"We cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday
pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world
grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself."

From the Inaugural Address
U.S. President Barack Obama
January 20, 2009

We are living in a time of unprecedented change; a perfect time to go deep to who we really are ... awakening ourselves from the constraints of biological and social conditioning, and engaging a higher level of consciousness for all sentient beings here on earth. Can we now envision a world in which our oneness with each other and all of creation is not subject to question?

Can we now envision a world in which every living being understands, at their very core, that their life is assured of abundance, joy, peace, and creativity? Can we now envision a world where the notions of judgement, condemnation and superiority are regarded as the illusions they truly are?  Our current state of change gives us an opportunity unlike that of any predecessors on this planet - to live out the simple statement, "We are all One."  But how do we do this?  How do we manifest this in external experience?

Eckhart Tolle explains, "What is arising now is not a new belief system, a new religion, spiritual ideology, or mythology.  We are coming to the end of not only mythologies but also ideologies and belief systems.  The change goes deeper than the content of your mind, deeper than your thoughts.  In fact, at the heart of the new consciousness lies the transcendence of thought, the newfound ability of rising above thought, of realizing a dimension in yourself that is infinitely more vast than thought.  

You then no longer derive your identity, your sense of who you are, from the incessant stream of thinking that in the old consciousness you take to be yourself.  What a liberation to realize that the "voice in my head" is not who I am. 

Who am I then?  The one who sees that.  The awareness that is prior to thought, the space in which the thought -- or the emotion or sense perception happens."

 

The greatest GIFT to ourself and the world is to realize our inherent peace and joyfulness already deep within Life. It is such a valuable event for us to experience human life.  Below are 10 potent practices from Eckhart Tolle to excavate who we truly are and uncover our happiness.


A Happier You!

from Eckhart Tolle's teachings

1. Don't seek happiness. If you seek it, you won't find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom from unhappiness is attainable now, by facing what is rather than making up stories about it. 
   
   
2. The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral, which always is as it is. There is the situation or the fact, and here are my thoughts about it. Instead of making up stories, stay with the facts. For example, "I am ruined" is a story. It limits you and prevents you from taking effective action. "I have 50 cents left in my bank account" is a fact. Facing facts is always empowering.
   
   
3. See if you can catch the voice in your head, perhaps in the very moment it complains about something, and recognize it for what it is: the voice of the ego, no more than a thought. Whenever you notice that voice, you will also realize that you are not the voice, but the one who is aware of it. In fact, you are the awareness that is aware of the voice. In the background, there is the awareness. In the foreground, there is the voice, the thinker. In this way you are becoming free of the ego, free of the unobserved mind.
   
   
4. Wherever you look, there is plenty of circumstantial evidence for the reality of time—a rotting apple, your face in the bathroom mirror compared with your face in a photo taken 30 years ago—yet you never find any direct evidence, you never experience time itself. You only ever experience the present moment.
   
   
5. Why do anxiety, stress, or negativity arise? Because you turned away from the present moment. And why did you do that? You thought something else was more important. One small error, one misperception, creates a world of suffering.
   
   
6. People believe themselves to be dependent on what happens for their happiness. They don't realize that what happens is the most unstable thing in the universe. It changes constantly. They look upon the present moment as either marred by something that has happened and shouldn't have or as deficient because of something that has not happened but should have. And so they miss the deeper perfection that is inherent in life itself, a perfection that lies beyond what is happening or not happening. Accept the present moment and find the perfection that is untouched by time.
   
   
7. The more shared past there is in a relationship, the more present you need to be; otherwise, you will be forced to relive the past again and again.
   
   
8. Equating the physical body with "I," the body that is destined to grow old, wither, and die, always leads to suffering.  To refrain from identifying with the body doesn't mean that you no longer care for it.  If it is strong, beautiful, or vigorous, you can appreciate those attributes—while they last.  You can also improve the body's condition through nutrition and exercise.  If you don't equate the body with who you are, when beauty fades, vigor diminishes, or the body becomes incapacitated, this will not affect your sense of worth or identity in any way.  In fact, as the body begins to weaken, the light of consciousness can shine more easily.
   
   
9. You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you and allowing that goodness to emerge.
   
   
10. If peace is really what you want, then you will choose peace.