Can we project our minds into the future and manifest happiness? Yes, it is possible. We might not have control over the situations that will arise throughout our day, but if we decide that nothing is going to have the power to change our happy mood, then rest assured that nothing will.
Begin by looking at the future as a set of possibilities and a game being played between you and the universe. Just as in the game of tennis, you need to hit whatever is served at you, back over the net. Sometimes, the ball will hit the net and fall on your side, and oftentimes, you’ll miss it completely. But, most of the time, you’ll get it back across the net! At times the volleys will last really long, as you spar and banter with the universe.
Life will throw everything at you. There are so many opponents all around you, serving their best aces, and you will have to keep turning around, pirouetting and hitting back at anything coming your way.
You can either enjoy the myriad banters or, sit down in defeat and hopeless misery, and get battered by hard shots hitting you constantly. It’s entirely your choice.
Manifesting, the practice of focused thinking with the purpose of making one’s thoughts a reality, has become a very popular practice because of uncertainty surrounding work and life in difficult times. In fact, ‘shut up I’m manifesting’ became a defining meme after the pandemic began.
In the powerful book, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’, Viktor Frankl chronicled his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Frankl describes a unique psychotherapeutic method to identify a purpose to feel positive about, and imagine that outcome. The way a prisoner imagines the future affects his longevity.
As per Hindu thought, how we act in the present decides our future happiness. We can manifest happiness through conscious and deliberate actions. In the scriptures three types of happiness are defined. Physical (bhautika) happiness, or sukha, arising out of material comforts and sensual enjoyment. Mental (manasika) happiness, or ananda, arising from a sense of fulfilment and freedom from misery, pain, and anxieties. And, Spiritual (adhyatmika) happiness, or atmananda, arising out of enlightenment, and self-realisation.
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali declares that the mere pursuit of happiness leads to worldly attachments and bondage. Ideally, happiness must be pursued as part of the way of life with Self Realisation as one’s ultimate goal.
To ensure happiness here and now, Hindu scriptures prescribe four life goals, called purusharthas, pursuing which we can experience physical, mental, and spiritual happiness. Broadly speaking, these are the pursuits of – morality (Dharma), prosperity (Artha), enjoyment (Kama), and liberation (Moksha).
Choose your mood, come what may, wager upon happiness and project it as the outcome of your day. One of the ways is to get up in the morning and sit holding a huge smile for one full minute. Consciously do this everyday for a month, and it will become a habit.
Life is hard. But a good player enjoys a hard game with a worthy opponent. Soon, these practices will become a habit, and you’ll look forward to life’s daily challenges coming your way.
Deepam Chatterjee is the author of The Millennial Yogi. He can be contacted on deepamchatterjee@yahoo.co.in