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Spiritual Living for the 21Spiritual Living for the 21Spiritual Living for the 21Spiritual Living for the 21stststst CenturyCenturyCenturyCentury

THE H FACTOR

HOW HAPPINESS IS

A GREAT FORM OF SERVICE

Andrew MarshallAndrew MarshallAndrew MarshallAndrew Marshall

April 2012April 2012April 2012April 2012

TheTheTheThe fourthfourthfourthfourth in a series of eleven articles for 2012in a series of eleven articles for 2012in a series of eleven articles for 2012in a series of eleven articles for 2012

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THE H FACTOR

HOW HAPPINESS IS AGREAT FORM OF SERVICE

One might be forgiven for thinking that in

our world today there is a duty to be

glum. Serious faces seem to be the order

of the day as though by being gloomy

people believe they are doing a favour for

the world and making it a better place by

being miserable. Yet in reality the

opposite is the case - a smile has great

power if it comes from the heart and the

happier we are, the more we have the

potential to uplift others.

What is our own H factor? If we were

asked how happy we were on a scale of 1

to 10, we may hesitate and even wonder

what the question actually meant.

Perhaps we would put ourselves

somewhere in the middle; some would

place themselves towards the bottom of

the scale but few would probably think

themselves as totally happy all of the

time. There are many factors that

contribute to happiness but the essence

of all of them is being on the path to

realising our human and spiritual

potential. To that end, there are three

keys by which happiness can be

measured:

the degree of contentment; the degree of selflessness; the degree of aspiration.

Each of these qualities is valuable but only

if accompanied by the other two. On their

own, they are useless because each can

eventually lead to unhappiness if not

balanced by the others.

Contentment by itself can lead toinertia. If we are content, we will

not see a need to accomplish

anything because "I'm all right,

Jack". Why is there a need to doanything?

Selflessness is essential if we arenot to sink into self-centredness

but by itself it can lead to

imbalance and exhaustion if we

are continually giving out energy

to others. We can only give from

what we have.

Spiritual aspiration without theother two qualities can lead to a

narrow view. If we seek union with

the divine for ourselves only, we

become what is sometimes called

a solitary seeker. Aspiration has to

be accompanied by a healthy

degree of contentment with what

we have and a desire for others to

be happy and content, too,

otherwise we will suffer from

tunnel vision and risk becoming

self-centred.

How do we arrive at happiness? Of the

three keys, contentment is the first place

to start because the manifestation of

selflessness and aspiration depends on it.

Lack of contentment is the primary cause

of gloom and it arises from not liking

anything very much, most of all ourselves.

Our minds jump from one thing to

another, looking for something less

painful or more satisfying than what we

have. As a result, our awareness doesn't

settle and all our energies mental and

emotional, as well as physical are

disturbed. When we are calm and

focused, on the other hand, we will feel

content. Disciplines such as tai chi, yoga

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and meditation can be extremely helpful

in instilling calmness.

If we practise some form of meditation,

we should feel good when we emerge

from it. Anyone can meditate. Although

there are many forms, for most of us

leading busy lives a simple meditation is

best just sitting in a good posture, eyes

closed, a gentle focus on the navel or just

below it and with awareness of our

breathing, for example. Ten minutes, or

even five if time is short, will calm the

mind and body to a considerable extent.

Most people trying this for the first time

are amazed at how different they feel.They immediately find some quietness

and a greater degree of contentment.

That quietness doesn't come from outside

or even from the meditation technique

itself. The quietness is our own nature. It

is inherent and never actually leaves us

we just lose sight of it. Contentment

comes when the mind is calm and clear

and when there are no underlyingcurrents of emotional thought. Meditation

helps hugely in establishing this but there

is something additional we can do.

Throughout the day, our mind wanders.

Even if we meditate first thing in the

morning, the quietness will seem to fade

off at some point. The erratic behaviour of

the mind gradually draws our awareness

away from our natural quietness. To helpbring ourselves back, we need to cultivate

the practice of mindfulness in our activity.

Mindfulness means having full awareness

in the present moment. Initially, the main

challenge is to be completely aware of

what we are doing. It means living in the

present moment and not thinking about

what is next on our to-do list or of

somewhere else we would rather be. Assoon as the mind starts wandering, peace

and contentment leave us. The remedy is

to bring the mind back to bring it home.

Later, the practice of mindfulness involves

being aware of our thoughts and feelings

as well as our actions; but to be fully

present in what we are doing or with

those who are talking to us is the first

major step. When we realise we are not

happy, it is almost certain we have lost

the present moment which means we

have temporarily lost ourselves. So, when

an unhappy thought arises, dissolve it by

bringing the mind back home.

The second key to happiness is

selflessness. Selflessness is having concernfor others rather than ourselves. That

doesn't mean being a busy-body or a "do-

gooder" it is a state of mind where

naturally we desire happiness for others.

Automatically, that attitude increases our

own happiness because our attention is

taken away from ourselves and what we

want or think we should have.

There are two major points about this:one is that selflessness is service to the

world, however it is expressed. Although

we do not have to be selfless in order to

serve every human being performs

some form of service, even if unwittingly

if we are truly altruistic, happiness and

service arise as naturally and

spontaneously as warmth coming from

sunshine. The second point is that in order

to cultivate real selflessness, there has tobe contentment. We can only give from

what we have and if we are unhappy, our

energy will run out. There has to be a base

or reservoir from which we can draw;

indeed there is, and the way to tap into it

is to have inner calmness and to be in

touch with our own nature.

Then there is the third key: aspiration.

Aspiration is used here in a spiritualcontext in the sense of longing or aiming

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for the highest good. How that is felt or

expressed is different for each individual.

For some it means union with God, the

divine or our source; others may think of

it as enlightenment or nirvana. There are

thousands of paths with different names

but they all lead to the same point.

As an element of happiness and service,

aspiration is important because it

increases and raises our energy. Without

contentment and selflessness, it can lead

to what might be described as spiritual

ambition a concern only for our own

enlightenment or salvation, which is

unhealthy and can lead to the opposite ofwhat is intended. Combined with them,

however, aspiration uplifts our energy and

helps us to see beyond the apparent and

the mundane. It brings us even closer to

our own nature - to our soul and to what

our life purpose may be.

In terms of energy, we can think of the

three keys or elements in this way:

Contentment stills our energy,bringing it back to base and

providing a firm foundation;

Selflessness utilises the energy,sending it outwards - on a

horizontal plane;

Aspiration raises the energy - onan upward or vertical plane.

The combination of these three traits

provides a trinity of inner, outward and

upward growth by which we grow as

human beings increase our spiritual

strength. They can be summed up in one

word Love:

Love for life and loving acceptanceof oneself and others lead to

contentment.

Loving others as oneself leads toselflessness.

Loving the divine or the highestgood is aspiration, which leads to

bliss.

Becoming truly happy is therefore one of

the most helpful things we can do for the

world because it helps to make us

complete. All our thoughts, words and

actions will be ethical, naturally and easily

contributing to the good of the whole. As

such happiness has nothing to do with

pleasure-seeking but is one of the greatest

forms of service. Maybe that is somethingwe can afford to smile about!

Andrew Marshall

April 2012

Andrew Marshall 2012

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