Jared Akers

How to Be Happy

Spirituality Articles

Spirituality is a broad yet personal topic. Although it can vary as much as people do, spirituality is an important part of figuring out how to be happy.

The Spiritual Serenity Series: Step 5, Confession

by Jared Akers

Welcome back to The Spiritual Serenity Series: 7 Steps to Inner Peace and Happiness. Last week we looked at step 4, Self-Searching. This week we are looking at:

Step 5: Confession

Oh great you’re saying… I have to confess my sins? Actually… yes. Admitting our faults to another human being, someone qualified to hear them, is an important step in being honest with ourselves. We hold back nothing for I am as sick as my secrets.

How is telling someone else our deepest secrets being honest with ourselves? It is the process of saying the words, getting them out into the open, which helps in our healing. By healing our self-image and moving closer to a real perception of ourselves, we move towards truth—truth about ourselves. Not until we truly know who we are, can we move forward into what we might become.

We often find that many of our secrets, things that we secretly condemn ourselves for, are not as bad as they may seem. It is important we share them with someone else for this amazing and spiritual transformation to work. So we find someone who is familiar with the process and understands what we are trying to accomplish. [Read more…]

The Spiritual Serenity Series: Step 4, Self-Searching

by Jared Akers

Welcome back to The Spiritual Serenity Series: 7 Steps to Inner Peace and Happiness. Last week we looked at Identification. This week, we are going to look at self-searching.

Step 4: Self-searching

Now that I have identified my problem, I’m set right? All I need to do is stop doing that! After all, knowledge is power! For me, it was not quite that easy. I self-educated myself for years, it did not work. I could avoid making the same mistakes or feel good for a period of time—years in s0me cases—but without an entire psychic change, I eventually found myself in the same state, defeated and depressed. Self-knowledge alone did not work.

What I needed was some humility and an honest self-appraisal—humility gained by honestly looking at my life and how I was living it. In recovery, we call this a moral inventory. We need to identify the unsalable goods, the character defects that are hindering our spiritual growth. [Read more…]

The Spiritual Serenity Series: Step 3, Identification

by Jared Akers

Welcome back to The Spiritual Serenity Series: 7 Steps to Inner Peace and Happiness. Last week we looked at Acceptance. This week, we are going to look at identification.

Step 3: Identification

Now that I have accepted what needs to change, I can identify what areas I need to work on. Remember, just because we accept something, does not mean we have to like it.

I identified that a self-destructive life run on self-will had seriously contaminated my thinking over the years. The void inside my soul existed no matter what I filled it with; be it money, profession, alcohol, relationships, etc., nothing worked. I was emotionally and spiritually bankrupt and as a result, my thinking was extremely misguided.

Nadia over at HappyLotus said it nicely in her post The First Step to Happiness:

“Usually the desire for material items as a means to happiness is a cover for an emotional issue. Granted this is not always the case … So be careful to distinguish why you want certain things and that will be the first step of your journey to finding happiness.” [Read more…]

The Spiritual Serenity Series: Step 2, Acceptance

by Jared Akers

Welcome back to the The Spiritual Serenity Series: 7 Steps to Inner Peace and Happiness. Last week we looked at the first step, Awareness. This week we’re looking at:

Step 2: Acceptance

As a result of step one, Awareness, we’re now aware that we need to change some aspect of our life in order to find happiness. Yet simply being aware will not accomplish anything. Especially if we’re unwilling to change that aspect of our lives. This is where acceptance comes in. We must be able to accept what it is we need to change. If we can’t get to a place of acceptance, that is recognizing and owning what is standing in our way, we’re stuck. Denial is a word that comes to mind here.

It’s important to note that just because I accept something does not mean I have to like it. Early on this was difficult for me to understand, but as I grow spiritually, acceptance because easier—even if means facing something uncomfortable—because I know I will grow from it.

[Read more…]

The Spiritual Serenity Series: 7 Steps to Inner Peace and Happiness

by Jared Akers

In the coming weeks I will explore the process of finding inner peace and happiness; as it has worked for me. I have broken the process down into seven steps:

1. Awareness
2. Acceptance
3. Identification
4. Self-Searching
5. Confession
6. Action
7. Maintenance

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
-Ghandi

I have found Ghandi’s view of happiness to be right on. Thus, I need to get three things in harmony; thought, words, and action. The result of such harmony is a healthy self-image based in reality.

It has been my experience that thought, words, and actions based upon love bring the greatest serenity and happiness into my life. Not only love for myself, but also love for all of God’s creatures. Personally, I did not wake up one day and love everything and everyone… how could I? I did not truly love myself—or so I discovered through this process. It has been a long journey and one that continues on a day-to-day basis.

[Read more…]



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