The Ministry of Happiness

Happiness and Kindness to Others

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Michael Kane

Happiness and Kindness to Others

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness ~ William Arthur Ward

So today my friends I want to talk about kindness to others. As usual, what we give comes back to us three fold and a return of kindness is bound to help make us happier individuals. As I have mentioned before I work in education and recently watched an interaction I’ve seen many times before but with a bit of a twist.

Often times in a class there is that person, you know the one, he/she needs to express themselves, they talk much longer than they should and often on topics that are at best tangential and usually not related to the subject. This is always a difficult situation for a teacher, and although many are patient and gently try and direct these people back to the main track, often times frustration sets in and eventually the teacher shuts this person down. This leads to hurt feelings, often conflict and many times the student will stop attending class which is never the goal, even if it is a relief.

So what I witnessed recently was an instructor not just employing patience but also kindness with the student. She answered the questions, redirected the student but she was also very kind to this woman. She found ways to include her when she was feeling isolated, she gave very kind but very constructive criticism and very intuitively got to the heart of some of the issues the student had. In the end, she kept the student in the class and made her feel part of the group, a really masterful job of teaching.

So my friends, how about we try this in our lives. Try not just being patient with the difficult person in your office but also being kind. Don’t just embarrass the person who cuts in front of you in line, but then offer to let them stay there since they must have a good reason for doing it. Just for today, let’s give everyone the benefit of the doubt and see what happens. Now you know me, I’d never recommend you become a door mat, that doesn’t make anyone happy, but we decide what bugs us, what stresses us out, maybe if we let our first reaction be kindness, we might just make this a happier day, good luck and have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Happiness and Forgiveness

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Michael Kane

Happiness & Forgiveness

Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the strength to admit them ~ Bruce Lee

So there is the obvious thread here, forgiveness is a good thing. If you can truly forgive the people who have done your wrong, you no longer have to carry around the baggage associated with those people. Not an easy thing to do, and I have personally worked for decades to forgive some of the people in my past. Recently, I’ve incorporated forgiveness into my daily meditations and it has begun to help, I’m closing in on a more forgiving and happier place. Life is too short to spend time holding on to negative feelings.

I was watching an episode of William Shatner’s Raw Nerve, it was an episode featuring Drew Carey. Now if you’ve never seen this show, click on the link and read a blog entry about the series. I think, in all seriousness, it may be the best interview show that has ever been on television. I haven’t seen Drew Carey on anything in quite some time, apparently he’s hosting the Price is Right these days. However, this is not the Drew Carey I remember; he’s older, more serious and absolutely more thoughtful and spiritual. While being interviewed by Shatner he said something I found to be very profound. He said he’s working on getting to a place where he forgives in advance.

All of us strive to be people who forgive, and we would love to become the type of person who forgives quickly. But Drew Carey was talking about forgiving in advance and this was the example he used. Someone cuts you off in traffic, you honk your horn or worse and then, later a few minutes or a few hours you think, gee why did I get so upset, in the grand scheme of things that was nothing and you forgive that person. A great thing would be to be the type of person who can thank immediately, you get cut off and as you start to react, you come to a place of forgiveness and stop. Now imagine, forgiveness in advance, someone cuts you off and you’ve already forgiven their error. There would be no need to get upset, not even for a second.

Now, personally I’m not there yet, but listening to Drew Carey it seemed like a really wonderful idea. Me personally, I still feel like if I forgive everyone, somehow it just lets the jerks getaway with being jerks. But that’s what this ministry is about, finding ways to improve our lives so that we can be happier. I hope this helped, have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Deng Ming-Dao on the geography of life

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Michael Kane

I really like this meditation by Deng Ming-Dao, it addresses the actual physical component of our life. The geography of our existence as well as the very real impact our choices have on the future flow of our lives.

Flow

If the boulders are moved,
Even a river will change its flow.

Except for occasional flooding, the mightiest river keeps to its bed. It flows where it finds openings between cliffs and rocks. If the river is dammed, if the cliff walls are moved, if the boulders are shifted, it will flow a different course. It could even be made to flow backwards if the earth moved far enough.

So it is with the flow of our lives. Once the fixed objects of our lives shift, our circumstances change. If we move to another city, life will change. If we marry one person over another, life will be different. If we situate our business in a good neighborhood life will be prosperous. If we choose a house in a good setting, life will be healthy. If we arrange our furniture properly, life will be comfortable. If we eat correctly, life will be prolonged. In short, followers of Tao realize that the flow of life can be affected and to some degree consciously manipulated simply by altering its parameters.

Life is the flow of energy. It is the air that we breathe, the force that moves weather, the force of all minds combined. It keeps the rivers flowing, our hearts beating, and the sky blue. This flow of energy moves constantly according to the fixed points that exist at any given moment. Therefore, by manipulating the cardinal points of our lives, we can change the flow. The freedom to choose and to change belongs to us.

Posted in Deng Ming-Dao | Tagged blog, deng ming-dao, life, philosophy, tao, taoism | Leave a comment

Dalai Lama on human nature

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Michael Kane

I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result, not only for ourselves, but also for the society to which we belong. I generally refer to this sort of love and affection as a universal religion. Everyone needs it, believers as much as non-believers. This attitude constitutes the very basis of morality. ~ Dalai Lama

Posted in Dalai Lama | Tagged belief, blog, dalai lama, happiness, human nature, life, personal happiness, philosophy, religion | Leave a comment

Happiness & Wishes

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Michael Kane

Happiness & Wishes

Some people want it to happen, some people wish it to happen, some people make it happen ~ Michael Jordan

Wishes for happiness can come true and I can tell you how to make it happen. Find a fountain, one you can sit at the edge of, even better if you can dip your toes in the water. Bring a penny with you and sit cross-legged at the edge or dip your toes if you like. Close your eyes and empty your mind, listen to nothing but the sound of your breathing and the water trickling in the fountain. Feel the penny in your hand, roll it around, feel the surface of the coin, try and feel the shape of Abraham Lincoln. Take the coin on to your thumb and flip it into the air, listen for it to hit the water, as it does, imagine exactly what will make you happy in your life, your happiness wish fulfilled.

Then, get up off your butt and start doing what you need to do in your life to make it happen. Wishes are nice, a great way to focus yourself on your desires, but in the end we get what happiness we work for in this world. I saw a great twitter post today that gave a definition of happiness that I really liked. Happiness is having passion for that which will make you happy (your wish), plus the purpose to work for that wish in your life, and the gratitude for the happiness you have already have achieved.

Good luck on your journey my friends and have a happy day.

The Dalai Lama – How to start your day

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Michael Kane

See if paying attention to the nature of the mind early in the morning makes your mind more alert throughout the day. Your thoughts certainly will be more tranquil. The conceptual mind that runs on thinking of good things, bad things, and so forth will get a rest. A little non-conceptuality can provide a much-needed vacation. ~ Dalai Lama

Posted in Dalai Lama, personal happiness | Tagged blog, dalai lama, happiness, life, meditation, nature, philosophy | Leave a comment

Happiness & Less

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Michael Kane

Happiness & Less

Happiness is a way station between too little and too less ~ Channing Pollock

For today’s post I decided to write about happiness and wanting less. You see we are all always, particularly as Americans, told that more is better. We’ll be happy when we get a bigger house, a pretty spouse, more kids, a nicer car. But that’s not the answer; the real answer is underneath all of that. What is it that you really need to be happy? Does what you need to do to make you happy require that you be rich or famous? Or is it that you simply haven’t truly addressed the question. This is to the core of why the Ministry of Happiness was created, to help all of us, you and me, to find out the true answer to the question, what makes you happy? What is it that you need in your life for you to live the happy and fulfilled life we all dream of living? Simple questions, with simpler answers than you might imagine. What is necessary to find them, is for you, me and all of us to take the time to sit down and really think about and answer that question.

Below is a link to an article that addressed this question magnificently and hits the point perfectly, enjoy and have a happy day my friends:

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-want-less-and-be-happy-about-it/

If you liked this, check out these!

Happiness and the Benefits of Gratitude

Learning Acceptance

Fear is Killing Your Happiness

Posted in happiness resources, personal happiness | Tagged blog, happiness, life, personal happiness, philosophy, positivity, simplicity, wanting less | Leave a comment

Dalai Lama on Religions

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Michael Kane

Because of the great differences in our ways of thinking, it is inevitable that we have different religions and faiths. Each has its own beauty. And it is much better that we live together on the basis of mutual respect and mutual admiration. ~ Dalai Lama

Posted in Dalai Lama, personal happiness | Tagged blog, buddhism, dalai lama, life, philosophy, religion, tibet | Leave a comment

Happiness and Regret

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Michael Kane

Happiness and Regret

To be able to look back upon one’s life in satisfaction, is to live twice. ~ Kahlil Gibran

A list has been flying around the internet from a nurse who does end of life care. She listed what she recalled the most common regrets that people had at the end of their lives. This was the list.

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard. (“This came from every male patient that I nursed,” Ware wrote).

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Many of these are themes that we have touched on in this blog and I think each are incredibly significant in our life and lead to number 5, letting yourself be happier.

1. This is hard, to live a life that is true to yourself, you by default must be somewhat selfish. However if you are going to be happy, it is a necessity that you work to approach this goal.

2. This is a problem for most Americans, there have been a rash of articles lately relaying that Americans are granted the least amount of vacation time in the Western world and are very worried about taking what time they have. This is something you must change in your life and yes boss, I’m talking to you as well.

3. Early in my life this was a problem for me, I was someone who very significantly bottled up his emotions and didn’t express his feelings. This left me angry, which led me to drugs and alcohol and a very out of control and dangerous portion of my life. I was one of the lucky ones, I hit rock-bottom quickly and was able to use that crash to put my life back together, a difficult process but one that has paid innumerable benefits in my life and brought me to where I am today.

4. Our lives get in the way, we lose people and I will never advocate hanging on to people who don’t respond to your calls and e-mails. However, reach out and try, many times it will be a brief conversation and people will fade away again. But some, some will hang on and reconnect and fill holes in your life, take the time and reach out. My best advice on this front and I’m half the way done myself and need to finish, is to write the really important friends a letter and tell them how important they are to you. I’d love to take credit for the idea but Neil Young beat me too it and the lyrics are below:

“One Of These Days”

One of these days,
I’m gonna sit down
and write a long letter
To all the good friends I’ve known
And I’m gonna try
And thank them all
for the good times together.
Though so apart we’ve grown.

One of these days,
I’m gonna sit down
and write a long letter
To all the good friends I’ve known
One of these days,
one of these days,
one of these days,
And it won’t be long, it won’t be long.

And I’m gonna thank,
That old country fiddler
And all those rough boys
Who play that rock ‘n’ roll
I never tried to burn any bridges
Though I know I let some good things go.

From down in L.A.
All the way to Nashville,
From New York City
To my Canadian prairie home
My friends are scattered
Like leaves from an old maple.
Some are weak, some are strong.

One of these days,
one of these days,
one of these days,
And it won’t be long, it won’t be long.

5. LET YOURSELF BE HAPPIER!!!!!!! The world can be a horrible and dark place, we live and die in the end alone. The hours between our birth and death are far too short to be miserable. There is unimaginable beauty in the world, there are things that you can do that no one else has ever done, places you can go that will blow your mind and experiences that will melt your heart. Find and experience all of them, and take a moment, even during your most terrible hours and days and think about these things and smile. Allow yourself to be happier!

Dalai Lama on responsibility

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Michael Kane

Each one of us is responsible for the whole of humankind. We need to think of each other really as brothers and sisters and to be concerned for each other’s welfare. Rather than working solely to acquire wealth, we need to do something meaningful, something directed seriously towards the welfare of humanity as a whole. ~ The Dalai Lama

This has special meaning for me right now and I look at making a change in my career. I hope all of you out there reading this will also take a few minutes to think about the wisdom contained in these words.

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

The Ministry of Happiness

Happiness and Kindness to Others

Happiness and Kindness to Others

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Happiness and Forgiveness

Happiness & Forgiveness

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Deng Ming-Dao on the geography of life

Dalai Lama on human nature

Happiness & Wishes

Happiness & Wishes

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

The Dalai Lama – How to start your day

Happiness & Less

Happiness & Less

If you liked this, check out these!

Dalai Lama on Religions

Happiness and Regret

Happiness and Regret

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Dalai Lama on responsibility

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