True Key to Happiness

Oops. You talk about the true key and I talk about true happiness.
Ever seen very small kids being happy, or even babies being happy? There are no efforts, there is just an opening up to the true joy that lies deep inside of all of us. Following your heart and not your mind will make you happy.
Efforts are great - efforts in the right direction. Might be connected with self-acceptance and self-esteem. The change in my life happened when I realized I am absolutely lovable.
There is a divine spark inside of me and this makes me lovable- not my efforts.
Nowadays I am doing some efforts because I have understood that this life is very short and very precious. I don’t want to waste any time. Wasting time is the only sin I know. Doing efforts in the right direction avoids to waste time.

 

Thanks, you made my day.
You are a wonderful person exactly you are right now. No more efforts needed.
Do efforts when you feel responsible to do them. Can’t quote the bible. My religion is kindness. “The kingdom of heaven is within” - so true.

 

I too believe that you're responsible for it. For example, a relationship shouldn't be the reason for happiness.

 

Key to happiness is getting rid of desire and attachment and being content with the present moment

 

all in balance. I think it's the key

 

Helping people and putting GOD in my heart is bringing me happiness

 

meaningful connections with others is very important to being happy and content with life. humans have evolved with this need because our very survival and well being depends on it. after countless years this primal instinct has not gone away and cant be completely overcome.

Regardless, living in line with your values is integral to a good sense of self worth. that being said, your mindset can be sculpted towards something that isn't so dependent on meeting those standards.

it's really up to the individual to decide what they want to feel they need to be happy.

 

i wasn't really arguing with anything you said and that still doesn't make what i said any less true.... Maybe it just didn't come out the way i wanted it too. 1st love, 2nd discipline, 3rd simple habits.
and a newborn infant is dependent a healthy connection with it's mother in order to have good psychological development. if not it can a really hard time adjusting and building quality relationships later in life. this is a basic understanding of evolutionary psychology.
Mental illness doesn't remove this need and a lack of it can actually exacerbate the symptoms of say, severe depression, anxiety. i know people with schizophrenia and most of them have the same basic human needs as everyone else, unless they are an extreme case.
i was just trying to point out we have evolved to need these things, regardless of how much meditation or praying you do. Empirical Facts don't change this.

g2g back to my meditation.

 

I don't think this would apply to adults since children lack responsibility, experience, and knowledge. Their happiness is found in their innocence and in their ignorance. Fast forward to them being adults and their way to achieve happiness must evolve as well. Now do I agree that effort is the key to happiness? No, not really. I believe the key to happiness is gratefulness.

 

Overall i would say there is no one thing, it is a multifaceted problem involving your psychological development and upbringing, position in hierarchy to those around you, world views, internal dialogue, meaningful connections with others / healthy relationships "and how far in line your actions are with your values" = Discipline. not to mention your genetic predisposition to neurochemical production, which can vary greatly from person to person, conscientiousness. And don't forget about diet and lifestyle choices to.....

 

I like that.
I don’t want to discuss about happiness, everybody has to find out by himself or herself what makes him or her truly happy.
And how do I get gratefulness? I have to find out by myself.
Half year ago I was sent in a clinic and for some days it looked like there might be only some weeks for me to be alive. Instead of getting into panic there was a most beautiful feeling of gratitude inside of me. To feel grateful to be alive. To realize how blessed I am, to realize that each breath is a gift.

 

Amen to that brotha its all true to much hate in this world and selfishness so the GOOD has to overcome these

 

EyesToSee... your post speaks to me in a very direct way. You are right. The part about effort, it makes sense to me in this way:

If I passively sit and expect others to give me what I need to be happy, then I will be sorely disappointed. Happiness seems to me to be an effect brought about by an active cause, or effort. And the active cause must consist of some kind of interior movement within me that generates happiness.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

Not necessarily. There are those who are teaching the art of gratitude.

Beautiful. I think focusing on our own mortality is a great way to keep ourselves grateful. It was actually a very old practice to meditate on death. There was a old spiritual prayer book I read where they even had a practice of picking one day out of the month to treat as the day of your death. Not only does meditating on death allow us to be grateful for every breath and moment of life, it also helps us to detach from superficial things. How many of us would allow trivial things to effect us if we knew this was our last day? How many of us would hold grudges or feuds? Plus how much more prepared we will be to meet death when that day comes! Nothing but benefits.

Also I'm happy to see you are still here.