The Ministry of Happiness

Love, happiness and words from my favorite writers

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Michael Kane

Love, happiness and words from my favorite writers

Happiness is a Choice

Last week was an extremely long and stressful week; at least that is what I’m blaming my lack of inspiration and creativity on tonight. So I turn tonight to some of the people whose writings have inspired and supported me on my own journey to increase my happiness. A thought, there isn’t a destination, you don’t arrive at happiness one day, our journey is to always strive to be happier. So whether we are seeing progress or reversal on the path we keep moving forward, even if that progress is incremental.

Words below from two of my favorite poets, Peter McWilliams and Charles Bukowski, two of my favorite philosophers the Dalai Lama and Kahlil Gibran and a nice thought from Helen Keller. A side note, the more I learn about Helen Keller the more I realize how utterly amazing she was.

As always my friends have a happy day. ~ Rev Kane

Havasu Falls

I see nothing wrong with the human trait to desire. In fact, I consider it integral to our success mechanism. Becoming attached to what we desire is what causes the trouble. If you must have it in order to be happy, then you are denying the happiness of the here and now. ~ Peter McWilliams

If You But Knew ~ Peter McWilliams

If you but knew
How all my days seem filled with dreams of you,
How sometimes in the silent night
Your eyes thrill through me with their tender light,
How oft I hear your voice when others speak,
How you ‘mid other forms I seek–
Oh, love more real than though such dreams were true
If you but knew.

Could you but guess
How you alone make all my happiness,
How I am more than willing for your sake
To stand alone, give all and nothing take,
Nor chafe to think you bound while I am free,
Quite free, till death, to love you silently,
Could you but guess.

Could you but learn
How when you doubt my truth I sadly yearn
To tell you all, to stand for one brief space
Unfettered, soul to soul, as face to face,
To crown you king, my king, till life shall end,
My lover and likewise my truest friend,
Would you love me, dearest, as fondly in return,
Could you but learn?

Happiness means taking risks. And if you’re not a little scared, you’re not doing it right. ~ Charles Bukowski

The Milky Way in Wadi Rum

When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed-door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us. ~ Helen Keller

We begin from the recognition that all beings cherish happiness and do not want suffering. It then becomes both morally wrong and pragmatically unwise to pursue only one’s own happiness oblivious to the feelings and aspirations of all others who surround us as members of the same human family. The wiser course is to think of others when pursuing our own happiness. ~ Dalai Lama

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. ~ Kahlil Gibran

Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

Happiness and Relationships

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Michael Kane

I found the following bouncing around the net for something interest to post tonight, it’s a really beautiful thought on relationships written by Elizabeth Reninger for About.com

In my observation, very few and far between are those who enter relationships from a place of wisdom. We seek (or avoid) relationships because we think that being (or not-being) in such-and-such a relationship will be the source of the love, happiness, security, etc. that we most deeply desire. If the relationship is a living one (i.e. both people willing/able to grow and change, consciously) then perhaps – with a bit of luck or grace or whatever – illusions are, over time, revealed and dissolved, and truth grown into. But the psychological and cultural conditioning around this one tends to be deep, deep, deep …

Perhaps some day (as the result of a collective inner revolution?) it will become more common for us to come together in partnership simply for the sheer joy of it — to dance and play and celebrate and just enjoy being together.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged happiness, life, love, philosophy, relationships, self-improvement, wisdom | Leave a comment

The Dalai Lama on Sympathetic Joy

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Michael Kane

To help us bring benefit to others through our words and actions, it is useful to cultivate an attitude of sympathetic joy in others’ achievements and good fortune. This attitude is a powerful antidote against envy, which is not only a source of unnecessary suffering on the individual level but also an obstacle to our ability to reach out and engage with others. ~ The Dalai Lama

Posted in Dalai Lama | Tagged dalai lama, happiness, joy, life, philosophy, taoism | 3 Comments

The Happiness Countdown

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Michael Kane

The Happiness Countdown

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. ~ Buddha

Today a tour through happiness on the web via a little countdown, so countdown to a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

12 things happy people do differently

11 ways to be extraordinarily happy

10 rules for living a good life, I especially like number 5

9 ways to be happier in the next 30 minutes

8 ways money can buy you happiness

7 habits of highly happy people

6 happiness boosters that will let you down

5 happy design inspirations

4 ways to be happy

3 ways to be happy and stress free

2 happiness images

Happy flowers

Happiness in flight

1 minute rule of happiness

Posted in personal happiness | Tagged blog, buddha, design, happiness, life, money, philosophy, self-improvement, stress, tips | 2 Comments

Happines is Nature, Beauty & Gratitude

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Michael Kane

A friend passed this my way today, thanks Kim, and it’s really amazing, a 10-minute video and well worth it to take a break and check this out, have a happy day my friends!

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude.html

Posted in personal happiness | Tagged beauty, gratitude, life, nature, philosophy, photography, san francisco, TED | Leave a comment

The Dalai Lama on improving ourselves

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Michael Kane

The very purpose of spirituality is self-discipline. Rather than criticizing others, we should evaluate and criticize ourselves. Ask yourself, what am I doing about my anger, my attachment, my pride, my jealousy? These are the things we should check in our day to day lives. ~ Dalai Lama

Posted in Dalai Lama | Tagged dalai lama, philosophy, self-improvement, taoism | Leave a comment

Happiness and an Attitude Adjustment

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Michael Kane

Happiness and an Attitude Adjustment

If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? ~ Jesus Christ

We talk pretty consistently about how our happiness is mostly in our control, that whether a situation makes us happy or sad, or has no impact at all is determined by us, our attitudes and outlook on life. I have recently been reminded of this incredibly important lesson at all places, Taco Bell. You see at my local Taco Bell, a place I go a little bit too often I must admit, there is a kid there, probably in his late 20’s who is annoyingly nice. He’s the kind of guy who greets every customer who comes in with a, “hello my friend.” Asks everyone about their day, wanders around after you’re eating and asks you how everything is, you know a total bastard!

In reality he really did completely rub me the wrong way every time I walked in there. I didn’t know this kid but here he was asking about my day, asking how my food was, it seemed weirdly personal and totally got under my skin. It took some time, there he was every time I went in, and now that he had come to recognize me and knew a little about me, my attitude slowly began to change. I went from annoyance, to acceptance, to actual seeing him as a human being, not just my Taco Bell annoyance.

I was thinking about this the other day, I’ve been eating better and not visiting Taco Bell so often and he remarked immediately that he hadn’t seen me in some time and asked if I was doing well. He seemed to generally be concerned I hadn’t been around. I sat there eating my lunch, watching him greet and cheerily talk to people and thought about how ridiculous I had been.

Here was a young man, who was generally nice to people including me, he was making the best out of working at Taco Bell and this annoyed me somehow and that was ridiculous and all about me and not him. My attitude had already changed significantly about him and instead of being an annoyance his actions actually made me smile the other day. The only thing that had changed was my attitude. That attitude adjustment took a net annoyance and turned it into a smile a net increase my happiness. So have a happy day my friends and remember whether or not it is a happy day is really up to you. ~ Rev Kane

And in the end, the love you get is equal to the love you give ~ The Beatles

Happiness and Love

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Michael Kane

Happiness and Love

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own ― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

Each week I look for inspiration throughout the week for my Monday post, this week it came in the form of a surprise phone call. You see this week was my wonderful niece’s 10^th birthday. One of the things that makes her so wonderful is the fact that she is the most loving creature I’ve ever encountered. People say that one of the reasons that their pets are so wonderful is that they give their owners unconditional love; this is how my niece operates. She’s one of those amazing people whose default position is that people are good and wonderful; she loves immediately, unconditionally and somehow, so far, has not started to get jaded by the disappointments life can bring to a person with that attitude. One of my greatest memories of her will always be from when she was about three years old. She wasn’t the most verbal of children, and living on the West Coast and her on the East Coast, I didn’t get to see her very often. But when she was that age, whenever I showed up at her house she would get so excited the only thing she could say through her grinning face was, “yes”, over and over again, “yes, yes, yes.”

Well on her 10^th birthday this past week she got her very own cell phone and she called me, she was so excited to get her phone and to tell me she called me on her phone. Her excitement and beauty of spirit inspired this post this week. A question I put to myself, that I now put to all of you, how do we get to a point of loving that completely? How do we look at not only our lovers, our family and our friends, but how do we engage the world with that kind of love? I’m not sure I know, but maybe, after studying under my young niece for a bit longer I might gain some more insight, I’ll keep you posted.

It doing a bit of research for this piece I came across a really well written piece on how to love deeply in a blog called The Owl’s Perch, it’s definitely worth a read and I hope you gain something from it, and as always, have a happy day my friends.

love, happiness and beautiful flowers

How to love deeply http://www.compassionateresponse.com/_blog/The_Owl’s_Perch/post/How_to_love_deeply/

Thinking about “maitri” today, one of the four elements of love in the Buddhist tradition. Loving-kindness is the direct translation.

Real understanding is needed to truly love deeply. How do we understand each other? Thich Nhat Hanh in his book, “True Love” says that understanding is based on a “deep looking directed toward the person you love.” Can I understand deeply enough what another person’s suffering, joy, and aspirations are so that I can truly love? “Without understanding, love is an impossible thing,” says Hanh. And he doesn’t just use this term for those we’re “in love” with!

So when I look at the person behind the checkout counter at the grocery store, the person in the car that just cut in front of me or the children who rang my doorbell trick-or-treating last night… can I look deeply into them and “see” who they are, what their story is, what their pains are, what their joy is? I wonder what might be different in my day if I did that. What might be different in their day? Might I get a different sense of what’s going on in the world?

And then if I hold that stance for those I do love in a more traditional sense, what more is available in the relationship? It reminds me (okay maybe a bit sappy) of the expression of love in the movie “Avatar” when the Na’vi say to each other “I see you.” I know what it feels like to be “seen.” And I know what it feels like when it appears that I’m invisible. In this sense, I’m using so much more than my eyes to see… I’m listening to every clue from every source possible! And the potential richness of the relationship expands exponentially!

Don’t we all hunger to be seen? I know I do. And, I think it starts with me looking deeply into those around me, even if only for a moment to get a sense of who’s there. I’m going to give it a try–care to join me? ~ Rev Kane

Deng Ming-Dao on Initiative

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Michael Kane

On our search for happiness as in all things we must play our part, nothing comes to us just because it has come to our mind, wouldn’t that be wonderful. We must work, we must struggle, we must persevere, not a sunny, happy idea perhaps, but the reality that achievement takes effort. More than that, it takes experience, we need to get out into the world, travel, experience and learn. Today we present a meditation from Deng Ming-Dao on this very idea.

Let us not be confused
With kaleidoscopic reality.
Using wisdom and courage to act,
Let us not add to the confusion

The world is a storm of myriad realities, yet we cannot allow ourselves to be swept into the vortex. To do so is to be lost and to lose the true center where all understanding will come. We must act, but in the right way.

Action must be guided by both intellect and experience. We learn from teachers, elders, and others. But we must also test what we learn in the world. It is not enough to simply meditate, and it is not enough just to have theoretical knowledge. We need both in order to be wise.

Only when wisdom, courage, timing and perseverance are combined can one have a sound basis for initiative. The action must be complete. It must burn clean; it cannot leave any bad ramifications or lingering traces. An act that leaves destruction, resentment, or untidiness in its wake is a poor one. Then initiative is insufficient, and Tao has not been attained.

Posted in Deng Ming-Dao, meditation, personal happiness | Tagged blog, deng ming-dao, happiness, initiative, life, perserverance, taoism, wisdom | Leave a comment

Friday morning wisdom from the Dalai Lama

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Michael Kane

There is a saying in Tibetan that “at the door of the miserable rich man sleeps the contented beggar.” The point of this saying is not that poverty is a virtue, but that happiness does not come from wealth, but from setting limits to one’s desires, and living within those limits with satisfaction. ~ Dalai Lama

Posted in Dalai Lama | Tagged contentment, dalai lama, happiness, taoism | Leave a comment

The Ministry of Happiness

Love, happiness and words from my favorite writers

Love, happiness and words from my favorite writers

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Happiness and Relationships

The Dalai Lama on Sympathetic Joy

The Happiness Countdown

The Happiness Countdown

Happines is Nature, Beauty & Gratitude

The Dalai Lama on improving ourselves

Happiness and an Attitude Adjustment

Happiness and an Attitude Adjustment

More Posts You Might Enjoy!

Happiness and Love

Happiness and Love

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Deng Ming-Dao on Initiative

Friday morning wisdom from the Dalai Lama

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