Are You Happy?
There are two kinds of happiness. The first kind is worldly happiness linked to changing conditions and the ways our senses experience pleasure. Something causes happiness.--a beautiful blue sky or the kindness of another.
The second kind is happiness without a cause. It isn’t dependent on anything. This happiness springs from our whole Self that is boundless, spacious, grounded, loving, safe and free. This happiness is the freedom to be with everything just as it is.
The brain’s negativity bias and other kinds of blocks get in the way of happiness. Using our mindfulness practices to be with the things that block us from happiness is the first step. We can actually get so used to being unhappy, that that is where we always go. Or, life situations can feel so pressing that we feel identified with them--like sticky glue. We can’t seem to separate ourselves from what is happening. It feels all consuming with no ability to step outside of it.
Through mindfulness practices we can be aware and we can choose happiness. Through enquiry. Through lovingkindness practice. By doing things that wake up the happiness circuits in the brain--going for a run or dancing to music. And, by giving gratitude our happiness flows.
Lastly, through the practice of worldly happiness, we can access the happiness that is already here—the happiness that our whole Selves know. The freedom to be with everything as it is.
I am grateful for you. Thanks for listening.
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As always, I am also grateful for the people behind the scenes that make this podcast possible.
Allie Allen for logo and podcast cover design;
Gorgias Romero for original music, audio engineering;
Bill Rafferty for technical web support and
Margaret Haas for announcing the show.
Be well. Be mindful.
RESOURCES/CREDITS:
Henri Nouwen, a Catholic mystic and writer, on joy (what we call the second kind of happiness.) Nouwen, Henri, https://henrinouwen.org/meditations/joy/ Accessed June 6, 2022
Nepo, Mark, “Adrift,” from Inside The Miracle: Enduring Suffering, Approaching Wholeness, Sounds true, 2016. https://gratefulness.org/resource/adrift/ Accessed June 6, 2022.
Daniel Steindle Rast, “Want to Be Happy, Be Grateful,” TED Talk, TEDGlobal, June 2013, https://www.ted.com/talks/david_steindl_rast_want_to_be_happy_be_grateful?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tedspreadAccessed on May 5, 2022.
See also, Episode 11: "Feeling Tone — What Happens Before Emotion and Story" AND Episode 12: “What Attitude Am I Bringing To This?”
DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice and guidance of your health professional.
