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Archive for April, 2009

Some say that the purpose of life is to seek happiness.

Is happiness the purpose, or is happiness the result of another purpose? Is happiness the meaning of life, or is happiness the result of discovering what has heart and meaning for you?

There is not one right answer to this question. The answer lies within each of us regarding what gives meaning to our life.

WHAT GIVES MEANING TO YOUR LIFE?

Perhaps, in seeking happiness, we discover what has heart and meaning for us. Is this how it is for you? Or is it the other way around for you? Is happiness for you the result of loving yourself and others? Do you find that when you are open and loving, that you feel filled with happiness?

Maybe love and happiness are inseparable. Maybe when we are happy, we are naturally loving, and maybe when we are loving, we experience happiness. If this is the case, then is the purpose of life is to seek happiness, or is the purpose of life to evolve in our ability to be loving and compassionate with ourselves and others?

In my view, it is not important to separate out love and happiness. What is important is to discover what gives your life meaning. In my experience, meaning always has to do with love – with loving yourself and discovering how you want to share your love with others. When you discover this, you will likely be happy.

Perhaps the meaning of life is to discover what has heart and meaning for you and, therefore, brings you happiness. The questions to ask yourself are:

• What has heart and meaning for me?
• What brings me joy?

FOLLOWING YOUR BLISS

Gillian decided early in her life that what had heart and meaning for her was getting married and having children. She had decided that if she did not have children by the time she was 43, that life was not worth living. She started working with me when she was 42, unmarried, childless, and contemplating taking her life.

In the course of her deep inner work, Gillian discovered another source of meaning in her life. She discovered that learning to be loving to herself – to the spark of God that she truly is – was extremely satisfying to her. As she practiced getting to know and love her true Self, she discovered another source of meaning – helping others. She realized that working in finance was not fulfilling to her and went back to school to become a chiropractor.

Gillian currently loves helping people attain excellent health. In addition, she adopted a 10-year old girl whose parents had been killed in an accident. She has found great joy and meaning in loving her adopted daughter.

Gabriel consulted with me because he was depressed. He had become an attorney because that is what his father was, but found that he disliked it. It held no heart and meaning for him. In his soul, Gabriel knew that he was a writer. He decided to “follow his bliss”, as Joseph Campbell encouraged us to do. While Gabriel is currently not making nearly the money he made as an attorney, he is finding his happiness. By choosing to love himself and share his love through his creativity, he is finding his joy.

Love, happiness, joy – perhaps they are all One. If you choose to pursue what has heart and meaning to you, you will likely find your joy.

About the Author:
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is a best-selling author of 8 books and co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding® healing process. Join the thousands who have healed their pain and discovered joy! Learn Inner Bonding now! FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com/welcome.Phone Sessions Available.

Keyword tags: heart, meaning, happiness, joy, inner peace, bliss, health, self help, self improvement, personal development, Inner Bonding, Margaret Paul

How can one tell if they are getting addicted to gambling? Well here are some tell tale signs to help you decided whether you do indeed have a gambling problem or not.

• Are you constantly logged on to one of those online casino gambling sites, even at weird hours, say three or four in the morning? Does this happen even on weekdays?
• Is when you’ll get to play your next game all you can think about as soon as you open your eyes in the morning?
• Do you constantly think of getting home to logon to the online casino to gamble while you are at work?
• Are you becoming a recluse and have stopped going out with friends or answering your phone, all you want to do is get online and gamble?
• Are you always working out different strategies to help you win at gambling?
• Do you find yourself borrowing or worse stealing money from your friends or family to feed your gambling habits?
• Are you always thinking that you are going to win the big jackpot, and planning ways of how you are going to spend your winnings?
• Do you try and keep your gambling habits a secret from friends and family, always minimizing your online casino screen when someone walks into the room?
• Are your thoughts so consumed by gambling that nothing else seems important to you?
• Do you often miss meals because you do not want to interrupt your gambling?

These are just some of the main tell tale signs that you are addicted to gambling. If you answered yes to more than half of these signs then it seems that you definitely have a gambling problem and should try seeking some sort of professional help. First and foremost before you can begin to move forward you must first be honest with yourself and admit that you are in fact addicted to gambling. If you are too embarrassed to seek professional help at this time and would like to try and control your gambling addiction for yourself then you will have to set some rules for yourself.

Do not try to stop gambling all at once “cold turkey” as this will not work, remember this is something you have been doing over a period of time, and to stop abruptly can have very drastic consequence. You may experience symptoms similar to cigarette addiction, when the cravings over take you, you will find yourself becoming very agitated and nervous, and you might find it impossible to control your cravings. Take it slowly and gradually, find ways to distract yourself that don’t involve gambling. Try picking up a new hobby, a physical one like cycling or running will distract you, tire you and the endorphins after a good run will make you feel better! If you’re more the sedentary type then why not pick up crafting or a new tv series or a new book or even join a chat room. Whatever you do you will find that can control your gambling cravings as you spend less time on those online gambling websites. If your problem persists remember there is no shame in seeking professional counseling, in fact it’s a sign of strength in that you know when to ask for help.

About the Author:
Sarah Harrigan is a professional casino player and reviewer on http://www.choosinganonlinecasino.com . For straight talking advice on online casinos be sure to visit her website http://www.choosinganonlinecasino.com for comprehensive reviews on the best online casinos and winning strategies.

Keyword tags: Gambling, Addiction, Gambling Addiction, Signs of Addiction, Self Help,