Ny bogudgivelse: Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill
Skrevet af kristian den 4. juni 2011 – 16:186 kommentarer
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Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill
- ISBN13: 9780316167253
- Condition: New
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A molecular biologist turned Buddhist monk, described by scientists as “the happiest man alive,” demonstrates how to develop the inner conditions for true happiness.
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An Intelligent Guide to Well-being and Happiness,
Review of “Happiness: A guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill” by Matthieu Ricard. Published by Little Brown.
What a joy to find such an intelligent and creative approach to the universal quest for happiness and well-being! Matthieu Ricard begins by examining our definitions of happiness and then leads us on a journey that explores the causes and conditions for happiness, our own inner mechanisms that do or don’t create happiness, how to deal with death and difficulties, the sociology of happiness, and so on.
The book’s emphasis is on how to develop inner resources for a sense of happiness and fulfillment that is not dependent on outer circumstances. There is real freedom in the knowledge that we can move towards an authentic sense of well-being by working with our ways of relating and processing the obstacles and circumstances that present themselves. This is all helped along by the short enjoyable exercises that lead the reader through a process of getting to know the mind and how it works.
Matthieu Ricard’s voice is quite unique and I liked his use of metaphor to describe various emotional states and how to deal with them. I also found the sociology of happiness an interesting chapter, revealing the trends of our society, and I especially liked learning “first-hand about the work of neuroscience and the brain.
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|please read this book,
Few books clearly articulate the richness of Buddhist psychology for the general reader. Few books can inspire the reader to live more skillfully and empower her with teachings and tools to cultivate true happiness. Sure there are any number of “self-help” books on “how to feel happy,” etc., but Ricard’s book teaches about a much deeper, transformative happiness, which is within the reach of every human being.
Buddhist psychology, developed over many centuries, is consistent with much that we have recently learned and continue to learn about our minds and our brains from neuroscience, cognitive science, and “western” psychology. Ricard, a Tibetan monk, is equally at home in Buddhist teachings and contemporary science–he was a scientist before his days as a monk.
In a world with so much violence, so much sadness, and so much negativity, Ricard teaches us how to cultivate happiness, not by blinding ourselves to reality or by looking to some other world above and beyond our own, but by looking upon ourselves and others with the loving eyes of the Buddha. And these teachings have nothing to do with believing any doctrines or even “the truth” of Buddhism. They are practical teachings to be applied in everyday life. The “truth” is in the practice. The Buddha did not want anyone to believe anything just because he said it. He invited people to see for themselves. So see for yourself.
Even if you are not and have no interest in “becoming a Buddhist,” I highly recommend this book. I would not consider myself a Buddhist, but the values expressed by Ricard are values I cherish and aspire to embody in my day to day life.
The chapters are also relatively short, so each one can be read and fully digested before moving to the next. (Perfect for reading in bed or on public transportation.)
If taken to heart, this book will surely benefit you. I hope that it does.
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|Happiness Is A Skill,
Matthieu Ricard was born and raised in France. He had the makings of a stellar career in science, studying in his student days with a Nobel-prize winning scientist. But throughout his 20′s, he shifted his interests more and more towards spirituality. For the past 30 years, he has lived and studied as a Tibetan Buddhist, in Nepal. He often serves as the French translator for the Dalai Llama.
Ricard is a man who knows science. And, as a Frenchman, is deeply familiar with pessimism. He says, in France, happiness is considered boring, while pessimism and misery is considered quite interesting. “Happiness is only for the naive” is a common Western mindset. However, Ricard says: “Not true.”
Not only is happiness interesting – it is a skill, a challenging skill to be acquired only through intense practice. Pessimism, on the other hand, is boring – for it creates apathy, and a general lack of zest for life.
As a man deeply interested in science, Ricard knows what he’s talking about. He explains amazing discoveries made by the Mind & Life Institute. Placed under MRI brain imaging, Tibetan monks have shown to experience far greater happiness and are more emotionally balanced than any ‘average’ person. Scientists can gauge happiness by the amount of activity in the frontal lobe related to positive emotions. (There’s also a section of the brain related to negative emotion, and criticism, which remains relatively dormant.)
In one experiment, testing what’s called a “startle” reflex – something that every human has (it’s an uncontrolled flinch of one’s facial muscles that occurs whenever a loud noise goes off) – a spiritually advanced monk was monitored for this reflex. When the loud noise went off, unlike anyone else ever tested, he did NOT flinch. The heart rate still went up, but the fear and flinch reflex were less apparent than in any experiment to date. Meaning: there is scientific proof that meditation grants a person peace of mind.
This feat is accomplished through a sort of mind jujitsu – a way of keeping one’s thoughts in balance. And one can accomplish it through egolessness and unattachment. Not that Ricard promotes sitting on a mat, and meditating all day. He promotes ambition, a strong willingness to help others, and a general enthusiasm in taking up various activities. But acquiring emotional equilibrium can be difficult, but ultimately rewards the person who practices it. This discipline, Ricard explains, is the “secret” to life-long happiness.
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|A Sacred Guidebook,
Let us suppose that you have been a spiritual seeker for many, many years and then you are suddenly being pulled into Awakening. You begin to understand what the Bhagavad Gita and other sacred texts are talking about when they speak of the Self. This understanding is not at the level of the intellect, but at the core of your being. a direct and tangible experience. Let us suppose further that as this process begins to unfold, you begin seeking practical advice and knowledge for this spiritual re-birth that is happening through you because you have no grounding in how to embody and stabilize this realization and you need to learn how to deal with the intense energy that is amping up your nervous system and making your life a little different than usual.
This book is like the scene in the movie where the hero, after an exhausting, arduous journey is searching for the sacred, secret text that is the master key to his/her further unfoldment. Finally, late at night in an ancient library, the hero stumbles upon this book and everything he/she is going through suddenly makes sense, like the proverbial piece that completes the puzzle and after which everything becomes clear and nothing is ever the same again. All of the searching is completed and there is just the continued deepening in the Self.
This is an incredible book. I have been reading spiritual literature for 30+ years and this came for me at the exact right time. It is essential reading and practice for anyone in the midst of Self-realization. The book provides expert guidance and practices. It explains the process of Awakening and provides the means to help you ground and stabilize your connection with the Self.
The author clearly writes from the perspective of an enlightened being; indeed she is a master teacher and guide. I was prompted to do a counseling session with her after reading another of her books and found it, along with this book, to be among the most beneficial things I have ever done.
This book is indispensable.
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|A radical awakening…,
In “Radical Happiness,” Gina Lake reminds us that happiness is basically an inside job. By blending western psychology with the wisdom of eastern non-dualism, the Author points to the reality that all of “IT” is arising from the very same source. Although this book is relatively short, Gina still doesn’t hesitate in tackling many of the great questions of life: “Who are you? What’s the cause of suffering? What does it really mean to wake up?” Throughout the book, Gina presents the readers with practical exercises to expand their awareness and appreciation of who (and what) they really are…deep down. “Radical Happiness” is a thoroughly enjoyable read and one that I am most happy to recommend.
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|If you’re a spiritual seeker, get this book!,
This book is about real happiness, not the kind that comes from just getting what you want, but the kind that moves deeper into who we really are. Gina Lake brings her own authenticity to what she writes, showing through many illustrations what it means to turn your awareness away from illusion – what’s not real – to what’s already here. I’ve recommended this book to many people.
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