1.22.2007

Happiness is a skill

To scientists, he is the world's happiest man. His level of mind control is astonishing and the upbeat impulses in his brain are off the scale. Now Matthieu Ricard, 60, a French academic-turned-Buddhist monk, is to share his secrets to make the world a happier place. The trick, he reckons, is to put some effort into it. In essence, happiness is a "skill" to be learned.


Studies have shown that the mind can rise above it all to increase almost everyone's happiness. Mr Ricard, who is the French interpreter for Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, took part in trials to show that brain training in the form of meditation can cause an overwhelming change in levels of happiness.

Mr. Recard also said, "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."

source: click here

8 comments:

Sami J said...

his dad actually is a very interesting writer...check him out.

Frieda said...

Yes, I have read Jean-François Revel's anti-Americanism. It's a great book for my EU friends to read. America is not as bad as they think! thanks for the reminder Sami!

Anonymous said...

what is his book called?

serendip said...

Interesting guy. It is true though you don't see the world as is but you see it as you are...Perception is very powerful and creates multiple realities. The art of Perception Management is indeed an acquired skill.

My Marrakech said...

so true. I am learning the happiness skill but need to learn more. I can tell your blog is going to be helpful in that regard!

Frieda said...

Dear Anonymous,
His book is called:Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill
and here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0316167258/ref=ord_cart_shr/103-7584456-6327840?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

good luck reading and thanks for visiting my blog

Frieda said...

Dear Serendip,
You are so correct. Mind projects everything, observes its own projection from different point of view and then interprets that perception as an external fact.

I read this somewhere that says, "The mind told my body what to see and feel"....

thanks for sharing your thoughts..I enjoy your comments. :-)

Frieda said...

Dear "my marrakech",
thanks for your kind words, welcome to my blog and I hope to see you more :-)