Overflowing the World With Happiness

I try to distract myself when I use my new Vibrafirm exerciser.  I get that it gets the lymph to flow and allows my cells to replenish.  I also get that it is a fairly decent workout, burning just a tad more calories than a yoga routine.  But I don't enjoy watching myself shimmer and shake, and I am not easily lulled into a sense of nirvana.  I have to have something to keep me focused on my mind, so I pulled out an old magazine received last year and just now pulled it out.  And I'm glad I did.  Here's the great gifts I got from this December issue.

Dr. Allan J. Hamilton, a brain surgeon, was faced with the potential of having cancer.  As he observed his emotional reactions to the tests, then the wonderful news that the tumor was benign, he realized there were ways to live more fully, more benevolently, with the mystical humility that comes with joy of Being.  Here were his ideas:

1.   Keep a journal of blessings.  Every day write down three items in your life for which you are grateful.  Write as much as you can.
2.    Perform three acts of random kindness before noon and three more before sundown.  Hurry.  Make sure you will get no credit for them and that no one else will ever know about them.
3.    Write testimonials of gratitude to three individuals who meant a great deal to you in your life.  If they are still alive, deliver them in person.  If they have passed away, deliver them in person to their next of kin.
4.     Fill out three thank you cards each morning.
5.     Buy three books for three friends and send them anonymously to their attention.
6.     Make three apologies for three wrongs you have committed.
7.     Give three days of earnings anonymously to a charity in the name of three individuals who have wronged you.

I felt bliss reading these.  I feel bliss sharing them.

I'd ask you to report in if you do any of these things, but goes against something else that I read with great glee:

Question, I'm taking classes with a mystic who'd always talking about her miraculous powers.  Is this a sign of her enlightenment?
Rabbi Rami Shapiro:  No.  It is narcissism.  In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus seeks to keep his miracles secret.  Why?  Because miracles are beside the point.  Love is the point.

Let's get out there and love.

Hamilton, Allan J, MD  Making Happiness Last, Spirituality and Health Magazine, November - December, 2011