This is one in a series of monthly articles from Gretchen Rubin’s book: The Happiness Project.
August’s Happiness Project is Contemplate the Heavens. A look at how spirituality and spiritual beliefs affect our happiness. Keep on reading to find some interesting thoughts and answers from Gretchen Rubin.
Will focusing on spiritual matters make you happier? According to the research, yes. Studies show that spiritual people are relatively happier; they’re more mentally and physically healthy, deal better with stress, have better marriages, and live longer.
Gretchen picked some areas where she wanted to see how spirituality affected happiness. I am paraphrasing them here:
- Read Memoirs of Catastrophe. We may never think about how good our life really is until we hear about someone who lived through a catastrophe. Seeing things from this perspective prompts us to cherish and appreciate the normal occurrences of ordinary life.
- Keep a Gratitude Notebook. Studies show that grateful people are genuinely happier about their lives. But so often, we let these little moments of gratitude slip by us without notice. Why not keep a gratitude journal to write down these little things as they happen? After a time, you will see more and more things to be grateful for.
- Imitate a Spiritual Master. Studying the teaching of a spiritual mentor helps identify with someone we respect and helps us model spiritual habits and behaviors. Gretchen, along with myself, was reminded of the phrase: What Would Jesus Do (WWJD)? Of course, brought about to remind us to model after Jesus.
Being a licensed Spiritual Practitioner, I was very interested in what Gretchen had to say in this chapter.
Although I felt she just barely touched the surface of how spirituality can affect our happiness, she made some interesting points.
Reading about others’ misfortunes seemed a bit morbid to me at first. Then I remembered the impact Victor Frankel’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, had on me. (NOTE: Victor Frankel was a concentration camp survivor). When you think your life is bad, even if it is just for the moment, there is always someone who is going through greater challenges.
Personally, I don’t keep a gratitude journal, but I do frequently post gratitude memes on my Facebook Group: Spiritual Abundance.
And of course, I read and adopt many thoughts and philosophers from the many spiritual authors I have read including Ernest Holmes, Eckhart Tolle, Don Miguel Ruiz, May McCarthy, Oprah Winfrey, Joe Vitale, Wayne Dyer, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore … to name a few