SAPTAMANA 1

http://chopra.com/8wk-hp-wk1#?inf_contact_key=24ca77e46e95b8d50fc5bc6422ca7b8fe33ceb8a2e318e3bda705bcc723f3ec6

Welcome! 

We’re delighted that you are joining us for this eight-week exploration of happiness. When we embark on any journey, we usually begin with a desire or intention. We may want to experience new landscapes, have a daring adventure, or open to healing and inspiration. 

Just for a moment, consider the reasons why you enrolled in the Awaken to Happiness series. What are you looking for? What are you hoping to gain? What do you really, really want? What does happiness mean to you? 

Happiness is the goal of all other goals, yet most people seek happiness in a roundabout way. We have material goals such as financial abundance, a bigger house, or a new car. We want loving relationships, fulfilling work, and the ability to express our creativity. We may long to feel safe and to know that we belong. We might seek the limelight or wish for greater solitude and time away from the noise of the modern world. 

When you ask people why they want something, the ultimate answer is the same: They believe that when they get what they want, then they will be happy. This turns out not to be true. It’s the other way around. As current research reveals, happy individuals are statistically more likely than their gloomier counterparts to enjoy loving relationships, robust health, higher incomes, and successful careers. 

If we make happiness our primary goal instead of a secondary one, it becomes much easier to manifest everything else we desire. For the next eight weeks (and for the rest of your life), we invite you to focus on happiness as your ultimate goal. Here is the pathway we will be exploring: 

Week 1: Identify Your True Source of Happiness Week 2: Tune into Your Body's Wisdom Week 3: Discover Authentic Self-Esteem Week 4: Detoxify Your Life Week 5: Open Your Heart Week 6: Cultivate the Gifts of Mindfulness Week 7: Replace Fear with Love 

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Week 8: Celebrate 

Let's begin with the important question: What is happiness and where do we find it? 

Identify Your True Source of Happiness

As we begin our exploration of happiness, it’s important to understand how we define what happiness is. As many Eastern wisdom traditions teach, there are two types of happiness. The first kind of happiness comes from things turning out the way we’d like them to. This is known as happiness for a reason. We say, “I’m happy because I have a family and friends,” or “I’m happybecause I got a promotion,” or “I’m happy because I’m going on vacation,” and so on. This kind of happiness is inherently fleeting because it depends on external reasons that can be taken away from us at any time. Although we tend to avoid thinking about it, we can lose our home, our job, our savings, our health, and our loved ones at any time. These are temporary, external sources of happiness that come and go like a passing breeze.

The second type of happiness, in contrast, is an internal state of consciousness that allows us to be happy for no reason at all. It is independent of the circumstances, events, people, and things in our lives. This happiness comes from the realization that our true self isn’t our body, thoughts, emotions, personality, possessions, accomplishments, relationships, or any other time-bound attribute. Our essential nature is pure, unbounded consciousness, also known as the field of all possibilities. The attributes of this field include happiness, love, timelessness, compassion, creativity, wisdom, silence, and grace.

This series is called Awaken to Happiness because we are focusing on experiencing the happiness that already exists within us. Just as a radiant sunrise can be hidden behind the clouds, our inner happiness can become obscured by constricted awareness, limiting thought patterns, and emotional turmoil. Yet no matter how long we have been lost in fear and limitation, we can learn to rise above the clouds of conditioning and awaken to the source of happiness within us.

Cultivating Your Intentions

Consciously choosing our intentions is the most powerful way to begin any project, journey, or dream. By becoming clear about what we desire and setting an intention, we are planting a seed in the fertile garden of pure potentiality. As we nurture that seed while simultaneously releasing any attachment to the outcome, we come fully into the present moment. We spontaneously take the most evolutionary actions and experience the expansion of joy, love, and harmony.

As you begin the Awaken to Happiness series, give yourself free reign to consider your intention for the next eight weeks. Your intention can be a simple one. In fact, for the purpose of this exploration, simple is probably best. Here are a few ideas:

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My intention is to . . .

Open my heart to happiness. Follow my joy. Be happy for no reason at all. Awaken to love and happiness. Live with a light heart and spirit.

This is your own personal intention, and as long as you find an intention that resonates with your heart, there is no “wrong” way to set it. In general, however, it’s best to write your intentions in positive language rather than in terms of what you don’t want, because the important part of formulating intentions is to generate a field of awareness that feels whole, content, and complete.

Intentions also tend to be more powerful when we write them down where we can see them throughout the day. We have created a template where you can type in your intention and print out as many copies as you like. We suggest taping them to your computer monitor, a bathroom mirror, your car dashboard, and anywhere else that you will see them regularly and be reminded of your deepest intention for happiness.

Affirming Wellbeing Through MantrasThis guided meditation led by program consultant and Vedic Master Gabrielle Forleo will help you go deep into your own inner silence, moving into the world of spirit, where you can manifest your own happiness and wellbeing through positive affirmations.

Happiness Series Week 1 Meditation.mp3

To download the MP3 of this meditation, the instructions are as follows:STEP 1: right-click on this Dowload Link   >>STEP 2: (for PCs) after right-clicking, choose "save target as" and save to your computer.

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STEP 2: (for MACs) after right-clicking, choose "save link as" and save to your computer.

*If you are experiencing problems downloading or streaming this weeks meditation, please try using a different browser. Some users have experienced issues when using Firefox on an Apple computer. Chrome, Safari, or Internet Explorer are alternatives. Also, please download the meditation using the instructions above if you continue to have problems with the streaming.

Happy News! A brand-new 21-Day Meditation Challenge™ is coming this August, featuring all new meditations led by Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey. To learn more and be the first to know when registration opens, sign up for the free Chopra Center Newslet ter here.

Cultivating Your Intentions

Consciously choosing our intentions is the most powerful way to begin any project, journey, or dream. By becoming clear about what we desire and setting an intention, we are planting a seed in the fertile garden of pure potentiality. As we nurture that seed while simultaneously releasing any attachment to the outcome, we come fully into the present moment. We spontaneously take the most evolutionary actions and experience the expansion of joy, love, and harmony.

As you begin the Awaken to Happiness series, give yourself free reign to consider your intention for the next eight weeks. Your intention can be a simple one. In fact, for the purpose of this exploration, simple is probably best. Here are a few ideas:

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My intention is to . . .

Open my heart to happiness. Follow my joy. Be happy for no reason at all. Awaken to love and happiness. Live with a light heart and spirit.

This is your own personal intention, and as long as you find an intention that resonates with your heart, there is no “wrong” way to set it. In general, however, it’s best to write your intentions in positive language rather than in terms of what you don’t want, because the important part of formulating intentions is to generate a field of awareness that feels whole, content, and complete.

Intentions also tend to be more powerful when we write them down where we can see them throughout the day. We have created a template where you can type in your intention and print out as many copies as you like. We suggest taping them to your computer monitor, a bathroom mirror, your car dashboard, and anywhere else that you will see them regularly and be reminded of your deepest intention for happiness.

Affirming Wellbeing Through MantrasThis guided meditation led by program consultant and Vedic Master Gabrielle Forleo will help you go deep into your own inner silence, moving into the world of spirit, where you can manifest your own happiness and wellbeing through positive affirmations.

Happiness Series Week 1 Meditation.mp3

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1:44 / 14:45

To download the MP3 of this meditation, the instructions are as follows:STEP 1: right-click on this Dowload Link   >>

0:01 / 14:45STEP 2: (for PCs) after right-clicking, choose "save target as" and save to your computer.STEP 2: (for MACs) after right-clicking, choose "save link as" and save to your computer.

*If you are experiencing problems downloading or streaming this weeks meditation, please try using a different browser. Some users have experienced issues when using Firefox on an Apple computer. Chrome, Safari, or Internet Explorer are alternatives. Also, please download the meditation using the instructions above if you continue to have problems with the streaming.

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