Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. ~ Og Mandino

Did you know August is Happiness Happens Month? Me neither, until just a few days ago.

According to The Secret Society of Happy People:

Happiness is elusive because there isn’t an exact recipe for it, no matter how much we want one and how many scientific studies are done to help us understand happiness.

My spirit guides and I have talked about happiness many times over the years. And yet happiness is an elusive place for many of us. But when we find the secret to happiness, we can literally transform our lives.

Here are some thoughts from Spirit on the benefits of happiness, and how we can increase and strengthen our personal happiness and peace of mind.

• Every day tell yourself, in the Dalai Lama’s words, “Today I am fortunate to be alive.”

• Find something every day to be happy about. There is always something if you look for it.

• There are no 2 ways about it—happiness is an inside job. You will never find anyone or anything outside yourself with the power to make you happy. Or unhappy.

• You cannot ever make another happy. The best you can do is to be happy yourself. Those around you will be positively affected by your happiness.

• The most grateful people are the happiest. Be grateful for all your blessings. Then you will be happy.

• The present moment is your key to happiness. Now is all you have anyway. In the Now you are safe. You are beyond time and beyond space.

• You can be happy only in the Now. You’ll never be happy if you live in the past or in the future.

• The happier and more grateful you are, the healthier  you will be, and the longer you will live.

• When you believe happiness is impossible, or you believe you don’t deserve it, you will find unhappiness everywhere.

• When you believe happiness is your natural state and your birthright, you will find it everywhere. Claim your birthright and return to your natural state.

• Your higher self, or spirit, is always happy. And that’s what it wants for you.

• When you are happy you are living in the present moment. When you are living in the present moment, you are happy.

• When you are happy, the universe will send you more things to be happy about.

• You will never lack what you are willing and eager to give. That is the foundation of true and lasting happiness.

Postscript

Because this has happened to us before, I’m fairly certain there will be at least a few people reading this who will object to Spirit’s and my take on happiness.

A typical objection is, How can I be happy when I have all these challenges?

There’s not one person on this planet who never has challenges. But you can be happy anyway.

When the objections come, I always think about Wayne Dyer’s response when someone asked him what was blocking her happiness. He replied, “Only your belief you have blocks.”

Even in the most extreme, horror-filled circumstances, there is always something to be happy about.

A great example of that is a story Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl told. Dr. Frankl was a survivor of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. Obviously, most of us will never in this lifetime endure the horrors that he and millions of others did.

Dr. Frankl made an agreement with a friend, a fellow prisoner at Auschwitz. Every day the two of them would get together and tell each other a joke or funny story. He said the laughter brought respite from the grim horror all around them. And it helped them survive by finding a few brief moments of happiness and joy every day.

Dr. Frankl and his friend have always been a great inspiration for me. In their wisdom, they knew we can look for happiness in the only place it exists—within us. There we find true happiness—happiness that does not depend on what’s happening “out there” in the world.

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Here are two short, delightful videos. They will—literally—boost your spirits, especially if you’re feeling a bit down today. And if you’re feeling really good today, you’ll feel even better. You may even find yourself dancing in the streets. 

The first video, 10 Signs You’re Doing Well In Life (Even If You Think You Aren’t), will remind you of the wonderful blessings in life we often take for granted. Guaranteed to boost your happiness!

The second video, The Irish Washerwoman, is performed by two of the greatest living musicians (in my opinion), famed conductor André Rieu and John Sheahan, the last living member of the original famous Irish folk band, The Dubliners.