Posted on Happy Minds!
This first exercise is very easy, it will just take a little time, no more then 20 minutes.
First, watch these youtube videos with an open mind. Try not to think to much, just sit back and watch.
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=lwwioJhQzeg
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy7FIfW5bZY&feature=related
Now, you have seen the planet we are living on, our beautiful planet earth. And you’ve seen some examples of the incredible Universe that our planet is floating in. Personally, watching these images leaves me in great awe. The colours, the mere size of it! The way the light reflects of the surface of our planet: it makes me think of sapphire and emerald gemstones. Maybe we can never reach the stars that you’ve just seen, but aren’t they amazing? Just thinking of this gives me some happiness.
Now, here’s the exercise: just sit, close your eyes, and spend some time realizing that you are part of this all. You are part of this wonder. You live on this gemstone-coloured planet. You may have sorrows, you may feel unhappy. No matter how bad it is, realize that your problems will pass. It may take longer then you want, but they will pass. However, the Universe, with all it’s grandiose beauty, will always be there. No matter what you will loose in this lifetime, no matter what happens to you, this wondrous place will always exist.
Also try to realize how small you are compared to this all. You are just one person out of more then 6 billion people on this planet. And if you are small, that means that also your problems are small. They may look big to you, but in reality the entire you is not even a dust spec in this endless Universe. That means you can relax a little, doesn’t it?
After quietly contemplating this for a while, whenever you feel trouble overwhelms you, just go back to these wonderful images. Enjoy! Relax!
Contents
- Compassion for Yourself and Others
- Happiness and humility
- Happiness and Kindness
- Happiness and Science
- Happiness today - Death tomorrow
- Helpful information
- How to deal with depression
- How to get the best mobile phone for free
- Pema Chödrön: expert on happiness
- Rejection: a different approach
- Spirituality, why bother?
- The Abyss
- The Happy Minds Forum
- The Heart Sutra
- The Maitreya Buddha Project
- The trap in trying to better your life
- Three methods for working with chaos
Exercises
- Exercise 10: Feeling more Compassion
- Exercise 11: Examining causes of Happiness
- Exercise 12: Developing attention
- Exercise 13: Distinguishing happiness from pleasure
- Exercise 14: How to begin to meditate
- Exercise 15: Using Mental Imagery
- Exercise 1: Relativity
- Exercise 2: Realizing what is Happiness
- Exercise 3: Appreciating small things
- Exercise 4: Doing chores
- Exercise 5: Just Enjoy
- Exercise 6: Awakening Compassion
- Exercise 7: Do something Nice
- Exercise 8: Illusions
- Exercise 9: Creating your own Paradise
Friday, November 7, 2008
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Hi Niels,
ReplyDeleteLeuke site heb je! Over geluk en zoeken naar geluk gesproken, heb ik een leuk aanradertje voor je. Het boek heet " Flow, psychologie van de optimale ervaring " van Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, uitgever Boom Amsterdam.
Try it als je tijd overhebt ;).
Groetjes,
Julia Mescheriakova
hey Niels,
ReplyDeleteErg verfrissende en bevrijdende site heb jij! Wat leuk dat je naar aanleiding van dat boek besloten hebt om een blog op te starten! Ik ben ontzettend benieuwd naar het boek, ik ga nog zeker dat boek inkijken omdat jij mij nieuwsgierig hebt gemaakt vanwege je enthousiasme erover. heb je net een berichtje gestuurd over het boekje " flow". Dit is het boek dat mij enorm heeft geinspireerd en hierbij wil ik dat boek ook jou en alle anderen (die luisteren) aanraden.
veel suc6 met je blog en de coschappen!
groeten, Julia