Happiness is a Thought

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Tracy Seekins

For the last week I have been trying something new. I recently watched the movie “The Secret” and learned about using visualization to manifest what you want, so using that idea I have been doing my best to visualize what I want my life to look like.

First of all visualization is not easy for me and secondly trying to just let go and not worry about the HOW it’s going to get there part was a challenge I wasn’t sure I could overcome. Being a control freak does not make the concept of “don’t worry about how just KNOW it’s going to happen” almost impossible. But even with all the challenges and difficulties I am managing to do it.

It started as me just taking a walk by myself and talking it out. Since I am a lover of words and when I read I can see the scenes, talking it out seemed to make the most sense. As I became more and more descriptive the scene began to paint itself within my mind.

The first day I tried this I was very stressed out. It had been a very difficult day and we had found out some news that had made us concerned. I was at the end of my rope and hanging on by my nails. I finally just got up and went for a walk. As I walked I talked to myself about options and then what I wanted. Finally I had begun painting myself this picture, quite accidentally, of what I needed my life to look like.

I lost track of how far I walked and when I realized I turned around but continued the picture. When I arrived back at my camper, I sat on the porch and kept it going. I closed my eyes and really sunk into it. After a bit I opened my eyes. Something had happened that was unintended. I had become happier and the fear I had been feeling had melted away. Of course then I had a thought that pulled me back down but I had learned something and I intended to keep working with it.

The next day I decided to take another walk and do the same thing I had done the previous day, only this time on purpose. Once again I took my walk and began talking to myself. I painted a beautiful picture of my life and how I want it to be. I could feel my body relax, my breath deepen and my stress melt away.

Once again I returned home happier and the fear and stress gone. The difference this time is I held on to it. It had begun to become a big part of me.

During that day anytime I began to feel stressed or worried, I conjured up a picture from my walking meditation and lifted myself back up.

On the third day I once again did something completely unintentional. Upon taking my dog for her midday walk I slipped into a vision of the life I had been conjuring. My dog has one of those long leashes so she just wanders around me as I either walk or stand or whatever I’m doing. We had walked down the driveway and into one of the newly opened up areas of the yard. My husband has been doing a lot of yard work recently and so there is a lot more yard for us to explore now that it is mowed.

Standing in the sun with a beautiful breeze blowing by, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I could hear the birds in the trees. The sun was warm on my face and the breeze felt wonderful. Suddenly I was transported to an open field with no other houses nearby. I could see trees on the outer edges of the field. I had just transported myself into my conjured life and I stood there loving every moment of it.

The dog was still wandering but with my eyes closes it seemed we were both in the field so she wasn’t interrupting me at all.

After a few minutes I opened my eyes and she and I returned to the camper. I felt refreshed and happy. Just a few short moments of this scene had helped.

My husband jokes with me and says that I’m turning into one of those crazy people who lives in a made up world. I playfully push him for it. Of course we both know that the reality is that we have things to deal with in the real world, but I cannot deal with anything when I am stressed to the point of being almost frozen with fear. These short meditative trips help lift the fear and help me move forward within reality.

Beyond that they help me feel truly happy and I’m able to carry that feeling into the every day, even though we are not living within that perfect place yet.

So I will continue my meditative journeys, my brief respites, my visualizations. I will be overjoyed if, as “The Secret” says, this brings my dreams into reality, but for now I am simply finding a special kind of happiness that I’m able to carry with me. I’m finding a way to relieve my stress and move forward in my day to day life. I’m able to let go of what is freezing me up and make decisions and actions that will help make our reality a better one. That is a blessing and a miracle to me.

I challenge you to try this. Every day for a month. You can do it any way you feel comfortable doing it. Take a walk and tell yourself the story of the life that brings you joy. Sit somewhere quiet and comfortable for 15 minutes and picture your special life in vivid detail. Do whatever makes it work for you. Then every day add something to it. Add details that weren’t there the day before. Build it until it shines like a beacon in the night. Paint it on the back of your eyelids every day, so that when you close them it appears. And see what happens to your stress level and your happiness level.