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The "Logic" of Happiness

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I. Meditations on the Mystery of Faith and Existence

From beginning to end, the process of growth lies outside the
range of our capacity to exercise absolute control. From the
production of gametes, to the fertilization of the egg, to the
division of the zygote, to cellular differentiation, to organic
homeostasis, through Erikson's, Loevinger's, Kohlberg's, Maslow's,
and Piaget's stages of growth, to recovery from sicknesses, to energy
upheavals and resolutions, to death and beyond: we do not possess the
ability to control these movements of life.

We may affect the growth process--usually for the worse--through
the exercise of will--"trying to make ourselves into someone, in our
own image and likeness." We may also experience our own unfolding,
and marvel at what is happening.

Therefore, the best course of action is always complete surrender
and docility to the growth process. This "way" is not always clear,
but it will reveal itself through if we are willing to follow the
path of love, serenity, and truth. Is this not, in the end,
precisely The Way?

 

In life, there are many problems. The world is unrelenting in its
assault. Then there is sickness, death, rain, floods, tornadoes. If
any of these are not happening, there is always the risk.

The tragedy is to reserve being OK until there are no problems.
Even were such a goal reached, there would be the dynamic of "I'll be
OK when. . ." to contend with, as it focuses now on preventing
problems.

No! There is only to accept the inevitable and do what has to be
done--here/now, in/love. Living in the True Self is the pearl of
great price, and it is not contingent on the absence of problems.
Its only conditions are present-moment awareness, an open heart,
conceptual open-mindedness, and a willingness to be grown anew by
God.

Happiness is unconditioned consciousness. Stop disturbing
yourself and you will be happy.

Single Seeing

Looking out at the world through these eyes. The eyes are like
windows.

Who peers through them?

An old, familiar soul.

An infant, waking up.

Me! Just-me! That is all.

And what I see, I see without illusion--fresh, clean, here, now.

There is no interpretation, no judgment, no projection, no
conceptual filtering..

There is just-me, and whatever I am looking at, and this is the
universe.

It is beautiful! That which God has created is very, very good.

The one who sees is good; that which is seen is good; the seeing is
good.

The brain becomes clear, the heart warm, the gut relaxed. There
is nothing to fear. This moment is all there is. It is Eternal
Life.

Just look! Don't analyze. There is nothing to know. See with
your eyes, not your intellect. Let things be. This is the way to
experience the simplicity of existence.

 

Mystical Theology

51. Just as the body is already in the soul
and the soul in the body,
so, too, God is already in the soul,
and the soul is in God.

52. God is always present to the soul,
giving it life,
loving it,
attempting to lead it
to become what God has created it to be.

53. Attachments and addictions create disturbances in the soul
which prevent one from knowing God's presence
and responding to the leadings of the Holy Spirit.

54. Nevertheless, even in this state of disturbance,
one can begin to relate to God
in whatever way is most meaningful.
Jesus Christ is God's invitation to a return to full union.

55. By loving God and others while dropping attachments and addictions,
the false self will be put to death
and the True Self born.
This is a painful process--a cross which heals the soul.

56. Through the dark nights of transformation,
the soul is drawn into deeper and deeper
realms of silence
which transcend thought and feeling.
Here, God's presence is known intuitively,
and the soul becomes increasingly free
to follow the leadings of the Spirit
without being disturbed by attachments,

  Inner Transformation and Healing
(Guided meditation, or journaling exercise.)

• Pay attention to the kinds of thoughts, feelings, and images going
  on in your consciousness.
  
• Identify preoccupations which seem to convey the theme, "I'll be OK
  when. . ." Label all of these as specifically as possible.
  Ex. "I'll be OK when I lose 20 pounds."
  
• Restate the preoccupation in a negative sense.
  Ex. "I'm not OK because I'm 20 pounds overweight."
  
• How do you feel about this "not being OK because. . ."
  Ex. "Because I'm overweight, I feel ashamed and embarrassed."
  
• What are specific circumstances when you have felt this way.
  Ex. "I feel ashamed and embarrassed about my weight when I go to
  family get-togethers, or parties.
  Allow yourself to feel these feelings.
  
• What do you need from God, from yourself, or from other people
  when you feel this way?
  Ex. "When I feel ashamed and `fat' I need to know that I am still
  loved and valued as a person."
  
• Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you and console you in your
  feelings of pain. Pray for the grace to be healed from these
  painful emotions.
  See Rm. 8: 35-39. Jn. 14: 27-31. Mt. 11: 28-30.
  
• Allow yourself to feel loved even in your pain.
  
• Self-affirmation: speak from your conscious, rational self a
  nurturing phrase to your emotional experience.
  Ex. "I'm a lovable person."
  "You (inner child) are loved by me, no matter what."
  
• Positive imaging: see yourself in a circumstance usually difficult
  for you; feel yourself as a loving, lovable person in this
  circumstance. Repeat your affirmation, if necessary.

If you are going to be alive anyway, you might as well strive to be
as happy, peaceful, and free of turmoil as possible.

You can only, always do something in the NOW. What you cannot do
NOW, leave alone. Drop it! Simply drop it! Come back to NOW. It's
all there is.

It really doesn't matter what you are doing (so long as it is not
sin). It is how you do something that matters. In every moment there
is God. To do what you are doing in union with God: this is
happiness.

Do not "try" to do anything. Do not cling to anything. Simply
flow with what you are doing. Allow your mind to be relaxed, to
assume its natural "shape" in this moment. Surrender to reality,
adjusting yourself to its demands.

Just-look. Don't analyze. There is nothing to know. See with
your eyes, not your intellect. Let things be. This is the way to
experience the simplicity of existence.

No need for anxiety. All is well in God. The worst that can
happen cannot undo this truth.