Cultivating Happiness A Garden of Spiritual Freedom
Jul 30, 2021 06:35AM ● By Laura Lee Bond
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Sometimes happiness is hard to come by, even in
the best of times. Now, more than ever, we can benefit from cultivating
happiness. In many ways, it is like cultivating a garden. When we cultivate our
own happiness, we empower ourselves to create a life where everyday events take
on spiritual depth and become a crop of joy.
Eckankar, the path of spiritual freedom, offers
these three tools for cultivating happiness.
First, we are Soul, a divine, individual spark
of God. When we recognize this, we can tap into a reservoir of infinite
creativity. We see that we are more than our bodies, emotions and minds. Even
more empowering: Soul—our true beingness—exists because God loves it. When we
embrace this simple truth, we see everything in our lives through the lens of
divine love. Everything in the garden of life is a gift from God.
Roadblocks become opportunities and confusion
transforms into understanding. This doesn’t mean our lives are perfect and
without trials. Rather, we find more meaning in the garden of our world, and we
find our way to contentment. Accepting our divine nature as Soul is fertile
ground for happiness.
Second, in gardening, as in life, it is helpful
to have someone to turn to—a master gardener. Difficult situations can demand
more of us than we feel prepared to handle. Students of Eckankar look to Harold
Klemp as their spiritual guide. He is the spiritual leader of Eckankar, the
Mahanta, the living ECK master. As the Mahanta, he can help people in their
dreams and prayers. If we ask, the Mahanta, like a master gardener, can help
guide us through challenges, showing us ways to tend our happiness.
Third, the daily practice of spiritual
exercises is like watering, pulling weeds and allowing the sun to shine on our
garden of happiness. When we make time to connect with ourselves as Soul, and
with the Mahanta (or any spiritual guide we revere), we bring more love into
our lives. A simple spiritual exercise is to sing HU, an ancient mantra and
name for God. Pronounced hyoo, it is sung in one long note. One may see
a light or hear a sound, and experience a sense of calm and peace. We are
cultivating happiness, so results—like plants—don’t always pop up overnight. But
careful, consistent tending does bring results.
When we cultivate our own happiness, we empower
ourselves to create emotional well-being—a life rich with understanding,
meaning and love. Recognizing ourselves as Soul, divine beings that exist
because God loves us, creates fertile ground for happiness. By calling on the
Mahanta for guidance and using daily spiritual exercises, like singing HU, we
can harvest the full benefits of happiness.
Artist and Arizona native Laura Lee Bond works
in the curatorial department of the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological
Park. A longtime student of everyday spirituality, she is a member of the
Eckankar clergy. She cultivates a happy home garden with husband Seth and Bella
the cat. Find Eckankar spiritual events and opportunities at EckankarArizona.org.
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