So you say you want to be happy? Here is some advise from a friend:

Everyone wants to be happy.
It's in our soul in our very being! We may have covered it up, walled it away, or masked it with substances, but everyone on this planet wants to be happy. We are beings of light and joy, yet walk down a busy city street, or ride the subway during the morning commute and see how many smiles you get.

SO ....

What do we do? Hmm? We crave this happiness sometimes to the point of harmfully "self-medicating" ourselves. 

These are the questions that have been swimming around in my mind these past few months. I work at a stressful job, have mood swings, have family members who are dealing with some big things, even issues of loved ones, who self medicate quite frequently.
I mean its easy enough to say "Let it Go" and pretend your in the movie frozen or just think positive, but when life keeps coming at you what do you do?????

To be honest I'm just a person trying to figure things out like everyone else out there. But, I figure I should share the actions I've been using these last 3 weeks and if they help you smile then it is all worth it.  I'm not going to call them Tips, because I'm no Guru but just a friend who is trying to share my thoughts so lets call them Ideas instead.

So Idea #1 Color me crazy
Wear light and/ or bright colors, crazy fun shirts, your too cool for school boots. Lavenders, yellow, blues... hell Sparkles even. Ahhh Bling it ya'll, weres my glue gun!!!  *cough*  Ehh. You get the idea...

Color is rather connected to our minds and moods, so it makes sense that changing what you wear can change your mood. Personally I find that if I wear all black (which is a work color for me) I am more prone to being negative, where as if I wear a white shirt I can tend to stay a little more positive.
There is an interesting article here about healing with colors but look around and try it out yourself.
I have a friend who puts on bright yellow and feels great, but for me, too much yellow washes out my skin and makes me feel anxious. I prefer more light blues, greens, purples, white and shimmers.

Idea #2 Keep a log
"The place to be happy is here, the time to be happy is now."
Robert Ingersoll

So I play this game with myself. I have an app called Collect that allows me to take images and save them with little notes everyday!

I then look for things that make me happy. What is my picture/ or pictures going to be today? I'm actively open and looking for the joy and happiness that is happening RIGHT NOW in my life. And as a person who is constantly looking forward and back and loosing sight of what I have bringing me joy daily this has been amazing. My whole mood changes and then my mind starts changing. Try it for just a week. See what happens, what do you have to loose? I bet you will love it and actively look at things that inspire you, make you smile or lift you up. Don't just say okay universe you can bring me happiness now. It's there, it is up to you to open your eyes to see it.


Idea #3: Share and be with others!!
After talking about happiness and such with the owner and a teacher at my studio KYB we created the #40daysmile challenge. We invited our community (local and internet based) to join us in being positive.

Let's face it, you might have shitty days. When your over tired, didn't eat enough, are hormonal (guys you have this too no lie), or just had some not cool things happen.
Were human life gets hard and that is why we have each other.
This community I found has really helped me with feedback, posts and just support. If you wish to join #40daysmile or social media or even find us on facebook. But, you don't need to join our group to have a happiness support system. Talk to your friends and family they are a great tool to use when things get tough. Not to fix anything, per say, just to remind you about your happiness and to share theirs.

Idea #4 Accept where you are and that sometimes negative thoughts sneak in
Everyone is in a different place. Some people seem to just ooze happiness and peace, others struggle every single day to find any ray of sunshine in their lives. It is OK!!!
You are you on your own journey. Embrace it and walk your own path.
This one is the hardest for me, I know. I want to be perfect and the best at everything I try. Even the best at being happy, but that begins to lead to frustration and negativity inside as I start scolding myself for "bad" thoughts and outbursts.
Here is some advice I was given:

• "Be gentle with yourself and don't worry about being perfectly positive all the time. When you aren't feeling positive, gently work your way back one positive thought at a time until your starting to feel better."
• "Just watch your mind, listen to your thoughts and see what they are telling you. If you are not afraid of them or do not have aversion, then you can be the nonjudgmental observer. "
•  "Be thankful for the "bad" stuff. I knew about counting my blessings, but being thankful for what I didn't like/ didn't want to go through/ was resisting??? This was new to me..., but then a true shift happened, and I found myself being truly thankful even for the "bad" stuff."

From the #40daysmilegroup

A meditation from 3ho.org and taught by Yogi Bhajan

Kundalini Yoga: Finding Happiness & Peace Within

Originally taught by Yogi Bhajan on September 26, 1974

Sit in Easy Pose with your spine straight, chin in, and chest out. Warm up first by chanting Ong in the long form so that it takes approximately 10 seconds to chant Ong one time. Chant through the conch, with the mouth slightly open and the breath coming only out of the nostrils. Chant in this manner 5 times, and then gradually begin to chant Ong faster so that you are chanting one Ong every 3-5 seconds. Start with 1 minute of rapid Ong and gradually work up to 2 minutes.

Comments:
“Practice it; it will set your brain, if you do it correctly. If you start to cough, allow it, because it is just your thyroid adjusting to the pressure. The thyroid is responsible for beauty and for keeping you young. Chanting this sound correctly gives power, beauty, and youth.

“There is no word `Om.’ Neither ‘Aum.’ Actually the sound ‘Om’ is the sound of the conch, which can only be created. It cannot be written and it cannot be expressed. It is the sound of Infinity (in formlessness). When this starts working, even the loincloth is lost. It frees the man of all possessions.

“Ong is never chanted through the mouth, it comes through the central nerve channel, the Shushmana, which is the tip of the nose. It brings out from you the breath like fire. Ong is the sound that man found out of the conch where he put in the breath of life. Sound of the conch is only expanded Ong. When a disciple or seeker practices at the center of the nose, his entire brain gets a very specific vibration and then the nectar starts coming.

“Through time man started writing about the chanting of Ong and reading about it, but not practicing it. The result was that he eventually forgot what the sound is and then he became a shopper. He went from one place to another, to another, to another. He went from one person to another person to another person, asking, begging for happiness. He went from one religion to another, from one place to another, from one house to another, just asking for peace. He forgot that what he is asking for is within himself.”

-Yogi Bhajan

This meditation can be found in the manual Praana, Praanee, Praanayam, available at www.SpiritVoyage.com, and www.a-healing.com.

© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan

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So these are just a few thoughts from my path I am walking. Take it as you will :) See you guys around and Stay happy ;p


May the Blessings that the universe shares, be always in your heart and mind.

Jenna/ Param Sevak Kaur