Happiness Is An Inside Job
By Shannon Crane
Although bookstores are becoming obsolete, the proliferation of personal development and self-help publications continues. Most books aimed at personal development or labeled “self-help” are purchased by those of us who have read a bunch of others. After all, have you ever met anyone who just had one of that type of book on their shelf?
So why is it that we can have an intellectual understanding of the concepts inherent in so much of these materials, and yet feel as if something is still missing? We read, take workshops, have our ‘ah ha‘ moments, a breakthrough here and there …and yet we continue to search for the missing piece, or pieces.
Each new book, new course or new teacher promises that they have the answer. And truth be told, all of the answers that we have been promised were given. All of the teachers who have written the books, outlined the territory, drawn the map and shared their wisdom have indeed fulfilled their promise.
The wisdom and teachings, the practice, the mental shift or gymnastics that they propose all work. And no doubt worked for them and maybe for many others like them. So, why have they not worked for us?
We will only have the breakthrough we desire when we begin to take and move the principles out of our heads and into our actions, into the living of the truths. Yet it is not that simple.
Happiness: What does it take?
Putting positive affirmations on the mirror or refrigerator, writing down our vision or focusing on what we want isn’t enough in itself. So, yes, the mind is also crucial to the implementation, and the mind and taking action can’t quite be separated. Having the intellectual understanding is a pre-requisite for being able to incorporate the ideals. Yet it takes fully integrating both our heart, thoughts and actions to have results.
Somehow, however, the full sense of embodiment continues to elude most of us. The question becomes why? Why do some people seem to really “get” it and others who read, study and intellectually understand the metaphysical or psychological healing ideals do not? What does embodying these principles and teachings really look like?
It is the continual integration of the mind shifts on a daily basis followed by a commitment to living in integrity. It is a return of our focus and attention to what we know to be truth, regardless of external appearance and circumstances.
The illusion that keeps us stuck is that there will come a day that we fully live and integrate this knowledge on such a deep level that our lives do not look the same. And indeed, there are deeper and deeper levels of integrating the information so that external reality does begin to shift and change. But before that shift can happen, there must be an understanding of not needing anything external to change.
It is a paradox and counterintuitive. In a world where intuition is needed and has generally been undervalued and dismissed, to learn the balance of following our intuition and also thinking or acting in counter-intuitive ways can be tricky to say the least.
And so the searching for the answers outside of ourselves continues, in part because navigating that balance is something most of us do not have the tools and equipment to do. Those that are offering the tools and practices are often taking us in a direction that may lead to temporary insight and understanding, but not lasting change.
Finding Happiness in Self and Balance
Self-help or personal development books and workshops can assure you that by reading or attending them, your life will change. But that is an empty promise. There are thousands of teachers with two-step, three-step, four-step, six keys, and eight pieces of wisdom to change and turn your life around. Yet we are still searching.
We can soak up all that knowledge; we can read and study as much as our minds can hold and none of it – none of it – will make a difference. Until … we are ready. Until we decide to take all of that knowledge, implement it, and work with it in a completely different way. No one can do that for us. We can only do it for ourselves.
So there will come a time where we have to put down all of the self-help books. Where we stop buying into someone else’s promise for deliverance, and understand and accept that we already have all the answers. We’ve been reading them and studying them for years. We already know the information. There is nothing more to be gained by looking outside.
This is not to say that there is no value in the reading of new material. For even as we extend our periods of awareness, we will encounter challenges and obstacles – potential land mines that will blow our serenity to pieces. Having anchors and others to remind us of the calm water and stillness that runs deep is of great benefit.
Thus, part of the balance we integrate into our lives is understanding that the voices of spiritual teachers or authors on our bookshelves are valuable insofar as reminding us of what we already know. And we can glean from them the strength and wisdom they offer for the times when we have forgotten. Yet remember, they do not have the answers. They can only point the way.
It is up to us to travel the road, follow the path, decipher the map, and live our day-to-day lives with this integration. We do this through our dedication and our commitment. We remind ourselves daily to pay attention to our thoughts, focus and words.
We accept our here and now while simultaneously holding the picture of a future we choose. In that future, which becomes our now, there is only love. There is no more seeking and no more missing pieces. All is well.
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About the Author
Shannon Crane is a writer and speaker passionate about sharing how one’s focus, feelings and perspective influence the quality of life. She has developed an eight-step process to changing focus, getting in touch with the body wisdom, and seeing things from a soul perspective. You can join her Facebook community, connect with her at www.yourlifeperspective.com, or read her blog at: www.awakeninginlove.com.
