The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness

One of the things I learned early on, however, is that keeping the eyes closed makes it easier to become attached to an artificial sense of tranquillity. So, eventually, after a few days of practice, it’s better to keep your eyes open when you meditate, so that you can stay alert, clear, and mindful. This doesn’t mean glaring straight ahead without

Pain, sadness, fear, anxiety, and all other forms of suffering no longer disrupt your life as forcefully as they used to. Experiences that once seemed to be obstacles become opportunities for deepening your understanding of the mind’s unimpeded nature.

Whatever you experience, as long as you are aware of what’s going on, is meditation!

The mind is the source of all experience, and by changing the direction of the mind, we can change the quality of everything we experience.

Becoming mindful is a gradual process of establishing new neuronal connections and inhibiting the gossip among old ones. It requires patiently taking one small step at a time, practicing in very short intervals.

Fresh awareness of whatever arises … is sufficient.

A more constructive approach to negative emotions, similar to working with negative thoughts, is simply to rest your attention on the emotion itself rather than on its object. Just look at the emotion without analyzing

Compassion is essentially the recognition that everyone and everything is a reflection of everyone and everything else.

That’s how to rest the mind in objectless shinay meditation: as though you’ve just finished a long day of work. Just let go and relax. You don’t have to block whatever thoughts, emotions, or sensations arise, but neither do you have to follow them. Just rest in the open present, simply allowing whatever happens to occur. If thoughts or emotions com