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Here’s another great guest blog from Dr. Steve G. Jones. He’s a Clinical Hypnotherapist and creator of Total Money Magnetism. It’s about becoming happier. Enjoy.

Happiness is what people like you want to achieve. However, finding out what really makes you happy and how to feel happier is not an easy journey.

What does it really take to be happy? Happiness, is one of those things you either have or don’t have based on the combination of life circumstances and natural disposition.

Here are 8 ways to feel happy:

1. Do one nice thing for yourself daily.

How about taking some time everyday to do nice things for yourself? Either you get yourself a small treat by buying yourself a nice cup of espresso at your favorite coffee shop or taking a 30 minute nap before going out to do your adult stuff.

It would also be nice if you can schedule bigger self-care activities like massages or going on a vacation on a monthly basis. If you start doing nice things for yourself and taking care of yourself, you’ll find the feeling of fullness and happiness and should then be able to help others.

2. Prioritize your health.

Start taking supplements and vitamins! You body need those. Having the right fuel to push your body and increase your strength and stamina is one way of getting the feeling of happiness. Sugar and other bad eating habits affect our energy and mood which hinders us from being happy.

Try to have a goal of exercising a minimum of 5 days a week. As for the type of work out, that’s really up to you. The rule is do what makes you happy. Choose an activity that you will enjoy and not get bored with ! If you’re not into hard core activities, then try doing Yoga or Pilates. When the blood and oxygen is properly circulating inside your body they will activate the body’s natural healing powers that can give you the feeling of happiness.

3. Forgive yourself!

Forgiveness plays a big part in being happy! There are times that we don’t really think of forgiving ourselves. Remember, when you regularly criticize yourself, it brings down your confidence level.

Forgiving yourself is quite challenging, as most of us have been getting frustrated or angry at ourselves for numerous things that we feel we did wrong. We often think of the things that we could have done or should not have done to make things better.

A lot of us get into trouble because we try to be perfect and beat ourselves up if we’re not. Loving yourself for who you are means accepting yourself and forgiving yourself for whatever may have happened in the past.

4. Start your day with a SMILE!

Start your morning with a positive affirmation and a big SMILE! Be grateful for a good night’s sleep and for waking up to a wonderful new day. 

Did you know that when you smile, the muscles in your face send a signal to your brain and create a better mood biologically. When you smile, your body releases powerful chemicals into your system that make you feel happier.

A smile can change everything!  It’s an international language that everyone knows. It’s also contagious, since once you smile at a person, he or she wants to pass it on.

5. Be kind to someone.

Why does being kind to someone make you feel more happy? It helps calm your mood and takes the focus off yourself. 

The moment you focus on doing an act of kindness to someone, it helps you get a break from your own problems and results in a feeling of happiness. It reduces your stress levels and, like a smile, is contagious.

Think of “paying it forward”, performing an act of charity, or doing volunteer work. Not only will you feel happier, but according to research, you’ll live longer too! 

6. Schedule something fun.

How about planning a day trip out of town? Or maybe inviting friends over for a movie night or dinner at a new restaurant you found out about on Facebook?

Looking forward to a long road trip or traveling to your next dream destination is one thing that can hype you up, get you excited and boost your happiness level. Having something to look forward gives you a good feeling that adds an “Atmosphere of growth” to your life, since the future seems brighter.

Positive anticipation is the key. Sometimes, the happiness in anticipation is greater that the happiness that you experience during the actual event!

7. Get enough sleep.

Research shows as an adult you need to have at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep for your body and mind to fully rest. You know full well that without enough sleep you cannot function at your best. You tend to get grumpy and moody and you react poorly to stressful situations. 

They don’t call it beauty rest for nothing as anyone who wakes up after only a couple of hours of sleep with a dark under-eye circles and sallow skin can attest. Your body needs a lot of rest so it can complete its process of repairing damaged tissues and releasing the hormones that are needed for body growth. You need sleep [and maybe a nap] to be happy!

8. Talk to a friend or Call someone.

Social contact is a main contributor to happiness. It doesn’t really have to be face to face. How about a phone call, an email or even a text message asking a friend or acquaintance how they are doing? It can make a big difference to then and can bring out the happiness in you.

It may seem like a small gesture but it will reap great benefits for you both. Taking some time to show interest in someone without wanting anything in return will brighten your days.

So, there you go. 8 tips to becoming happier! I would suggest that you add forgiving others, meditation and self-hypnosis to that list. 

Get your own free Abundant Happiness Self Hypnosis Track.  Fill your mind and heart with an unshakable sense of peace and joy. Quickly release feelings of stress, anxiety and sadness. CLICK HERE. 

Keep manifesting only good things 🙂 
Tony

If interested in getting a free copy of my mini e-book and subscribing to my e-mailing list click here. 

Are you ?
Not necessarily, but you are more likely to be more mindful about what you eat.
In this blog, I’m continuing my story about how I became a vegetarian and then a pescatarian. 
The first part was called “Do You Have to Be Vegan to Be Spiritual?” And you can read or re-read it HERE.
The second part was called “Does Your Diet Affect Your Spirituality?” And you can read or re-read it HERE.

So, let’s continue.
Do I feel guilty about being pescatarian? About eating fish and seafood? To a degree – yes. And so I have pretty well stopped ordering anything other than vegetarian in restaurants or for takeout. Will I become a vegan? Don’t think so, since for me, it’s too dramatic a step to take. At this point in my life anyway.
However, I stopped drinking cow’s milk and switched to almond or coconut beverages.
But I still enjoy cheese and yoghurt and even cottage cheese. We generally only buy eggs from free run chickens. And I still bless the animals in the transport trucks that I see on the highway as they make their way to the slaughterhouse.

But I have also listened to messages by Abraham-Hicks about food and eating.
That it’s not the food we eat but our belief about it. That it’s all about vibration. 
And I understand what people mean when they say: 
“Weren’t animals put on earth to serve human kind?”
 “Isn’t the purpose of a chicken to lay eggs and a cow to give milk?”
“Everything in moderation”. 

Well, the human diet appears to be a continuum. Carnivore, omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, and fruitarian.  All the way to subsisting only on water and the rays of the sun [as some yogis and mystics can apparently do]. And everything in between.
I figure that my purpose in this existence is to have fun, and be happy. And to become a better person every day. It is also to experience joy and savor the succulent sweetness of life.
I am not what I was yesterday, or what I may become tomorrow. So, today I’m a pescatarian on the cusp of being vegetarian again.
And I love vegans for their good intentions. And I love my omnivore friends and family. And our carnivore, predator pets. You see, we all make our individual choices. And tend to do our best with what we have from where we are.

So no, you don’t have to be vegan to be spiritual. Or vegetarian or pescatarian. You just need to be grateful for whatever you eat.

Keep manifesting good things 🙂

Tony

If interested in getting a free copy of my mini e-book and subscribing to my e-mail list click here.

Does a vegan or vegetarian diet make you more spiritual?
I don’t think so.
But it makes you more mindful about what you eat.
In this blog I’m continuing my story about how I became a vegetarian.
And then a pescatarian. 
It was called “Do You Have To Be Vegan To Be Spiritual?”
And you can read or re-read it HERE.

Anyway – I still have a hard time facing pasta primavera, which seemed to be the only vegetarian main course option available at the numerous conferences and conventions I attended over the years as part of my job.
By the way, my last “meat meal” was steak tartare served at a high-end steakhouse in London, Ontario.
I loved it, as I did blue steak, bacon, chicken and anything with ground beef in it.
I was quite the carnivore!

It was a tough journey to vegetarianism at times, given that my daughter decided to start eating chicken and shrimp again after a few months.
And no one else in our household of six [including cat and dog] was willing to give up “meat”.
Being the chief barbequer [is that a word?] and assistant cook for the family meant that I was regularly frying for and serving meat to pretty well everyone but myself.
I usually gave a blessing and expressed gratitude to the dead creature that I was cooking, thanking it for sacrificing its life for our nutrition.
I must admit that often the smell of burning meat made me somewhat nauseous. 
And still does.

Eventually the kids grew up and left home, my wife continued her omnivore lifestyle, and I my vegetarian one.
Admittedly she ate “meat” only rarely and pretty well gave up pork after seeing the movie “Babe”.
She also became the primary cook in our home.
But it wasn’t easy for my wife to make two separate proteins at dinner whenever she chose to eat “meat”.
One for me and one for her.
And it wasn’t that easy to split an appetizer or entrée at a restaurant if she decided to select a non-vegetarian option.
So, a number of years ago I began to occasionally eat fish and seafood.
After all, we live on the lake where fish are abundant.
So I guess that made me a pescatarian.

Have I ever cheated and eaten meat?
Yep, a couple of times.
I tried alligator fritters in Florida [I rationalized it as a type of seafood], and once at a Thanksgiving dinner I surreptitiously tasted a piece of dark turkey meat.
It left a greasy, unpleasant taste in my mouth.

OOPs- I’m running out of time again, so I’ll continue this blog in a couple of weeks.
Stay tuned :-).

Keep manifesting only good things 🙂
Tony

If interested in getting a free copy of my mini e-book and subscribing to my e-mailing list click here. 

Why I’m not a Vegan
A while back I attended a service at a spiritual centre in London Ontario
The guest speaker presented a message about veganism.
She’s a naturopath and social worker, became vegetarian when relatively young,
and then eventually adopted the vegan lifestyle.
It was an excellent presentation and the pictures and the video we’re heart warming, and at times painful to watch. 
It made me stop and think.
And that was my incentive  to write this blog.

Let me explain what I mean by vegetarian and vegan.
To me, a vegetarian is someone who does not consume any kind of “meat”.
That includes seafood, fish and fowl.
That’s right, not even chicken.
Nothing with a face, or a mother [as a friend once told me].
And yes, I know lettuce has a head, 
And corn has ears
And potatoes have eyes. 
But let’s not confuse things here.
To me Veganism takes vegetarianism one step further.
No animal products consumed internally or externally.
That means no eggs, no milk products, and no leather.
I understand that some Vegans even avoid honey or even refuse to have domesticated pets.

Anyway, back to my story.
I became a vegetarian back in the late 80’s.
I’d been thinking about it for a while, and read a number of books about the subject
[Diet for a New America, Diet for a Small Planet]
And had done some research.
My youngest daughter decided to try the vegetarian lifestyle, and I agreed to join her.
My reasons were threefold.
In addition to it being more “spiritual” from my perspective, I figured it was
a better dietary choice
1. for my health
2. for the animals
3. for the environment.
I made that decision, just before a cross-country drive with my oldest daughter, from London Ontario Canada to Edmonton Alberta. And then, joined by my wife and youngest daughter, on to Victoria Island in British Columbia. Overall a great trip except for one thing.

In those days it was quite difficult to find a vegetarian option in a restaurant. 
Especially in a fast food joint, compared to the way it is now. I almost lived on egg salad and cheese sandwiches. Oh yes- and ketchup flavored potato chips.

Sorry, I’m running out of Time, so I’ll continue this blog in a couple of weeks.
Stay tuned :-).

Keep manifesting only good things 🙂
Tony

If interested in getting a free copy of my mini e-book and subscribing to my e-mailing list click here.