I have found that there are two main life skills people need to develop to establish happiness. The first is our self-image. We think to our self-image and our self-image responds to our thoughts. If we have a negative self-image, we get negative responses to whatever we think. I have dealt with people with serious challenges. I have taught them the simple technique that changes their self-image immediately changes the way they interpret their situation. If we can learn to interpret our situations from a positive perspective, we can be genuinely happy during our darkest times.
The second life skill is simple self-trust. When we put importance into our thoughts, we see life as less significant than our mind-made reality. There is an art to how we use our brain and it requires self-trust to make this inner reality serve us. For instance, I worked with combat veterans with PTSD. When they were in combat, no thought in their mind was as important as their life. I used that same principle as I dealt with cancer and AIDS patients. When I made their life more important than the creations of their mind, they found a deep happiness as they dealt with their challenge. In that happiness is the Wisdom of Their Body and powerful inner resources they need to fight their illness.
I have seen a profound happiness at the core of every human being, which is tied into the will to live. If we found that happiness in our day-to-day life, we would face our challenges free from limiting thoughts and self-imposed boundaries. When we develop a positive self-image with self-trust, our brains have the ability to float beyond the limitations that miss the miracle of life.
Marc Lerner has written a book, A Healthy Way to be Sick, which can be downloaded at http://ahealthywaytobesick.org . You can find the rest of his work at http://lifeskillsinc.com . I feel the real potential of each of us begins within and it is up to us to discover it.
© Marc Lerner and Life Skills 2010