"HAPPY HOLIDAYS!" "HAPPY HANUKKAH!" "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" "JOYFUL AND TRIUMPHANT!"
We hear a lot of references to happiness and its synonyms during this time of year, and we are seeing an interesting phenomenon throughout the year and throughout society. Happiness is becoming more relevant. In part this is due to a number of research studies that have shown that people are healthier and live longer and are even more financially successful when they feel happy.
There was just a study reported on which shows that grumpiness is related in men to a lowering of testosterone levels, so that the term "grumpy old men" is pretty accurate. And grumpy is pretty much the opposite of happy. Twenty years ago, when college students were asked about what their major aspiration was, a large majority said it was to make lots of money. Now, when the same question is asked, the answer is that they want to be happy and make a difference in the world.
More than a few people have asked me how in the world I could have been happy during my time in prison, how I could smile and write cartoon gags and notes for a humorous prison memoir and future stand-up act in the midst of that depressing environment. I think just asking that question indicates more about the person asking it than me no matter how I answer. It reveals someone who doesn't understand the basic truth about states of mind, moods, and psychological balance and well being. To put it as simply as possible, happiness has nothing to do with one's external reality. It is an inner experience, and as such can transcend even horrible physical environments and situations. We are happy when we choose to be happy no matter what else is going on around us in that outer world.
Lots of people are struggling with financial anxiety, worried about the debt and deficit and government dysfunction in dealing with the economy. But none of that matters, or has to have anything to do with whether we are happy or unhappy. Unless we choose to make it matter, unless we choose to stay focused outside ourselves on something that may or may not occur.
If you didn't see or feel or remember at least a dozen things today that made you feel happy, then you are not paying attention to what is really going on, but rather choosing to focus on limited, negative, disappointing, frustrating fantasies about what is going on.
You may not have the same view on this as I do, but I'll guarantee you one thing--if not, my smile as I write this is a lot bigger than yours as you read it.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog at: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Friday, December 28, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
LIVING IN PARADISE
Though I am sometimes envious when I read something I wish I had written, even if it's not a literary masterpiece, I mostly just appreciate and share it. This is an unusual post in that I am doing just that, and it's an article or essay from a commercial site, International Living, which I follow because it is focused on Americans moving to wonderful places around the world and provides lots of useful free information. This appeared today and reconfirms my decision to move to Panama at the end of January.
26 Ways to Know You're Living in Paradise...
By John Curran
By John Curran
During the recent Powerball hype, a friend asked me if I won the lottery, would I move somewhere else? Sure I would! I would move anywhere...but only if you can find me a place that has...
- Good weather, the kind that doesn’t require a furnace or A/C to cope—just a T-shirt and a sweatshirt.
- Beautiful scenery...because life’s too short to live someplace ugly.
- Access to plenty of clean water all year round for cooking, cleaning, and drinking—because I tend to do all three year round...
- The proper mix of sun and rain so flowers, plants, and trees don’t just grow, but flourish. (I lived in the desert as well as the snow and cold for far too many years.)
- Internet access where I can read, watch, or download whatever I want or need.
- Decent roads (I’ve traveled in the outback of Kenya...)
- Fresh fruits and vegetables available year round—full of flavor, not chemicals— because I tend to eat year round.
- Airports, so I can leave when I need to and, more importantly, come back when I want to.
- A healthy environment because I don’t want to live in a place where I’ll need the most expensive health care in the world.
- Friendly people who view their life as a privilege, not a right—and live accordingly.
- A government that minds its business...so I can get on with mine.
- Decent public transportation, even in rural areas, because sometimes theburro (donkey) is in the shop.
- A teeny-tiny police force because that’s all that’s required.
- Peace and quiet.
- A news media that doesn’t think the Kardashians are news.
- Clean, crisp air so the sky really is blue during the day, and at night, I can see all the stars I remember as a kid.
- Good food... because I like to cook and bake.
- Good restaurants... because I don’t always like to cook and bake.
- Lots of holidays—because, well, why not?
- An appalling lack of mosquitos because I’ve lived in Wisconsin.
- A low-stress environment. I’m a firm believer that stress causes bridges, buildings, and especially people to fail at their weakest point.
- Airports where I can go through security with a full bottle of water and my dignity.
- Adequate health care because you just never know, somebody I care about might need it one day.
- Low property taxes because I don’t like paying for my house...twice.
- A lot of chickens because when you have chickens around, you’re already halfway to a laugh.
- People with a "you only go around once" attitude to life. "I wish I had spent more time at work" were never anyone’s dying words.
Now John lives in Ecuador not Panama. And there are a few differences between the two. For one, though still low crime, I think Panama has more than a "teeny-tiny" police force. Also, one thing, and this is much more important to me, is Panama has no earthquakes or volcanoes, both very present in Ecuador. They do share the happy fact that neither country has hurricanes. All in all, we all can use all these items as a checklist as to whether we are really living the best lifestyle we can be living.
Jerry
I equate lifestyle with prosperity, and you can check out my prosperity blog at:
Monday, December 10, 2012
TOOTHLESS MOSQUITOS
If mosquitos didn't have those four rows of teeth that allow them to suck out your blood, they would be harmless, just mildly annoying occurrences in life. This is exactly how I view the obstacles, challenges, and setbacks that pop up in my life, as they do in all of our lives from time to time.
I have been exuberant of late, preparing to move to Panama on February 1st, where I have already met a terrific group of new friends and have a great support system in place for my efforts as that nation's first English-speaking stand-up comedian, as well as continuing as a motivational speaker and workshop facilitator. The ten days I spent there in October convinced me that all the glowing reports I had from my friend Tony Busse about living in that tropical country were being seriously understated.
But in recent days, I've been dealing with a sore back, probably due to overdoing it in sorting through all my accumulated stuff, lugging some of it out to the recycling bin, deciding what to take, what to give away and what to throw away. And just minutes ago, my so-far-very-dependable two year old high definition 24 inch computer monitor just up and quit on me. Technical nitwit that I am, I haven't a clue.
I see people all around me, and even posting on Facebook, allowing even less significant events to cause anxiety, depression, anger, sadness, and general mood damage. Notice I say, "allowing," because we do have a choice when these occur. Perhaps the factor that helps most is that I am on a path I am passionate about, work and an upcoming lifestyle that fill me with excitement and joy. So in the larger scheme of things, little temporary setbacks won't get in my way. If you have not gone for your passion, then even very petty events can throw you for a loop.
So I am headed for my chiropractor in about an hour, who just happens to be across from In-N-Out Burger, which I feared I might not get a final visit to before I leave February 1st. And I will either stumble upon a way to get my monitor back on, or someone will give me a suggestion that will get it going, or I will just have one less bulky object to take with me to Panama, and will buy a new, maybe even larger once once I get there.
Oh yes, I am human and I got severely pissed at both events...my back and my monitor...but just for about a minute each. I gritted my teeth and growled in upset and frustration, for exactly a minute, intentionally, forcefully. It feels good, try it the next time something doesn't go your way. I did it in prison every single day, railed and ranted against the terribly dehumanizing unfairness of it all, for one single minute, and then went on to plunge into creative projects and daydreams and meditation and visualization. We all need to remember that we control the balance of things, and all mosquitos can be toothless if that's how we see them.
I have been exuberant of late, preparing to move to Panama on February 1st, where I have already met a terrific group of new friends and have a great support system in place for my efforts as that nation's first English-speaking stand-up comedian, as well as continuing as a motivational speaker and workshop facilitator. The ten days I spent there in October convinced me that all the glowing reports I had from my friend Tony Busse about living in that tropical country were being seriously understated.
But in recent days, I've been dealing with a sore back, probably due to overdoing it in sorting through all my accumulated stuff, lugging some of it out to the recycling bin, deciding what to take, what to give away and what to throw away. And just minutes ago, my so-far-very-dependable two year old high definition 24 inch computer monitor just up and quit on me. Technical nitwit that I am, I haven't a clue.
I see people all around me, and even posting on Facebook, allowing even less significant events to cause anxiety, depression, anger, sadness, and general mood damage. Notice I say, "allowing," because we do have a choice when these occur. Perhaps the factor that helps most is that I am on a path I am passionate about, work and an upcoming lifestyle that fill me with excitement and joy. So in the larger scheme of things, little temporary setbacks won't get in my way. If you have not gone for your passion, then even very petty events can throw you for a loop.
So I am headed for my chiropractor in about an hour, who just happens to be across from In-N-Out Burger, which I feared I might not get a final visit to before I leave February 1st. And I will either stumble upon a way to get my monitor back on, or someone will give me a suggestion that will get it going, or I will just have one less bulky object to take with me to Panama, and will buy a new, maybe even larger once once I get there.
Oh yes, I am human and I got severely pissed at both events...my back and my monitor...but just for about a minute each. I gritted my teeth and growled in upset and frustration, for exactly a minute, intentionally, forcefully. It feels good, try it the next time something doesn't go your way. I did it in prison every single day, railed and ranted against the terribly dehumanizing unfairness of it all, for one single minute, and then went on to plunge into creative projects and daydreams and meditation and visualization. We all need to remember that we control the balance of things, and all mosquitos can be toothless if that's how we see them.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog, too:
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
IMPROVING YOUR ALREADYNESS
I just came across a great quote from the Dalai Lama:
"Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."
This is so profound on so many levels. As an author, motivational speaker, and teacher over many years, it always has been most significant for me when a student uses what I offer to improve, expand, or accelerate his or her alreadyness (my newly coined word of the day).
There are many who teach others to become almost clones of themselves, as there are institutions that teach participants and devotees to become regimented followers. Many organized religions would be appalled by the Dalai Lama's advice, having as their main focus the idea of worshippers becoming good whatever-the-church-wants-and-expects-you-to-be. One of the spiritual teachers I most admired was Jiddu Krishnamurti, who had some two million "followers" or disciples worldwide as a young man, but disavowed them and disbanded the organization he led to become what he termed a "simple teacher".
It can be very heady stuff having followers or even fans. When Moneylove first gained major recognition, I was approached by a number of people who wanted to become apprentices or disciples of my prosperity teachings, little Jerry Gillies mini-mes. I discouraged them all. One went on to become one of the leading lights of the prosperity teaching movement with a bestselling book, even appearing in the movie, The Secret, so I evidently was right in turning him down at the time. He found his own way, as we all ultimately must do.
When I taught meditation and was running the Biofeedback Institute in New York with two partners, I always was careful to teach that meditation is not going off in a corner or a cave and putting all your attention on your breathing or your mantra. That's just the preparation for meditation. A true meditator has learned to absorb those skills into his or her everyday life, so that everything becomes a meditation, so that meditation is an enhancement to what they are already doing, to what-they-already-are.
"Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."
This is so profound on so many levels. As an author, motivational speaker, and teacher over many years, it always has been most significant for me when a student uses what I offer to improve, expand, or accelerate his or her alreadyness (my newly coined word of the day).
There are many who teach others to become almost clones of themselves, as there are institutions that teach participants and devotees to become regimented followers. Many organized religions would be appalled by the Dalai Lama's advice, having as their main focus the idea of worshippers becoming good whatever-the-church-wants-and-expects-you-to-be. One of the spiritual teachers I most admired was Jiddu Krishnamurti, who had some two million "followers" or disciples worldwide as a young man, but disavowed them and disbanded the organization he led to become what he termed a "simple teacher".
It can be very heady stuff having followers or even fans. When Moneylove first gained major recognition, I was approached by a number of people who wanted to become apprentices or disciples of my prosperity teachings, little Jerry Gillies mini-mes. I discouraged them all. One went on to become one of the leading lights of the prosperity teaching movement with a bestselling book, even appearing in the movie, The Secret, so I evidently was right in turning him down at the time. He found his own way, as we all ultimately must do.
When I taught meditation and was running the Biofeedback Institute in New York with two partners, I always was careful to teach that meditation is not going off in a corner or a cave and putting all your attention on your breathing or your mantra. That's just the preparation for meditation. A true meditator has learned to absorb those skills into his or her everyday life, so that everything becomes a meditation, so that meditation is an enhancement to what they are already doing, to what-they-already-are.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog too:
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
BEYOND WRINKLE THINKING
I am having fun with this new term I just created, "Wrinkle Thinking". I recently posted a comment on Facebook in which I said, "Thinking outside the box is no longer where it's at. We need to go deep within the box, and be able to then bounce out to a place where the box is no longer even in sight."
For me, wrinkle thinking is not only staying inside the box, but sealing the box with duct tape, and then burying it under a layer of old ideas and preconceived notions and cultural prejudices and misconceptions. As we saw in the recent election campaign, a lot of people are still stuck in that modality. A lot of books are coming out on how to use some of the new knowledge we are learning about the human brain. Robert Greene's MASTERY is one of the best of these. He refers to what I am now calling wrinkle thinking by saying that if someone is successful early in life (which certainly happens a lot in this digital era), he or she may tend to become more conservative, more interested in protecting what they have rather than being excited about what new they can create. Greene talks about the importance of opening our minds to serendipity. I have long railed against the over-scheduled, overworked aspect of many people's lives that prevent them from being open to surprises and new opportunities.
This is one of my primary reasons for moving to Panama in a little over two months. A lot of serendipity has led me in this direction, but my life has been filled with many transitions and transformations, while also having a consistency in terms of synergy and flowing in a forward direction. Going from being a writer to broadcasting to writing books to doing lectures and workshops to writing and performing stand-up comedy, all seems very organic a process to me. And moving to a place where I will be forced to learn my very first second language, with new energy and many new adventures and lots of room for serendipity, all seems to be part of a smoothing out of those wrinkled thoughts.
The gorgeous Latina women, varied and wonderful food, majestic and sweeping beaches, warm temperatures--all these I consider rewards for my willingness to take new risks, perks I deserve for being willing to start a new life and be open to whatever.
For me, wrinkle thinking is not only staying inside the box, but sealing the box with duct tape, and then burying it under a layer of old ideas and preconceived notions and cultural prejudices and misconceptions. As we saw in the recent election campaign, a lot of people are still stuck in that modality. A lot of books are coming out on how to use some of the new knowledge we are learning about the human brain. Robert Greene's MASTERY is one of the best of these. He refers to what I am now calling wrinkle thinking by saying that if someone is successful early in life (which certainly happens a lot in this digital era), he or she may tend to become more conservative, more interested in protecting what they have rather than being excited about what new they can create. Greene talks about the importance of opening our minds to serendipity. I have long railed against the over-scheduled, overworked aspect of many people's lives that prevent them from being open to surprises and new opportunities.
This is one of my primary reasons for moving to Panama in a little over two months. A lot of serendipity has led me in this direction, but my life has been filled with many transitions and transformations, while also having a consistency in terms of synergy and flowing in a forward direction. Going from being a writer to broadcasting to writing books to doing lectures and workshops to writing and performing stand-up comedy, all seems very organic a process to me. And moving to a place where I will be forced to learn my very first second language, with new energy and many new adventures and lots of room for serendipity, all seems to be part of a smoothing out of those wrinkled thoughts.
The gorgeous Latina women, varied and wonderful food, majestic and sweeping beaches, warm temperatures--all these I consider rewards for my willingness to take new risks, perks I deserve for being willing to start a new life and be open to whatever.
Jerry
This is my very personal blog, but I also have a lot of fun writing my prosperity blog based on my two million copy bestseller, Moneylove, at: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Friday, November 9, 2012
SURVIVAL OF THE TRUEST
The phrase appears in a passage in the book, The Stark Munro Letters, by Arthur Conan Doyle, written in 1895 and one of his many novels not featuring Sherlock Holmes. In it, a young doctor talks about his friend and partner who has quite a vivid fantasy life and comes up with some wildly unrealistic schemes. This passage immediately brought to mind the political campaign just ended three days ago. It also comes in the midst of a lot of Republican and conservative recrimination.
Billionaire donors are complaining that the Romney campaign lied to them about his chances to win, and that Karl Rove--who as George W. Bush's famed "architect" certainly knew the trend and demographics were against a Republican victory for the presidency or the U.S. Senate, but took hundreds of millions of dollars from them under false pretenses. And ordinary voters are lambasting Fox News for skewing the truth in just about everything they said in the final weeks of the campaign. In other words, a huge "Liar, Liar, Pants of Fire!" to almost all Republican pundits and politicians.
Here's the passage as it was written over a hundred years ago:
It's a good time for healing, forgiving and forgetting. Gullibility is not a crime--and if it were, most of us would be under arrest from time to time.
So, my conservative friends, let me remind you that there are some pundits on your side who had it right, who understood the truth and told it. People like David Brooks, and Joe Scarborough, Kathleen Parker and Peggy Noonan were sometimes called Rinos by the far right prevarication machine, but "truth-tellers" would be more accurate. And Olympia Snow and even young Megan McCain. They may not be as sharp-tongued or occasionally witty as Krauthammer, Hannity, Coulter, et al--but neither did they lead vast numbers of believers into shocked humiliation, or make millions at the expense of the duped.
Check out my other blog on prosperity:
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Billionaire donors are complaining that the Romney campaign lied to them about his chances to win, and that Karl Rove--who as George W. Bush's famed "architect" certainly knew the trend and demographics were against a Republican victory for the presidency or the U.S. Senate, but took hundreds of millions of dollars from them under false pretenses. And ordinary voters are lambasting Fox News for skewing the truth in just about everything they said in the final weeks of the campaign. In other words, a huge "Liar, Liar, Pants of Fire!" to almost all Republican pundits and politicians.
Here's the passage as it was written over a hundred years ago:
The future wilt decide which of us is right. The survival of the truest is a constant law, I fancy, though it must be acknowledged that it is very slow in action.In the spirit of compromise and conciliation, I offer this suggestion. Let all of us of a progressive and/or liberal persuasion, reach out to those we might perceive as being on the other side with understanding and empathy. We should all appreciate how tough it is to be lied to consistently and persistently by institutions you have come to trust just because they appear to be in political agreement with you. This has certainly happened in the past from the other side, though arguably the lies were much more flamboyantly blatant this time around. Or maybe not--a historian has pointed out that during his campaign, our 4th president, James Madison, was accused of pimping out Dolly in exchange for votes.
It's a good time for healing, forgiving and forgetting. Gullibility is not a crime--and if it were, most of us would be under arrest from time to time.
So, my conservative friends, let me remind you that there are some pundits on your side who had it right, who understood the truth and told it. People like David Brooks, and Joe Scarborough, Kathleen Parker and Peggy Noonan were sometimes called Rinos by the far right prevarication machine, but "truth-tellers" would be more accurate. And Olympia Snow and even young Megan McCain. They may not be as sharp-tongued or occasionally witty as Krauthammer, Hannity, Coulter, et al--but neither did they lead vast numbers of believers into shocked humiliation, or make millions at the expense of the duped.
Jerry
Check out my other blog on prosperity:
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Sunday, October 28, 2012
JERRY'S MOVING-ON ADVENTURE
I've now been back in the Bay Area for a week after my return from my exploratory trip to Panama, in preparation for my move there on February 1st. All of the reasons I cited in my previous post for choosing this move have been dramatically reinforced and expanded.
A lot of this has to do with the quality of the people I've met, mostly through my good friend and Panama mentor, Tony Busse. I would be willing to bet that no one has ever emigrated to a new country with more of a solid network of influential contacts and potential good friends. The food and beautiful women were way beyond my expectations, and even during the "rainiest month of the year," not a single drop fell on my head during the entire ten days, so that I still have never opened the umbrella I brought. I bought a windproof model over six months ago for the normally yucky San Francisco climate, but it hasn't rained here either for a long time--well maybe a couple of times, but not when I had to be out in it.
My friend, Barbara Winter, whom I interviewed/dialogued with for the Moneylove Club audio series this month, says, "Figure out where the adventure is and optimize it." My newest adventure will be later today at the Apple Store in San Francisco when I buy my very first smartphone, an iPhone 4S. It takes a year or two to get a landline in Panama, and I want to immediately start using an app that offers speech recognition Spanish, so I can just say a phrase into it and it will come back with the correct Spanish phrase. I can use it to communicate with non-English speakers, and also be learning the language. But once I get down there, I will enroll in a Spanish class at the University of Panama.
Yes, I'd say I'm optimizing my adventure big time.
Jerry
Check out my other blog at http://MoneyloveBlog.com
A lot of this has to do with the quality of the people I've met, mostly through my good friend and Panama mentor, Tony Busse. I would be willing to bet that no one has ever emigrated to a new country with more of a solid network of influential contacts and potential good friends. The food and beautiful women were way beyond my expectations, and even during the "rainiest month of the year," not a single drop fell on my head during the entire ten days, so that I still have never opened the umbrella I brought. I bought a windproof model over six months ago for the normally yucky San Francisco climate, but it hasn't rained here either for a long time--well maybe a couple of times, but not when I had to be out in it.
My friend, Barbara Winter, whom I interviewed/dialogued with for the Moneylove Club audio series this month, says, "Figure out where the adventure is and optimize it." My newest adventure will be later today at the Apple Store in San Francisco when I buy my very first smartphone, an iPhone 4S. It takes a year or two to get a landline in Panama, and I want to immediately start using an app that offers speech recognition Spanish, so I can just say a phrase into it and it will come back with the correct Spanish phrase. I can use it to communicate with non-English speakers, and also be learning the language. But once I get down there, I will enroll in a Spanish class at the University of Panama.
Yes, I'd say I'm optimizing my adventure big time.
Jerry
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