Like Something and Breathe

The Church of Happy Thoughts

the one truly unorganized church

How to Have a Happy Thought

From yesterday, here is where we are.

In this moment we have everything we need.

we have noticed something around us we like.

This morning, I like this ivy plant in the sun on the fire escape,

just outside the window where I am sitting.

and a white candle on the windowsill.

We are not thinking about our trip to the grand canyon tomorrow,

a happy thought indeed,

we are noticing something around us right this moment that we like.

the wind on our face,

anything.

Even if we have to resort to something like

the sky, the stars, somewhere in the vast universe. 

But something you hear, feel, taste, touch, see.

right this moment.

We've started to breathe intentionally

though not necessarily ritually.

Just naturally, 1,2,3, in

4,5,6,7 out,  pause.

1,2,3, in

4,5,6,7 out.

OR

how ever you do it.

it's all good.

start with deep breaths if you want.

wherever you are this moment.

This may sound, at the very least, elementary.

But, I have found that  people sometimes make things hard.

Let's say, actually, I sometimes make things hard.

that aren't, really.

So.  Then.  The most important thought right now:

At this moment, I have everything I need.

Here we are.

in this moment.  really IN it.  How if feels, tastes, sounds, looks.

and what we like about it.

(there may be things we HATE about it,  but, that's

emergency happy thinking, we will get to that.)

Then, this is where a Happy Thought isn't necessarily visual thinking, or imagining,

although it CAN be...those can be very happy thoughts.

The car you want. how it would feel to drive it.

the life you want, how it  would feel to live it.

the person you may want to experience life with, how it would feel to dance with them.

all good.

All visual thinking is probably a happy thought.

but

not all happy thoughts are visual thinking.

A Happy Thought

according to the Church of Happy Thoughts

is envisioning the life you have

right now.

that's actually a huge difference.

When you get done envisioning the life you WANT, and KNOW you can have it because

technically

it is also here and now.

But that gets into another sort of gray realm

for some of us

about not ACTUALLY having that car or life or person

at this moment.

and, well,

that's sort of when you need a happy thought.

So, once you are breathing, happily walking down the street,

or wherever you are

being thankful for whatever you are experiencing,

whatever that is,

that's the perfect time to think about something in your life

that you actually HAVE or Do.

Recently,  I had a rather huge disappointment.  Of course it involved money.

Money I knew I'd earned, and had been happy about it

and believed I would get and envisioned the trip I was going to take with it,

all good.

Then, something happened completely out of my control that made it not happen.

I was mad, disappointed. confused. somewhat victimized,

I HATE that,

but mostly really really really disappointed.

It actually was rather an emergency happy thinking situation.

I want to share it HERE because it is somewhat important at this point.

I have a grand-daughter.  She is perfect in every way.

she lives in Bozeman Montana.

I live in New York City.

A few days before this disappointing money thing happened,

my daughter was telling me about taking her to a little river that they pass

every day on the way to the park.

It's sort of amazing. there are all these little rivers everywhere in Bozeman.

She was not quite one year old.

They stop at this favorite place by a favorite river and put their feet in the water.

The water is clear.

The stones are flat and friendly.

and they just sit there with their feet on the stones and the river running by.

When I think about those almost one year old feet, those darling toes, in the river,

on the flat and friendly stones,

sitting on the lap of my very own baby girl,

it is an amazingly happy thought.

Now, I bring this up because, technically, they aren't HERE, with me in New York

right now.

But, they are right this moment in my thoughts, sitting with their toes in the river.

They are something I HAVE at this moment.

It is possible to actually BE with them,

as soon as tomorrow. 

But, knowing that, I can be with them completely today.  Right now.

The toes in the river.

I cannot tell you how many times in those several days, dealing with the disappointment,

I went to those toes in the river.

Together with,

"in this moment. I have everything I need."

And, I am loving that ivy plant and the wind rustling it.

the wind I can feel through this open window.

 I have coffee.

a candle.  Actually it's the little flame I really love.

I have some organic almond butter and a piece of toast.

And.

I can breathe.

Julie



The Moment: overused, underunderstood cliche

The Church of Happy Thoughts

the one truly unorganized church

How to Have a Happy Thought

Number One:

get into the moment.

I know I know, overused, underunderstood cliche.

"get into the moment".

But, true peace may be there,

so,

it's worth a shot.

First of all, let me say this... there are billions of ways and infinite happy thoughts that are possible and in fact happening at this very moment.  They just drop in unexpectedly when we see, touch, hear, smell, taste something, someone, somewhere that makes us happy. 

That is good. 

And then, there are those times when other kinds of thoughts,

not so happy ones,

(we all know what those are),

that are often based in fear of the future

or

disappointment (to say the least)

in the past.

Those just drop in, too.  And, I used to think I had to have them. They were mine. 

I started to be aware of this years ago, when I needed to forgive someone.

I just couldn't do it.

Someone told me to right it out 70 time 70 times,

my act of forgiveness.

no go.

I tried dissecting the word into it's ancient origins to get a glimpse of what

it actually MEANS.

Interesting.

but, no go.

I became aware, acutely of this problem because I was suffering.

The lack of forgiveness was making ME suffer.

It wasn't doing anything to him.

He was fine.

Happy even.

And cared not one twit whether I forgave him or not.

Didn't even ask for it.  forgiveness.

I think that's what really made me burn.

So, I said this has GOT to stop. It is only hurting ME, as those "how could you" thoughts just dropped in and spiraled me down from one to the next to the next to the next.

So. One day. Driving down a familiar road home.  It came to me.  If you forgive someone a debt,

let's say they owe you $100, 

And, one day, you say to them,

"Frank, Sue, whoever, You don't owe me that $100 anymore.  I've decided to forgive the debt."

for whatever reason.  The slate is clean.  In fact, in that situation, there no longer is a slate.

So, I started thinking about that.  Frank or Sue doesn't owe me anything anymore.

My decision.

I started picturing in my mind these little scissors cutting the ribbons that were attaching me to expectations from this person.

With each clip and ribbon falling away, I said you don't owe me anything.

Not loyalty.  Not honesty.  Not gratitude. Not anything.

And, within moments,

I was free.

After that, everytime an unhappy thought dropped in about that particular situation,

as soon as I realized I was swirling down,

I just started to think about those little ribbons, and the scissors

dropping them away one by one and "you don't owe me anything anymore."

I will not expect it. or wish for it. or even WANT it.  and

"I don't owe you anything anymore."

I am free.

So. I digress.  We are talking about Happy Thoughts, here, and how to have them.

But, I think it sometimes begins with the notion that you CAN

no matter what.

Find a way.

or Make a way.

In those moments when the not so happy ones are taking away your peace.

So.

Get into the moment.

HOW DO WE DO THAT.

one way:

(and, by the way, you don't have to be sitting in lotus position or anywhere special to do this.  Walking down the street, anywhere.)

But, as usual, it involves breathing.

For one thing, if you decide to take a moment to think about breathing, you really can't be thinking about anything else, in that moment.

so, that's a start.

Breathe in.  1,2, 3

Breathe out.  4,5,6,7  pause,

Breathe in.  1,2,3

Breathe out.  4,5,6,7

I'm told if you do this 17 times, you find yourself in a place where you can possibly allow

all kinds of happiness to come in.

However, if you do that, it might not be best to be on the street.

You might forget to look both ways.

If you just start with THIS,

breathing,

The rest just falls into place.

Next.

Find ONE thing around you.. there may be many, there may be only one, but find ONE thing around you that you like.  This moment.

The wind on your face.

a baby in a stroller walking by.

a bird's call.  Listen. Often when you least expect it,

you can hear a bird calling.

The smell of ginger tea, coffee,  Anything. it does not matter.

If there is NOTHING in your immediate surroundings that you like...not your hands, your hair, nothing,  and there are those times,

THEN, the default surroundings are things like

the sky, the sun, the stars that are shining somewhere, the stars that are birthing, the clouds.

One thing I like to think is that when I am standing outside, in  city or in a field,  from the top of my head, there is nothing between me and infinity.

  I am standing on this planet, somehow miraculously attached to it by whatever gravity really is, but, except for the occasional plane or satellite that might pass overhead,

it's just me and everywhere.  Here. Now.  This moment.

That may not be a happy thought to everyone, but, it gets me into a place where I am not confined by this planet, the people, ideas, or anything around me.  Just me and the wild possibilities.

I digress.

again.

Then. This is important.

Say to yourself:

Right this moment, I have everything I need.

The next time you breathe out,

you may notice a feeling of release, or relaxation, call it peace, in that area just below your ribs.

Often called the center of your being.

You may not actually believe it, that you have everything you need. 

But, in this moment,

if you are breathing,

you do.

What a happy thought.

Julie



It's time. How to have a happy thought

How to have a Happy Thought

I became the ordained minister of the church of happy thoughts in 1995.

It is the one truly unorganized church.

All these years, Ive wondered what form this might take.  I've thought about organizing global times when happy thinkers could engage in listening to their favorite song, at the same time, and then spending one exact minute thinking about something that makes you really happy.

I thought, this might help, but at the very least it wouldn't hurt.

It may have been Gandhi who said,

"Try to help the people.  But, if you can't help them, try, at the very least,

not to hurt them."

But, like I said, I am not very organized.

I have noticed lately a lot of happy thinking going on online.  Everyone wants to share their happy thoughts.  I personally love this, because, it is saving our worlds.

Many years ago, I said to a friend, (I remember I was not particularly HAPPY at the time, BUT, I did think/know that I was a person who COULD be happy), that those of us who COULD be happy, MUST be happy. Now. That it might do more to help a hopeless family somewhere, anywhere, if the consciousness is just raised a tiny bit.  One small flicker is sometimes all it takes.

So, in the last several years I've studied, happy thinking. 

I've tried various forms of happy thinking.

At times when finding a happy thought was nearly out of the question.

And I knew I was just conjuring it out of the blue.

I guess that's the point.

I learned I could.

Always.

Find a way to a happy thought.

Even when I needed it the most.

I've learned what it is

and what it isn't.

At least, here at the church of happy thoughts.

Where we worship happiness, and the

possibility of happiness as the way to peace.

It is a new Dharma,

Your way is THE way.

It is all about the moment.

I know.

That overused and often misunderstood word.

But all the sages have said it.

It is everything.

So.

Let's start there.

The moment.

This one, right now,

the only one anyone on the entire planet has.

Nobody has tomorrow yet.

Nobody has the next two minutes, yet.

So, that, right there is, actually, a pretty happy thought.

Tomorrow, when we all get there together, at the same time,

whenever you read this, about about your way

in the moment

to have a happy thought,

We will travel together into the possibility

of true happy thinking.

this will be so much fun.

Julie