The Secret to Happiness in 150 Milliseconds

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Hi there!

I have a quick question for you…

Do you know how long it takes for you to think a thought?

Well, it turns out that a single thought can be generated and acted on in less than 150 milliseconds! Do you have any idea of how fast that is?

It is half the time of a blink of an eye!

Happy Boy Blinking

We have thoughts every day, all the time. It is believed that humans have anywhere from 12,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day! Of those, how many of them are positive? How many are negative? How many are new? How many are repeated patterns and discourses?

You probably heard that it is possible to train your brain and recondition your thought patterns, so that you eliminate the negative ones and cultivate the kind of thoughts you have to think to become the person you want to be. Yes, it is possible to do that and that is exactly what I talk about on my book Your Lotus Life.

But if I had to name one thought that can really change the way you live your life, it would be this:

Gratitude

Visualization for Achieving Your Goals

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Visualizations make your dreams meet your reality! But how?

Visualizations are the key to achieving what you want. Whether it is to lose weight or to achieve your goals, you can use visualizations to prepare for challenging situations and to boost your self-confidence and motivation. It is a powerful way to achieve positive, behavioral change and create the life you desire.

 

How does it work?

Studies have shown that we experience real-world and imaginary actions in similar ways. So practicing visualizations is like practicing a mental workout, because it produces responses in your nervous system that are comparable to those recorded while doing the same actions that you imagined. Our brain can develop new neural pathways and change its structure with pure mental imagery.

Famous athletes and sportsmen revealed to use visualizations to enhance their performance and related that the mental rehearsal is as important as the physical trainings to reach their sporting achievements.

 

The process

When you visualize your desired outcome, you begin to “see” the possibility of achieving it. And when this happens, you show that you are motivated and prepared to pursue your goal.

But visualizations are not only useful to sportspeople. Whether you’re a spouse, a student, or a businessperson, you can use visualizations to get what you want.

When you visualize yourself accomplishing something, you send a message to the universe – of readiness and receptivity. When you can portrait yourself with details succeeding, you tell the universe: hey, I’m ready, I’m prepared and I welcome it.

 

Took me a while

I really underestimated visualizations, until I started using them and seeing real change happen.

I desperately chased changes in every area of my life and got frustrated as nothing happened! It was only when I relaxed and started to envision myself in that place of achievement that things changed for real.

Desperation didn’t take me anywhere. Visualizations opened the path for prosperity, love and joy to manifest!

Before I understood the importance of visualizations, I used to say: I don’t like planning for the future; if I don’t know where I’ll be next year, how can I possibly know where I see myself 20 years from now? I like when things just follow their natural flow.

I thought that by planning, I’d be confining my future and not leaving room for flexibility and spontaneity. But there’s a great difference between making restrictive plans and visualizing your desires come true.

 

Get hold of the feeling

If you set your intention and put your heart into it, you’ll see things starting to manifest in your life. You can use visualizations to lose weight, to face a difficult conversation, to rehearse mentally for a speech or a tournament… you could even use it to help you find your true vocation in life!

When you visualize how you want to see yourself in the future, how you want to feel… you send a message to the universe – that you’re ready to receive it.

So get hold of what you want to create, and cultivate a feeling of readiness and receptivity.

Set your intention, put your heart into it. And TRUST that you’ll get there. Not think, not believe, but KNOW. In order to live your dreams, first live your desire.

When you express that intention, when you send that energy to the Universe, you’ll see doors opening and things starting to manifest.

Because the Universe works fast when you know what you want. And you can co-create your reality with it. And the universe never says NO.

 

Here’s how to practice visualizations

It may sound complex, but it’s actually very simple.

Go to a calm place, relax and close your eyes. Now think about the situation you want to overcome/succeed. Don’t get attached to the things that keep you away from it (that’s important too, but it’s another exercise).

Bring to your mind an image of you succeeding in that situation. How do you feel? How do you want to feel? Satisfied? Proud? Glorious? Happy? Apart from the emotions you feel, add to that image as many details as you can… even clothes, smells, the environment surrounding you…

 

When to use

You can use visualizations to face a difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding or to find your way to your true vocation in your life.

The purpose doesn’t matter. The important thing is to emerge so deeply in your vision that it seems as if it is actually happening.

Focus on it without shame or guilt, but with dignity and honor. Even if you only have a distant and abstract idea, don’t be afraid to visualize it. Don’t allow your inner-critic to stop you from visualizing your success.

In that moment, you can be anything you want, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to!

Challenge the limits of your imagination and bring to your mind the image of yourself achieving your goals and succeeding in your life.

Visualization is not a brief moment of seeing success and it doesn’t guarantee success. It can’t make you perform beyond your capabilities, but it can surely help you reach your potential!

Mindfulness in as little as 3 minutes?

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Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing your awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting your thoughts, feelings and sensations.

It is the process of bringing your attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment without judging or reacting to them, but just by watching and being conscious.

It is the exercise of detaching from your problems and worries and focusing, even if for a few minutes, on yourself: your sensations, feelings, and ultimately your breath.

It is a meditation technique capable of relieving your stress and worries, while providing clarity and serenity. And when you attain that, you will be able to much more easily overcome your obstacles and find smart solutions to your problems – you might even realize that they are not even problems anymore. Because this technique helps to put things into perspective and acknowledge the things that really matter.

It is not as complex as it may sound. To reach that state of calmness and serenity, you don’t have to live as a monk or meditate for hours. All you need is 5 minutes from your day and your intention and commitment. You will see that this exercise of focusing on how you feel and focusing on your breath will help you improve your focus on all your other tasks and things will almost magically become easier and lighter!

It might be hard in the beginning and your mind will try to take you from that place. But when you manage to detach your mind from your problems and focus on the experience of just BEING in the present moment, even if for a few seconds, you will experience a tremendous feeling of relaxation and contentment. You will experience true JOY.

This practice is very simple and anyone can do it, anytime, anywhere. Yet, it is very powerful and can change your life.

I’ve been doing it for about two years and the results are (literally) mind-blowing. I realize almost instantly how much more focused and relaxed I get right after I finish the practice. I also see how I can relativize my problems and find solutions much more easily. Ultimately, it brings me a feeling of incomparable joy and contentment that I carry throughout the entire day. It really gives me pleasure and plenitude.

At this stage, I usually do it for 15 minutes every day. Some days I am really restless and it takes me a while to calm down. (I believe in such days this practice is even more important and I can see a real change manifesting after I finish it). Other days, I just lose track of time and feel immense pleasure in my practice of doing nothing – I just deeply enjoy nothingness!

Start sitting down in a comfortable position, either cross-legged or on a chair, with your back straight, chest open and shoulders relaxed.

Gently close your eyes.

Breathe deeply 3 times.

Start paying attention to the sounds that surround you. What can you notice? Cars, people talking, birds, music, water flowing…? Identify the sounds but don’t get attached to any of them. If you realize that your mind started winding around any of the sounds, bring it back to the present moment and to the experience of listening without judging.

Do this exercise for at least 1 minute.

Slowly withdrawal your attention from the sounds surrounding you and bring it to your body. How do you feel in this moment? Pay attention to your muscles, your posture, to the gentle movements that your body does when you breathe… Check if you feel any pain or discomfort. Once again, label it but don’t get attached to it.

Do this for at least 1 minute.

Then bring your attention to how you feel in that moment and in that day. Do you feel stressed, relaxed, tired, refreshed, annoyed, happy…? Here it’s very important to label your feelings and emotions without getting trapped in your thoughts. Your mind will create thoughts about it. But you can just watch them.

Also do this for at least 1 minute.

Then bring your focus to your breath. Notice how it comes and goes out of your nostrils. (Notice the flow of fresh oxygen coming into your body and nourishing every one of your cells and the flow of warm breath going out of your body carrying all that you don’t need anymore). If a thought comes and distracts you from your breath, passively notice that your mind has wandered, but in an accepting, non-judgmental way and return to focusing on breathing.

Stay in this place of concentration and awareness for at least 3 minutes.

Before you finish your practice, bring into your mind how you’d like to feel by the end of the day. What would you like to have accomplished?

With that in mind, bring your attention back to your body, to the sounds around you and finally open your eyes.

As you practice regularly, it will become easier to keep the attention focused on breathing. Eventually this awareness of the breath can be extended into awareness of thoughts, feelings and actions.

 

This is just one practice I wanted to share with you, because it helps me so much. Tell me about your own experiences and practices and let’s learn from each other!

Namastê!