Last month I reviewed, for you, the book titled "Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff" which had numerous short stories about how to live a more harmonious life.

This month I would like to share with you, from another small book, morsels of wisdom introduced by Dr. Lee L. Jampolsky in his book titled "Smile for No Good Reason." The short stories in this book are about how to live a happier and more meaningful life.

In the introduction of the book, it states that Attitudinal Healing is simply a quiet wisdom for those who want it. A primary teaching of Attitudinal Healing is that nothing needs to change in our life situation, or the world, in order for us to have peace of mind.

This book offers simple and practical ways to be happy by approaching life with a positive attitude.

Once again let me acknowledge, as I did last month, that everything in this article, inside the quotation marks, are cited from the book titled "Smile for No Good Reason" by Dr. Lee L. Jampolsky.

WHATEVER THE PROBLEM, LOVE IS THE SOLUTION

"Attitudinal Healing offers another way of looking at problems (and the world) by focusing on the one solution to all your challenges: your attitude in solving any problem is far more important than the particular action you might take.

The two truths that will direct your mind toward peace and give you the ability to get the most out of all situations are:
1. I can choose to be peaceful no matter what is happening.
2. Life’s essence is love.

Knowing your peace of mind is up to you, not the world, is the most powerful and secure state of mind you can achieve."

SPEND MORE OF YOUR LIFE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND OTHER PEOPLE’S VIEWS RATHER THAN TRYING TO SELL THEM YOUR OWN

There is no greater gift you can give a person than listening to him. The goal of listening is to love.

Listening can be mistaken for doing nothing. Listening attentively is action, and is one of the most powerful action you can initiate in your life.

Active listening means that you listen to other people with the full intention of understanding them.

Practice active listening and other people will feel loved."


CREATE A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT

"A sailboat without a keel and rudder will be blown wherever the winds and tides direct. In the same way, without a stated purpose, the winds of life can easily blow you where they will.

One of the first things an effective new business will do, or an established one that desires new direction and success, is create a mission statement. It is the rudder of the vessel, keeping it on track in both challenging and successful times. Similarly, creating a personal mission statement can give your life new meaning and keep you from falling into familiar patterns or habits.

Having a mission statement for your life is a quick and essential way to bring your existence into focus and give you purpose. Develop one today.

Some people don’t know where they want to go but complain a lot about not getting there. Decide not to be one of them."

SMILE GENTLY AND OFTEN

"Smiles are contagious, and it is okay to infect as many people as you can.

If you smile because you see the beauty in another person, or in nature, you begin to feel beautiful yourself.

Just as you would open a window to let in fresh air into a stuffy room, smile to let joy into an upset mind. Noticing how your smile affects other people will also make it worth your while.

Smile for no good reason, and you will discover the best reason to smile: joy and peace will live in you always."

GIVE YOURSELF A GIFT OF QUIET TIME

"When a pond is stirred up, the water becomes murky. If allowed to sit still, clarity will gradually return as the sediment settles. The same is true with your mind. Without giving yourself time of stillness and quiet on a regular basis, your mind will not be clear and your decisions and perceptions will be clouded...

People who are too busy, overstressed, and take no time for stillness tend to become fault finders. They always see what is wrong. People who take time for quiet reflection tend to be more able to see through loving eyes.

A balance between accomplishment and awareness of the more subtle parts of life-your own heart-beat, the sound of the wind, children playing-is the indicator of a healthy life. Most people don’t have this important balance.

The best course of action when you are upset, is to take time to pause and be still, before you respond...

Having time each day for being still is a prerequisite for peace of mind and clarity of vision."

DO EVERYTHING A LITTLE MORE GENTLY THAN USUAL

"Being gentle is a reflection of a peaceful mind and loving heart. If you want happiness, it makes sense to increase your ability to be gentle. Gentleness comes naturally to the mind that sees no reason to harm anyone or anything. Before you make big changes in your life, just be gentler. You will be amazed at the results.

Some people mistakenly see gentleness as a weakness. Though it is true that gentleness does not force, it has its own strength. Christ, Buddha, Mother Teresa and others were strong through being gentle. This strength is available to every one of us at all times.

The following are examples of ways to increase your sensitivity, and thus become gentler:

Feel your heart while you smile
Eat slowly and taste your food
Smell flowers
Listen to flowing water
Watch the moon rise
Touch a baby

In addition to sensitivity exercises, spend an hour, here and there, being more gentle than usual as you go about your daily activities. Whatever your job is, bring gentleness to it."

COMPLIMENT MORE THAN YOU COMPLAIN OR CRITICIZE

"Change your focus and change your life, it is that simple. Choose to hold your magnifying glass up to the heart and you will see love. Remove your focus from mistakes and errors, and you will experience the peace that comes from allowing love to exist as it is, always has been, and always will be.

Do you remember, as a kid, looking into a microscope for the first time? An entire new world came into view, a world that you never before knew existed. When you choose to magnify the heart, you will have the same amazement as when you first gazed into a microscope.

All of us have a choice of what to magnify; anger and fear, or forgiveness and love. During difficult times say to yourself, ‘I don’t want to magnify my anger, criticism, or complaint. I want to magnify love and innocence.’"

KNOW WHAT’S ENOUGH

"Of all the things you can know, knowing what is enough is one of the most important. This knowledge is the core of a simple life. It comes from looking at the whole of life rather than fragments.

In contrast, always wanting more, bigger, and better will take you on an endless and relentless treadmill, leading you away from the simple knowledge of what is enough. In the process of accomplishing and acquiring, without asking yourself what is enough, you lose sight of what is important.

You have probably bought items of technology believing they would give you more time for what is important. Did fax machines give you more time at home? Did e-mail give you more time to yourself for some contemplation? Did the Internet offer you extra free time? Of course this is not the fault of technology, rather it is a result of your thinking.

If you have a ‘know what is important’ focus, you will have time in your life for what is important. With this you will use technology and other means to support you in having enough."

BE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BUT DON’T TAKE THEM TOO SERIOUSLY

"In order to find your true passion, you need to be willing to release your old accomplishments and look to the whole of your life. Be proud of what you have done, but don’t let the fragments of your life determine your future. Resist defining yourself by what you were (even if it is impressive), and allow yourself to see yourself as who you are.

The ability to let go of what you accomplish is far more useful than the accomplishment itself."

LEARN TO BE WITH YOURSELF

"I have found the things people say they want most are: positive relationships, good health, personal power and self-esteem. There is a great deal of time and money spent pursuing them. Unfortunately the most important and natural first step to achieving these is often overlooked: spending reflective time with yourself.

Conflicted relationships, low self-esteem, and lack of peace of mind are all indicators that you need to be spending contemplative time with yourself.

Hope and faith help us to envision a positive outcome, even during trying times. I know of nobody with strong hope and faith who does not spend time with himself in reflection, prayer and meditation. A positive life comes from having hope and faith, and hope and faith come from spending reflective time with yourself.

The first person to spend quality time with is yourself. This is the foundation and source of all else that you want."

I have cited short passages from each of the stories I have selected to share with you. If you want a fuller text of each story, I suggest that you buy the book; it is a good investment.

I sincerely hope that this article will be helpful to you in achieving greater happiness and a more meaningful life. Enjoy your life !!