Look for Happiness – Page 15

Book Review: Real Happiness

February 16, 2011February 16, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

This is a really excellent book and highly recommended. Sharon Salzberg, one of the leading Buddhist teachers in the United States and co-founder of the Insight Meditation Centre in Barre, Massachusetts, has written here one of the best introductions to meditation as well as an easy-to-grasp introduction to the whole science behind mediation and wellbeing. Despite the fact that there are quite a few books out there on meditation, it is hard to find one that will help those starting off establish a practice in a way that is clear, well-written and experiential. Well, finally, here is such a book. It is written as a 28-Day Programme – or rather “experiment” – for readers to try to see if they notice the beneficial effects in their lives. It includes a CD with guided meditations.

The book explains the science behind meditation and happiness, leads the reader through meditation practices for each day and then goes deeper into some of the assumptions which operate in our lives and which may get in the way of a full and compassionate life. We are led to bring these assumptions into awareness so as to loosen their grip on us: Meditation teaches us to focus and to pay clear attention to our experiences and responses as they arise, and to observe them without judging them. That allows us to detect harmful habits of mind that were previously invisible to us. For example, we may sometimes base our actions on unexamined ideas (“I don’t deserve love, you just can’t reason with people, I’m not capable of dealing with tough situations”) that keep us stuck in unproductive patterns. Once we notice these reflexive responses and how they undermine our ability to pay attention to the present moment, then we can make better, more informed choices. And we can respond to others more compassionately and authentically, in a more creative way. (Page 10f)

This is why we practice meditation – so that we can treat ourselves more compassionately; improve our relationships with friends, family and community, live lives of greater connection and even in the face of challenges, stay in touch with what we really care about so that we can act in ways that are consistent with our values. One of the things I have always found so interesting about the meditation practice is that the arena can seem so small – just you in a room – but the life lessons, the realizations and understandings that arise from it can be pretty big.

How meditation leads to kindness

February 10, 2011February 10, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Think of Mindfulness as the habit of seeing things in an uncomplicated way. We generally don’t. Based on our individual histories, our memories, and our fears, we often make up our reality out of a projected worry and frighten or discourage ourselves. Mindfulness is seeing things as they actually are, not as we imagine them to be.

Mindfulness practice… supports our ability to best serve. It keeps our motivation going. I say, “When we see, even in the simplest circumstances, how difficult it is to stay content, how easily irritated we become, how many worries we have, how hard it is to relax — we intuit that that must be true for other people as well. All other people. And we start to be kinder. We are kinder to ourselves and, ultimately, more forgiving of others. The world would get happier if everyone relaxed and forgave each other.” Usually people think about that a moment. Then they smile and say, “I think you’re right.”

Sylvia Boorstein

The essential rule for life and happiness

February 10, 2011February 10, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

In the different wisdom traditions we find attempts to reduce down to their simplest all of the instructions about living a full life: What is the essence of practice? What leads to true contentment? We can see that is this tale from the Jewish tradition, which resembles the simple direct presentation of wisdom found in the Christian Desert Fathers and in the Zen tradition. We are told that a man approached Rabbi Hillel and promised to convert to Judaism if the Rabbi managed to recite the whole of the Jewish teaching, while standing on one leg. Rabbi Hillel stood on one leg and said simply: That which is hateful to you, do not do that to your neighbour. That is the essence of the Law. Everything else is just a Commentary. Go and Study it.

Book Review: Beyond Happiness

February 9, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Will do some book reviews over the next few weeks. I always like Ezra Bayda’s writing, especially At Home in the Muddy Water. He is from the Zen tradition, having trained with Charlotte Joko Beck, at the Ordinary Mind Zen School. He is a student of meditation since 1970 and currently teaches at the Zen Center in San Diego. His latest book is entitled Beyond Happiness: The Zen Way to True Contentment. It was nominated as “one of the best books of the year” by the magazine Spirituality and Health.

This book bases itself on the most recent research on happiness, such as that found in The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky, where we learn that external circumstances, such as our career, relationships and prosperity are not as important in our overall happiness as we may think. Rather, we are born with a certain predisposition to happiness and then can work on our happiness by the way we deal with our everyday circumstances. In other words, our “intentional activities”are largely responsible for how happy we are – mindful actions that we do every day to achieve a happier life. Eric Bayda develops this concept by asking three key questions: Am I truly happy right now? If not, what blocks it? And, can I surrender to what is? At the end of the day he comes up with two key ways that we can work at developing our sense of contentment and removing the things that block and poison our heart, namely, cultivating gratitude and actively forgiving.

This is a nice book in the current trend of applying Buddhist principles to the psychological areas of growth in our lives and practical ways of developing contentment.

Perhaps one of the commonest places we get stuck and consequently one of the places that most prevents happiness is holding onto resentments. If there is even one person we cannot forgive, it closes our hearts in bitterness and will prevent us from experiencing the equanimity of genuine happiness….It may be easy for us to be kind, and also forgiving, when life is going well. But it is only when life gets difficult that the depth of our spiritual practice is revealed. For our kindness to be real it cannot depend on how others treat us, or how we feel at any given moment.

Awakening Joy Course

February 9, 2011February 17, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Awakening Joy is a hugely successful Course that has been developed by James Baraz, a meditation teacher with over 30 years experience and one of the founding teachers of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. The goal of the Course is to awaken joy through principles and practices that incline the mind toward well-being, happiness and contentment.

I am delighted to announce that James and his wife Jane are coming to Switzerland in August to run this Course as a 4-Day Workshop, from Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th. This is a great opportunity for us here to deepen our practice and grow in some of the areas we learned in the MBSR Programme or since we started meditation. This Course goes beyond Stress Reduction and looks at how we can actually increase contentment in our lives. As I have written elsewhere, the brain has evolved with a bias towards negativity, and consequently we have to work at developing the attitudes and skills that lead towards positivity, gratitude and joy. This Workshop teaches those skills in a very practical way, with structured exercises and periods of reflection. It will be held in the beautiful setting of the Kientalerhof Center in the Canton of Berne, allowing us to relax in the quiet countryside while deepening our understanding of what leads to happiness in our lives.

There are a limited number of places on the Course so early booking is advised. Full details as to how to reserve a place will be posted very shortly. For the moment, just mark the dates and check out more details about this exciting Course by clicking on the link at the side. If you have any questions just send a mail to awakeningjoy.info@gmail.com

Living a life fully

February 9, 2011February 21, 2011 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

I love the idea contained in these lines. Life is too precious and too short to waste it on regrets, or holding onto past hurts and misunderstandings. Today presents innumerable fresh moments to encounter people, occasions to reach out again, to let go of the past and to live with new eyes and love. What would it be like to live this day with as if it is our first, starting over with wonder, or, as many have to, as if it is our last, without regrets?