LoudenMouth

Get Happy

My friend Michael Neill's new book Feel Happy Now! is out in the U.S. and it's a must have. I am friends with Michael, true, but he was a coaching client first and then a friend, and he's a friend because he's kind, incredibly smart, and dedicated to making good information that really helps people available - and being a great Dad and husband and having fun while doing it.

Here's an excerpt:

"One of my favorite quotes, for which I have never satisfactorily
found an author, is: 'Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take, but by
the moments which take your breath away.'

In the past week I have had my breath taken away by:
*my four-year-old daughter's giggle when I tucked her in for the
night
*hearing my nine-year-old daughter singing along to High School
Musical
*watching my 12-year-old son dancing when he thought I wasn't
looking
*seeing my wife coming down the stairs dressed to the nines for
an evening out
*seeing my dogs cuddled up with one another sound asleep on the
sofa
*the view out over the valley on a midnight hike with a friend
*a scene in a movie about a family who lived in a lighthouse

Each time your breath is taken away by the beauty of nature, love or even a sappy, happy movie, you are born again into that moment - and by taking the time to collect those moments you get to relive them whenever you choose.

While I am not advocating getting all your medical advice from Julie Andrews, you could do worse than make a list of a few of your favorite things - you may find that suddenly, you feel glad.

To put this  into practice, make a list of all the things you can think of that 'make' you happy, from the sound of a cat purring to the taste of your favourite food. Carry the list with you at all times and add to it whenever you can.

Whenever you are feeling a bit down and in need of a pick me up, read through your list until you begin to feel an inner smile. Let that smile flow through your whole body until you are once again feeling good on the inside."

I know that the ideas in Michael's book work because I've been using them since he sent me the U.K. version so do yourself a favorite and get on the Happiness train!

Yoga is Union

Ahhh... A week with Amy did me a world of good. I'm feeling so much more hopeful and awake. It is such an absolute truth that we must clear the space if we are to realize our true nature.

I wish I could explain the mystery of my divorce-- because I would love to understand it. The shock that some of you expressed in your comments has been reverberating inside of me and in our friends and family, too. Love and attraction have always been in abundance between us-- and almost equally present has been a something else, and that something else became too heavy and too hurtful.

It is so liberating and so disorienting to hatch a new identity. Who am I now that I'm not married?  Some moments I'm sure I have no skin on my body anymore and no ground under my feet. I literally feel dizzy. Other moments I'm sure I could soar into the heavens and love everyone and everything.

It would be so comfy if I knew what I was doing!!