Finding Happiness - Part 1: The Nature of Happiness
What is happiness? How do you find it? You can look for it all your life and never find it. Actually the potential for happiness is here in every moment. If you try to find it in a relationship, in a person, in a drug, in some thing, you may find it temporarily, but more than likely you will be disappointed. So instead of looking for it, take the time to examine what the "it" is.
Finding Happiness - Part 2: Rejecting this Moment
The potential for happiness is present in every moment. We can accept the moment and discover the happiness that's here, or we can reject what comes in each moment. The secret to finding happiness is to stop looking for it anywhere but in this moment.
Finding Happiness - Part 3: Your Mind is the Source of Unhappiness
When you honestly look for the cause of unhappiness, you'll discover that the problem is in your mind and your thinking. The mind judges every moment, every event, situation and person. The mind turns life into a distortion through "mind-reading," projection and story-telling. The mind takes you on a journey in quest of happiness, and all along the way, it ensures that if you find it you won't be able to hold onto it.
Finding Happiness - Part 4: Can a Relationship Make You Happy?
Will you be happy when you find the right partner? In this video, we discuss happiness in the context of relationships, and how the mind can destroy the potential for happiness. In a love relationship, you both give birth to a new life: the relationship. The relationship, like a baby, must be nurtured.
Finding Happiness - Part 5: Nurturing Your Relationships
Your relationship with your partner must be nurtured. When you find yourselves arguing about some problem or disagreement, make sure you bring awareness to the conversation. Start looking at your relationship as a third person. In your blaming & bickering, what is happening to the relationship? If you aren't experiencing happiness in your relationship, maybe you need to look at how the two of you are treating that third person - the relationship. Your relationship is your child. You need to develop parenting skills.
Finding Happiness - Part 6: Reactions Kill Happiness
Partners need to coach each other rather than trying to control or correct each other. You can find presence and happiness in your relationship, but your reactions can destroy the presence and the happiness. Bring awareness to your reactions - don't let them rob you of happiness in your relationship.
Finding Happiness - Part 7: The Ecology of Relationships
For partners, your relationship is the environment you live in. The ecology of your relationship is an important consideration when you look for the sources of your unhappiness. Everything you or your partner does or says affects the ecology of the relationship. For the health of the relationship, you need to communicate. You need to have frequent conversations about the relationship. Your conversations and interactions will result in mutual trust and respect, if you are focused on the ecology of the relationship.
