Love & Peace

     From the time we were children, we wanted so much in life. The chance to be healthy, and grow up with all our dreams coming true. Most of us, had two parents to teach us right from wrong, guide us in life the best they knew how. Give us comfort and education, teach use to be responsible for us and be respectful toward others.
    In a perfect world, that is. Not everyone had been brought up with these guidelines. So its up to each individual to deal with them when we reach an age of being able to understand ourselves within. One must look at their beliefs and determine what is best for them, and choose which ones are not.
     To define happiness is that it is a feeling of peace, joy, contentment, and feeling good about myself for who and what I am. Once happiness is defined, the dilemma becomes how to create it. A famous philosopher, Socrates claimed, "The unexamined life is not worth living".
    We must learn how to conduct a continuous self-examination of our life in order to create happiness, or in Socrates' words "a life worth living".
    What was taught to me, the three parts of our life which most directly affect our ability to create happiness are our thoughts, our feelings, and our actions.
    We can learn to consciously separate our actions into two categories; self-enhancing actions and self defeating actions. Self-enhancing actions are those which result in feeling good about ourselves. Self defeating actions are self destructive because they result in unpleasant consequences or feelings of guilt or regret. Increasing self enhancing actions and decreasing self defeating actions will move us closer toward our goal of creating happiness.
    We can also learn to separate our feelings into pleasant feelings such as joy, peace, calm, and contentment, or unpleasant feelings such as anger, hurt, frustration, disappointment, shame, anxiety, or Fear.
    The way we act and the way we feel are both the result of the way we interpret, or think about lives situations and circumstances. Thoughts that result in unpleasant feelings or self-defeating actions are called dysfunctional. We've learned over time and through life experiences to think the way we do. In Essence, we've developed thinking habits. Dysfunctional thinking habits, like all undesirable habits, can be changed.
    Some people seek counseling to help change self defeating actions or unpleasant feelings when they progress to a point at which they can no longer be ignored. Examples of this are self defeating actions such as addictive use of drugs or alcohol, and physical or verbal abuse, or unpleasant feelings such as anger, anxiety, or depression.
    Your life doesn't need to be totally destroyed to benefit from counseling. Anyone who wishes to unlock more of their innate potential to create happiness can benefit from counseling. You might be a bright, talented, creative professional who has mastered your craft, yet you still find life a little empty. Many people spend their lives in pursuit of whatever they've been taught they should be doing, with little time spent on themselves, learning to create more happiness.
     A counselor can serve as a teacher, or guide, for you if you simply want to learn more about yourself. You might ask yourself, "Why do I do what I do? How can I do better?" A good counselor can help you take a new direction in life leading to the creation of more happiness for yourself and those you love and with whom you share life experiences.

Please note: The information listed within this site was obtained through Nonviolent Alternatives it is the name of Terry A. Moore's private counseling practice. Located at: Nonviolent Alternatives