup for a happiness course? Attend a FREE seminar hosted by Art of Living, Lansdale to get an insight into the course and have your questions answered!

FREE HAPPINESS SEMINAR

Date: Feb, 6th and 13th

Time: 10 -11 am

Venue: St.John’s United Church of Christ

500 W. Main Street
Lansdale, PA 19446

RSVP: lansdale@us.artofliving.org