Practicing Happiness

Can happiness be created through the right kind of practice? Sounds surprising, but check out this article and judge for yourself. Author Daniel Goleman spends time with “The World’s Happiest Man” — a Tibetan lama named Mingyur Rinpoche — and finds a pattern behind his happiness that might seem familiar. Basically, Rinpoche deep practiced his happiness, through meditation, for thousands of hours. And while his happiness seems natural now, it certainly didn’t start out that way. As Goleman writes:

One happy guy
One happy guy

Mingyur Rinpoche was not born into wealth and comfort. He spent his earliest years in a remote Himalayan village lacking even the most basic amenities. Nor was he a lucky winner in the genetic lottery for moods. In his book he recounts being extremely anxious as a child in Nepal, having had what a Manhattan psychiatrist would likely diagnose as panic attacks, and how he cured himself of this chronic anxiety by making his fears the focus of his meditation. He has had to earn his good cheer.

Sound familiar?