Finding happiness through Chinese astrology

Chinese Astrology - Is Happiness Measured On A Weighing Scale?

Our purpose in life is to seek happiness. This is the ultimate aim of all people. No matter what our goals, dreams or visions, they all lead to the same destination – happiness! We may seek more money, better career, good health, pleasurable time, meaningful relationship and other finer things in life. All these aspirations come with a price.

In Chinese astrology or Ba Zi, the price can come in the form of destruction, clash, harm or punishment between the metaphysical elements in our natal chart. The question is "Are we prepared to pay the price and sacrifice a part of ourselves in order to attain happiness?" Some of us are lucky to be born with a sliver spoon and live a gilded life but most of us have to make ends meet by sheer hard work. Whether we were born rich or started life at a disadvantaged, happiness is not delivered to us on a silver platter. We need to look for it. Finding happiness and keeping it is a real challenge as our journey through life is full of twist and turns. The road ahead can be rocky, long and winding. There are times when we meet with obstacles, stumble and fall, hurt ourselves and lost our directions along the way. The journey of life can inflict extreme physical, mental and psychological pain on us and it can be so unbearable that we begin to question whether the end justifies itself. In Chinese astrology or Ba Zi, the pain that we endured is reflected by the 7 Killings star which bring extreme stress and pressure.

Not everybody is created equal. At least it is not in the physical, mental and psychological dimensions. Different people have different threshold of pain or comfort zone. Some are weak and some are strong. Some are risk takers and some are risk averse. Most of us are in between. We just need to look for a comfortable level where pain and pleasure is at an optimum balance. Imagine a weighing scale with two pans and a balance where pleasure and pain weigh equally. Any excess on either side will tip the balance. The trick is to maintain a comfortable balance with neither too much pleasure nor pain. This is what we should do to maintain a comfortable balance in our lives. Our lives are like a weighing scale on which happiness is weighed between pleasure and pain. Our goal in life is therefore to seek an optimum balance within our own comfort zone. This is happiness created out of keeping a comfortable balance in our lives.

"So are we able to pay for the price of happiness?"

We only pay for what we can afford because the price of happiness is relative. It defers from people to people. Some may pay a little to enjoy its value whereas some may pay more for the same return. A poor man can be as happy as a rich man within one’s own comfort zone. In other words, happiness is status blind! It is using what we are born with, living within our means and hopefully, happiness will "see" us.

In Chinese Astrology, a person is born with innate characteristics and abilities that are elemental in nature. The elements are metaphysically represented by wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These elements are believed to be cosmic energies that radiate from the stars in the constellations and that they give birth to all living things on earth. We are infused with the energies of the five elements based on the configuration of the stars at the precise hour of our birth. Whether we are destined to live a life full of pleasure or pain depends on the elemental equilibrium in our natal chart. The secret to happiness is keeping a comfortable balance of the elements within us. This is the essence of Chinese astrology!

Article Source: Alvin Yap (ArticleBiz.com)
http://www.proactive-qi.com

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The relationship between gardening and being happy

What Gardening Can Teach Us About Happiness

It is said Gardening is one of the best ways to be happy, what can gardening teach us about the art of being happy?

Be Patient

For a seed to germinate, sprout and flower can take several months. As gardener's we do not expect instant success. In modern life we often expect and desire things as soon as possible, and when they feel to materialise, we feel miserable. We often lack the patience for things to arrive at the due time. However, if like a gardener, we can cultivate patience we will be able remain cheerful at all times.

Happiness in life I need.
But alas, without patience,
My happiness remains always
A far cry.

- Sri Chinmoy

Value the Journey not just the Goal.

A gardener enjoys the whole process of gardening, from planting seeds to watching the plant grow and flower. If a gardener only got joy when plants flowered, he would miss out on a whole aspect of gardening. In life we should not just aim for results or achievements; we can get happiness from our participation and preparation. Happiness comes not through being dependent on outer success and receiving things; happiness is dependent on our attitude to whatever we are doing.

Everything has its season.

Sometimes we want to capture a moment of happiness. We think that happiness is something to be treasured and held onto.When our happiness is dependent upon this kind of attachment, we are doomed to experience frustration and disappointment. Nothing in the world is permanent, everything comes and goes. However, this does not mean we cannot remain happy. In autumn a gardener does not become despondent because plants die back. He knows that this is what is expected; he also knows that next year will bring new life and new growth, possibly better than the previous year. The great spiritual teachings teach us to retain an attitude of detachment at fluctuations of the world.

For everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born,
and a time to die;
a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up what is planted;

Ecclesiastes 3:1-18; NRS

From Winter Comes Spring

At times life may feel like a barren desert, but no matter how bad life may seem it will not remain like this forever. Sometimes dark periods come and it is hard to see a way through; however, all periods of darkness are temporary. To get through these periods of unhappiness, we can let go of negative thoughts and concentrate only on positive thoughts. We should not contemplate on the present fallow period but look forward to the brighter future.

Tolerance

The qualities of trees and plants are self giving, patience and beauty. No matter how people treat a tree, it continues to offer its shade. When offering its qualities of shade and patience a tree doesn't judge.

How to achieve happiness?
Not by giving, not by talking,
But by being.

- Sri Chinmoy

Similarly, if we avoid judging others we will benefit from much greater happiness. When we judge others we bring in the critical mind, it is hard to cultivate happiness when the critical mind dominates.

Article Source: Tejvan Pettinger (EzineArticles.com)

Tejvan became interested in meditation and eastern mysticism whilst studying at University. After studying various spiritual traditions he became a meditation student of Sri Chinmoy. Tejvan now offers meditation classes on behalf of the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Oxford. Other articles on self improvement at: Sri Chinmoy Inspiration

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Stress balls to relieve tension and stress

Reduce Your Stress With Stress Balls

Of all the methods of stress elimination used, the most popular methods is through good old stress balls. The simple act of squeezing something in your hand can help you ease a few of your concerns, release some built-up tension, and make you feel like you are at least doing something rather than brooding upon everything that has you down. Fortunately, stress balls are easy to find and they can be very effective for some quick relief.

The most common stress balls are the beanbag type that can be picked up at job fairs and industry gatherings. They are very effective, they provide enough resistance to make you feel good and they give off a relieving noise that tells you that something is happening. Sure it is just some sort of filler grating against itself, but darn it, it's something! And when you are stressed, the simple feeling of doing something, anything is its own reward. Plus, you are getting a little bit of a workout for your hands and even this form of exercise can give you some benefits.

As well, there are some liquid filled stress balls that can be very good for relieving your worries. They usually do not give as much resistance as the beanbag type, but they do still provide you with something that will give your hands a workout. This can be a good thing if you tend to squeeze the stress ball a lot, simply because your hands will not get tired as quickly. As well, they tend to squeeze out much more than the beanbag type, so they give you a bit more of a feeling of doing something. However, they also tend to make a serious mess if you happen to break them, since the contents cannot be vacuumed up. But, if you are going to be spending a lot of time squeezing the stress ball, this might just suit your fancy.

However, not all stress balls are the squeezable kind. There are also Chinese stress balls that are made out of very hard materials that are not meant for squeezing. Rather, they come in pairs so that you can roll them around in your hand in order to relieve stress. Also, these stress balls sometimes come with some sort of noisemaker inside that provides a soothing sound other than the noise of the balls banging and rubbing against each other. However, this form of stress ball is usually not very good to use at work, since they do tend to make some noise. But, if you are sitting at home and you want to relieve a little tension, they can be very soothing.

When using stress balls, it is best to treat them as a form of meditation. That is, you concentrate on the stress balls so that you are not worrying about anything else. Feel them in your hand and notice the weight. When you are either squeezing them or rolling them around in your hand, notice how they feel in your palm and in your fingers. Concentrate on putting your concerns into your hand, then putting them into the stress balls, as though they are absorbing all that stress and taking it away. By placing all your thoughts into your stress balls, you can push away all those concerns and worries and put them into an inanimate object that does not notice the stress. Then, once you are done, you should feel as though a burden has been lifted and your mind is cleared.

However, you should also be careful with stress balls, as the squeezable kind can break. Yes, it takes a lot of effort, time and strength to break them, but it can be done. Thus, if you notice any leaks in your stress ball, or you notice that weak spots are starting to appear, you should throw it out and get a new one. After all, the stress of cleaning up some sort of fluid or vaccuuming up a large quantity of small, grainy material can stress you out too. Thus, do not squeeze a stress ball over a computer keyboard. If it does break, you will have a lot of problems that you would much rather avoid -- such as the need to run out and buy and new keyboard.

Used properly, stress balls can have a very beneficial effect on your mind and body. Though the only workout you are getting from them is in your hands, it is at least something. And those people who have to type constantly could also get a nice break from pecking at a keyboard and, by exercising their hands in a different way, will be able to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. So see what is out there, see what you like, and let some stress balls take away those petty concerns for you.

LowerYourStress.com: for everything to do with stress. Get a free ebook to help with your stress levels: http://www.loweryourstress.com/stress-book.html

Article Source: Trevor Dumbleton (ArticleBiz.com)

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Laughter as a medicine for stress

How To Use Humor And Laughter As A Coping Mechanism For Stress!

Humor and Laughter should be used as coping mechanisms for stress, though it seems to only be used as an outlet for the emotion produced by humor or happiness. Do we laugh because we are happy, or are we happy because we laugh? Many times a humorous speaker can help us to see the light in the darkness situations. Both of these are probably true, but we only exercise the former. Laughter is a fascinating phenomenon that works like a medicine. Although most drugs affect everyone differently, laughter is always the same. It exercises your entire body causing you to feel relaxed and pain free. And this is where a professional humorous speaker can help you improve your next meeting or event. The fact that laughter and humorous speaking is good for one's health should be quite evident. So why not laugh? When one laughs, it is like taking a drug, yet there is no such thing as an overdose or, "laughter toxicity," as humorous speaker, Dr. Madan Kataria says. Maybe we can now say "A laugh a day keeps the doctor away." Dr. Kataria is a world authority on laughter and humorous speaking

There's no doubt that laughter feels good, and that a humorous speaker can help, but is there real neurophysiology behind it and what can you do about it? In a paper being presented in an American Physiological Society session at Experimental Biology 2006, humorous speaker, Lee S. Berk of Loma Linda University, reports that not only is there real science and psychophysiology, but just the anticipation of the "mirthful laughter" provided by humorous speakers involved in watching your favorite funny movie has some very surprising and significant neuroendocrine/hormone effects.

According to Humorous Speaker Berk: "The blood drawn from experimental subjects just before they watched the video had 27% more beta-endorphins and 87% more human growth hormone, compared to blood from the control group, which didn't anticipate the watching of a humorous video. Between blood pulls, the control group stayed in a waiting room and could choose from a wide variety of magazines," he explained. *Paper presentation: "Beta-Endorphin and HGH increase are associated with both the anticipation and experience of mirthful laughter, through humorous speakers" 12:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. Sunday April 2, APS Behavioral neuroscience & drug abuse Section abstract 233.18/board #C706. Research was by humorous speaker, Lee S. Berk, Department of Health Promotion and Education, School of Public Health and Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University; humorous speaker, Stanley A. Tan, Oakcrest Health Research Institute, Yucaipa; and humorous speaker, James Westengard, Dept. of Pathology, School of Medicine; Berk is associated with all three institutions and humorous speakers. HGH, endorphin difference is long-lasting; setting the baseline and environment is key Berk said that the strong difference between the two groups in terms of human growth hormone (HGH) and beta-endorphin blood levels was maintained from just prior to the beginning of video watching, throughout the hour of viewing and afterwards, also.

Most laughter has nothing to do with jokes, concludes researcher and humorous speaker, Prof. Robert Provine. For years he has studied laughter, humorous speaking and humorous speakers and what provokes it. Some of Provine's conclusions: * Less than 20% of laughter was in response to anything resembling a joke * People and humorous speakers are 30 times more likely to laugh in groups than alone (hence, TV's laugh tracks) * Female humorous speakers laugh more than male humorous speakers, except when they are listening to a woman * The talker chuckles nearly 50% more than his/her listener does. If you follow these tried and true steps to laugh more, you will see that you are managing your stress better through the use of humor and humorous speakers. http://www.dougdvorak.com

Article source: Doug Dvorak (GoArticles.com)

About the Author
Doug Dvorak is the CEO of DMG Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training, corporate humor and workshops, as well as other aspects of sales and marketing management. Mr. Dvorak's clients are characterized as Fortune 1000 companies, small to medium businesses, civic organizations and service businesses. http://www.dougdvorak.com

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Happiness lies in how we balance our lives

Keeping Your Life In Balance

We all want to be happy in life, to be calm, confident and relaxed. We all want to be in complete control of every aspect of your life. Just as a car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster when the wheels are in perfect alignment, every individual performs better when his or her thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals and values are in alignment.

Nature demands balance in all things. You see balance all around you, from the most distant stars in the universe down to the individual cells of your body. Each of your billions of cells contain hundreds of chemicals, each of which is carefully regulated and kept in balance by your autonomic nervous system to ensure health and longevity.

Balance is the norm your life. Your body has natural bias toward health and energy. It’s built to last for a hundred years and to perform smoothly and efficiently for most of that time. It’s only improper maintenance and incorrect operation that, in most cases, cause your body to get out of balance and lead to disease and pain, rather than relaxation and pleasure.

Emotionally, you also have a natural tendency toward happiness and enjoyment. In fact you have an inner voice that automatically tells you when you’re doing the things that are just right for your unique personality and temperament. This inner voice or intuition is manifested in your level of peace of mind.

Whenever you feel at peace with yourself and the world around you, it means that you’re doing the very things that you’re meant to do and that your inner and outer worlds are properly balanced and in alignment with each other.

The normal, natural and healthy state of being in life is that of happiness, experiencing joy in laughter in most of what you do. How often you laugh at what is going on around you is a good measure how in balance your life actually is. The degree to which you have a positive mental attitude toward yourself and the normal ups and downs of life is also a good measure of your mental health.

People who are pessimistic and negative, and who only see the dark side of things that happen to them, are often found to be suffering from some form of mental illness. If a person is negative too long, that negativity becomes a habit pattern of thought and action, and he or she tends to see the whole world through lenses tinged with negativity and unhappiness.

There are two major areas of balance that you need to be concerned with on a daily basis. They are the physical and the emotional.

You need to adjust your behaviors in such a way that you can enjoy high levels of physical health and energy most of the time. I’m sure you’ve heard this saying many times before, “You can have all the money in the world, but it means nothing if you don’t have your health.”

You need to guard your health like a sacred object. From the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to be at night, you need to think about the things you can do to assure that you live a long and healthy life, free from the diseases and debilitating illnesses that are causing health-care outlays in the United States to be the highest in the world.

Medical studies almost uniformly identify seven ways to help ensure good physical and mental health throughout your life.

1. Eat regularly but lightly. Cut down on your intake of fat, sugar and salt, while adding more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean sources of protein to your diet.

2. Don’t snack between meals because the introduction of new food interrupts the ongoing digestive process and leads to drowsiness and improper food digestion.

3. Don’t smoke because it has been found to cause more illnesses alone than all the other environmental or hereditary factors put together.

4. Consume alcohol moderately or not at all. Studies show that if you do drink alcohol it is best not to have more than one or two drinks per day.

5. Get seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Not getting the proper rest at night causes your immune system to break down and makes you susceptible to a variety of illnesses, including colds, flu, and even pneumonia.

6. Exercise on a regular basis. Even moderate daily exercise daily can help you to feel better, digest better, sleep better and be a happier and more positive person.

7. Practice deep breathing every day. This helps to improve your digestion, increase the amount of oxygen going through your brain, and enable you to relax into a constant state of being alert and ready.

Deep breathing causes you to relax and makes you feel more confident and more in control of yourself and the situation. It brings your inner world into better alignment with what is going on around you.

Whenever you face a stressful situation in your external world, you can better prepare yourself to deal with it by taking a few moments to breathe deeply before you say or do anything. When you prepare yourself in this way, your words and actions will be far better considered and more effective than they would if you had just reacted when the situation came up. You will feel more in balance.

You can achieve a greater sense of balance by, first of all, determining your values in each area regarding your health, your relationships, and your work. Next, you examine your behaviors and identify the things that you’re doing and saying that are not consistent with bringing your behaviors into alignment with your innermost convictions and eliminate them. Once you do this, you’ll start to feel happier and healthier.

Just as a car with perfectly aligned and balanced wheels runs more smoothly down the highway, you also will run more smoothly down the highway of life when you take the time and make the effort to bring everything that you do and say into balance and alignment.

Copyright©2007 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and success coaching programs. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in career coach training. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many businesses around the world, on the subjects of leadership, achievement, goals, strategic business planning, and marketing. Joe is the author of three books, Starting Your Own Business, Finding Your Purpose In Life, and The Guerrilla Marketing Workbook.

Article Source: Joe Love (EzineArticles.com)

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Personal Core Values

Each of us has our own set of values. These are what determine which aspects of life we regard as important or beneficial. Our values help determine our tastes, our way of life, our entertainment, our social, political and religious interactions. Each of us holds many values and these values are liable to change as we grow, reach different stages of life or have different experiences or influences in life. Some of the values we hold may be ‘superficial’, transitory or fitting solely the moment in which we find ourselves. Other values are more fixed and may stay with us through our life; these are our ‘core values’.

Our values come from a range of sources. Our parents are a key influence upon our values as we grow as children. So, too, is any church or religious background we experience. Our society, our neighbours, friends and colleagues, too, can have an influence upon our values. So, too, can our teachers and our schooling.

Often, school can be a place of conflict for it is there that we experience other values perhaps for the first time. Some of the values we experience in school can be in conflict with or contradict the values of our parents. As we go through high school, we start to experience values in ourselves and our peers that conflict both with school and our parents. Conflicting and unfixed values can be a major problem for adolescent and teenage years.

As we grow in years and experience, our values become more fixed, especially a set of 6 to 10 ‘core’ values. It is these core values that determine what is really important to us as an individual. The surprising thing is that if you ask most people what their values are, many would not be able to give you an answer.

A good many people are leading lives unconnected with their core values. This can lead to a life of unhappiness, discontent and lack of fulfilment. Sometimes it can lead to conflict. Often the person does not know why their life seems unhappy, unfulfilled and sometimes full of conflict. Often, the cause is that the life they are living is not in accordance with their personal values.

For some people a conflict can arise within them because they are trying to live a life according to the values of a company, an organisation, a religious or political organisation, the values of their friends or colleagues or partner, rather than living a life according to their own core values. In doing this, the values of the other people or organisations are being met but the person’s own values are being left unfulfilled.

This is not to say that a person is always wrong to seek to support and fulfil the values of other people or organisations. However, leaving your own values unfulfilled can lead to frustration and unhappiness. A key issue in this, though, is that the person may believe they are doing the right thing by working to the values of others and yet still feel a sense of frustration and unfulfilment; -the reason being that they may be unaware of their own values or, maybe, feel guilty of their own values where they conflict with the values of others. So, if you feel your life is unfulfilled, unhappy, or maybe has too much conflict, then it could be that you are leading a life that does not accord with your core values. The question is; do you know your own personal core values?

Hiring a personal life coach can certainly help you to discover your personal values but for those who want to start the discovery for themselves, try answering the following question;

What, in life, is important to you?

Don’t think about your answers (yes, there’s likely to be more than one thing that’s important to you), at least don’t think about them at first. Just write down whatever comes into your head, no matter how strange, amusing or worrying they may seem. These first answers are probably your ‘gut’ or ‘intuitive’ answers; sometimes these are closer to the truth than answers that you ‘think’ about. Next, think about what is important in life for you. Take some time to consider your answers before writing them down in a word or short phrase. Don’t worry if the some of the same answers appear in your first list; - just write them down again.

Now you have two lists. Take a look at them; is there anything there that surprises you or anything that worries you? Sometimes people can be quite surprised by what they write down and occasionally they may write down something that shocks them or they feel guilty about.

Quite common words that people put on their list of values include ; ‘money’, ‘success’, ‘family’, ‘wife/husband/partner’, ‘growth’, ‘power’. If you find one, or more, of these words on your list, ask yourself another question;

What does (the word) mean for me?

So you may ask, ‘what does money mean for me’. To which the answer could be; money means security, or money means success, or money means freedom, or money means being able to provide for my family.

By answering the second question you can help uncover the real or underlying value for you. So for you, money is not the real value, it is ‘security’ or ‘being successful’ or ‘being independent’ or ‘being able to provide for my family’ that is the real value.

So, by doing these simple exercises, you are beginning to discover your personal core values. The next exercise is to ask your self ‘how do my life, my work and my relationships help fulfil my personal values?’ If you find that they do not help you fulfil your personal values then perhaps you should consider changing your life. To do that; get a life coach.

Article Source: Douglas Woods (EzineArticles.com)

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