December 22, 2017 By Admin

Happiness #5 – Final Post in Happiness Characteristics

Happiness #5 – Last Post on Characteristics

This will be my last post for a while on the important topic of happiness. Here I will hit a few highlights about simple joy and lasting inner experiences of true happiness.

Simple Joy – We experience simple joy in simple experiences, small sometimes subtle events in our lives. Joy sometimes comes into being via simple acts of caring, kindness, compassion, gratitude, beauty, and witnessing nature’s wonders. Another more powerful form of joy arises by being generous in many ways with others – even the most basic humane gestures. To experience joy we need to be mindful; we need to pay attention, attention, attention. This cannot happen when we are negatively aroused about something that makes us unhappy. At these troubling times our attention is negatively focused on the person, place, or thing “causing” our suffering. In reality we cause this suffering by our ego-based attitudes. The very old Taoist idea of tzu-jan; to be able to enjoy joy we must be mindfully aware in the present moment and not preoccupied with past or future. In this way we may be swept up in the natural flow of joyous experiences no matter how small. Like the Lotus Sutra notes, pursuing enlightenment and awakening with full joyous awareness allows us to both experience and spread joy. Chinese Zen Master Dongshan reminded us to practice only with joy in our hearts. Be as close as possible to the sources of passing and lasting joy. When you can, become the joy. Use all of your senses to do this.

Ultimate Happiness – Some might say there is no such thing as ultimate happiness. I disagree! You may be able to sustain ongoing joyous experience as a norm, thus being open to deeper, stronger happiness. What is you bliss? How do you feel it? When do you feel it? Do more of that.! Be that! What about the flow of happiness? Do you become aware of the flow of it? Can you enter the flow to experience “the felt sense” of it? These causes and conditions may lead us to ultimate mind-body stimulation with deep awe. What about your spiritual experience? Do you know what I mean? The outcome of full mind-body-heart-soul consequences of being happy is a deep, personal spiritual realization. Again, use all of your senses, remain present, and stop worrying about past regrets and future challenges. “Be Here Now.” Be the happiness.

For more information refer to Enkyo O’Hara, P. (November 29, 2017). Joy Arises from Simplicity in tricycle@tricycle.org and Quintiliani, A. R. (2014). Mindful Happiness… Shelburne, VT: Red Barn Books. (revised book coming soon).

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton Sangha

Author of Mindful Happiness

New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon!

Equanimity, Suffering, and Resilience It is said that equanimity (Pali – upekkha), the seventh factor of enlightenment and the tenth perfection, is an end-product of life-long personal practice in meditation and/or meditative yoga. It is about “walking the walk.” Some practitioners note that equanimity is the foundation for other helpful states of mind and body. […]

More on Self-Compassion Practices Suffering and happiness represent opposites in human emotional experience. In our culture we often equate happiness with what we HAVE and suffering with the GAP between what we have versus what we want. Material possessions tend not to lead to intrinsic happiness; joy based on materials gains is often short-lived – […]

Expanded Lectio Divina for Self-Development In this post I will provide an expanded version of this process by combining information from Origen, the Carthusian Monk Guigo II, and Augustine of Hippo. The presented process of 12 steps may be used to enhance internalization of sacred writing and/or to support internal healing of the participants. […]

Henry David Thoreau & Walking Meditation Henry David Thoreau is, perhaps, the most individualistic of the American Transcendentalists. He asked us to consider what we have learned that is useful as we travel our own “stream of life.” He cautions us not to regret when we die that we “had not lived.” He advised us to […]

Psychoanalytic Gems – Even More D. W. Winnicott has made significant clinical contributions to both building therapeutic alliance and maintaining a positive, helpful focus in psychotherapy. Below I have noted various approaches to use in your therapy. Use of these “gems” requires considerable knowledge and skill by the therapist. Here is the list: Respect the […]

Mindful Loving Can Improve Relationships The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), Pema Chodron, David Richo and many others have provided us with helpful advice about improving the quality of our significant relationships. The Dalai Lama in various writings reminds us that to have true compassion for others – including those we love – we must […]

Tibetan Tantric Meditation on Selflessness Mahamudra meditations tend to unify emptiness and bliss, and represent many core principles of Tibetan Buddhism. Nagarjuna’s text on The Middle Way played an important and influential role in these practices. Selflessness of persons and selflessness of phenomena are highly represented in noted meditation practices. Therefore,, this can be considered […]

Walking Meditation with Gratitude Upasika Kee Nanayon (1901-1978) was a famous laywoman on the spiritual path of Buddhism. She noted some very powerful suggestions on how to improve walking meditation in nature. I have added a few more ideas of my own and from others. See the informative list below. Remain present-minded when you walk […]

Looking at Early Judeo-Chrsitian Meditation Practice An early description of enlightened liberation in Buddhist meditation practice reads like this: Birth is destroyed, the spiritual life has been lived, what had to be done has been done. There is no more coming back to any state of being. Ignorance was banished and true knowledge arose, darkness […]

Brain Habits – Helpful Vs Unhelpful Nora Volkow, MD, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse ( video below) has noted that people suffering from addictions may experience some dysfunction in in brain areas related to personal motivation, reward recognition, and inhibitory controls. Neuroscientists have utilized various brain imaging techniques to document this possibility in addicted individuals. These […]

Many Benefits of Mindfulness and Vipassana Meditation The Dalai Lama (Gyatso, Tenzin), the world leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and Paul Ekman, the world famous Psychologist of human emotions, have teamed up to discuss how to use mindful emotional awareness skills to become more emotionally balanced and compassionate. These two highly skilled practitioners have listed 21 […]

Happiness #3 – More Characteristics Here I will continue the discussion on common characteristics of personal happiness. As you read these posts, please do your best to experiment with these characteristics. See if you can experience more happiness without a frantic search for it. Ultimately it is about a special form of human love. Here […]

Wise Mind and the Neuroscience of Mindfulness Practice What is wise mind? Marsha M. Linehan developed this clinical process in her work on dialectical behavior therapy. Wise mind is the middle way between rational/reasonable mind and emotional mind; it allows us to live with balanced reason and emotion in daily interactions. When practiced regularly, it […]

Trauma: Object Relations Therapy Object relations therapists, D. W. Winnicott especially, have presented a logical analysis on how to provide object-relations-oriented therapy to people suffering from the effects of psychological trauma. Such attachment-based trauma therapy provides support and healing from trauma, loss and long-term trauma-effects. The interventions below combine the best of object relations therapy, […]

Trauma Informed Care – The Absolute Basics This post aims at providing a very basic introduction to Trauma Informed Care. Advanced versions of this information are available from the author. So what is Trauma Informed Care (hereafter TIC)? Below I have listed rationales of need and core characteristics of TIC in organizations. Why We Need […]

Use of Breathing Techniques – Do a Polyvagal Test First Polyvagal Test The polyvagal theory (S.Porges) and polyvagal functions are complex, highly important, evolutional processes with powerful influences on human survival, overall physical health, and emotion regulation. The tenth cranial nerve (from scull base to anus) functions in various ways, the most important of which […]

Helper Burnout in Today’s Healthcare System Helper burnout is a very common problem in all healthcare services and at all levels of professional training and experience. Helpers from recovery-oriented peer counselors, state employed case managers, and licensed counselors/therapists all the way to physicians are reporting record high levels of reactive stress and compassion fatigue. Psychiatrists are […]

The Nine Bow Ritual for Those You Respect Deeply The Nine Bow Ritual is a simple practice of deep respect. Think of a person, living or not, for whom you have very strong positive feelings. If you select a person no longer living, you may be surprised at the emotional impact of this ritual. If […]

Mindfulness On Loss, Grief and Mourning Mindfulness about personal loss, grief, and mourning may encompass many things. Here I will focus on the process and what people can do to better handle their suffering and pain. One way to look at it is through the lens of radical acceptance; another is via the reality of […]

Using Meditation, Yoga and Breathing… You can Anchor your Choice Making A key outcome of serious practice is that you now reduce auto-pilot reactivity to people, places, things, emotions, sensations, craving, and memories and at the same time notice your mind CAN BE in charge of your brain-body reactions. Yes, regular daily mindfulness practice allows […]