Chapter 08 - Mindful Meditation and Happiness
We all want to be happy. It’s our natural condition. It used to be believed that our capacity for happiness is innate. We’re born with a certain happiness threshold, and that was the baseline. There is evidence that circumstances may raise or lower that baseline, but that it will eventually return to the original level.
For example, when someone experiences something exciting, such as receiving a much-wanted gift or a dream vacation, the happiness meter rises immensely for a while, then naturally levels off. These bursts of occasion positivity really don’t affect the overall quality of our life. In the case of severe grief, our natural happiness level may plummet, but, eventually, it will return to the normal level. Neither extreme joy or extreme grief has a permanent effect on our happiness.
Does that mean that we cannot enhance our happiness state?
Gratitude Equals Happiness
Before we discuss meditation, it is important to point out that our basic level of happiness consists not of some single circumstance. Instead, it’s the small, daily joys that elevate our mood … a beautiful sunset, lunch with a friend, a good book all have the power to raise our spirits. We need to become aware of these mood elevators and consciously pursue them. It’s important to savor those moments and give gratitude for the experience. Happy people make a deliberate decision to pursue these moments.
When it comes to moods, researchers have long focused on the negatives, such as depression and anxiety. It’s as if happiness isn’t worth studying. But that is changing.
Mindful Meditation Proven To Cultivate Happiness
Dr. Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin, has spent considerable time studying Tibetan monks. More recently, he followed employees taking part in an eight-week mindful meditation program. The results of Dr. Davidson’s finding show that, in all cases, a program of mindful meditation can elevate a person’s mood.
You needn’t be a monk to reap the benefits. Following the meditation program, participants reported enhanced positive moods and decreased negative feeling. New research has found for about 50 percent of our baseline mood level is derived from genetics. Ten percent of our mood depends on circumstances, good or bad. That leaves 40 percent of our mood in our control. Happiness is something we can consciously cultivate and grow. This is very exciting news, indeed.
Mindful meditation has proven to be a solid foundation on which to build positive emotions, along with savoring all of life’s small pleasures.
Shame and anger can be a tremendous barrier to happiness.
How To Meditate For Happiness
To let go of those negative feelings, do the following forgiveness meditation:
Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and practice mindful breathing for 5 minutes.
Allow thoughts, words or images of someone you can’t forgive yourself to surface in your mind. It can be someone you’ve hurt, and you have regretted your actions ever since.
Let your mind wander to how much you cared for this person, and the pain that you caused. If you are remorseful, feel those emotions. Accept what happened in the past. It is done. It is time to forgive yourself.
In your mind, think, “I forgive myself. I have made mistakes and caused pain, either deliberately or not. I am not the same person. I have learned much from life. It is time for me to move on. I forgive myself. I am ready to let joy back into my heart.”
Feel free to use words appropriate to your situation. This exercise will lift the burden from your heart and allow feeling of happiness in its place.
If you feel bitter toward another person who has caused you pain, do the same exercise, but change the word “I” to “You.”
