Ten Keys to Happiness
by Deepak Chopra, M.D.
1. Listen to your body's wisdom, which expresses itself through signals of
comfort and discomfort. When choosing a certain behavior, ask your body, "How
do you feel about this?" If your body sends a signal of physical or emotional
distress, watch out. If your body sends a signal of comfort and eagerness,
proceed.
2. Live in the present, for it is the only moment you have. Keep your attention
on what is here and now; look, for the fullness in every moment. Accept what
comes to you totally and completely so that you can appreciate it, learn from
it, and then let it go. The present is as it should be. It reflects infinite
laws of Nature that have brought you this exact thought, this exact physical
response. This moment is as it is because the universe is as it is. Don't
struggle against the infinite scheme of things; instead, be at one with it.
3. Take time to be silent, to meditate, to quiet the internal dialogue. In
moments of silence, realize that you are recontacting your source of pure
awareness. Pay attention to your inner life so that you can be guided by
intuition rather than externally imposed interpretations of what is or isn't
good for you.
4. Relinquish your need for external approval. You alone are the judge of your
worth; and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what
anyone else thinks. There is great freedom in this realization.
5. When you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to any person or
circumstance, realize that you are only struggling with yourself. Putting up
resistance is the response of defenses created by old hurts. When you
relinquish this anger, you will be healing yourself and cooperating with the
flow of the universe.
6. Know that the world "out there" reflects your reality "in here." The people
you react to most strongly, whether with love or hate, are projections of your
inner world. What you most hate is what you most deny in yourself. What you
most love is what you most wish for in yourself. Use the mirror of
relationships to guide your evolution. The goal is total self-knowledge. When
you achieve that, what you most want will automatically be there, and what you
most dislike will disappear.
7. Shed the burden of judgment--you will feel much lighter. Judgement imposes
right and wrong on situations that just are. Everything can be understood and
forgiven, but when you jugde, you cut off understanding and shut down the
process of learning to love. In judging others, you reflect your lack of self-
acceptance. Remember that every person you forgive adds to your self-love.
8. Don't contaminate your body with toxins, either food, drink, or toxic
emotions. Your body is more than a life-support system. It is the vehicle that
will carry you on the journey of your evolution. The health of every cell
directly contributes to your state of well-being, because every cell is a point
of awareness within the field of awareness that is you.
9. Replace fear-motivated behavior with love-motivated behavior. Fear is the
product of memory, which dwells in the past. Remembering what hurt us before,
we direct our energies toward making certain that an old hurt will not repeat
itself. But trying to impose the past on the present will never wipe out the
threat of being hurt. That happens only when you find the security of your own
being, which is love. Motivate by the truth inside you, you can face any threat
because your inner strength is invulnerable to fear.
10. Understand that the physical world is just a mirror of a deeper
intelligence. Intelligence is the invisible organizer of all matter and energy,
and since a portion of this intelligence resides in you, you share in the
organizing power of the cosmos. Because you are inseparably linked to
everything, you cannot afford to foul the planet's air and water. But at a
deeper level, you cannot afford to live with a toxic mind, because every
thought makes an impression on the whole field of intelligence. Living in
balance and purity is the highest good for you and the Earth.
