In Eight Steps to Happiness Geshe-la says "'Self' and 'other' are relative terms, rather like 'this mountain' and 'that mountain ... 'This' and 'that' therefore depend upon our point of reference. This is also true of self and other. By climbing down the mountain of self, it is possible to ascend the mountain of other, and thereby cherish others as much as we presently cherish ourself."

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

NYT: When the Mind Wanders, Happiness Also Strays

I'm sure a lot of you have read about this recent research.
I like this particular article in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/science/16tier.html?_r=1) because of the accompanying art, as well as the writing ("Wherever your mind went — the South Seas, your job, your lunch, your unpaid bills — that daydreaming is not likely to make you as happy as focusing intensely on the rest of this column will." Ha ha.)

The conclusion is what all our meditation teachers have been telling us from the beginning: You're happier when you focus, and that we all have a strong tendency toward negative thoughts.

"'Even if you’re doing something that’s really enjoyable,' [one researcher] Mr. Killingsworth says, 'that doesn’t seem to protect against negative thoughts. The rate of mind-wandering is lower for more enjoyable activities, but when people wander they are just as likely to wander toward negative thoughts.'
Whatever people were doing, whether it was having sex or reading or shopping, they tended to be happier if they focused on the activity instead of thinking about something else. In fact, whether and where their minds wandered was a better predictor of happiness than what they were doing...."

Also note there's an iPhone app called trackyourhappiness that the researchers used.

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