Ever wonder why it is when people tell you to smile until you feel happy, but you just don’t feel like it?
No matter how long you do it for, or how hard you try. Nothing seems to shift? You feel stuck.
It may be that you are “too far from happiness”.
What I mean is that on the “emotional scale” you might be too deep in your stuff to even glimpse the higher, lighter, happier sates of being!
(Sometimes it can be just good fun feeding the gear and being low tone, but that’s another story, and only matters when your willpower is low).
So, what’s the secret? How do you get happy?
Well, you sneak up on it.
Look at this list of emotional states I’ve spelt out below from Abe Hicks.
It’s pretty well all of the states of emotion that matter when you are a human, and they are listed in order of how they rate in terms of lightness and joy. The lower the number the lighter you will feel. The heavier the number, well, you’ll be dark and heavy with it! Not much fun to be around either!
So to the list:
1. Joy/Knowledge/Empowerment/Freedom/Love/Appreciation
2. Passion
3. Enthusiasm/Eagerness/Happiness
4. Positive Expectation/Belief
5. Optimism
6. Hopefulness
7. Contentment
8. Boredom
9. Pessimism
10. Frustration/Impatience/Irritation
11. Overwhelm
12. Disappointment
13. Doubt
14. Worry
15. Blame
16. Discouragement
17. Anger
18. Revenge
19. Hatred and Rage
20. Jealousy
21. Insecurity/Guilt/Unworthiness
22. Fear/Grief/Depression/Despair/Powerlessness
Just suppose you are in Jealousy – number 20, and someone said to you, “cheer up, be happy!” Well moving from 20 to 3 is a BIG step to take in one go.
And to be at Joy – number 1? Nope.
Faking a smile and talking through grinning, gritted teeth only lasts so long, before you let go and find yourself no better off.
It is impossible to do without lots of practice, strong willpower, or, in the case of most of us, if you are 5 years old or younger.
When you’re 5 or under it’s dead easy! Watch a baby cycle through the full emotional range in a matter of minutes hundred of times per day, and generally hovering towards the top – depending on their parents and a few other things of course. (More on that later).
Ok, so you’re reading this on the web, sitting on a grown-ups chair, so maybe the 5 or under category doesn’t count. Maybe this is the first time you’ve seen this stuff, so practice is zip. And willpower? You’ve just run out and you’re not quite sure where you store your spare supplies just yet.
How do you do it?? How do you get happy?
How do you get to joy?
You sneak up on it.
Like this:
First, acknowledge where you are. Feel it. Ponder it a little to make sure that you are feeling it good and proper.
Using Jealousy as our example starting point, just sit in Jealousy for a few moments.
There’s a fair chance that you are going to be good at feeling it so this should only take a few seconds.
Next, feel what it is like one step higher than where you presently are.
If you are a Jealousy, move up and imagine feeling Hatred. That’s right, allow yourself to feel hatred.
Remember being taught not to be angry, not to be revengeful, not to feel hatred. Well that WAS healthy advice, but it’s misguided advice. It doesn’t tell the full story.
Thinking thoughts like that keeps you stuck, blocked.
If you don’t let yourself feel it, you can’t move higher.
Now don’t linger on hatred for more than a few seconds, and certainly don’t act it out. All you want to do it FEEL hatred for a few seconds.
Then move up to the next step: Revenge.
Again, only for a brief few moments.
Let yourself move to the next emotion, and the next, and the next. Keep moving all the way up, spending a few seconds on each one until you find yourself with an easy, content smile.
Wow! You’re smiling.
Easy contentment – number 7!
A few more and that smile widens and breaks into a hearty laugher! Happiness at number 3!
Keep going, and going until you feel the tingle of joy at number 1!
There; you’ve done it!
As easy as that!
So, the next time someone sees you in a grumpy mood and they say to you: “be happy”, tell them (or think to yourself), “I’m going to be shortly” and begin working your way up from wherever you are.
Why do this anyhow? Why go to all this bother?
“I like being grumpy!”
Well you’ll be much more fun to be around, and strange things will begin to happen in your life: the things you like to be, do and have, will start to happen for you, almost as if by magic, almost by themselves!
How does that happen?
Later gator!
Just enjoy the bliss for now.
Ahhh…
;o)
(The emotional tones or set points are covered in a few different materials, discussed by various people and groups. This specific list comes from the Abraham-Hicks Emotional Set Point Ranges. The technique I have described is called “Moving up the Emotional Tone Scale” described by Abraham-Hicks, and is one of the easiest things you can do. The other one is to simply meditate. I’ll describe other tricks and techniques later).
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