Originally published on the yoga blog. 

Matthieu Ricard has been a Buddhist monk for some 40 years since he left his life as a molecular geneticist in the 1960′s.

He left it all behind to live a life of renunciation in the Himalayas.

It was during this time, he says, that he learned how to be truly happy.

via Life Lessons of the World’s Happiest Man:

“If you can learn how to ride a bike you can learn how to be happy,”

At the last count he’d clocked up more than 10,000 hours (of meditation). Highly complex MRI scans by cognitive scientists at the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience in Wisconsin have shown extraordinarily high levels of upbeat activity (-0.45 on a range where -0.3 is described as “beatific”) and almost invisible levels of negative emotions. “I don’t see everything as rosy,” he says, “but the ups and downs of life don’t unsettle me in the usual way.”

Interesting that something that most of us (myself included) believe that happiness should just kind of “flow”.

But is that really true?

via Happiest Man on Earth is a Buddhist:

“Our life can be greatly transformed by even a minimal change in how we manage our thoughts and perceive and interpret the world. Happiness is a skill. It requires effort and time.”

The idea Ricard puts forth is that we can practice happiness whenever we’d like…and that it’s a choice. Something to think about, I suppose, when we’d like to give the bird to the crazy driver on the road 

Matthieu gets quite a lot of attention from those that study the brain, but more importantly, he gets more from his audience. He has published a number of books- to great success- and donates the proceeds to charity.

In the video below he talks about his new label, and how he came to be known as the happiest guy around.

Alexandra Spunt and Siobhan O’Connor are co-authors of No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics. If you’re interested in meditation, DIY beauty products, and vegetarian recipes, be sure to check out their blog: No More Dirty Looks.

Here’s a preview of their flagship post featuring 11 ways to start meditating:

1. Use a timer. There are apps for that, and they make cute gong sounds when the time’s up. You can set it for five minutes to start, and then just decide in advance that for the next five minutes, you can’t do anything but sit there. You can think about anything you want, but you can’t DO anything. Five minutes may feel like an eternity, but if you can brush your teeth for two minutes twice a day, or you can gchat with your best friend for four hours every day, you can sit still for five. Just decide you will, and then do it.

2. Don’t worry about whether or not you are doing it right. There are a million different ways to make bread. Every loaf has a few key ingredients. Beyond that, they may vary in flavor, texture, time in the oven—but it’s all still bread. Think of meditation the same way. As long as you have the basics down—sitting still, not doing other stuff at the same time, being quiet, then doing it again tomorrow—you’re doing a fine job.

3. Understand that when thoughts come up—and they will—it doesn’t mean you blew it. The mind never shuts up completely—even when we think it’s quiet, there are other channels running in the background. It’s OK even if those channels are blaring on high volume in the foreground, also. Over time this will just happen less.

Click to read: eight more ways to start meditating.

In my meditation experiences, I’ve had strong practices by focusing on my breath. Whenever my mind starts to wander, I simply bring my mind back to my breath. The key is patience and not beating yourself up when your mind wanders. Gently bring your attention back to your breath.

Which of these methods have you tried?

This song may serve as a cure to restlessness and insomnia. This beautiful song, Angel’s Prayer, by Ty Burhoe is great for meditation, yoga, relaxation. I enjoy listening to this song during restorative yoga and recommend it to anyone who has problems falling asleep at night. Enjoy 🙂

What is Svadhyaya? Words from our teacher inspired by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sadhana Pada, Sutra 43

This article was inspired by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sadhana Pada, Sutra 43: 

Svadhyayat istadevata samprayogah

(Translated) Self-study leads towards the realisation of God or communion with ones desired deity.

Quite regularly I ask myself questions, what does my life mean to me? How do I feel? Is what I’m currently doing making me happy? What do I want to offer? What do I want to receive?

In doing so I’ve become increasingly aware that what I offer to myself and others will directly influence the quality and value of what I receive. To borrow an astute Indian phrase: if you plant onions seeds, don’t expect mango trees.

What have I been planting? What do I even want to harvest? And if the Buddha was right with “What you think, you become” then what will I become if I’ve ignored my own avid cerebral farming!

So how do I sort my seedbank? Over the years I’ve discovered what works (well for me at least) is quite simply self enquiry. The act of questioning myself and allowing space for unhindered feedback. Or as Patanjali would put it ‘Svadhyaya’.

Now there are varying ‘depths’ to Self enquiry, having studied and practiced the teachings of Ramana Maharishi – possibly the most accomplished ‘Self enquirer’ of our modern age, I realised (sadly not with a capital R!) that I’d most probably be broke both financially and egoically before Realising that I am indeed That….That I am. So I terrestrialised my desires a bit…opened my eyes, got off the cushion and began enquiring about and diving into life. Life is my practice.

And if life is my practice, who is my Guru? Well….I am! If I ask my body what it wants and I actually listen, it tells me. Whether that be the food I eat or the asana I next move into. If sit by a river and ask myself What am I hearing? What am I feeling? What am I seeing? What am I smelling? I become that place….I become natural….I become ‘present’. If I ask myself what makes me happy? What are the moments in my day that I enjoy the most? I can’t help but work towards expanding those moments.

A wise person once wrote – “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And go do that, because what the world needs are more people who have come alive!

Indeed.

Life as practice is a journey from pole to pole, darkness to light, pain to pleasure, ignorance to awareness, selfish to selfless. Yes we will experience darkness, yes we will feel pain, yes we will be ignorant and yes we actually must learn to be selfish. To be selfish is good, it will blossom and contentment will be the fruit for ourselves and those around. If we cannot please ourselves or cultivate our own happiness then how do we propose to spread this to others?

If we plant enough mango seeds within ourselves and reap the fruits of those actions, we will become the mango seed! Metaphorically speaking of course.

As Gandhi so wisely put – “Be the change you wish to see”.

If you wish to make a difference, firstly with yourself then become selfish and self enquire…ask yourself what makes you tick, embark on a voyage from selfishness to selflessness….life will present itself to you and you will be the present.

~Rory

We’re delighted and grateful to say that from this point forward, Rory will be contributing to Lucid Practice on a regular basis, sharing his lucid insights on yoga and life. If you’re so inclined, please welcome Rory to Lucid Practice in the comments section of this post. 

Via Lifehack:

Do you feel like you can no longer cope with the stress of meeting your deadlines? Does the lack of concentration stop you from focusing on your goals? Are you stuck or stressed out? Then put your headphones on. Try using some of the most Zen-friendly websites on offer that really work wonders for keeping your cool in the workplace.

There are so many more sites like this out there, but — for the purposes of this article — I have included 10 of them that I use myself.

1. Do Nothing For 2 Minutes

Yes, that’s exactly what you should do for the next two minutes. Nothing. Just sit comfortably, watch the screen and listen to the sound of waves. Will you be able to sit still without touching the mouse or keyboard? See for yourself. I know I failed the first time I tried it.

Read about the other nine sites — here. 

We would like to make this list at some point!