How To Sustain Happiness In This 'Happy New Year'

Happy New Year

The earth has made one more revolution around the sun and as my friend Cindy recently said, we are reminded again to be happy. 

Be happy. How do we ‘be happy’? 

What is the source of our happiness and how do we stay happy?

The source of our happiness is either external to us, which is called Object Referral Happiness, or it is internal, called (Self Referral) Baseline Happiness. 

Object Referral Happiness relies on the belief that something or someone, external to oneself, is the source and reason for one’s happiness (the same can be applied for unhappiness). Object Referral Happiness externalises the responsibility for one’s happiness and places blame on that someone/something for our lack of happiness, or suffering. For example, “if you behave differently, then I’ll be happy”. 

So, characteristic of Object Referral, is that we try to control everything around us, in order to remove all the obstacles to our happiness. “If you won’t change and conform to my idea of happiness, then I can’t be happy so therefore I’ll need a new partner/car/career/ dress/ government etc. However, this is of course completely flawed and unsustainable as no one thing is designed specifically to make us happy.

Conversely, Baseline Happiness is not based on the behaviour/appearance/thoughts/attitudes of something external to us. It is based on an internal experience that is both sustainable and long lasting. 

When we practice Vedic Meditation, our mind and body settle down into its least excited state and we experience bliss consciousness. Bliss or ‘happy’ chemicals, such as serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, anandamide and endorphins are flushed through the system naturally. 

When practiced consistently, the body normalises the production of these happy chemicals which literally uplifts our mood and you guess it, make us happy. True and lasting happiness, regardless of what is going on around us. We need a method to enliven this type of happiness and at the same time remove stress from our physiology. Vedic Meditation, is a super easy and natural method to cultivate this sustained, inner baseline happiness.