Bliss

Who can possibly be considered the happiest man alive? According to Daniel Goleman in an opìnion piece Sitting Quietly, Doing Something in today's NY Times, that man is the Tibetan lama Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche.

Rinpoche, who is a master of the art of well-being, as Goleman informs us, got that way the same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice.

As Goleman recounts how Rinpoche recovered quickly from a small mishap that Goleman witnessed, he comments: Quickness of recovery time from upsets is one way science takes the measure of a happy temperament.

And he adds: While annoyances like these are hardly life’s greatest tests, handling them gracefully takes a composure that few of us seem to have at our disposal in the way that Rinpoche does thanks to his practice.

Clearly we can not emulate Rinpoche's year-long meditative retreats, but according to Goleman, in current research shown by Richard Davidson (who heads the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin), in conjunction with Jon Kabat-Zinn, father of the mindfulness technique, with subjects from a high-stress bio-tech company, these beginners were taught the mindfulness technique for 30 minutes over the course of eight weeks, and were already reaping benefits in their everyday stress-filled life, and reported greater well-being and happiness.

Read entire article here

Photo: Lanikai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii