When I was a child, I used to think just that. Wouldn't it be great - all of those presents and feasting! Except that if it was Christmas every day, we would soon be bankrupt and our waistlines would look like Santa!

Maybe though, with a little shift in interpretation - it can be!

In the ancient Taoist tradition there is something called "The Inner Smile". It is a simple practice and at least for a short while each day, we fill our hearts with joy and love. A bit like Christmas but without the presents and the cake!

As human beings, we tend to follow patterns of behaviour. We get up, go to work, come home, eat, watch TV, go to bed and start again. Maybe this is not quite you but many follow similar patterns. There is a sense of "just get on with it".

Yet, if we know that it's Christmas next soon and we get time off to enjoy with our families and just relax, it lifts our hearts. We are still just getting on with it but there is a little spark in our hearts that makes us feel better and guess what! Usually our day goes by more fruitfully!

I learned the inner smile - which I'll show you, from the Taoist master Mantak Chia. He explained to us that he was lucky enough to take part in an experiment. In the experiment, he was wired up to monitors similar to those that people have when they are in intensive care.

His vital signs etc. were pretty much the same as any other fit man of his age. Then he started doing the inner smile. Signals associated with stress fell off a cliff whilst signal associated with well-being skyrocketed at the precise moment that he did the inner smile.

It goes further than just your own well-being. If you smile at someone - they smile back. It's hard not to! Go out and try it. Walk up to someone who has a neutral expression on their face and smile at them.  I bet they smile back!

This in essence is how the inner smile works. Give it a try. Do it every day. Practice it until it becomes habit. This my friends is how we change the world!



Happy Christmas and love to you all!

The Inner Smile

1.      Close your eyes

2.      Imagine your heart in the middle of your chest

3.      Don't think of it as an organ - think of it as a smiling sunshine like a child would draw.

4.      Imagine the warmth from the sun and "see" the sun smiling in your mind's eye.

5.      Your heart is smiling at you - so smile back at it. Actually smile with your face!

6.      Feel your heart lift as you do it. That's the inner smile

7.      Hold the feeling for a few minutes to let it "soak" into your body

8.      Open your eyes

9.      Keep smiling