William James, father of American psychology, said that the greatest discovery of the nineteenth century was not in the realm of physical science.
The greatest discovery was the power of the subconscious touched by
faith. In every human being is that limitless reservoir of power which can
overcome any problem in the world.
True and lasting happiness will come into your life the day you get the
clear realization that you can overcome any weakness the day you realize
that your subconscious can solve your problems, heal your body and
prosper you beyond your fondest dream.
You might have felt very happy when your child was born, when you got
married, when you graduated from college, or when you won a great victory or a prize. You might have been very happy when you became engaged to the loveliest girl or the most handsome man. You could go on
and list innumerable experiences which have made you happy. However,
no matter how marvelous these experiences are, they do not give real
lasting happiness – they are transitory.
The Book of Proverbs gives the answer: Whosoever trusteth in the Lord,
happy is he. When you trust in the Lord (the power and wisdom of your
subconscious mind) to lead, guide, govern and direct all your ways, you
will become poised, serene and relaxed. As you radiate love, peace and
good will to all, you are building a superstructure of happiness for all the
days of your life.
Happiness is a state of mind. There is a phrase in the Bible which says,
Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. You have the freedom to choose
happiness. This may seem extraordinarily simple, and it is. Perhaps this is
why people stumble over the way to happiness; they do not see the simplicity of the key to happiness. The great things of life are simple, dynamic and creative. They produce well-being and happiness.
St Paul reveals to you how you can think your way into a life of dynamic
power and happiness in these words: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things. Phil, 4:8.
Begin now to choose happiness. This is how you do it: When you open your eyes in the morning, say to yourself, “Divine order takes charge of
my life today and every day. All things work together for good for me today. This a new and wonderful day for me. There will never be another
day like this one. I am divinely guided all day long and whatever I do will
prosper. Divine love surrounds me, enfolds me, and enwraps me, and I go
forth in peace. Whenever my attention wanders away from that which is
good and constructive, I will immediately bring it back to the contemplation of that which is lovely and of good report. I am a spiritual and mental
magnet attracting to myself all things which bless and prosper me. I am
going to be a wonderful success in all my undertakings today. I am definitely going to be happy all day long.”
Start each day in this manner; then you will be choosing to be a joyous
person.
A number of years ago, I stayed for about a week in a farmer’s house in
Connemarra on the west coast of Ireland. He seemed to be always singing
and whistling and was full of humor. I asked him the secret of happiness,
and his reply was: “It is a habit of mine to be happy. Every morning when
I awaken and every night before I go to sleep, I bless my family, the
crops, the cattle and I thank God for the wonderful harvest.”
This farmer had made a practice of this for over forty years. As you know,
thoughts repeated regularly and systematically sink into the subconscious
mind and become habitual. He discovered that happiness is a habit.
There is one very important point about being happy. You must sincerely
desire to be happy. There are people who have been depressed, dejected
and unhappy so long that were they suddenly made happy by some wonderful, good, joyous news, they would actually be like the woman who
said to me, “It is wrong to be so happy!” They have been so accustomed
to the old mental patterns that they do not feel at home being happy!
They long for the former, depressed, unhappy state.
I knew a woman in England who had rheumatism for many years. She
would pat herself on the knee and say, “My rheumatism is bad today. I
cannot go out. My rheumatism keeps me miserable.”
This dear elderly lady got a lot of attention from her son, daughter and
the neighbors. She really wanted her rheumatism. She enjoyed her “misery” as he called it. This woman did not really want to be happy.
I suggested a curative procedure for her. I wrote down some biblical verses and told her that if she gave attention to these truths, her mental attitude would undoubtedly change and would result in her faith and confi dence being restored to health. She was not interested. There seems to
be a peculiar, mental, morbid streak in many people, whereby they seem
to enjoy being miserable and sad.
Many people choose unhappiness by entertaining these ideas: “Today is a
black day; everything is going to be wrong.” “I am not going to succeed.”
“Everyone is against me.” “Business is bad, and it is going to get worse.”
“I’m always late.” “I never get the breaks.” “He can, but I can’t.” If you
have this attitude of mind first thing in the morning, you will attract all
these experiences to you and you will be very unhappy.
Begin to realize that the world you live in is determined by what goes on
in your mind. Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman philosopher and sage
said, “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” Emerson, America’s
foremost philosopher, said, “A man is what he thinks all day long.” The
thoughts you habitually entertain in your mind have the tendency to actualize themselves in physical conditions.
Make certain you do not indulge in negative thoughts, defeatist thoughts,
or unkind, depressing thoughts. Recall frequently to your mind that you
can experience nothing outside your own mentality.
I have visited many men in mental institutions who were millionaires, but
they insisted they were penniless and destitute. They were incarcerated
because of psychotic, paranoid and manic depressive tendencies. Wealth
in and of itself will not make you happy. On the other hand, it is not a deterrent to happiness. Today, there are many people trying to buy happiness through the purchase of radios, television sets, automobiles, a home
in the country, a private yacht and a swimming pool, but happiness cannot be purchased or procured in that way.
The kingdom of happiness is in your thought and feeling. Too many people have the idea that it takes something artificial to produce happiness.
Some say, “If I were elected mayor, made president of the organization,
promoted to general manager of the corporation, I would be happy.”
The truth is that happiness is a mental state. None of these positions
mentioned will necessarily bequeath happiness. Your strength, joy and
happiness consist in finding out the law of divine order and right action
lodged in your subconscious mind and by applying these principles in all
phases of your life.
Lecturing in San Francisco some years ago, I interviewed a man who was
very unhappy and dejected over the way his business was going. He was the general manager. His heart was filled with resentment toward the vice
president and the president of the organization. He claimed that they opposed him. Because of this internal strife, business was declining; he was
receiving no dividends or stock bonuses.
This is how he solved his business problem: The first thing in the morning
he affirmed quietly as follows, “All those working in our corporation are
honest, sincere, cooperative, faithful and full of good will to all. They are
mental and spiritual links in the chain of this corporation’s growth, welfare
and prosperity. I radiate love, peace and good will in my thoughts, words
and deeds to my two associates and to all those in the company. The
president and the vice president of our company are divinely guided in all
their undertakings. The Infinite Intelligence of my subconscious mind
makes all decisions through me. There is only right action in all our business transactions and in our relationship with each other. I send the messengers of peace, love and good will before me to the office. Peace and
harmony reign supreme in the minds and hearts of all those in the company including myself. I now go forth into a new day, full of faith, confidence and trust.”
This business executive repeated the above meditation slowly three times
in the morning, feeling the truth of what he affirmed. When fearful or angry thoughts came into his mind during the day, hew would say to himself, “Peace, harmony and poise govern my mind at all times.”
As he continued disciplining his mind in this manner, all the harmful
thoughts ceased to come and peace came into his mind. He reaped the
harvest.
Subsequently, he wrote me to the effect that at the end of about two
weeks of reordering his mind, the president and vice president called him
into the office, praised his operations and his new constructive ideas, and
remarked how fortunate they were in having him as a general manager.
He was very happy in discovering that man finds happiness within himself.