Chapter 15 – Your Subconscious Mind and Your Happiness
You might have felt very happy when your child was born, when you got married, when you graduated from college, or when you won a great victory or a prize. You might have been very happy when you became engaged to the loveliest girl or the most handsome man. You could go on and list innumerable experiences, which have made you happy.
However, no matter how marvelous these experiences are, they do not give real lasting happiness—they are transitory.
The Book of Proverbs gives the answer: Whosoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.
When you trust in the Lord (the power and wisdom of your subconscious mind) to lead,
guide, govern, and direct all your ways, you will become poised, serene, and relaxed. As
you radiate love, peace, and good will to all, you are really building a superstructure of
happiness for all the days of your life.
You must choose happiness
Happiness is a state of mind. There is a phrase in the Bible which says, Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. You have the freedom to choose happiness. This may seem extraordinarily simple, and it is. Perhaps this is why people stumble over the way to happiness; they do not see the simplicity of the key to happiness. The great things of life are simple, dynamic, and creative. They produce wellbeing and happiness.
St. Paul reveals to you how you can think your way into a life of dynamic power and
happiness in these words: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on these things. PHIL. 4:8.
How to choose happiness
Begin now to choose happiness. This is how you do it: When you open your eyes in the
morning, say to yourself, “Divine order takes charge of my life today and every day. All
things work together for good for me today. This is a new and wonderful day for me.
There will never be another day like this one. I am divinely guided all day long, and
whatever I do will prosper. Divine love surrounds me, enfolds me, and wraps me, and I
go forth in peace. Whenever my attention wanders away from that which is good and
constructive, I will immediately bring it back to the contemplation of that which is lovely
and of good report. I am a spiritual and mental magnet attracting to myself all things,
which bless and prosper me. I am going to be a wonderful success in all my undertakings
today. I am definitely going to be happy all day long.” Start each day in this manner; then
you will be choosing happiness, and you will be a radiant joyous person.
He made it a habit to be happy
A number of years ago, I stayed for about a week in a farmer’s house in Connemara on
the west coast of Ireland. He seemed to be always singing and whistling and was full of
humor. I asked him the secret of his happiness, and his reply was: “It is a habit of mine to
be happy. Every morning when I awaken and every night before I go to sleep, I bless my
family, the crops, the cattle, and I thank God for the wonderful harvest.”
This farmer had made a practice of this for over forty years. As you know, thoughts
repeated regularly and systematically sink into the subconscious mind and become
habitual. He discovered that happiness is a habit.
You must desire to be happy
There is one very important point about being happy. You must sincerely desire to be
happy. There are people who have been depressed, dejected, and unhappy so long that
was they suddenly made happy by some wonderful, good, joyous news, they would
actually be like the woman who said to me, “It is wrong to be so happy!” They have been
so accustomed to the old mental patterns that they do not feel at home being happy! They
long for the former, depressed, unhappy state.
I knew a woman in England who had rheumatism for many years. She would pat herself
on the knee and say, “My rheumatism is bad today. I cannot go out. My rheumatism
keeps me miserable.” This dear elderly lady got a lot of attention from her son, daughter,
and the neighbors. She really wanted her rheumatism. She enjoyed her “misery” as she
called it. This woman did not really want to be happy. I suggested a curative procedure to
her. I wrote down some biblical verses and told her that if she gave attention to these
truths, her mental attitude would undoubtedly change and would result in her faith and
confidence in being restored to health. She was not interested. There seems to be a
peculiar, mental, morbid streak in many people, whereby they seem to enjoy being
miserable and sad.
Why choose unhappiness?
Many people choose unhappiness by entertaining these ideas: “Today is a black day;
everything is going to go wrong.” ³I am not going to succeed.” “Everyone is against me.”
“Business is bad, and it is going to get worse.” “I’m always late.” “I never get the
breaks.” “He can, but I can’t.” If you have this attitude of mind the first thing in the
morning, you will attract all these experiences to you, and you will be very unhappy.
Begin to realize that the world you live in is determined largely by what goes on in your
mind. Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman philosopher and sage, said, “A man’s life is
what his thoughts make of it.” Emerson, America’s foremost philosopher, said, “A man is
what he thinks all day long.” The thoughts you habitually entertain in your mind have the
tendency to actualize themselves in physical conditions.
Make certain you do not indulge in negative thoughts, defeatist thoughts, or unkind,
depressing thoughts. Recall frequently to your mind that you can experience nothing
outside your own mentality.
If I had a million dollars, I would be happy
I have visited many men in mental institutions who were millionaires, but they insisted
they were penniless and destitute. They were incarcerated because of psychotic, paranoid,
and manic-depressive tendencies. Wealth in and of itself will not make you happy. On the
other hand, it is not a deterrent to happiness. Today, there are many people trying to buy
happiness through the purchase of radios, television sets, automobiles, a home in the country,
a private yacht, and a swimming pool, but happiness cannot be purchased or procured in that way.
The kingdom of happiness is in your thought and feeling. Too many people have the idea
that it takes something artificial to produce happiness. Some say, “If I were elected
mayor, made president of the organization, promoted to general manager of the
corporation, I would be happy.” The truth is that happiness is a mental and spiritual state.
None of these positions mentioned will necessarily bequeath happiness. Your strength,
joy, and happiness consist in finding out the law of divine order and right action lodged
in your subconscious mind and by applying these principles in all phases of your
life.
He found happiness to be the harvest of a quiet mind
Lecturing in San Francisco some years ago, I interviewed a man who was very unhappy
and dejected over the way his business was going. He was the general manager. His heart
was filled with resentment toward the vice president and the president of the
organization. He claimed that they opposed him. Because of this internal strife, business
was declining; he was receiving no dividends or stock bonuses.
This is how he solved his business problem: The first thing in the morning he affirmed
quietly as follows, “All those working in our corporation are honest, sincere, cooperative,
faithful, and full of good will to all. They are mental and spiritual links in the chain of
this corporation’s growth, welfare, and prosperity. I radiate love, peace, and good will in
my thoughts, words, and deeds to my two associates and to all those in the company. The
president and the vice president of our company are divinely guided in all their
undertakings. The infinite intelligence of my subconscious mind makes all decisions
through me. There is only right action in all our business transactions and in our
relationship with each other. I send the messengers of peace, love, and good will before
me to the office. Peace and harmony reign supreme in the minds and hearts of all those in
the company including myself. I now go forth into a new day, full of faith, confidence,
and trust.”
This business executive repeated the above meditation slowly three times in the morning,
feeling the truth of what he affirmed. When fearful or angry thoughts came into his mind
during the day, he would say to himself, “Peace, harmony, and poise govern my mind at
all times.” As he continued disciplining his mind in this manner, all the harmful thoughts
ceased to come, and peace came into his mind. He reaped the harvest.
Subsequently, he wrote me to the effect that at the end of about two weeks of reordering
his mind, the president and the vice president called him into the office, praised his
operations and his new constructive ideas, and remarked how fortunate they were in
having him as general manager. He was very happy in discovering that man finds
happiness within himself.
The block or stump is not really there
I read a newspaper article some years ago, which told about a horse that had shied when
he came to a stump on the road. Subsequently, every time the horse came to that same
stump, he shied. The farmer dug the stump out, burned it, and leveled the old road. Yet, for
twenty-five years, every time the horse passed the place where the former stump was, he shied.
The horse was shying at the memory of a stump.
There is no block to your happiness save in your own thought life and mental imagery. Is
fear or worry holding you back? Fear is a thought in your mind. You can dig it up this
very moment by supplanting it with faith in success, achievement, and victory over all
problems.
I knew a man who failed in business. He said to me, “I made mistakes. I’ve learned a lot.
I am going back into business, and I will be a tremendous success.” He faced up to that
stump in his mind. He did not whine or complain, but he tore up the stump of failure, and
through believing in his inner powers to back him up, he banished all fear thoughts and
old depressions. Believe in yourself, and you will succeed and be happy.
The happiest people
The happiest man is he who constantly brings forth and practices what is best in him.
Happiness and virtue complement each other. The best are not only the happiest, but the
happiest are usually the best in the art of living life successfully. God is the highest and
best in you. Express more of God’s love, light, truth, and beauty, and you will become
one of the happiest persons in the world today.
Epictetus, the Greek stoic philosopher, said, “There is but one way to tranquility of mind
and happiness; let this, therefore, be always ready at hand with thee, both when thou
wakest early in the morning, and all the day long, and when thou goest late to sleep, to
account no external things thine own, but commit all these to God.”
Summary of steps to happiness
1. William James said that the greatest discovery of the 19th century was the power of the
subconscious mind touched by faith.
2. There is tremendous power within you. Happiness will come to you when you acquire
a sublime confidence in this power. Then, you will make your dreams come true.
3. You can rise victorious over any defeat and realize the cherished desires of your heart
through the marvelous power of your subconscious mind. This is the meaning of
whosoever trusts in the Lord [spiritual laws of the subconscious mind], happy is he.
4. You must choose happiness. Happiness is a habit. It is a good habit to ponder often on
Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Phil. 4:8.
5. When you open your eyes in the morning, say to yourself, I choose happiness today. I
choose success today. I choose right action today. I choose love and good will for all
today. I choose peace today. Pour life, love, and interest into this affirmation, and you
have chosen happiness.
6. Give thanks for all your blessings several times a day. Furthermore, pray for the peace,
happiness, and prosperity of all members of your family, your associates, and all people
everywhere.
7. You must sincerely desire to be happy. Nothing is accomplished without desire. Desire
is a wish with wings of imagination and faith. Imagine the fulfillment of your desire, and
feel its reality, and it will come to pass. Happiness comes in answered prayer.
8. By constantly dwelling on thoughts of fear, worry, anger, hate, and failure, you will become very depressed and unhappy. Remember, your life is what your thoughts make of it.
9. You cannot buy happiness with all the money in the world. Some millionaires are very
happy, some are very unhappy. Many people with very little worldly goods are very
happy, and some are very unhappy. Some married people are happy, and some very
unhappy. Some single people are happy, and some are very unhappy. The kingdom of
happiness is in your thought and feeling.
10. Happiness is the harvest of a quiet mind. Anchor your thoughts on peace, poise,
security, and divine guidance, and your mind will be productive of happiness.
11. There is no block to your happiness. External things are not causative; these are
effects, not cause. Take your cue from the only creative principle within you. Your
thought is cause, and a new cause produces a new effect. Choose happiness.
12. The happiest man is he who brings forth the highest and the best in him. God is the
highest and the best in him, for the kingdom of God is within.
Relate Hypnosis Downloads:
Feel Happy Every Day
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