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Ancient wise sages, poets, seekers and today’s spiritual leaders are now joined by neuroscientists in their pronouncements about the pursuit of happiness.
Happiness is a choice!
It requires a set of perceptual skills and mental attitudes that need to be learned and practiced. They are not skills that the culture at large professes or supports. Our culture encourages a pursuit of happiness that largely depends on the “hunter-gatherer” approach: "happiness is out there, in possessions and people that I have to become skilled in acquiring. If I fail to acquire, I feel that I have failed and can then take a pill to feel better."
The old metaphor about the glass half full or empty refers to the perceptual skill of wanting what you have and appreciating the positive while tolerating, even accepting the negative. Current neuroscience, especially Rick Hanson’s work point to the basic brain facts that our minds tend to take in the negative and get stuck in negative thinking patterns while neutral or positive states are quickly taken for granted.
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“Your brain preferentially scans for, registers, stores,
recalls and reacts to unpleasant experiences...it’s like Velcro
for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.”
Rick Hanson, Ph.D.
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The remedy for happiness is not in pill form, or high performance engines or the 10th pair of black shoes. The remedy is not to deny that difficult times are here or to find the silver lining in every cloud, but to foster the positive experiences that are available to the brain so that the circuitry for positive emotions stays charged and showers bright rays when dark clouds pass over the heart.
Now to the how. How do we practice happiness? Set an intention to practice happiness by saying: "I practice happiness!"
Then learn the perceptual skills and mental attitudes you need to begin your intentional happiness practice: Centering, Capability, Contentment and Compassion.
Email Lori Granger for more information about the Practice Happiness meditation workshops and retreat in the Sierras -- Lori@TheCenterForMindfulness.com
