Seneca the Younger Quotes

Stand tall, smile bright, and let 'em wonder what secret's making you laugh.

Cheerfulness, it would appear, is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within, as on the state of things without and around us.

Be inwardly ever newly joyous, like the ever-fresh laughing waters of a gurgling brook.

Authentic happiness is always independent of external conditions. Vigilantly practice polite indifference to that which we can't control. Your happiness can only be found within.

I don't think... one get a flash of happiness once, and never again; it is there deep within you.

You could cry, get worried or angry like any other normal human being, as long as you remembered that, up above, your spirit was laughing out loud at all those thorny situations.

Can you go a whole day with joy in your heart? Joy and vitality are an inseparable combination. Joy is not concerned with having fun; it is an inner spiritual quality that overcomes despair, pain and defeat. You cannot turn on joy like an electric light, but you can prepare yourself to receive it.

Give us courage and gaiety and the quient mind . . .

Joy has come to live with me. How can I be sad? I do so love Thy presence, which is joy within me.

The joy of Being, which is the only true happiness, cannot come to you through any form, possession, achievement, person, or event - through anything that happens. That joy cannot come to you - ever. It emanates from the formless dimension within you, from consciousness itself and thus is one with who you are.

Happiness can only be found within, by breaking attachments to external things and cultivating an attitude of acceptance.

The day you are happy for no reason whatsoever, the day you find yourself taking delight in everything and in nothing, you will know that you have found the land of unending joy called the kingdom.

Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside.

You are without needs. There is nothing that you need in order to be perfectly happy. You only think that there is. Your deepest, most perfect happiness will be found within, and once you find it, nothing exterior to your Self can match it, nor can anything destroy it.

Happiness lies in your own hand

Then wilt thou not be loath To leave this Paradise, but shalt possess A Paradise within thee, happier far.

Each time a swarm of worries invades your mind, refuse to be affected; wait calmly, while seeking the remedy. Spray the worries with the powerful chemical of your peace.

Be sincere in your thoughts, Be pure in your feelings. You will not have to run after happiness. Happiness will run after you.

We know when we are following our vocation when our soul is set free from preoccupation with itself and is able to seek God and even to find Him, even though it may not appear to find Him. Gratitude and confidence and freedom from ourselves: these are signs that we have found our vocation and are living up to it even though everything else may seem to have gone wrong. They give us peace in any suffering. They teach us to laugh at despair. And we may have to.

That's what life is for, to find that joy in yourself.

The happiness for which our souls ache is one undisturbed by success or failure, one which will root deeply inside us and give inward relaxation, peace, and contentment, no matter what the surface problems may be. That kind of happiness stands in need on no outward stimulus.

There is no greater source of strength and power for me in my life than going still, being quiet and recognizing what real power is.

Sometimes a good feeling from inside is worth much more than a beautician.

Real happiness is not dependent on external things. The pond is fed from within. The kind of happiness that stays with you is the happiness that springs from inward thoughts and emotions. You must cultivate your mind if you wish to achieve enduring happiness.