MoWorld: Meditations for Happiness

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Meditations for Happiness

Today's DailyOM brought to you by:

November 11, 2015
Meditations for Happiness
Rick Hanson
2011

"When you look back on your life, what do you remember, the 10,000 pleasures and accomplishments or the handful of losses and failures?" This is one of the key questions that counselor and healer Rick Hanson asks us in Meditations for Happiness, an indispensable three-disc meditation set (the perfect gift for the stressed-out relative or friend, or self). An excellent guide through these thorny issues, Hanson has a gently compassionate, nurturing voice that manages to make these points hit home without raising egoistic hackles. Learning to live in happiness can feel like an uphill battle as painful mistakes linger crystal-clear in our minds forever while all the good times just fade away into nothing. "It's as if we are predisposed to believe the worst about ourselves and doubt the best." Hanson's here to reverse that formula.

Listen to a sample

In addition to the numerous meditations, Hanson points out the three elements of unhappiness: self-criticism, resisting the way things are, and envy. He notes that "resisting reality makes us feel let down, at war with the world as it is; it's very painful and not necessary at all." We can work to change the way things are, but first we must accept that they are, in fact, that way. Meditation topics include: compassion ("self compassion has more benefits than self-esteem, it's more emotional"); the inner protector; taking refuge in what's reliable; learning to let go; taking inventory of the good things in your life; the big space of awareness; being for yourself; working through an upset; happiness as our natural state; and coming home to happiness.

Each meditation is rich in suggestion and detail, and Hanson notes we should take what feels right and leave the rest. The important thing is not becoming upset if something such as a repressed trauma is brought into light, triggering a painful response. Hanson says that "simply bringing it to mind and then finding basic goodwill for yourself in that situation, basic warmth and concern," will work wonders. With his deep awareness of the inner workings of our minds and his patience in helping us past our own inner demons and doubts, Rick Hanson's Meditations for Happiness works wonders too. Those 10,000 pleasures and accomplishments in our lives are just waiting to be remembered. Just let go of that handful of failures and press play.

Buy this CD

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