'The Secret' of Finding Happiness

Here is one of my favorite quotes from Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

"...that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that maybe will descend on you like fine weather if you're lucky enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it and sometimes travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into the happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't you will leak away your innate contentement. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments."

Sorry, but gotta give a plug here because this is the essence of Living The Secret Everyday. It is a workbook that shows you not only how to achieve happiness but rather how to stay happy each and everyday. It is my 'bible' that guides me, teaches me and reminds to stay on the path I want. Joanne

Is Eat, Pray, Love about Living The Secret?

Yes, yes and more yes. There is no doubt in my mind that Liz Gilbert's journey to find inner peace and happiness is all about her journey living The Secret. This is truly one woman's journey that is every woman's journey to find that life of joy waiting for her. Inspiring, honest and beautifully written we are able to get into the mind of a woman who is focused, faithful and on a mission to find beauty in her own world. This is a book I will read over and over again- can't say that about a lot of books. It is on the top of my list.

Her travels to Italy, India and Indonesia are only the backdrop for her quest to find herself. We don't need to travel round the world to make such a journey- all we have to do is search inside ourselves so we too can open the doors to our life as we open the doors to our mind and heart. We must focus each and everyday as Liz did. It does take effort and practice in order permanently change our lives :"to prevent leaking away of (the) innate contentement." (E.Gilbert). She says it so elegantly in her book, "The best we can do ...in response to our incomprehensible and dangerous world is to practice holding equilibrium internally- no matter what insanity is transpiring out there.' '(p.206 Eat,Pray,Love). This translates to living our lives with conscious awareness and deliberateness. That is The Secret.