There are some moments in life in which a sudden self-awareness of happiness hits - a moment in which you step back from yourself and realize that, in that instant, everything is good. A feeling of your consciousness pulling away to make an emotional snapshot of that moment to care for and examine like one would a wounded bird or a nugget of gold.
While I don’t consider my life as a unhappy one, I only have a few of these moments guarded away. The first being at around age 6. My parents were giving me a group hug while we were all singing a family lullaby. My mother was expecting my baby brother at the time and that was the first time the baby’s name was included in the song. I remember feeling detached and floating away while taking in the moment.
The last time I experienced it I had just finished changing the sheets on a new king bed I splurged on after a small windfall. I remember laying on the bedspread and my 2yr old pup hopping on to play around the newly made bed. Instead of ushering him off as I usually did, I just watched him mess up the bedspread.
(I know happiness is not a fixed concept and everyone can have their own definition and experiences, but given my ignorance of the specific word to refer to the instant moment of self-awareness described, I just went with it)
Curious to read your thoughts and experiences.
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Thank you for sharing this beautiful moment.
When i ate that tasty mango yesterday,at 10pm
Today. I woke up.
Thank you for this.
I’d recommend reading The Power Of Now. Its actually life changing. If this book replaced all religions, I bet we would have close to a utopia overnight.
The premise is simple, and you highlighted it in your stories. There is nothing but the Now. Dwelling on the bad past is pain. The worry of the future is pain. There can be no joy in either. All you ever have is the Now.
It takes mind training to get into that mindset, but its truly freeing. There’s no sky daddy. No misogonyst racist preachers. Its just You, Life, and Now.
And I am not some hippy dippy person who thinks energy crystals make you younger. I’m a wrencher and a PC nerd and I don’t do yoga. But I definitely recommend that book to everyone.
Eckhart Tolle. Thich Nhat Hanh. Maharaj. Some of my favorite folks.
Nonduality and mindfulness (and a bit of DMT) have brought me a profound sense of peace and happiness into my life that I never thought imaginable.
I know it’s not the type of answer you’re looking for, but I felt a moment of communal joy reading your story and all the other replies here. Thanks for sharing and helping bring that out in others, op. Love you.
Two weeks ago. It comes and goes.
I’ve been a bit overworked lately and that’s made me feel numb generally. Then of course there’s the news… I’m very not happy with the world at the moment.
That’s a nice description. I would say for me, it’s when I’m not afraid or worried about everything all the time. These occasions happen, thankfully, but not too often. And sometimes through out the day.
The first, strongest, and longest lasting moment like this I can recall is when I was 15 and homeless and a friend snuck me in to sleep on their floor. I felt safe and understood and accepted in a way I never had before and all too rarely have since. It’s still a moment I escape to sometimes when circumstances are rough and I can’t change them. Not the food or the games or the teen romance, just laying there in the dark knowing that everything was (and could actually be) ok. That a better world was possible, so to speak. That I wasn’t alone.
Elation is a moment. And honestly that’s fleeting. When most people think of happiness, they are really feeling elation. Happiness is a state of mind. With happiness it’s more or less being content and enjoying your big picture …
I honestly cannot remember.
A few days ago when that naval base in Bahrain got kablammed
1988
Before looking into psychology or (god forbid) reactionary existentialism:
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potassium (your multivitamin does not have this, supplements are generally inadequate, check the label you will be shocked, get powder online)
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magnesium (ditto but also “magnesium oxide” causes gastric issues and is NOT ABSORBED so trust the label even less, when you look online get glycinate)
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25-50g of fiber. easiest + cheapest if you live in an unhealthy supermarket area without cheap veggies is psyllium husk, powdered peanut butter (WITH NO ADDED SUGARS!! use in savory dishes), wheat bran, and dried vegetable mixes you can buy from asia
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lift weights AND do long very fast walks for posture + eyes. engage your core muscles while you walk
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100-300g (yes, 300, but we will never be that ripped now without roids lol, 250 tops prolly, and obv you need some short (protein powders) and long (yogurt, egg whites, meat) chains otherwise you will be too full, beware of doing this with beans sorry) of protein depending on physique. limit fat intake. no sugars. complex carbs and proteins burn 30% of calories as heat, that activity fuels your digestive microbiota.
just a good bedrock before mindset and medication, also look into tianeptine. trust me this will improve your mood enough to realistically gauge what to do next this is foolproof numerous people have told me it works and any doctor should back me up.
oh, and eat fish! so much fish! omega 3s really do work over time. also eat as many plants rich in random antiinflammatory compounds as possible (they taste good, berries are fiber nukes and they are just packed with anticancer stuff)
Hey just wanted to point out this about tianeptine.
" It has been found to act as an atypical agonist of the μ-opioid receptor with clinically negligible effects on the δ- and κ-opioid receptors."
Don’t buy it online (if that’s even possible for you guys anymore) I get it thru the medical system here legit
Thank you for the genuinely good advice, but I think it’s missing the point.
I’m not referring to depression or missing fiber in my diet; I’m referring to a specific meta-awareness of one’s emotional state. I tried to discuss a phenomenological discussion, not a physiological condition.
Have you experienced something like this?
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Yesterday I was just driving home from the grocery store and the sky was a beautiful shade of pink. Light snow on the ground driving by a state park. In that moment I knew everything was Ok and I was at a state of peace I never would’ve thought possible even 1 year ago.
Ever since that DMT experience I had about 8 months ago, I have had more and more moments like this. And overall a profound sense of peace and joy. I have never been more grateful for a drug in my life.
How did you come into possession of that? (Totally not a cop, now please speak clearly into my chest area.)
Me after reading this thread.
Fuck, am I depressed?
