Looking for Happiness? What if It’s Already Here?

“Happiness is your original nature,” says Robert Holden, PhD, in this morning’s keynote address at the IEA (International Enneagram Association) meeting in Las Vegas. “It is you minus your neuroses.”

Can this be true? Are each of us the only obstacle standing in the way of our own happiness?

Director of the Happiness Project and author of numerous books on the subject, Robert Holden tells us more.

“Happiness is not a thing. It is not a state of mind. It is not outside you. ... It just IS you. Happiness is our spiritual DNA.”

He went on to elucidate our self-imposed blocks to happiness vis a vis our Enneagram types. A basic belef about happiness (that coincides with our type’s worldview),a hidden fear or two, and a mistaken premise illuminate the way each of us hides from our own innate happiness. He then describes how the “Happiness Contract” needs a rewrite so that we may open ourselves to remembering our natural joy.

Here’s an example in brief: the belief or rule that Ones ascribe to is that happiness is deserved. (or not.) One must be very good or perfect, forever and always, to deserve happiness. Sure, that’s easy.

The fear is that we are actually bad inside, that we don’t deserve happiness.

The mistaken premise? X amounts of good behavior can be used as currency for X amounts of happiness.
The rewrite involves the recognition of Perfection as the spiritual path where one cultivates the awareness of perfection everywhere, including in one’s self.

Happiness is you; your true nature. You can’t earn or deserve it. Like Essence, it is already there just waiting for you to notice and remember it.

He shared a prayer with us written by a woman named Macrinia Wiederkehr:

“O God, help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is. Amen.”

At lunchtime, I downloaded one of his books to my Kindle, “Happiness Now! Timeless Wisdom for Feeling Good FAST” and headed out to the pool for some “remembering” time.

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