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| Budai, Hotei or Pu-Tai |
Ha! As I
continue to be aware of all aspects of this person named Charles Patrick
Woliver, I identify more strongly each day with “the Happy Buddha”. The many blessings that I experience on a
daily basis, plus the increasing shape of my belly, leads me to an ongoing
appreciation for this historical icon.
But let’s briefly discuss this attribute we call
happiness. Let’s begin with an
experiment.
At the end of this sentence, STOP and ask
yourself, “What am I thinking?” [Pause] GO. Perhaps you answered, “I am thinking… [fill in the blank]. Let’s call the [fill in the blank] x. Now your x and my x may have been the same,
but probably not. Your x could have
been, “I am hungry” while my x might have been, “My feet are cold”. Or perhaps, you had a moment of void, until finally your brain filled
in the blank. The common denominator
here was a message from your brain.
Our brains are designed to create x based on our
current environment (sensory perception) and the statistical history of our
past thoughts. In other words, if we
have recently thought x, then there is a good chance that x will pop up
again. But, luckily for us, the brain
can potentially send us an innumerable number of different thoughts, but more
importantly, we can direct our brain to send positive ones.
Enter mindfulness and intention! How can we
control x ? One possibility is to enter
a quasi-meditative state and/or directed focus. Easier said that done. Try this: close your eyes and focus on the
residual light behind your closed eyelids.
Stay there. As thoughts come to
you, acknowledge them, let them go, and then simply refocus on the residual
light. The residual light will probably
change. Now take that focus, and place it on your breathing. After a period of time, open your eyes and
return to normal thought. You have just guided your brain through on exercise
that is therapeutic to your brain.
I
refer you to Buddha’s Brain by Rick
Hanson, PhD. Hanson states, “What flows
through your attention sculpts your brain.
Therefore, controlling your attention may be the single most effective
way to shape your brain, and thus your mind.
You can train and strengthen attention like any other mental ability;
mindfulness is well-controlled attention.” (Hanson, p.189).
Now let’s tackle happiness.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines happiness
as: a state of well-being: Joy.
Most spiritual leaders and psychologists
advocate for acceptance combined with
the avoidance of craving as a path to
the state of happiness.
Let’s now circle back to our mindfulness
exercise. We know that we can place
ourselves in a condition where we can regulate our thoughts. Within the
exercise, we can accept any thought
that comes to us [x] acknowledge it,
then let it go, and transition back to a state of focus. If the thought includes a crave, we can dispense with it, and
redirect our thoughts elsewhere perhaps to a thought that brings joy.
I am very blessed, and have gratitude for the
many joys in my life. When I feel “out
of sorts” I try to “fly out to 30,000 feet”, take a new perspective, and
attempt to return to a state of happiness.
More often than not, I am successful; or by engaging the mindfulness
exercise, I can redirect my negative thoughts to a place of joy and, therefore, potentially eradicate them. Either way, I have
embraced the mantra:
Om mani
pedme hung [the pearl is in the lotus]
Be well and happy.
CPW
