You know the feeling you get right after spring-cleaning your whole house. I don’t mean just the routine cleaning. I mean a real reorganization of your entire household complete with moving furniture and elbow grease. What a great feeling it is when you’re all done and you sit back for the first time and just relax.

This good feeling comes not just because you have a freshly cleaned house. Nor is it just a feeling of self-gratification for accomplishing, what is in my case, a monumental task. It is also the result of your recent connection with the universe through your own subconscious thoughts.

You may not realize it but as you focus your attention on physical activities you are actually allowing your subconscious mind to surface with new ideas. When you really focus on something as mindless as cleaning your kitchen or garage you are actually distracting yourself from all the external influences that surround us all the time. It is this distraction that allows your subconscious mind to rise to the level of awareness with new ideas fresh from the universe for you to act upon. Ever have any great ideas in the shower or while shaving?

As the master teachers of "The Secret" will tell you, your subconscious mind is your most direct connection to the universe. The feeling you get when you make that connection is wonderful but there are better ways of getting there than doing a bunch of housework.

There is an old Zen saying: “The Joy of Art is in The Doing" That’s why most of their art is drawn in the sand. They understand that doing something as mindless as drawing shapes and patterns derived from their subconscious mind into the sand helps them focus on “the now" and it is that direct connection to the universe that gives them joy. The result of the doing is of no consequence. It is just something to be raked under into a new canvas for the next time they feel a need to make that connection.

We all go through life passing through crossroads, unaware of all but a few possibilities. Not every crossroads has a red light or a stop sign or even a conscious thought to the unlimited possibilities we hurriedly pass by every day. We only seem to notice the big intersections where major decisions are involved, and it is those times when we, at least at some level, seek our own connection to the universe in order to find our own answers.

Personally I don’t have a Zen Garden, but I do like to draw mindscapes when I’m faced with uncertainty. It helps me clear my head and focus on what my creative side is trying to tell me. I try to let my subconscious mind create the images and shapes as I draw, without expectation of what will come of the art. I enjoy the “now" moments that come with the creation as I draw and it is in those moments of connection with the universe that I project a mental image of what I really want to attract. Occasionally those images end up in the art. In some cases it’s pretty obvious what I wanted to attract at the time of “the doing" but finding the answer to what it is that you really want is half the battle of getting it.

So many people believe that the answer to all their problems is money, especially if they don’t have any. I think it’s funny how we humans spend so much of our time following some grand fortune to bring us bliss, when it doesn’t cost anything to be happy.

Happiness can be found just about anywhere you care to look for it. I’ll bet if you take a look around you right now you can easily find something or someone close by that makes you happy.

There is nothing wrong with believing that it’s easier to be happy when you’re rich. The irony is, very few people realize that the opposite is true.

It’s easier to get rich when you’re happy.

People make things too hard.

Have a Happy Day.