The Commitment to Peace, Love and Happiness.

Why is it that when we find something that seems so exciting like a new relationship, hobby or spiritual practice it seems like its the one thing you were meant to do, then you set out to keep and nurture this new found love, only to have it fall by the wayside a few months or years down the track? What makes us lose commitment or interest with what once filled us with such immense joy?

Could it just be the initial impact of this novel introduction into our lives that stimulates our imagination and provides hope it will bring happiness to us, as we so hoped something would? Or do we fall into the trap of being sold by the event that once seems so enticing in a film or ad that sold it as a panacea of happiness?

Well I think that it is the expectation we set up around external things that set them up to inevitably fail in what we made them promise us: eternal happiness. You see, nothing outside of ourselves can make us happy in any lasting way, the reason is because happiness comes from within ourselves, and is always there, we only need to uncover it.

I once thought that if only I could find the perfect relationship then I would be happy. I found a great woman, but the initial happiness waned and I was left wondering what went wrong. Well, I expecting to suck and feed off this eternal source of happiness that lay inherent within this relationship with this person, until this amazing other who made up the other half of the relationship asked 'where have you gone? You don't do anything anymore. You just look for faults in me.'

That was a wake up call because I realized that I became dependent and lazy. I no longer took responsibility for the experience I was having between us. I had stopped providing it with happiness. What a humbling revelation!

I see the same thing in spiritual life or just living in everyday life: what am I bringing to the world, to the situation I find myself in, what am I offering? The insight was quite clear, if I wanted to experience love and happiness in my relationships, my work, my life, I had to bring love and happiness to those situations. And then the world changed and opened itself up to a whole host of wonderful experiences.

Oh, I still have days and moments when I'm in a funk, and everything seems difficult or gloomy. But having a practice everyday that happens like clockwork reminds me that I can experience something more wonderful. When I'm too stuck to overcome the meddling thoughts that toss around in my head vying for attention, then I seek help from someone really good at going inside to find love and happiness everyday. Luckily I have my teacher, John Morris.

So here's my message: find a practice like meditation that you can do everyday to get back in touch with that inner source of happiness. Find someone who can access that inner source of love and happiness readily so that they can inspire your own journey within. Its hard to remember to be on track to regularly go within to find your well of happiness when most things in the world want us to do the opposite by finding happiness outside of us.

Make your commitment towards yourselves: get rid of the clutter inside you that prevents you from experiencing your own peace, love and happiness inside.

Stay on track!

Lots of love,

Jason

Wellbeing in the Workplace

How does finding peace in yourself relate to your experience in the workplace? Well for one, much less will bother you. And secondly much less will go wrong. We are working on the premise that to a large extend the world around us reflects back to us who we are inside. Ever gotten up in the morning thinking I should never have gotten out of bed? Well the world would reflect that back to you throughout the whole day.

How do we turn that round or prevent that from happening? Maintain inner peace. If we let our psyche to its own devises, it will more than likely create some kind of chaos or frustration. Simply having at least one practice that we come back to frequently to maintain our balance and wellbeing will reduce the likelihood of turmoil in the day, and moreover improve your quality of life and the experiences in it.

So find out what works for you. Be it meditation, agoy, energetic healing or whatever. Some practices are more refined than others and can lead to higher experiences, but it is best to begin somewhere: there is a gamut of practices out there you will never reach the end of. And remember also that because we operate on different levels: mind, body, spirit, every dysfunction needs to be treated on that level.

The luckiest of us find a teacher who can advise and ground our growth experience especially when we reach our biggest emotional challenges. But this happens when we are ready to accept one.

Ultimately whatever we practice, the result is what we need to bring into the world. Which is why the spiritual and worldly are not mutually exclusive. The happiest person is one who can find peace in themselves and bring it to every circumstance they are in, so never dependent on happiness from the outside. And this is just as relevant in the workplace. Especially if self-employed, but just as relevant if employed for wages because with perpetual peace and happiness comes responsibility and care that is brought to every task taken on. So the task is carried out well, the boss is happy, all your colleagues trust you, and you are great to be around! Always a win-win situation.

We as adults grow up when we stop demanding that the world obey our every whim and serve us. We have to find peace within and with gratitude accept and appreciate all that is in this world. Only then do we open ourselves up to abundance and happiness, and always come from a place of serving so that we affect the environments we inhabit in the most positive ways. And then the whole world will give ten times more to us. This applies equally to the workplace. Generally the CEO at the top is the most cheerful, diplomatic, at ease person around, if he wasn't his attitude would filter down into the rest of the company: every lower ranked employee would be dumped on and pass on the bad attitude. The CEO tows the line in what he wants in his company in attitude and outlook. Just so every employee has the responsibility to affect their own lot, their colleagues and the company by finding their own happiness and peace. Moreover, a company who has happiness and peace as priorities for affecting work-life balance and general employee wellbeing will win the support of its employees. Ultimately everyone is responsible.

So take to the task of the adventure in life which ultimately is finding wholeness, peace and happiness through growth, and choose your practice which becomes your path. With consistency you will find heaven within yourself. I certainly am!

Special thanks to my teacher, and creator of Agoy, John Morris.

Jason Watson
Agoy Instructor

Where has all the wellness gone?

Are we a society of well-adjusted time-management savvy master-of-our-universe mediavores who want everything yesterday and prepared to sell our families and community values for it? Well yes, we are! And loving it? Well, in a weird immediate sense. And why not? Well...why not! We can afford it - financially, our nervous systems and hormones love it. That sex, fun and all things exciting sells, is a reality. And thats all good. But what about the other side of the coin? What about the other aspects to ourselves that makes us...well, human. There is a part to us that desires the opposite of our consumer-driven, media diet, celebrity cult contemporary needs. And that is stillness. I believe this little reality has little understanding, but is crucial to our wellbeing. The reality of being the still-point in the middle of the tornado allows us to be at peace within ourselves. Isn't that what we are really seeking? Doesn't the core of your being say: hello, where do I find that? Well yes, because at the core, you are peace. And guess what? that doesn't mean sitting on top of a mountain away from the world to realize this. All this requires is that you be prepared to go within and face yourself: first the misrepresenting ideas of who you are, then the truths (because, that is how it generally happens, as any seasoned meditator is able to tell you). For this we do need to practice something weather it be agoy, meditation, or some other technique for going within. And once you find peace you can live it out in every aspect of your life: peace isn't passivity, it is a stillness you experience when you enjoy living, and you can be as active as you like. Go on give it ago. See if there is something in it. And if there is, keep doing it, because it will only get better.

Now we can still enjoy our media and celebrities and people and community, only this time from a place of peace.

Lotsa love

Jason