Chapter 23 - You And Your Subconscious Mind As Partners In Action…In Relation To Happiness

Brides are reputed to say, after the nuptial ceremony: "This is the happiest moment of my life!" Parents are credited with saying, upon their child's graduation: "This is our happiest moment!" So-called "strong" men are inclined to say upon receipt of some signal honor: "I am grateful for this honor. This is the happiest moment of my life." In one form or another, I am sure you often hear people say rather impetuously: "This is the happiest moment of my life!" Usually, the statement is emotionally impelled by reason of some dramatic circumstance. I am one hundred per cent for spontaneous reaction to joyful moments. There can't be too many of them as far as I am concerned, but I do take exception to labeling any one moment in life as the happiest moment, because life would be a pretty sad affair for anyone who had already had his or her "happiest moment" and had none as good to look forward to!

Happiness should not be exceptional

I am pretty sure that you are inclined to remind me that people don't mean it literally when they say, "This is my happiest moment." Yes, I know. They mean to say that a certain event is one of their happiest moments. But there is something else that most of these people mean. They are implying that such events of great happiness are exceptional in their lives. That should not be so, for them, for you or for anyone.

Because of all of the opportunities there are for being happy, and because you can consistently make choices of activities that induce happiness, there is no reason for this desirable circumstance to be exceptional for you. Such opportunities are abundant in your daily life, and such choices are yours to make. You only have to set the stage for such influences to be effective, which simply means self-influenced action that is branded with "happiness."

What is happiness?

Let's see if we can define happiness in a down-to-earth, practical manner. Once it is thus defined, it will be easier to establish it as a usual, everyday condition rather than as an exceptional circumstance. I feel sure that these definitions will fit your feeling of what happiness really is.

You are happy when you feel right about yourself, about others, about your environment, about your lot in life. Let's broaden that idea a bit and see how close it comes to the time when you are happy. First, let me say that I agree with you in your observation that happiness has many outward manifestations. When you are happy, you are cheerful, or joyful, or genial, or optimistic, or contented, or just in good humor. But actually these are the results of being happy, are they not?

Actions bring happiness

If you do something that is creative, and as a result you produce something distinctive, you feel right about yourself. This puts you in good humor, and you are optimistic about success, so you are happy, about yourself. If you work with someone on a project that brings enjoyment to both of you, you feel right about this other person. Because you are genial, and share this good experience with another person, you feel right about the whole idea, and you are happy! If, in relation to your family, your associates at work, a social group, you do something to better their lot, you feel right about your environment, and you are happy to be a part of it.

Pause a moment, and consider the times when you have felt right about yourself, or about the people and things around you. Those were times that you were really happy, weren't they? And if you analyze those times further, you find that they happened when you did something that brought them about. YOU, personally, did something! So, one practical definition of happiness is: feeling right as the result of doing something genial, or cheerful, or optimistic. There are unlimited opportunities in your daily life for doing such things, provided you choose to do them!

Happiness is like a warm fire, a warming influence that you need in your life, but like a fire, happiness needs fuel. There is fuel in abundance all around you. Gather it in and use it, and you don't have to let that warming fire ever go out of your life. In a moment, I'll show you how to be an expert "fire tender" without having to do anything that you wouldn't want to do.

Happiness pays life-long dividends

Consider one other factor about happiness. This, too, is in relation to your own life. Happiness is made up partly of current experiences and partly of memories. As a result, anything that you do today that makes you feel right, and brings happiness, will have a lasting effect in the form of a happy memory. A store of happy memories is like a treasure. You can keep them forever and they will always have value. In fact, they will increase in value, as attested by those who have but a few memories of those "happiest moments."

Make happiness a habit

All of this is most significant to you, because your subconscious is the storehouse for these memories; if you have an abundant supply of them stored away there, you are going to be more and more influenced by them. It is apparent, therefore, that everything you do today and in the future that makes you feel right and happy will increase the influence for happiness that comes from the power of your subconscious. Does this imply that happiness can become a habit? It does, and the time to start cultivating that habit through self-influence is now. How? This way:

Happiness is giving

1. Give of yourself. Give of your talents, your abilities, your time, in a service relationship to others. Start with those closest to you, your family, your friends. Expand your "giving" to your working associates, to community groups. Support others through your physical, moral and spiritual efforts. Be service minded service-motivated, and you will feel right and be happy!

Happiness is seeing right

2. Look for the bright side. Every circumstance and every relationship does have two sides to it, and one side is a bright side! Look for it! Impractical? A Pollyanna? Not at all! "The creed" and "three rules" that are the basis of controlled self-influence tell you that the only answers for you are on the bright side! The bright side of things and of people is the optimistic, cheerful side, and if, at first, this side is not apparent, search for it. You don't want to see the dark side of things, do you? Of course not! To feel right, see right, be right and be happy, do what you want to do, look for the bright side until you find it.

Happiness is acting positively

3. Act purposefully. This is one of the major themes of your book. All we are doing here is re-emphasizing that if you want to feel right, and be happy, you can't be passive. You will attract happiness to yourself as though you are a magnet only through purposeful action. Every time you act purposefully, you are knocking out fear, doubt and uncertainty. Your practice projects with self-influence have proven that, because you felt right about every one of them. Purposeful action brings about optimism and contentment. As a result, you can't feel "righter" or happier!

Happiness is living your faith

4. Establish and maintain a working relationship with your God. It is not within my province to prescribe the ways and means of your relationship with your God, or to recommend a specific doctrine or church or religious union. Whatever your choice is in this matter, I know that it is the right one for you. What I do recommend is a working relationship. Be an active participant in whatever action will support your religious faith, and live your faith as though it were as much a part of your every day life as eating, working, sleeping. "Feeling right" once a week through attendance at a worship service is good, but it's like a starvation diet! Seven days a week should be standard for feeling right about your relationship to your God. The answer is a working relationship, and happiness.

Happiness is harmonious action

5. Seek peace of mind. Peace of mind is not an elusive thing. It is maintained by keeping your emotional reactions and your physical reactions on an even keel, together. This is done by cultivating an attitude of personal inner harmony that says in the face of disturbing environmental conditions, "This negative condition is not good, I see that clearly. I can do something positive to offset it. That too, I see clearly, and I will do it at once!" This implies that harmony is a dynamic force, doesn't it? That it is! It is the substitution of a positive reaction for a negative one, a power you possess with the help of your subconscious. The kind of dynamic harmony that is the key to peace of mind, to feeling right and to happiness.

All of these add up to a grass-roots interpretation of happiness. There is nothing superficial or artificial about them. The important point is that all of them are actions based upon self-influence . . . and upon things that you really want to do. None of them has anything to do with any "special occasion" or "exceptional moment." You can do every one of them every day! You know that the opportunities are in plentiful supply and, above all, you know that the choice is up to you. So, as you are now skilled in self-influenced action, the answer is quite obvious. These are the things you will do to feel right, and be happy!

In Sum

A happy person is one who deliberately makes things happen.

He takes advantage of the unlimited daily opportunities for giving of himself.

He looks for the bright side.

He acts purposefully, living his faith and seeking peace of mind.
 
Result Getting Projects

The "habit of happiness" starts with the self-influenced attitude of "What I do will bring me happiness, what I can do will bring me happiness, what I will do will bring me happiness." Assign this declaration to your subconscious along with any other projects you are working on. For example, if you are working on projects in relation to faith or goals, add this declaration of intention to the other work you are doing for yourself, consciously and subconsciously. Don't isolate this assignment as something too "special." It is important. But remember, we don't want happiness to be an exceptional condition. We want to get it established as a usual condition. So get this step into your program as though it belonged there no matter what else is going on.

So, first establish the attitude of "I do, I can, I will." Then, choose a day, a full day, when you will deliberately do at least one thing in line with each of the actions that make you feel right and happy.

Use the "timetable" based upon your goals and, within the coming week, get this day established on the "timetable." Here is something that is most important, and with a slightly different angle to it. Don't try to establish the specific things you will do, but set up as goals, the kinds of things you will do, give of yourself, look on the bright side, act purposefully, demonstrate a working relationship with your God, and seek peace of mind through harmonious actions. Having determined to do these kinds of things, look for opportunities to do them on the chosen day. For example, you won't know in advance "where and what" you are going to look for to find the bright side. All you know in advance is that you are going to look for the opportunity to do it, and then act accordingly. The opportunity will present itself!

This is the second step in establishing the "habit of happiness." Having done them on a chosen day which is to be one of your regular, active days you will prove that there is nothing "exceptional" about happy experiences, since the same thing can happen every day! Be sure of this: identify these kinds of actions to your subconscious, as a preliminary to each day, until the "habit of happiness" is established!

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...