The scooter shot across two lanes, and once again I was thankful there was no cross traffic. The driver of the car was shocked but unhurt. My legs shook uncontrollably and a short while later, the emergency vehicles began to arrive. Most of the pain seemed the same as the old injury, only aggravated, and the x-rays showed nothing broken. But when the doctor cautiously opened the neck brace and checked my neck, pressing along it, one spot drew a squeal from me, and I said “That was new!” He quickly closed the neck brace, strapping me back in, and ordered a CAT scan.
Is Happiness in Your Genes?
Before I discovered the inner source of joy, my level of happiness was extremely low for a few months, and then in a flash, it shot up for many months and later leveled-off somewhere higher than my “normal.” Could the genes have somehow dramatically changed? Supposedly, as the unchanging, inherited “cause” of happiness, they cannot.
Happiness is Within – But What Does that Mean?
When people do think or say the words “Happiness is within,” most are just giving it “lip service.” For those people, it is just a nice theoretical thought they drop when it suits them – usually while counseling others. They say it just because it sounds good, and they generally only say it when things are going well. Few say and uphold it when things go awry.
Dealing with Being Dumped in a Relationship
Alchemy Session Audio Recording [24:02 min] [audio:https://alchemylovejoy.com/Wants_Relationship_32.mp3] Listen in on the conversation as Cindy walks a participant through the practice of Alchemy. Notice that Cindy asks the questions in the now, and the participant tends to answer in the past until she has shifted state. Here are some transcribed excerpts: [Cindy] “We don’t want things, people, or events, we want the feeling we mistake them for. If you have the relationship and you didn’t have a good feeling, would you want the relationship?” [Participant] “No.” [Cindy] “How does being in relationship feel? How does being full, appreciated, honoured, loved, validated, and unconditionally accepted feel? [Participant] “It feels foreign.” Bonus Recording The After Effects of Alchemy [12:55 min] [audio:https://alchemylovejoy.com/After_Effects_Alchemy_32.mp3] Listen to …
What if you didn’t need someone to be happy?
Would you make better choices in a partner? How much more free and loving could you then be in a relationship? Some people are so shocked by the idea of not needing someone that they ask, “But, then what would a relationship be for?” Such a response reveals how deeply their conditioning goes. Both my generation and the current generation have been raised in a “romantic era” that is more accurately called an “attachment era.” The majority of our movies and music proclaim a love that needs the other, and that idea is portrayed as a good, romantic thing. Perhaps it comes from the fear of losing someone and therefore needing them to be your “only one” and “forever.”
Mind the Gap – You are Before Thinking
The water splashed over the edge of the bucket and pooled out on the bathroom floor, running under the door.
I looked down at the puddle and a moment later heard the thought “water spilled on the floor.”
The obvious time delay in that thought arising was almost shocking, and I chuckled at the redundant comment from the “peanut gallery.” Years ago I never even noticed the delay. Today, in this moment, it was never so obvious that thought comes after experience—and quite some time after!
The awake bird gets the worm
This morning I was sitting by my sister’s pool, sipping hot chocolate, when my attention delved so deeply into thoughts and images of an event of the recent past that I did not immediately notice the robin land in the shady grass and begin to chirp. When her chirping got close enough and loud enough, the spell was broken, the dream ended, and my attention went fully on her for a moment. Upon noticing that I had been lost in thought, I do what I always do, which is to come to my senses; to feel into the body and breath, feel the heat of the sun, my seat on the steps, hear the call of the bird, notice the taste of …
People don’t support my happiness!
People don’t support my happiness! During a TeleClass last night, I described how my experience of life has changed since discovering the joy within; how things, people, or events–even the weather, don’t bother me, and someone who was relating emailed this question: “How do you explain this concept to others in your life? Sometimes, it seems people can’t accept that everything is ok. And not only ok but great. And they want to tear that down.” To deal with this, you could learn communication techniques or ways to improve your self-confidence or self-image, but those are just temporary, superficial band-aid attempts that support a sense of separation, of ego. Alchemy is much more radical, it is not about learning or …
Burning Bridges
I thought of recent conversations with colleagues about the “tipping point” or “turning point” where, when a decision is made, it’s over and there’s no turning back. We’ve been trying to grasp what exactly that is; it seems to be a decision, but perhaps it is more than that…
One habit (which most people have) that leads to depression
Depression and anxiety are becoming epidemic. Statistics on Depression: • One in ten U.S. adults report depression. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, 2008)