few years ago, I delved deep into Buddhism, a philosophy that resonates with me, and makes more sense than any religion I experienced in my younger years—even though I continue to be grateful for the Science of Mind teaching my mother introduced me to at age twelve. The Buddhists believe “life is suffering,” and this teaching helps me navigate through life in an honest way. I’m not going to lie and say my enlightenment led to nirvana. I never reached a point of happiness, which I concluded is overrated. What is happiness anyway? Rather, I found a state of grace, which is far more poignant than happiness could ever be. As noted in Ephesians: “For it is ... posted on Feb 8 2022 (2,618 reads)

and medicine are just beginning to catch up. Simply put, for most of us, it is far more helpful to focus on the things in life for which we can express gratitude than those that incline us toward resentment and lamentation. The benefits of gratitude When we focus on the things we regret, such as failed relationships, family disputes, and setbacks in career and finance, we tend to become more regretful. Conversely, when we focus on the things we are grateful for, a greater sense of happiness tends to pervade our lives. And while no one would argue for cultivating a false sense of blessedness, there is mounting evidence that counting our blessings is one of the best habits we can... posted on Nov 13 2022 (4,973 reads)

more able to be responsive, for example. Wonderful. I mean, we would all say hallelujah. So that is by no means bad or wrong. We will still stay in a context of trying to improve something that doesn’t exist, however, if we don’t make the turn to that more primary question I put forward, which is, Who am I? What am I? What is it that is longing to know my inherent wholeness? What is that, and what is it like to trace that longing back to its source? That’s where our real happiness lies, in knowing who we truly are and in specifically knowing the heart of who we truly are. By heart, of course, I’m not talking about the organ. I’m talking about the core expe... posted on Jan 17 2023 (2,975 reads)

the moon.” We have no such assurance. The best predictions are still matters of probability rather than certainty, and to the best of our knowledge every one of us is going to suffer and die. If, then, we cannot live happily without an assured future, we are certainly not adapted to living in a finite world where, despite the best plans, accidents will happen, and where death comes at the end. Alan Watts, early 1970s (Image courtesy of Everett Collection) What keeps us from happiness, Watts argues, is our inability to fully inhabit the present: The “primary consciousness,” the basic mind which knows reality rather than ideas about it, does not know the f... posted on Sep 19 2023 (4,081 reads)

Tanenhaus is worried about the future of his hometown. As a fourth generation resident of Binghamton, New York, and executive director of Binghamton’s housing authority, he’s watched his city of 50,000 residents transform from a thriving upstate New York community with a strong manufacturing base to one with a shrinking population and rising crime rates. Like other towns around the U.S. hit by the current economic downturn, Binghamton is experiencing an increase in drug use and delinquency among its youth, which troubles Tanenhaus. “The neighborhoods are deteriorating,” he says. “There are a lot of people working hard to improve the quality of life here. B... posted on Jun 2 2011 (11,401 reads)

to express our fundamental aliveness. The meaning in our daily work, then, comes from engaging in this creative poetry of life. This is not a new idea. In my own work, I've been encouraged to discover that the beyond-profit perspective is familiar for those who concern themselves with value-creation. In a strategy consulting exercise with a product manager at a reputed web services company, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the intrinsic value driving his company's business was "happiness of users." Profits mattered, as they allowed the company to continue increasing productivity and extending capability. I pressed further. "Do you mean that the happiness of your us... posted on Aug 8 2011 (14,460 reads)

translating the insight from this particular story into the general world of human psychology, where error abounds in a multitude of realms. Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average explores the cognitive mechanisms behind everything from forgetting our passwords to believing we can multitask (which we already know we can’t) to overestimating the impact of various environmental factors on our happiness. It’s essentially a study of human design flaws, examining our propensity for mistakes through a fascinating cross-section of psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics. We d... posted on Nov 11 2011 (9,144 reads)

I once heard between two friends. “Why do you do what you do?”  “To maximize the good. And you?” “Aesthetics.”  I spent years trying to understand this answer. At first, it made no sense whatsoever. I’d spent my life trying to perform, improve, excel, achieve, each moment fueling the next like my body was on fire and a lake just ahead. Like the first friend who answered, I lived in a world of right and wrong, where right led to happiness and wrong to suffering.  But aesthetics? To me that word had only to do with art, and only to do with a single moment in time. How does that look? How does it make me feel&nbs... posted on Nov 8 2011 (38,690 reads)

fewer hours could save our economy, save our sanity, and help save our planet.     Millions of Americans have lost control over the basic rhythm of their daily lives. They work too much, eat too quickly, socialize too little, drive and sit in traffic for too many hours, don’t get enough sleep, and feel harried too much of the time. It’s a way of life that undermines basic sources of wealth and well-being—such as strong family and community ties, a deep sense of meaning, and physical health.   Earn less, spend less, emit and degrade less. That's the formula. The more time a person has, the better his or her quality of l... posted on Jan 12 2012 (45,138 reads)

… it pushed me to really examine my life and spurred me to get it together. To get a grip and get my life back on track.” Inspired, he went home that night and got his grandmother a last-minute gift: the URL of a Tumblr blog he had started to track his progress. He knew the implicit promise would be a tough one to keep. He called the blog Ben Does Life. “It wasn’t just the weight loss,” he explained. “I wanted to overhaul everything. I wanted to find that happiness Meemaw was asking about.” One of Meemaw’s gifts to Ben that Christmas Day was a button-down shirt, size XL. “If it’s too small, you can exchange it,” she said. ... posted on Jan 4 2012 (11,923 reads)

affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships. 5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change ... posted on Feb 23 2012 (261,308 reads)

own mistakes. Give them confidence in themselves by letting them have a bunch of successes, and letting them solve the failures. Once they learn to be independent, they learn that they don’t need a teacher, a parent, or a boss to tell them what to do. They can manage themselves, and be free, and figure out the direction they need to take on their own. 6. Being happy on their own. Too many of us parents coddle our kids, keeping them on a leash, making them rely on our presence for happiness. When the kid grows up, he doesn’t know how to be happy. He must immediately attach to a girlfriend or friends. Failing that, they find happiness in other external things — shopp... posted on Mar 10 2012 (187,601 reads)

prestige is the enemy of passion, or how to master the balance of setting boundaries and making friends. “Find something more important than you are,” philosopher Dan Dennett once said in discussing the secret of happiness,“and dedicate your life to it.” But how, exactly, do we find that? Surely, it isn’t by luck. I myself am a firm believer in the power of curiosity and choice as the engine of fulfillment, but precisely how you arrive at your true calling is an intricate and highly individual dance of discovery. Still, there are certain factors — certain choices — that make it easier. Gathered here are insights fr... posted on Apr 22 2012 (55,998 reads)

are strong, the pulls toward this way of life seem equally compelling.  In reality, most people are not choosing to live more simply from a feeling of sacrifice; rather, they are seeking deeper sources of satisfaction than are being offered by a high stress, consumption-obsessed world.  To illustrate, while real incomes doubled in the U.S. in the past generation, the percentage of the population reporting they are very happy has remained unchanged (roughly one-third).  While happiness has not increased, during this same period divorce rates have doubled and teen suicide rates have tripled.  A whole generation has tasted the fruits of an affluent society and has disco... posted on May 1 2012 (34,532 reads)

probably both of you included. There are surveys which show that multitasking loses billions of dollars a year, that 28% of an office worker's time is lost through multitasking. They have found that nobody can get more than three consecutive minutes free at her desk now in an office. All of this to me suggests that if you're trying to do many things at once, you can't really do any of them properly. And I'm not saying that in a censorious way but more in terms of basic human happiness. I know in my own life, my happiest moments come when I'm completely lost to a conversation or a scene or a film or a book or a piece of music. If we are multitasking and if we're sk... posted on Jun 19 2012 (19,930 reads)

Well Jack I was glad to learn how you felt about your summer’s work & your coming school year. The secret of success is concentrating interest in life, interest in sports and good times, interest in your studies, interest in your fellow students, interest in the small things of nature, insects, birds, flowers, leaves, etc. In other words to be fully awake to everything about you & the more you learn the more you can appreciate & get a full measure of joy & happiness out of life. I do not think a young fellow should be too serious, he should be full of the Dickens some times to create a balance. I think your philosophy on religion is okay. I think ... posted on Jun 17 2012 (19,957 reads)

commercial development might act differently. But perhaps most importantly, rethinking what we prioritise also has implications for each of us as individuals. The self-centred values that have accompanied our quest for economic growth have encouraged too many of us to put our financial success ahead of concerns for the wellbeing of our families, our communities and even ourselves. We too can benefit from a shift in priorities and a recognition that real happiness is less about what we earn or own and more about our relationships and state of mind; it’s as much about what we can contribute as what we can get for ourselves. A happier society... posted on Jul 25 2012 (15,976 reads)

competition. ** Compassion. Not taught in the schools at all. In fact, instead of teaching children how to empathize with others and try to ease their suffering, our schools often teach children to increase the suffering of others. Learn to put yourself in the shoes of others, to try to understand them, and to help them end their suffering. ** Love. Compassion’s twin brother, love differs only in that instead of wanting to ease the suffering of others, you want their happiness. Both are crucial. ** Listening. Are our children taught how to listen in school? Or how to talk at someone. Perhaps that’s why many adults don’t have this critical skil... posted on Aug 28 2012 (115,950 reads)

pride is the need to be right, do it right, to look good, have it together at all costs: a little ego trip. But I find that even with what we know of the Seven Deadly Sins or all states of ingratitude—and we flirt with those states when we go into cynicism or apathy or despair—and yet there’s a deeper drive within the human spirit toward wholeness and healing. And it’s been well researched that gratitude, just the practice of gratitude, will increase health and happiness and humility. TS: How is that research done? What kinds of studies? AA: Robert Emmons, at the University of California, Davis, and also Michael McCullough, at the University of Miami, ... posted on Sep 17 2012 (30,050 reads)

free in so long. But, when I felt that anger well up inside of me, I realized that if I hated them after I got outside that gate, then they would still have me. I wanted to be free so I let it go.” ~Nelson Mandela upon leaving prison after 27 years of confinement   Frustrated, impatient, raging…aaarrrrrrgh! Yes, it’s normal to feel angry – you are human, after all. But if anger causes problems in your life – if it interferes with your health and happiness – then consider these 10 life-changing facts. Get curious about anger, and you just might discover an untapped well of vital energy that improves your life circumstances and wakes you ... posted on Feb 16 2022 (205,606 reads)