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FINDING STREAMS

OF HAPPINESS

Ellen Grace O’Brian is the author of The
Jewel of Abundance and director of the Cen-
ter for Spiritual Enlightenment in San Jose,
CA. Ordained by a direct disciple of Para- Janice Scott-Reeder, AA, BA, Druid
mahansa Yogananda, she has been teaching Licensed Psychic, Astrologer, Broward County, FL
Kriya Yoga philosophy and practice nationally Master Tarotist, Hypnotherapist, Psychometry, Spirit Contact
and internationally for over 3 decades. Visit 954-698-6926 (Coconut Creek 33073)
www.ellengraceobrian.com.
Facebook: CosmicSalamander or CosmicJanice
We can easily verify that the search
for happiness is a fundamental mo- Life is, fortunately, permeated with pleasure. Pleasure is
tivation underlying all that we do. From the moment we unavoidable and experienced in ways great and small. When
get up in the morning, we are on a quest to avoid suffering and we are thirsty and we have a drink of water, we experience
gather as much happiness as possible — from mundane desires pleasure. When we work diligently toward a goal and it is
to satisfy hunger or thirst to our search for comforts and plea- accomplished, we experience pleasure. What is helpful is to
sures, and even to our higher aspirations for connection and understand the difference between pleasure and bliss. Thank-
meaning. All have one thing in common: Like a trained hound fully, it is simple to make that distinction. Pleasure comes
on a hunt, they are aimed at happiness. to us as the result of satisfying desires. The satisfaction of
desires is always limited and potentially problematic. The
Simply inquiring into the nature of happiness will instigate satisfaction of desire generally leads to more desire. If we are
positive changes. Observe yourself. Inquire: What makes me not attentive, we can bind ourselves to certain desires. Bliss,
happy? Explore what happiness is for you. At the end of the however, is innate. It is unconditional; it is not the result of
day, take a quick happiness assessment. Ask: Did I experience anything. No desire needs to be satisfied to experience it. It is
happiness today? If yes, what was it? If no, why not? What do a divine quality of the soul that is revealed when the mental
you think was the obstacle? field is calm and we are aware. We are not required to give
up pleasure to know bliss. We are advised, however, to know
See if you can perceive the drive to find happiness behind which is which — and not lose the joy we already have while
your desires throughout the day. Notice what you want. Ask if we look everywhere else for happiness.
behind that drive is a desire for happiness, some form of sat-
isfaction, or avoidance of pain or suffering. Then ask if getting The most transitory happiness we experience is physical.
what you want can bring the happiness you seek. When a desire related to the senses is fulfilled, we experi-
ence relief and happiness but soon find that particular form of
Often the satisfaction of a desire will momentarily quiet the pleasure to be short-lived. After our bellies are filled, we are
mind. That inner calm allows our innate joy to arise. The thing hungry again.
we acquired or the situation we found did not create the hap- The happiness we experience when we set goals and reach
piness. It was ours to begin with, just obscured by our restless them, or succeed in life, stays with us longer. Even more
desire to possess that thing. If we are not aware of how that enduring than that is the happiness we experience when we
works, we say, Yes, satisfying this desire does make me happy! serve life by selflessly helping others. Being of service to oth-
The next question is: If we associate our happiness with what ers brings a deep and long-lasting sense of inner peace and
we acquire or achieve, how long will it last? happiness.

This process of inquiry is not to say that we shouldn’t have Beyond all of those, however, is the highest happiness. The
desires or experience the happiness that arises when they highest happiness is the bliss we experience through Self-
are fulfilled. Rather, it’s a simple but powerful tool to help knowing, through realizing our true nature. When we experi-
us discern the distinction between fleeting pleasures and the ence our essential nature, we discover our innate wholeness.
innate joy of the soul. When we become skillful at this process That experience is free from desire. Nothing needs to be
of inquiry and readily discern the source of happiness, we are added or attained for us to be happy. We are inherently bliss-
freer to make choices that serve us well. ful.
THERE IS PLEASURE Excerpted from the book The Jewel of Abundance: Finding Prosperity
The Buddha said, “There is pleasure and there is bliss. Forgo through the Ancient Wisdom of Yoga. Copyright ©2018 by Ellen Grace
the first to possess the second.” Does this mean that to experi- O’Brian. Printed with permission from New World Library — www.new-
worldlibrary.com.
ence bliss we must avoid pleasure? Heavens, no! Even the Bud-
dha’s experiments with pleasureless asceticism led him to the
middle way of moderation.

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