The art of happiness
Seeking happiness outside ourselves is like waiting for sunshine in a cave facing north. ―Tibetan saying
👥 Serves: 1 person
🎚 Difficulty: Medium
⏳ Total time: 20 minutes
🥣 Ingredients: “The art of happiness” book by Matthieu Ricard (if you’re curious to find out more about it!)
💪 Nutritional values: Happiness, Joy, Contentment, Fulfillment, Serenity
The art of happiness
📝 Description
An insightful and practical book to help you develop the skill of happiness.
Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard shows that happiness is much more than a pleasurable emotion. It is connected to wellbeing as “a deep sense of serenity and fulfillment, a state that actually pervades and underlies all emotional states, and all the joys and sorrows that can come one’s way.” In his book, Ricard offers twenty-minute exercises to train the mind to recognise and pursue happiness by concentrating on life’s fundamentals, such as mindful awareness.
Watch Matthieu Ricard’s TED Talk on “The Habits of Happiness”.
👣 Steps
Step 1 – Developing attention (20’)
Sit quietly in your meditation posture and focus all your attention upon a chosen object. It can be an object in your room, your breath, or your own mind. Inevitably as you do this, your mind will wander. Each time it does, gently bring it back to the object of concentration, like a butterfly that returns again and again to the flower it feeds on. As you persevere, your concentration will become more clear and stable. If you feel sleepy, assume a straighter posture and lift your gaze slightly upward to revive your awareness. Conversely, if your mind becomes agitated, relax your posture, direct your gaze slightly downward, and let any inner tension dissolve.