The Blue Sky of Happiness Meditation

To send Blue Skies of Happiness to someone now..

i.) Decide who you want to send Blue Sky of Happiness thoughts to.

ii.) Close your eyes…

iii.) Then, in your imagination, picture the blue sky free from clouds. Let the blue in your blue sky be so bright it almost sparkles. So bright, so clear, that it brings a smile to your face. Enjoy that feeling for a few moments.

iv.) Then, imagine that the blue sky is sinking into you. Down, through the top of your head, through your body, into you every cell of your body.

v.) Feel the blue sky fill your very being with happiness, so you can imagine it for others with greater feeling.

vi.) Now, spontaneously and innocently, picture the person you have chosen to sent blue sky of happiness thoughts to, and consider what they would be doing if they knew within their heart that the sky was always blue and the sun shining.  If nothing comes, then simply imagine the recipient of your blue sky thought, smiling beneath the blue sky on a sunny day.

vii.) Really feel this image, and then imagine it riding on a golden wave through the air, traveling from your heart, to theirs.  Softly through the air like a feather in the breeze.

viii.) When your Blue Sky of Happiness thought reaches their heart, which should take no more than a couple of seconds, imagine it dissolve into a haze of warm golden light that expands to surround them from head to toe.

Repeat…

To learn more about the practice of Loving Kindness on from which this meditation was originally inspired – click here.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Blue Sky of Happiness meditation.

How often can I practice the Blue Sky of Happiness meditation?

You may like to consider that sending someone the good will of blue sky of happiness thoughts, wrapped in the golden light of love, is no different from giving someone a present. Only, unlike birthdays or Christmas, when your finances may limit the amount of gifts you are able to share with others, there is no limit to the amount of Blue Sky of Happiness thoughts you can send. Truly abundance is a state of mind!

When and where should I practice the Blue Sky of Happiness meditation?

While it’s preferable to practice the meditation in a quiet space, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, you can practice the Blue Sky of Happiness meditation, anywhere and at anytime.

Who should I send my Blue Sky of Happiness thoughts to?

While it’s obviously easier to imagine the Blue Sky of Happiness thoughts for the people who are close to us, just like the All-Seeing Boy you can also send Blue Sky of Happiness thoughts to people you don’t know. In fact sending Blue Sky of Happiness thoughts to people you don’t know is a particularly powerful way of lifting you own mood.

If you so wish you may like to experiment with sending Blue Sky of Happiness thoughts to people with whom you may have fallen out, or have a problem, or indeed a public figure to whom you have taken a dislike.

How do I know my blue sky of happiness thoughts will be what someone would really be doing, if the sky was blue and the sun shining in their life?

The key here is just to be innocent. Just like the All-Seeing Boy, as long as your intention, or desire, is genuinely to help others, then you can’t go wrong. Even if you imagine someone playing football under the Blue Sky of Happiness, when really they like tennis, it will not matter, because it’s the loving intention behind your thought that they will feel.

But surely happiness is an individual, subjective experience?

In the consumer society today, it’s natural to frame our sense of well being or happiness, by what we have materially, and or, the quality of our relationships, rather than what we feel inside. When we see the world like this, it’s natural to consider that happiness is something that can be won or loss, just like when the Blue Sky disappears behind the grey clouds.  However, if we are willing to consider that happiness is a state of being, represented by the quality of our experience of our inner world; then it’s possible to embrace the idea of an omnipresent blue sky as a metaphor for the endless peace and contentment we all truly seek.

What is endless peace? That’s for each individual to discover in their own way, but to be sure, one quality of peace nearly everyone will be able to clearly recognise, is freedom from doubt; or a growing sense of being at ease with the world, exactly the way it is, no matter what happens.

Even so, is it still alright to imagine someone enjoying material wealth under the Blue Sky of Happiness?

Of course it is. The key here, again, is to be innocent and spontaneous. But be creative too. For people who are lonely, then the company of good friends might represent their Blue Sky of Happiness. For someone who is sad, then laughing freely, might represent their Blue Sky of Happiness. It doesn’t have to be complicated. With few exceptions, everyone loves blue sky and sunshine, so simply imagining that, and the person smiling broadly beneath it, will be all you need to do.

However, above all, your positive intention that others will be happy, is of primary importance. That is the key to this practice. It should never be used to try and coerce, fix or control others. The development of the spontaneous and heartfelt wish that all living beings should be free of pain, suffering and obstacles, is perhaps the greatest benefit of this practice, because it is this wish, this desire that prompts us to consider the true nature of Happiness.

Once we understand this, we are better equipped to offer people the guidance and direct support they need, to discover it for themselves as well. This is true compassion.

How do I reconcile the experience of low self-esteem, and the need to develop a healthier respect for myself, with the idea of giving to others?

The key here is to recognise the benefits of focusing our minds on the happiness of others. When we do this, we direct our minds attention away from one of its most deeply ingrained habits: to dwell only on our own worries, fears or anxieties. It is this very ‘self-cherishment’, or absorption in our own concerns, which gives our negative thoughts and feelings (grey clouds), a basis for existing. The longer we focus on them the more we believe them to be true, and yet, as the story of the All-Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness suggests, they are no more real than grey clouds.

The Blue Sky of Happiness still exists behind them.

We do not need to dissolve our negative thoughts and feelings as much as we need to dissolve our attachment to them, by placing our focus elsewhere. There is no faster way to do this, than by cultivating the spontaneous wish that all living beings will be happy, by imagining what someone would be doing if the sky was blue and the sun was shining in their life. When we do this, we are able to better understand the true nature of Happiness, as an experience free from thought, especially those which invites us to believe happiness is something that can be exclusively won or lost. No one loses. No one gets left out. Everyone gets to experience the Blue Sky of Happiness.