The Happiness Series Step #8: Remove Toxins From Your Body and Your Environments

As we continue our journey in The 10 Steps to Happiness, we arrive at Step #8: Remove toxins from your body and your environments

Treat Your Body As A Temple

This is an issue that we all deal with on a daily basis. We all eat food and sometimes what we put into our bodies isn't exactly healthy for us. However, it doesn't even have to be food. Many of us poison our bodies with drugs or overconsumption of alcohol.

Having a healthy body does lead to happiness. When you're healthy, you have more energy. When you have more energy, you are able to enjoy the things you do in life. It all starts with being conscious about what you put into your body and making the right choices about what to eat. This is an area that was a challenge for me because for a long time I ate whatever I wanted. I still eat fast food (love McDonald's fries!), but it's something I eventually want to get away from completely. I've cut down a great deal on eating out and I've seen a huge difference in my energy levels. Nowadays I buy organic food and don't eat as much beef or pork.

Create Peaceful Environments

Negative energy in work or home environments can be detrimental to your health and state of mind. Oftentimes people are not even aware of this negative energy because they've lived with it for so long. Negative energy can be in the form of negative people, unsafe work conditions or even the clutter around your home. Get more information on how to declutter your home...

What steps have you taken to remove toxins from your body and your environment?

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Photo Credit: Evan Wood

Step #7 In the Happiness Series: Don't Judge Yourself and Others

Photo by Kerri Humphries

In the Steps to Happiness Series, we’ve reached Step #7: Don’t judge yourself and others…

Have you ever looked at a person and not judged them? If you’re like many people, probably not. We meet someone for the first time and within 30 seconds we’ve already made assumptions about them from the way they’re dressed to the way they talk.

The media perpetuates these constant judgments we make about other people - especially those magazines that have built their business around stalking celebrities and documenting their every move. Britney Spears knows what I’m talking about.

Have you ever wondered what exactly the benefit was of making judgments about other people? For many people it’s an ego thing. They want to appear to be “superior” than the person they are judging. There have been plenty of times in my life that I have judged someone, but as it turned out, I was completely wrong about the person. You never really know anybody until you’ve had a chance to really talk to them and see where they’re coming from. And even then, you still don’t judge them.

What’s More Poisonous Than Judging Others?

I could go on an on about how we shouldn’t judge other people, but one of the reasons why many of us lead unhappy lives is because we’re constantly judging ourselves. The judgments we make on ourselves are probably more poisonous than the judgments we make on others.

Think about the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror. What were the thoughts going through your mind? You may not even be aware that you’re judging yourself. “Oh, I look so fat…I wish my eyebrows were thicker…” (Conversations I’ve had with myself in the past!)

Other Thoughts on Judging Others:

Here are links to other bloggers sharing their thoughts...

• Don't Judge Others, Be Helpful Instead!
• Weeds (by Linda)
  

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Step #6 in the 10 Steps to Happiness Series: Have Total Knowledge of Yourself

As we continue with the 10 Steps to Happiness series, we arrive at step #6:

Have total knowledge of yourself

Total knowledge of yourself means several things to me:

• Knowing your strengths and your “challenges”. Some people use the word weakness. I like to call them “challenges”.

• Embracing those challenges for what they are and accepting every aspect of your spirit.

• Discovering what brings meaning to your life. Allowing yourself to take risks in life so that you can discover that meaning.

• Doing what you love and doing it with great awareness of your spirit and soul.

• Being aware of your thoughts and realizing that theses thoughts are attracting the experiences of your life.

Anything you'd like to add to these thoughts? Leave a comment!

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Step #5 to Happiness: Getting Rid of Negative Emotions

Well, we're halfway through the Steps to Happiness Series that I started last month! Step #5 is:

Get rid of toxic emotions such as anger, regrets, and guilt

Getting rid of negative emotions is very important if you truly want to experience happiness and bliss. Of course, it's much easier said than done. I used to think that these emotions were part of our lives and we just had to accept that we would be angry, regretful, or guilty at one time or another. However, I realize now that it doesn't have to be this way. We can go through life and not have these kind of emotions. I believe that we were born in bliss, but it's our environment that changes us and teaches us these other kinds of emotions. This is often referred to in psychology studies as the "nature vs nurture" debate.

There has to be a conscious decision to not feel these kind of negative emotions in order for them to go away. That's not to say that we should suppress these emotions when they do manifest themselves. That would make the emotions just grow bigger inside us. What I learned from reading Highway to Hell (I reviewed it here) is to just let these emotions run their course. Acknowledge these emotions and be aware that you're feeling them, but after that just let...them...go.... like clouds passing you in the sky. I like what Moonstone Star White says in her book:

"Hatred is a potpourri of our harshest judgments and most rejected feelings. In seeking the release that doesn't come these feelings compress and harden, distorting perceptions and twisting in upon themselves until they become menacing and unwholesome. Discover the message that hate has for you and you will get in touch with your deepest insecurities..."

You Always Have a Choice

Whenever I start to feel any negative emotions, I stop and tell myself, "I choose to be happy." Sometimes I have to repeat this over and over until those negative emotions dissipate, but just saying those words reminds me that yes, I can always choose to be happy. Situations, people, or circumstances do not "make you" feel these negative emotions. We often blame others for our unhappiness not realizing that we have the ability to snap out of that unhappiness just by making a conscious choice to be happy.

How do you deal with negative emotions?

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Photo Credit: Rebecca Searle

Richard Cockrum's Five Keys to Happiness

I wanted to continue the Steps to Happiness series today, but attraction energy brought me Richard Cockrum's post, Five Keys to Happiness, which is a great read. I left a comment there sharing my thoughts...and I also recommend reading Richard's related posts on happiness. Enjoy!

"We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same." -- Anne Frank


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Steps to Happiness Series: #4 Relinquish the Need for External Approval

Continuing the Steps to Happiness Series...We're now at step #4...

Growing up I used to be one of those people-pleaser kids. I wanted everyone to like me and I was always concerned about what other people thought about me - as is most kids. I finally grew out of that need for external approval from my peers during college when I realized that I was unhappy because I was too busy wanting other people to accept me. To an extent I still seek approval - mainly from my parents - but I realize that I really need to just live my own life to be truly, truly happy.

So, how did I free myself from other people's opinions? I simply made the decision to not let their thoughts and gossip affect me. I also started to surround myself with positive people who supported me and loved me unconditionally.

One of the most liberating feelings in life is knowing that as long as you're happy, other people's opinions don't matter. The greatest love of all is learning to love yourself. That's not to say that you shouldn't be mindful of other people's feelings if you're in a situation that concerns them, but when it comes to your life and how you live it, that's up to you.

Have anything else to add?

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Photo Credit: Dry Icons

Steps to Happiness Series: #3 Embrace Silence Through Meditation

Continuing the Steps to Happiness Series, we're now up to #3: Embrace silence through meditation

Meditation is the practice of quieting your mind and connecting with The Source of All. Whenever someone comes to me with a problem, my immediate advice is: Go meditate on it. There is so much power in just clearing your mind of all that clutter and mind chatter. Meditation allows good energy to flow to you and puts you in a deeper state of consciousness.

Here is a video of Deepak Chopra explaining what meditation is...


I've been meditating every day for the past couple years and have seen a dramatic improvement in my attitude and abundance. What started it for me was reading Wayne Dyer's book: Getting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God Through Meditation (Book with CD)

I've talked about meditation quite a bit here in the past, so I'll simply point out all those posts which will explain the importance and benefits of meditation:

• Attracting Everything Good Into Your Life
• Meditation and Deep Breathing For An Abundant and Happy Life
• How to Regain Your Energy and Natural Vitality
  

Is this your first time here? You may want to read the past articles in the 10 Steps to Happiness Series:

Step 1: Being Aware of Your Body
Step 2: Live in the Moment

Lesson 2 in the Steps to Happiness Series: Live in the Moment

The second lesson in the 10 Steps to Happiness series deals with living in the present moment. This is something that was a challenge for me - and actually still is a challenge sometimes. How many of you can say that you actually live in the moment every second of the day? Are you fully aware of what's going on right in front of you at any given moment in time?

Stop Living in the Past

Like most adults I used to constantly live in the past. I would go through the "What if's" and "I Shoulda's". There were things I regretted doing or not doing. One of the things that really gnawed at my soul was the circumstances surrounding my mother's "death" (I don't believe anybody really dies. That's why I put the word in quotation marks). My mother passed in a drowning accident and I would always think, "What if I had been there? Would she still be alive? Is it my fault?" These are the questions that I kept asking myself as I replayed that summer day over and over in my mind. I was living in the past and never living in the present moment.

Do you find yourself constantly thinking about the past? What have you done to stop re-living any painful memories?

What we have to realize is that there is nothing we can do to change the past. What’s done is done. Replaying the past over and over in our minds depletes us of energy – the energy that’s needed to live a full life right now.

Stop Thinking About the Future

If I wasn't living in the past, I was worried about the future - especially in regards to my financial situation. In my early 20's I spent a great deal of money supporting a guy who didn't love me like I thought he did. In essence he used me to get what he wanted while seeing other women behind my back. I always worried about money and this mentality stayed with me up until a few years ago when I first started this blog.

Why worry about something that hasn’t even happened? As I reflect back on all those times that I worried about something, I see now that everything always worked itself out somehow. I worried for nothing!

The Past and Future Are Illusions

Realizing that the past and the future are illusions was the big lesson I learned when I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. If you’ve signed up for the Monday night webinars on "A New Earth" with Oprah and Eckhart Tolle, you’ve probably already learned this powerful lesson.

All that matters is right now – this very moment. There’s nothing you can do to change the past and the future hasn’t happened yet, so what’s the point of always thinking about it? When I started living in the now, I became more energized and happy. Remember how it was when you were a child hanging out with friends, riding a bike, or playing a game? Young kids are very good at living in the moment.

How to Live in the Moment

Living in the moment is going to take some practice, as is everything new that we learn in life. An exercise that worked for me was to stare at an object for about five minutes and just really notice it. I’d make mental notes about the object’s color, the shape, whether or not light was reflecting off of it… I just gave that object my full attention.

Related Posts:

• Living the Power of Now

• Enjoying the Moment

Book of interest: Secret of Letting Go by Guy Finley

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The Steps to Happiness Series: Being Aware of Your Body

Last week I talked briefly about Deepak Chopra's "Happiness Prescription" and said that I would go into details about the 10 steps to happiness. This is the first post in a series of posts in which I'll be talking about walking the path to happiness. Today I'm going to focus on one of those steps which is being aware of your body...

When it comes to your body, Deepak Chopra said this in an interview with Veronica Hay:

"...the body is the end product of intelligence and how that intelligence shapes your reality will shape the reality of the body. The body is a field of ideas and it is a field of interpretations and when you change your experience of your own identity to a spiritual being, the body expresses the physical manifestation of that spiritual reality."

Your body is just a storage for your soul and energy. The way your body looks is also a reflection of your thoughts and self-esteem. If you look at many people who have negative thoughts and low self-worth, you'll see it in their skin and their body language. The words you say, the thoughts that run through your mind, and the things you eat affect how your physical body.

That said, there are many people who believe that their body is their identity. You'll see this in people who are constantly under-going plastic surgery or they're obsessed with how they look all the time - checking their appearance every five minutes in the mirror. This isn't a healthy state of mind to be in. People who identify with their looks are constantly comparing themselves to other people and always thinking that they're getting old.

Did you know that just by simply changing your thoughts and perceptions, you could literally change the chemical makeup of your body? You could literally think yourself thin or appear to be 25 when you're really 40? Your thoughts send out messages to every cell in your body and those cells act according to those messages. In other words, there is this mind-body connection going on constantly.

Are you aware of your body?

Next time I'll be talking about living in the present moment...Stay tuned! In the meantime, if you haven't done so already, I invite you to visit my Squidoo lens which has tips on finding happiness.

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Deepak Chopra's Happiness Prescription: 10 Steps to Happiness

Not too long ago I was flipping channels and happened to come across Deepak Chopra's talk on PBS about his "Happiness Prescription". It was a great talk that he gave and he outlined his 10 steps to happiness that I want to share with you:

1. Be aware of your body

2. Live in the present moment

3. Embrace silence through meditation

4. Relinquish your need for external approval

5. Get rid of toxic emotions such as anger, regrets, and guilt

6. Have total knowledge of yourself

7. Don't judge yourself and others

8. Remove toxins from your body and your environments

9. Replace fear with love

10. Cultivate awareness

Over the next couple weeks I'll be sharing with you in detail what exactly each of these steps mean and what I've done personally to create happiness in my life. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out this video of Deepak Chopra talking about spirit and healing...



Purchase the Happiness Prescription CD or DVD at Amazon.com

Read my "Finding Happiness" lens at Squidoo...



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Gratitude = Happiness

When was the last time you gave thanks for what you have? Did you know that with gratitude, fear disappears?

This morning I got out of the shower feeling so renewed and refreshed. Thank you, God, for the water to take a shower! I said to myself. I immediately thought of all the other people in the world who have to walk miles just to get a gallon of water to cook with. I was also reminded of the last time I visited my grandmother in the Philippines and had to pump water from the well to take a bath. Actually, it wasn't even the kind of bath that we're all too familiar with here in the U.S. I would have to crouch down and pour cold water on my body out of a metal tub which I could barely see because there was no light in the bathroom.

Are you realizing now just how abundant your life is?

Tonight on The Daily Show with John Stewart they talked about the rising cost of gas prices (so what's new?!?) and it made me think about what I learned in the movie, The Secret: "What you think about expands". Could it be that collectively we are making this problem bigger by continuously talking about it? What if for just one day nobody talked about gas prices and we were just grateful that we have cars that can take us places?

In the spirit of practicing gratitude, here are 3 things that I am grateful for today:

• Babysitting my neighbor's baby and practicing diaper changing ;)
• The birthday gift cards I received from family and friends
• The flowers in the garden that remind me that beauty is everywhere

When you are grateful for the things you have, you can't help but be happy! Gratitude is the cure for the blues ;)

Photo Credit: Tanakawho

Related Posts:
Tips on Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude
Why Gratitude is the Key to Getting Anything You Want

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Manifesting What You Want in Life: Is Your Vision Clear?

This past week the word “vision” came up in many of my blog readings. I believe it started with the discovery of the Visionary Blogging blog that Easton Ellsworth recently started - who is, by the way, my editor over at Know More Media. I also asked my customer service blog readers the question, "What’s Your Vision?" And I do recall writing about having a vision over at my online business blog.

Of course, being in the now and focusing on what’s going on at this very moment is the cornerstone of a happy and fulfilling life, but I also believe that we should look to the future once in awhile and envision where we’d like to be. After all, we create these vision boards for a reason. These boards are our vision for what we want to manifest in the future, right?

When I’m laying in bed at night, I visualize myself walking into my multi-million dollar mansion…Huge windows provide views of grassy hills and the ocean in the near distance.
Every time I have this vision, I feel this surge of giddiness - as if I already have it!

If there’s anything I’ve learned about manifesting your desires, it’s that you have to have a clear vision of what you want, but just as important as having a clear vision is putting those good vibes and energy into it. Happiness is the key to success! It’s not the other way around…





Buy at AllPosters.com

Are you a visionary? Are you being crystal clear about what you want in life? Let me give you an example of what I mean by this…

One day I was cleaning the house and I was saying this affirmation to myself:

“I attract a large amount of money now…”

I said this to myself over and over for about thirty minutes. Well, about an hour later I get a call from my brother…

“Hey, my jacket I left there has about $700 in the breast pocket. Can you take out the money and set it aside in a safe place?” he asks.

“Ok, sure…” I said. I hung up and thought Wow, I did attract that money, but it’s not mine!

See what I mean? I should have been more specific and detailed about what I wanted. Perhaps a better affirmation would have been:

“A large amount of money is mine now…”

See the difference?

The next time you’re visualizing what you want, see every little detail. Get that crystal clear vision! If it’s a new job that you want, picture everything from what clothes you’re wearing at your new job to what your desk would look like…Even think about what type of pen you’ll be writing

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Become Truly Happy Now Using The Sedona Method

Happiness is something that all of us would like to have, right? As I watched the movie The Pursuit of Happyness the other night for the second time, I thought about my own journey to true happiness and how I came to realize that this happy state was always within me. We actually don't have to pursue happiness - it's more about making the choice to be happy versus chasing it.

Ok, this may seem easier said than done, so I've been researching all the different ways or tools that we could use to help us get to this state of happiness. One of these methods I've come to know about is The Sedona Method. Dale Hwoskin is the CEO and Director of Training of Sedona Training Associates and is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller, The Sedona Method: Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-being.

What I've come to learn is that The Sedona Method is a key to lasting happiness and has spurred this wave of peace across the world. One of the main principles behind The Sedona Method is this idea of releasing negative emotions that harbor in your mind. You can try out one of these "letting go" exercises (at the bottom of the page) and see how this process works. I tried it myself and felt this surge of energy come across me as I let go of the baggage of negativity that has occupied my mind the past couple days.

Here is a video of Dale Hwoskin explaining this idea of shedding unwanted emotions...


Remember that whatever negative emotion you're feeling right now is temporary. Once you're aware of that negativity, you have the choice to allow that emotion to stay with you or you can just let it go. Nobody or no circumstance is making you feel this way.

Visit The Sedona Method website and sign up for a free CD and DVD to learn more about how you can achieve happiness in your life!

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Flower Therapy

As I worked on organizing some of my photography and uploading them to my Flickr album, I realized that I didn't even know many of the names of flowers that I had taken photos of. So, I did a search for flowers and came across this website with some of the information I needed.

An article caught my eye: Flowers=Happiness. I discovered scientific proof of something I had known all along - that flowers have an immediate impact on a person's happiness. Forget the money - give me a tulip!

And because it is one of my duties in life to spread the happiness around, I share with you some of flowers that have given me much happiness in the past few weeks...

True Wealth

Does your happiness depend on how much money you have?

Last night I watched Friends With Money, a story about a group of friends - all of them pretty well off, well, except for one of them (played by Jennifer Aniston). The key takeaway in this movie is that no matter how much money we have, we will always face what I like to call "challenges" in life.

It's funny because in many ways I can relate to Aniston's character in this movie. I'm pretty much the only one out of 99% of my friends who isn't married, doesn't have kids, or has one of those high profile careers. What I have is a man who loves me dearly and shares the same passion that I have for life. If you paid me a million dollars to trade my life for the life that my friends lead, I would have to tell you to keep that million - if that tells you anything. Unless of course, I could still keep my boyfriend ;)

The thing is, money doesn't mean anything unless you have love: love for life, love for yourself, and a love for someone who loves you back just as much...Now that is true wealth ;)

Related Post:
Love Is the Key to Happiness

Discovering True Inspiration

What have you done to inspire others today? Do you feel inspired every moment of your life? As we continue on this journey through life, we're learning that happiness is not something that we have to buy - Happiness can be found in the moment. Happiness is a choice... It's doing what you love to do every second of every minute of every hour of your life.

When all is said and done, we all want to be happy. You feel rich by being happy and inspiring others. We all want to feel like we're needed in this world - like we have a purpose, right?

I've been studying celebrities lives lately, not because I want to be like any of them, but I wonder what the fascination is with them. What I've found is that they represent what we perceive is the "good life". They have the money, the nice cars, the fancy clothes... But when you see all the drama that happens with them, you realize, OK, their life really isn't all that. They have the same issues and insecurities that we do. They drink and drive, they go to jail, and they even commit suicide. So, if anything, their stories should tell us that having it all in the material sense doesn't mean anything if you're not spiritually tuned in or inspired.

That's not to say that celebrities are not inspiring. Many of them are truly inspiring when they're doing their work. Some of their life stories are inspiring, like the Lifetime special I saw the other day about Fantasia, the American Idol singer.

As I sat here and reflected on how I can be a more inspiring person, I thought about how I could turn my jewelry business into a business that inspires. Lately I've been looking at my blog stats and noticing that people are looking for inspirational jewelry. It's definitely a sign that I should be heading in that direction...

That said, I'm going to have a special sale on my current inventory of jewelry to make room for this new chapter in my business! From now through Sunday, August 20, you can take 60% off all items at my etsy shop! Also, I will be donating 10% of the sales to the Monarch School here in San Diego.

Shop Now!

Please note: I'm making this offer to The Good Life readers only (and my special customers!), so the prices you see in the shop do not reflect the 60% discount. You will need to go through the process of purchasing the item(s). Please wait for a separate invoice from me that will be emailed to you after you've indicated your intention to buy those items.

Thank you!!

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Doing What You Love?

It’s the weekend and wow, it is a gloriously beautiful day here in California! I wish that everyone could experience all the great weather that we have here because it truly energizes you and helps to put you in a state of good vibrations!

Instead of sitting in front of the TV this weekend, why not hop on over to Hay House Radio. Hay House is the publisher of books like The Law of Attraction and The Power of Intention - among very inspiring books. I love listening to Esther Hicks and Wayne Dyer speak…

The message I’d like to spread to you today is to simply do what brings you the most joy and happiness. For once, just let go, be free like the wind and go after your hearts desire! Tune out those voices that tell you that you “have to” do this or that or else you won’t make any money --- which was what came to me today….What I really wanted to do was to sit down with a glass of wine and make greeting cards - and that’s just what I did. Oh, how great that feels to just LET GO!

Are you letting go today? Are you allowing goodness to come to you instead of chasing it?

Read more of my thoughts on doing what you love: What If This Was the Meaning of Life?
Read more from Paul Graham: How to Do What You Love