10 Percent Happier
While we have promised not to share our personal political beliefs on our blog, I think it’s 
fair to say that the U.S. election scene has been fraught with challenges over the past year, and has caused many of us to more fully examine our own beliefs, biases and fears. While such a re-examination can be painful, it can also be a time of real connection, inquiry and revelation. With that in mind, we hope to share some strategies that can help you to be fully awake, available and joyful especially over the upcoming holiday season.
Which brings me to the title of this post, “10 Percent Happier”.
A year ago, when I first spotted Dan Harris’ book, the title grabbed my attention – who wouldn’t want to be 10 percent happier?
It also spurred thoughts such as, “Is being happier a virtue – something to strive for?” and “What is happy – is it something that you can actually create, or is it a by-product of something that gives you pleasure? “
As I read through the book, his story felt familiar to me. For Dan Harris was on a quest for success, movement, and upward mobility, and was willing to pay a high personal price to achieve those goals. Growing up on the North Shore and raising my children here, I see that life often seems like a series of connected events, each a step up along a path, each building on the last, resulting in a view that “busier means more successful, and more successful means happier.” But I’ve also seen that it’s often the opposite.
Happiness generally occurs in the quiet moments of life – while taking a walk with your dog, or spending an hour looking at ants with a 2 year old.
So I asked my dear friend Ramaa Krishnan to give you some ideas to help you get started on carving out a few quiet moments during the holiday season. As Dan reveals in his book – it was taking 20-30 minutes each day to sit in silence that really opened up his world and brought a sense of healing and wholeness to his life. And contrary to his belief that meditation would take the “edge off his mojo” it was actually the thing that transformed his career.
As always, Jane and I are wishing all of you the happiest of holidays, and hoping that you consider making a commitment to be 10 percent happier in the New Year!
Getting started on a Meditation practice:
As a meditator for nearly 35 years and a meditation teacher for 16, I have known Meditation to be the gift that keeps on giving. It is centering and calming, bringing one to the place of wisdom right between courage and serenity. It is a pleasure to share this gift with others and thank you Meg, for asking me to do this!
Let’s start with the question most frequently asked – When?
This depends – the best time for a morning person is early in the morning before the day catches on. If you are an early riser and can wake up at or before sunrise, carve out a slice of time to share with the sun as it is breaking through the darkness. If you are a night owl, pick the evening sunset hour when, at twilight, the day is retiring and the night is peeping through. The important thing is to find a time and gradually get consistent, building your routine around it.
Where: Find a comfortable place that affords privacy and keeps out sounds. Building a practice around an altar makes the space even more special. In any case, a warm and cozy spot that speaks to you is the best place to meditate. Cell phones should be turned off and all other “stimulants” put away, although you could set up a gentle timer to go off after 15-20 minutes should you need it.
How to: There are really hundreds of ways to meditate but the important thing is to remember that there is no goal to be achieved, no “good meditation” or “bad meditation”. The idea is simply to come home to yourself and “hang out” with whoever lives there; to discharge fear and recharge oneself with peace and faith.
Posture: Sit up or lie down but make sure you hold the spine straight and clear without slouching. The body should be held up not too tightly nor too loosely, the five senses turned inward.
Start by taking a few (4-6) slow deep breaths, making the exhale longer each time. Slowing your breath will slow the flow of incoming thoughts.
Turn your attention to your mind and watch its movement, even as you center your attention around your breath. The mind, like the body, must be held not too tightly nor too loosely. Easy enough to allow it freedom to wander, alert enough to bring it back from its wanderings to an awareness of the breath. The dual activity of letting go and bringing it back is necessary for meditating just as exhaling and inhaling are required for breathing.
Maintaining this ebb and flow causes peace to unfold over time.
When the time is up, gradually reconnect your senses to the world outside and open your eyes. The peace that unfolds supports you as you return to your life, casting its gentle hue around you for several hours.
This is it. Nothing more, nothing less. Although it is simple, it is not easy. Some may get here in a day, some others in a week or more. Practicing with kindness towards oneself and without expectation makes perfect.
Author’s Note
We are excited to share our next class Slow Down & Savor co-created with my friend, and
founder of Bread and the Buddha, Pam Gross. Scheduled at the historic and beautiful Elawa Farm in Lake Forest on Tuesday, January 10th, Pam will guide you through a gentle yoga class and mindfulness exercise, followed by a class based on our healthy approach to slow cooking. For more detailed information click here Pam Gross Retreats
Zen Moment
“Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It’s the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps.”
-Sharon Draper
