Have you ever wondered about happiness? What makes you happy? When you will be happy? What makes the people you love happy?
A long time ago, when I was 19, our family went through a crisis.
My family has always been my rock. As a young person in college, making my way into the world, I took the security and safety my family provided for granted. But that crisis took my sense of surety away.
I felt someone pulled the rug from underneath my feet, and I was falling. My sense of security was shattered and I was lost. I didn’t know what to rely on. Those weekends, when I would sit alone in my hostel room, completely miserable, were the first time I wondered, What is happiness? Where does it come from? Can it be stolen so easily? If it's so fragile, is it even real?
Twenty two years and about 14,000 meditation sessions later, I can tell you this, Happiness is always within our reach, and can be achieved without the influence of, or dependence on, anything external.
We are born happy.
You only need to look at a baby to recognize this. Babies are the smallest people in a room. They coo and say googoogaga, don't walk or converse properly, and yet everyone wants to be with them. They are the center of attraction. Why? Because they are happy, vibrant, and full of life energy.
We are born happy.
Look at a young child. They don't need an expensive toy. A stick will do just fine to provide hours of fun, laughter and play.
We are born happy. Happiness is our very nature.
Then how come we are not happy all the time?
Because we forgot. When we start identifying our happiness with objects outside of us, thinking they make us happy, we stop seeing that we are happy regardless. Starting at a young age, when a toy, better grades, friends, the latest phone becomes the source of our happiness, we forget our nature and start chasing them. The famous pursuit of happiness begins. There is nothing wrong in being wealthy, successful, owning valuable objects, maintaining good relationships. Lets have all that. All of it. But till we continue to base our happiness on situations, people, objects outside of us, we wont be happy for long, if at all.
So what's the secret to eternal happiness?
Unlocking the secrets to eternal unshakable happiness can be a lifelong journey. But the first step, & maybe the only step we need, is recognizing that YOU are the source of happiness. You and I were already happy when we were born. You were happy before a desire arose. And you end up in the same place when you get what we desired. It's akin to riding a merry-go-round. You get off in the same spot you got on - even though it feels like you rode a long way.
How can we remember that we are the source of happiness?
In an atom the positive particles are at the center. The negative particles are at the periphery. So in our consciousness also, the positive qualities lie at our core. Negative qualities are on the periphery. We only need to look within to recognize the positive qualities that already reside within. To recognize our inherent happiness, all we need to do is to drop the conditions that cover our happiness - stress, fatigue, unmet desires, emotional pain, and ignorance of our own nature. Easy right? For some, yes. But for the rest of us, it can be a long process. And we can support it with meditation.
Why meditation?
In meditation we turn inwards. We travel to a place of deep equanimity. We get reacquainted with our true nature, and discover that we are happy, peaceful, compassionate and loving. Joy wells up for no reason, and we discover a sense of well-being independent of any external influence. At the very least, meditation helps us take a break from the constant chatter of the mind (read: worries, desires, fears, regrets) and find a moment of peace, so we can smile again.
We are happy. Let’s recognize it together with meditation.
Meditation for Happiness:A special meditation designed to connect to our innate joy Meditation for Happiness Mondays 6pm US EDT Fridays 930pm British Standard Time/ 430pm US EDT Book your class here Take some time to get in touch with your nature, and reconnect with your happiness.
It's time.