So lately I have been contemplating some pretty deep stuff... like what really makes a person happy, etc. etc....anyway, I came home from work and turned on my TV this week and it was on PBS and a program called "The Happiness Prescription" was on. It was a lecture by Deepak Chopra. Now despite growing up in the MECCA for all things holistic and earthy, I am kind of skeptical of it all...but given my thoughts of late and the title of this program, I thought I would watch. It turned out to be fascinating...so interesting that I took notes (yes, I am a total nerd...AND I am now thinking about getting a book by Chopra, or at least studying Buddha a bit more- I was amazed at how similar some of the teachings of Buddha were to my own religious beliefs).
Here were the 10 Steps to Happiness:
1) Listen to your body's wisdom
2) Live in the present
3) Embrace silence
4) Relinquish your need for external approval
- free of criticism and flattery
- feel neither superior or inferior
5) Relinquish your anger and opposition
6) Total self- knowledge
7) Don't judge others (or yourself)
8) Eliminate toxins from your life
- food, environment, emotions, relationships
9) Replace fear with love
10) Cultivate witnessing awarenesses
- realize you are alive in the now, everything else is either history or future
Some of the other teachings of Buddha that Chopra talked about:
1) If something arises, it also subsides.
- here he spoke of the impermanence of life, how we are never the same from one moment to the next, nor is anything in the world
2) There is no seperate self
- you are a reflection of everyone else
- the only thing you have is your spirit
If anyone has the opportunity to catch this program, I highly recommend it. Here is a link to the PBS page where you can see when it's playing.
On a complete sidenote, when I was looking for links for this blog I came across this article on CNN.com... some highlights from the article:
-Married people are happier than singles. (Crap!)
-College grads are happier than those without a college degree. (Check.)
-People who were religious are happier than those who aren't. (Check.)
-Sunbelt residents are happier than other U.S. residents. (Crap!)
-Republicans are happier than Democrats -- but both are happier than independents. (Crap!)
Looks like I need to get hitched, move to Southern California and change my political viewpoints (though I probably lean Republican over Democrat if I had to choose between them...maybe that counteracts the unhappiness).
Here were the 10 Steps to Happiness:
1) Listen to your body's wisdom
2) Live in the present
3) Embrace silence
4) Relinquish your need for external approval
- free of criticism and flattery
- feel neither superior or inferior
5) Relinquish your anger and opposition
6) Total self- knowledge
7) Don't judge others (or yourself)
8) Eliminate toxins from your life
- food, environment, emotions, relationships
9) Replace fear with love
10) Cultivate witnessing awarenesses
- realize you are alive in the now, everything else is either history or future
Some of the other teachings of Buddha that Chopra talked about:
1) If something arises, it also subsides.
- here he spoke of the impermanence of life, how we are never the same from one moment to the next, nor is anything in the world
2) There is no seperate self
- you are a reflection of everyone else
- the only thing you have is your spirit
If anyone has the opportunity to catch this program, I highly recommend it. Here is a link to the PBS page where you can see when it's playing.
On a complete sidenote, when I was looking for links for this blog I came across this article on CNN.com... some highlights from the article:
-Married people are happier than singles. (Crap!)
-College grads are happier than those without a college degree. (Check.)
-People who were religious are happier than those who aren't. (Check.)
-Sunbelt residents are happier than other U.S. residents. (Crap!)
-Republicans are happier than Democrats -- but both are happier than independents. (Crap!)
Looks like I need to get hitched, move to Southern California and change my political viewpoints (though I probably lean Republican over Democrat if I had to choose between them...maybe that counteracts the unhappiness).
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