29 May Change your mind and change the world
You can become happier…and by doing so, you can make the world better!
This is the simple but important message in this Huffington Post article we hope you enjoy during some weekend downtime. Read, enjoy, and put into practice the principles it recomments because again, by doing so you'll enjoy more happiness and create a better world in the process…
by Ida Jo
Well-being. As humans we are united by the desire to be healthy and happy. Yet global well-being is not our reality. Change Your Mind Change The World 2013 was a discussion between His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and a panel of experts convening in Madison, Wis., to discuss how neuroscience, environments, economics, and health care can combine to make the world a healthier, happier place. According to Richard J. Davidson, co-host of the event, there are five elements in cultivating well-being.
First, well-being is a skill. It is something we can learn, practice, develop and teach. Second, it is inversely related to mind wandering. When we are focused, we are happier. Third, patterns in brain and body activity are connected meaning emotion affects the body not just the mind. Forth, well-being can be described as equanimity, balance, mindfulness. And lastly, our well being is directly related to our generosity.
Matthieu Ricard, a best-selling author and Buddhist monk, explains that the mind builds addiction which he defines as "wanting without pleasure." If we do not cultivate the skills needed to control our thoughts the mind will create wants that do not serve our well-being. By quieting our minds through physical activity, controlled breathing and meditation, we can begin to hear what we truly desire. Happiness, joy and peace.
The second element in well-being, according to Mr Davidson, is the inverse relationship between mind wandering and happiness. We all have a mind that wanders from time to time. As His Holiness explained, the mind wanders when it is not interested in something or finds it boring. If mind-wandering has a negative effect on our well-being, we must spend time doing things that hold our attention. We must spend time on what we are passionate about. If we do, we will be happier.
Human beings in their true form are happy. Negative emotion is a trick of the mind. The third component of well-being is the link between emotion and the patterns formed in the body as a result. By focusing on negative emotions such as unhappiness and anger, we are training our body to feel that way. If we focus on positive emotion we will feel it more easily. Eventually negativity will be foreign to us and we will feel comforted by what we know, happiness.
The last component of well-being is generosity. As His Holiness said, "A better world is a more compassionate world."
…keep reading the full & original article HERE