So, what it comes down to is this, choose to find reasons why a Higher Power exists or find reasons why it doesn’t. It’s a choice. Or if you do not want to believe in a Higher Power, Buddhism can be great for you because the result of such practice is the same… happiness, joy and peace. Again, it’s a choice. Do you want to do the work or not? There are many people, including me, who initially rebelled against a source of help only to later believe. If you want money, you go to work, whether you like it or not. If you want to be thin, you don’t eat Devil Dogs, whether you like it or not. If you want to be happy, joyous & free, you do the work, you believe in a God or practice yoga or Buddhism or whatever floats your boat, but you must do the work if you want the results. If you don’t care much about being happy, joyous & free, then you keep going as usual. If you want change you have to change. Simple, like it or not. You don’t have to like it or even believe in it 100%, you just need to try. Eventually, maybe after many years, you will most likely think and feel differently and like the results. I know many people who struggle with the concept of God but they keep at living the spiritual life because they don’t like the alternative. So, there are many options in which to choose. Which do you choose… the one that results in peace and happiness or the one that doesn’t? It is your choice.

I share this information with you to let you know that you are not alone in your imperfections. Your imperfections and faults may not be the same as mine, but be sure that you are not alone as others can relate to your deficiencies.

So I seem to be off my spiritual game. The good news is that I now catch this fairly quickly as I am so accustomed to feeling good and acting appropriately, that when I do fall short of such expectations, I notice it almost immediately. Now that I am aware of my spiritual regression, which is the cause of my uncomfortable behavior, I need to promptly get back to doing what has brought me spiritual and psychological well-being. Most of the work I do and how I practice is reflected in my writings. I do have a few personal spiritual remedies that I practice of which I have not revealed on this site but instead at times speak generally and through examples of religion and other self-help practices. I know from experience that after a few days back on the spiritual path, I will again be experiencing and demonstrating peace and happiness. I realize that I need to pick up my spiritual practice so as to stop feeling and acting in ways of which I am not pleased but understand that I have not stopped my spiritual and psychological practice during this period of regression. The point is, is that I have not been working hard enough. In order for me to remain happy, healthy and at peace, I need to work harder than I have been working.

Read all of the posts on this site and find what works for you. In many of these posts, I also suggest other help sources that may aid you in your quest for happiness. There are many forms of spiritual and psychological help available to us.

I’ve come to realize that this work to which I refer is actually one of the primary points of this life. That is, to continuously grow and improve spiritually and psychologically so that I may be happy and at peace while making a positive impact on all beings with whom I come in contact and the world in which we live. You may think that it is selfish to speak of my own happiness and well-being first but if I am not spiritual and mentally fit, I will be a liability to others and this world. So, I must take care of myself and this requires practice.

There are countless ways in which we can work on our spirituality and mental conditions. The point is to work, to practice every day. As we become accustomed to this way of life, what we practice becomes natural to us and we do not necessarily have to think about changing or trying to improve, as we’ve already changed and incorporated these changes into our lives. Some examples of what we can do to practice is to read that which helps us to improve such as the posts on this site, good books or other helpful online resources. There are too many self-help books and sites to list but find what works for you. If you are not sure that what you are reading is helpful, perhaps you could ask someone whom you trust for their opinion. However, and this is a big however, even those that care about us can be close-minded to ideas and concepts that are foreign to them. So be very careful who you ask, if anyone at all. The only reason that I even mention asking another for guidance is that sometimes when we are just beginning on the path to happiness, our own decisions are not reliable and it’s best that we ask another person or group of people for guidance. This way, we can get the views of others prior to making a decision. We can still make our own decision, but if we do not get the input of others, we are left with only our thoughts. As the saying goes, “two heads are better than one.”

You may decide to join a church group or a religion. Typically, you’ll be able to attend church services and other social gatherings or volunteer outings and this can all be part of your practice. Still other forms of practice include prayer and meditation, volunteering to help those in need, participating in other spiritual help groups or fellowships and physical exercise. The examples are virtually endless.

One of the most important practices that we’ll need to incorporate in our lives is Right living and practicing the spiritual principles that we learn in our daily lives. We can go to church on Sunday or meditate peacefully for one hour but how we act and treat others throughout the rest of out day is perhaps even more important. Of course we’ll need to do our formal practices as indicated in the many examples so as to maintain our spiritual and psychological condition but we’ll need to take those spiritual principles to the world outside of ourselves. It’s easy to be at peace in meditation but be peaceful while you’re stuck in traffic for an hour

Practice, practice, practice and live Right, always being aware of your actions throughout the day and how they will affect others and yourself.

Your spiritual and mental condition should somewhat improve just by reading and listening to useful information by osmosis. We can read or listen to talks about spirituality and find them to be of great help to us without any additional effort on our parts, but don’t rest on this. There is much that we must consciously input into our lives through hard work and dedication. If you want to change, you’ll need to make those changes. You need to do the work. “Practice makes perfect” or perhaps I should say, practice makes peace and happiness

*When I refer to spiritual or spirituality, I am not necessarily referring to a Higher Power directly but am referring to anything that is good for our spirit or our being.

This change requires effort, it requires work. If we want to change, we need to change. If you want the color of your house to be gray instead of brown, you have to make it happen. You have to change the color. If you want your personality, your reactions and actions to change, you’ll need to change them. Unlike the house analogy, you cannot pay someone else to change you. You must do it for yourself.

Remember, when I suggest something is simple, I do realize that it may not be easy. This site is not only here to read what I write but also so that we may all help each other on this spiritual journey, this path to happiness, by sharing our comments and questions with each other. Getting answers to questions not only from me, but from each other as well. A problem shared is a problem lessened. If you benefit as a result of practicing the principles described on this site, I strongly suggest helping others down the same path by sharing your experiences with them in the appropriate comment forum, which is at the end of every post. I think you’ll find that helping others in this way will be extremely rewarding and beneficial to your spiritual condition.