Uplifting tools to make your life better. As humans we are constantly trying the make the next moment more comfortable and enjoyable than the last. Wherever we happen to “be” in our lives at this moment, we always want to improve our circumstances. This article will offer 10 ways to have your life be better, more fulfilling, and more fun.
Big things, little things, things are never perfectly fine the way they are. Feeling, thinking, imagining, being. This moment traps us, somehow connected to the last. Unless a thought comes steaming along from out of nowhere. And we feel ________ (fill in the blank) about this moment and inevitably want to make it better. Human enough.
Some Strategies to Get to “Better”
Therefore, how do we make the next moment more comfortable than the last? Here are some strategies to the answer to that question. Let’s consider them. These will make the next moment, and your life “better”. And be able to settle into the present moment.
Ask the question, “How am I feeling?”
Not a simple question, to be sure. Often, the answer is not clear. The complexity of this moment and multiple feelings at work partially cause this. Sometimes contradictory. “Right now I am feeling happy that I got my paycheck. However, I’m beginning to dislike my job because my boss fussed at me about a mistake. Yet, I made the best decision under the circumstances.”
The overriding feeling may be the annoyance at being fussed at. We try to figure out how to lessen the sting of the rebuke. If we can pause and just feel the feeling, we might come up with a way to correct the problem. A way to feel better.
Make Some Bread.
There’s nothing more grounding than the primal act of making bread or working in the garden to improve your state of mind and state of being. It’s important that you do this with as much awareness and good feeling as you can muster. To not bake distractedness, anger, or fear into the bread. And stay in the moment with the activity you have undertaken. Minimizing the mind chatter by losing yourself in the task. Let the next moment arise out of nowhere. This is where mindfulness techniques can help (see the next point).
Become More Aware.
Use mindfulness techniques. Our attention frequently rests on what appears to be occurring around us. Even more, we are driven by the thoughts that stream through our minds. Chatter, chatter, chatter. Each of us has about 60,000 thoughts every day. No wonder we feel distracted and stressed.
When you notice the flood, pause for a moment and take a deep breath. Say to yourself, “Peace, be still”. Take another breath and feel the effect of doing this. Say it again, if necessary. You have just done a mindfulness exercise.
When I do this, it puts me right in touch with my Soul, or Higher Consciousness. I contend that this is where well-being and the spiritual qualities of love, joy, peace, contentment, compassion, and healing live. Within. Where Awareness is available.
In traffic, you can say “Peace, be still” rather than “I hate you, faceless other driver.” Or “I hate being stuck in traffic.” Sometimes, “I hate my circumstances that puts me in this situation”. Even “Damn, I’m going to be late”. Whatever you say that sets up an angry, upset state of mind reaction to your circumstances.
My book The Mindfulness Book offers many mindfulness exercises you can use in a variety of circumstances. To create Pure Awareness. Accompanied by a full explanation of what Mindfulness is and why it works.
Sit-down meditation can also develop peace of mind.
There is nothing more valuable in life than developing peace of mind. Not that it’s easy to do. Given the confusing world we live in. The best way to develop peace of mind is to meditate. You can meditate, or silently pray, simply by sitting down for a few minutes. Taking some deep breaths. Observing the comings and goings of thoughts for a moment. And then imagining yourself being at your most favorite place in the entire world for a bit. Your heart rate will slow down. As will your breathing and your thoughts. You might even feel a moment of joy and peace.
For those of you who might be interested, I have developed a meditation technique that I describe in my book The Meditation Book to get quiet enough to allow Spirit to move. Which puts you in touch with your Higher Self. The Soul part of you. And really find peace of mind and a heightened sense of Awareness. It’s a simple yet powerful process for beginners and experts alike. It only takes about 5 minutes, but will get you in the right mood to take on your day.
Use the Law of Attraction/Vibration to Unfold Your Life.
I have found that in my life I have to “trust my process”. I never know how things are going to turn out. What I will encounter. The obstacles/opportunities that will present themselves. What problems will need to be solved. Trusting my process means trusting that all will be well and that I will be up to any challenge that comes along.
Here’s where The Law of Vibration can be helpful. “The higher your personal vibration, the better personal outcomes you will experience. Better people, places, things, circumstances” is how I see it. “Better input, better output” applies metaphysically. In addition, the ability and willingness to adapt to change. As well as the ability to stay centered and use your spiritual tools (meditation, mindfulness techniques, and so forth) will cause better outcomes.
This takes a certain amount of trust and courage. But, when partnering with Spirit in everyday life, no matter what the situation, trust and courage come more easily. The more I turn to my Higher Consciousness, I have found, the better my interaction with human reality. And the better my life gets.
Enlisting my Higher Self to take part in my process will do just that. My Higher Self know what I need. Is ever with me and available. And responds best when I bring to my aspirations a sense of receptivity rather than by asking or bargaining. Presence rather than preference as Buddhists like to say. In other words, work on your state of mind, your Awareness. Rather than focusing so much on your desires. Let the Universe provide that which is best “for all concerned”, including you. (See The Manifestation Book.)
See the True Essence of People in Your Vacinity.
This is a big one for me. My human mind has a strong proclivity to be judge, jury and executioner. Not so very long ago I slowed down long enough to recognize how pervasive is my need, desire, and compulsion to judge everyone I meet. I still catch my body/mind/personality making up stories about everyone and everything I see.
Instead, learn to see the true essence of others. Here’s the technique: Take a deep breath. Squint a little and soften your eyes. Look to see if you can see the Spirit of the person in front of you. Even for just a flash. I call this Sacred Seeing.
One of the best places to practice this technique is at the grocery store. Lots of people are there and none are paying attention to you. When I am successful, I see them from a loving perspective. A gentler state. I can acknowledge them with a smile and the entire store seems to light up. Try this with your friends, significant other and kids. It makes a tremendous difference, if only in how you see them.
Offer Thanks to Everything Around You.
I’ve come to recognize the benefit of the act of offering thanks and appreciation. For everything around you. As often as possible. To the many things surround you every day. Things you have placed in your vicinity and things that show up in your vicinity. Atoms cells and electrons arranged in such a way as to serve some need that you have and serves that need well.
Today, for example, my Toshiba laptop went through a 20-minute startup routine when I opened it. And informed me that there was trouble when I last closed it down. I did a preliminary diagnostic, an update, a disc repair, and finally a reboot. Back to good as before the problem. “Good computer,” I said, like I say “good girl” to my dog Maggie. And I meant it. My computer is a workhorse, and a friend. It helped me write this piece.
Do this with your car, your dishwasher, your lawn mower. Infuses them with appreciation. Yesterday I threw away a razor and thanked it for its usefulness to me in my shaving endears. Make it a point to appreciate all things useful.
If you do, more stuff will want to be with you. This is also true of better circumstances and better people. They will want to hang out with you. To be liked by you. I know that sounds strange, but it isn’t from a spiritual perspective. From that perspective, “stuff” is a metaphor. An idea that somebody had thought through, and shaped that thing for my use.
As I open my heart more and more by experiencing my heart center getting bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger and more and more loving. I see that my thanking people, happenings, and furnishings benefit me. It’s a way to be more loving, heartfelt, and compassionate. And a way to raise my Awareness. To experience Higher Consciousness more frequently and deeply.
Bless all Things (Circumstances, People, and Moments)
Not merely thanking them but blessing them. Wishing them well. Holding them in high regard. Allowing your Higher Consciousness to flow out, surround, and caress.
Not too long ago, soon after my 3rd grandchild was born, I was holding him, looking at him, and began blessing him. “Welcome to Planet Earth. To a renewed relationship with your parents. And to Lynne and I, your grandparents. Your Grandma and I will have your wellbeing and spiritual development as our highest priority for you. For as long as we are around. I also sense your Eternal Beingness inside this little, awkward body you are occupying and will constantly shift my perception to see this about you. Blessed be.”
Doing a project, cooking a meal, or driving the car are also opportunities to bless the activity. Infusing the salmon that I just cooked to near perfection with a blessing adds a heightened quality to the act of food preparation.
Blessing your body for housing your consciousness. Acknowledging the intricacy of its inner workings will encourage your body to be well. It’s like a rider’s praise for her horse. The horse wants to please, to continue to please, and to enjoy the ride as much as the horseman himself/herself.
Our body wants to be well. This is its natural state. It has many self-correcting systems and processes to be well and stay well. Its natural inclination is to repair a cut inflicted upon it. To fight a dis-ease that passes through it. To mend a bone that is broken. Blessing it at times of distress and at times of wellness will set the stage for many good years..
“Release the Endorphins”
Deepak Chopra, physician and mystic, wrote that when you are having a good day and feeling happy, our body produces happy chemicals which protect us against cancer. When we are happy, we release dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. Chemicals associated with joy. These are the same chemicals that are associated with healing of all types.
In response to this teaching, I decided to explore it a bit. I considered it might be possible to consciously generate endorphins and other healing body chemicals. I took this idea into my meditation sessions for a week or so. And found I could “release the endorphins”. Now I can just say to myself, if I wake up with body aches, “Release the endorphins” and I can feel the beneficial chemicals enlivening my body.
Turn Everything Over to Spirit.
One way to have better outcomes in life is to turn the outcomes over to Spirit. Ask Spirit, God, act in your life that “in the best interest of everyone and everything involved”. This may sound wonky and passive, but it is not.
If you turn to your Soul or Higher Consciousness, your individualized Spirit for guidance you are opening yourself up for magic to occur. Try it. Can’t hurt. You can always change your mind if you need to.
Try This Great Bunch of Tools
These are great tools because they can help you create the atmosphere around you that sings with the exquisiteness of your raised vibration. In addition, the movement of Spirit in and through these moments will have an impact in Eternity that is hard to understand fully. These are tools, the use of which will take you to the place where you have that blessed experience of “all is well in my Universe”. Quite a desirable experience.
Conclusion
We all want our lives to be better, it’s a natural human desire. Seldom are things “perfect”. There are a handful of tactics we can choose to make them better. Pay special attention to meditation, mindfulness, giving thanks (appreciation), and blessing circumstances and people.
References:
- Use the “Higher Consciousness Meditation” process found in The Meditation Book to get quiet enough to allow Spirit to move.
- The Mindfulness Book offers many mindfulness exercises you can use in a variety of circumstances.
- Check out the Best Possible Outcomes process in The Manifestation Book.
Blair is an author, poet, YouTubist, and ordinary mystic. His 5 award-winning book series are available at Amazon Books, and his YouTube videos at Blair Abee Higher Consciousness Channel.