Wisdom of the Week – Happiness

  Lucian Eyers © 2011

Ask most people what they wish for in life and the answer is very likely to be happiness. To achieve this state of consciousness, it is essential to be content with what you have and with who you are. Being happy is the ability to radiate pure love to everyone and everything around you. I hope that at the end of this blog you will be a little closer to finding this. Some of you may have already done so.

Because of the demanding tests that Earth presents to us, it is no surprise that a campaign spearheaded by ‘Action for Happiness’ highlighted a huge number of Britons who are unhappy. The reasons the action group gave ranged from a lack of human interaction, poor diet and focusing on acquiring more.

In the same week Bolivia has passed a new law, which is the first of its kind, extending legal rights to our natural Earth. Known as ‘The Law of Mother Nature’, it upholds the principles that nature has the same rights as we do, not to be violated through greed but treated with respect and protected.

"Bolivians have long revered the Pachamama Andean goddess of Mother Earth, and the law is said to be greatly inspired by a resurgence in the indigenous belief that the deity is central to all life. As Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera said when describing the measure, 'Earth is the mother of all...the harmony [between man and nature] must be preserved as a guarantee of its regeneration'." 1

Bolivians have been driven out of their countryside dwellings to find work and food in the city due to the disastrous effects of global warming. Their crops are dying, their livestock are becoming diseased due to the rise in temperature which encourages insects and they are desperate for water. The glaciers that once provided a source of water from the mountains have in some areas completely dried up.

The Bolivians have lived very simple lives and blame the West for their plight, saying they are responsible for global warming. The Bolivians say they need help but they stand alone. America recently withdrew its aid to Bolivia shortly after being criticised by the Bolivians that it was a major contributor to global warming.

So what has this got to do with happiness? 

You would be quite right to conclude – not a great deal as it may not seem obvious. The situation is serious and can only become worse if we allow it. The Bolivians are a spiritual nation who have lived closely to the Earth. They are known for blessing the land and showing gratitude for the bounty they receive, but this is not enough as the Bolivian situation shows.

We are all connected and everything we do makes a huge difference not only to us, but to the planet and to the cosmos as well.

So what will happen next?

This is a warning, just like the recent disasters in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and all the other countries that are currently suffering the effects of global cleansing. This week,

“Residents in North Carolina, where 62 tornadoes were reported to have hit, woke up to find bodies strewn across the ground, homes ripped from their foundations and power lines downed. It was the states worst spring storm in 20 years with officials tallying 21 dead, more than 130 seriously injured, 65 homes destroyed and 600 significantly damaged.” 2

Since then the death toll has risen to 45. Everything happens for a reason. ‘Effect’ is the consequence of ‘cause.’ Therefore, if we refuse to change our old destructive habits by continuing to abuse the planet and not helping those who suffer – then we too will experience great hardship.

At present we are in a position to help, we can start by being grateful for what we have.

There was a great Man who understood the pathway to happiness. The picture above is my illustration for a poem I wrote called ‘Friday,’ taken from my book, ‘The Angel Book of Hours.’ In my poem it highlights our enthusiasm for this day.

Friday is a day of hope, anticipation, joy, rest and the freedom to spend the weekend as you wish. But imagine if every day was like Friday. Imagine this long enough and it can happen. The poem ‘Friday’ is about taking control of our lives. It is creating balance and understanding we all need, to have purpose and interact with others. But that work should not dominate our lives.

The subject of my poem was a great spiritual leader who once said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself'.3  Once we learn to truly love ourselves, then this thing He asks – is not so very difficult to do.

Friday 

If I controlled the working week,

The days upon a diary’s sheet,

Would still contain as number seven,

Sunday as a day of Heaven.

Monday would be gone from sight,

Explaining that it left that night.

Tuesday’s place is as it should,

A little work is always good.

Wednesday, I declare today

Will be a public holiday.

Thursday, back to work again,

To give the clouds a chance to rain.

So now I’ll pause, for some applause,

A trumpet and a drum of course.

The day of promised fun and rest,

The day that workers love the best. 

The day that drains our woes and fuss,

The day that Jesus died for us.

‘Friday’ is taken from ‘The Angel Book of Hours,’ by Lucian Eyers © 2011

At a soul level we may all request difficult tests that will help both others and ourselves to spiritually grow.

On this day The Christ undertook one of the most difficult ‘initiations’ any soul could bear. His crucifixion amongst other things showed us there is life after death and that we take both our successes and our failings with us when we depart. Once we act responsibly, life becomes smooth and joyful – the result is happiness.

My wife Clare has an interesting topical recipe that will also help improve your life. For happiness comes not only from what we think, but naturally from what we eat as well.

Essene bread

Here is a little physical and spiritual nourishment to celebrate Good Friday and Easter. Try making bread from a recipe which is about 2000 years old and from around the time of Christ. Essene bread is an ancient recipe which appeared in a first century Aramaic manuscript, ‘The Essene Gospel of Peace’ Book 1. The Essenes were a Jewish religious group at this time, (from the second century BCE to the first century CE). They devoted themselves to a lifestyle of communal living, purity and piety.

The bread is very economical, simple to make, highly nutritious and tasty. It is made from sprouted whole grains of wheat and prepared at a low temperature and can even be baked in the rays of the sun. It can also be made with a proportion of sprouted whole rye grains.

For two reasons Essene bread is an alternate form of bread to other breads: It is far more beneficial to the body – it does not cause fermentation in the intestines, which like most breads result in gas and discomfort and because the sprouting process releases extra nutrients, it maximizes on the vitamin content of the bread.

However, the most delightful way to savour the spiritual content of this bread is to contemplate how the bread was made all those years ago, as so poetically described by ‘The Essene Gospel of Peace’.

“Let the angels of God prepare your bread. Moisten your wheat, that the angels of water may enter it. Then set it in the air, that the angel of air may embrace it. And leave it from morning to evening beneath the sun, that the angel of sunshine may descend upon it. And the blessings of the three angels will soon make the germ of life to sprout in your wheat. Then crush your grain, and make thin wafers, as did your forefathers when they departed out of Egypt, the house of bondage. Put them back again beneath the sun from its appearing, and when it is risen to its highest in the heavens, turn them over on the other side that they may be embraced there also by the angel of sunshine, and leave them there until the sun sets. For the angels of water, and air and of sunshine fed and ripened the wheat in the field, and they likewise must prepare also your bread. And the same sun which, with the fire of life, made the wheat to grow and ripen, must cook your bread with the same fire. For the fire of the sun gives life to the wheat, to the bread, and to the body. But the fire of death kills the wheat, the bread, and the body. And the living angels of the living God serve only living men. For God is the God of the living, and not the God of the dead.” 4

With this in mind, how can you not make something special?

Method for one loaf

Firstly soak two cupfuls of wholegrain wheat, in four cupfuls of water in a sprouting box overnight. The wheat should be uncooked and organic, (organic spelt grain is ideal). Drain the water off the next day, leave to sprout in a warm, dark room and rinse with cool water at least twice a day. Ensure the grains are well drained each time and shake gently to keep the grains separate. By about three to four days the grains will have grown long tails and stems. When they taste sweet they are ready to use. You do not need to rinse on the last occasion as it will make the dough too wet. Then as the original recipe states, crush the sprouts to a fine pulp, either by hand in a mortar and pestle or a grinder or food processor until the dough is quite thick, sticks to itself and is mottled in colour. You can add a small amount of soaked or well moistened fruits, nuts or other ingredients at this stage, such as honey or spices.

Take up a couple of handfuls of dough and knead, working out the air pockets and shape into flattened round shapes, like the sun. The rounds can now sit for an hour or so on grease-proof paper before baking. If the sun is not hot enough in your part of world, then slow baking in the oven to simulate the sun at 100 degrees celcius for about two hours, or even better for longer in a slow cooker at a lower temperature. Half way through the baking, turn the loaf over to allow for an even bake. You will know whether the bread is ready when it feels firm to the touch and soft inside. It will firm up more as it cools. The bread will last about three days normally and if refridgerated, will last for some weeks.

© Clare Eyers 2011

1. Huffington Post website 13^th April 2011 'Bolivia's Law Of Mother Earth Would Give Nature And Humans Equal Protection'. 

2. Metro newspaper Tuesday, 19^th April 2011 ‘Recovery begins after deadly storms cause havoc across southern US –Trail of destruction'. 

3. King James Bible “And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.’ Mark 12:31   
4. The excerpt was translated by Edmund Bordeaux Szekely.