How to be happy - Sukh & Dukh
Podcast on the nature of Happiness & Sadness covers
* Common myths
* Causes of suffering/sadness?
* How can I overcome my pain?
Myths we live with
* We cannot help moving between these two feeling as it is a normal & healthy part of life
* Pleasure is better than pain
* Pain and pleasure are independent opposites and not linked to each other
Gurmat tries to create conscious humans - actively aware of their thoughts, so the goal is
* To reach a neutral state of bliss to all circumstances and situations in life.
* Constant tranquillity or 'sehaj' (not the same as excitement or happiness)
* Is this possible - yes, this is how you should judge/asses our own progress.
Causes of suffering
* Desires (I want = I don't have)
* Ownership
* Body-mind identity
* Ownership of possessions and people
* Delusions of permanence
* Death - we say things like "I lost my father"
* Control
* People should act how I want them to. Everyone acts according to his or her own conditioning.
Solutions
* Choose not to focus on the negative
* Suffering and anger continues as long as you keep narrating the same story to yourself
* Your mood immediately changes when someone calls or rings the doorbell
* Music is an instant mood-changer.
* The past is not your reality now
* "I cannot change past but I choose happiness now"
* Be impartial to everything
* Don't prioritise pleasures over suffering.
* All pleasures received in the past have faded, leaving you wanting more (so pleasures lead to desires and suffering)
* Don't judge anything or anyone's actions as good or bad
* In hukam there are only occurrences
* These labels only reflect how they affect us.
* Predict unpredictability
* Let go of expectations
* Expect the unexpected
* Anticipate and get comfortable with the ever-changing nature of reality.
* Treat Praise and Criticism equally
* When you are criticised - think about how that can serve you? (Fareeda burrai da bhalla kar)
* Live in gratitude and grace
* Focus on what you have and not what you don't have
* ਦਸ ਬਸਤੂ ਲੇ ਪਾਛੈ ਪਾਵੈ ॥ He obtains ten things, and puts them behind him; ਏਕ ਬਸਤੁ ਕਾਰਨਿ ਬਿਖੋਟਿ ਗਵਾਵੈ ॥ for the sake of one thing withheld, he forfeits his faith. ਏਕ ਭੀ ਨ ਦੇਇ ਦਸ ਭੀ ਹਿਰਿ ਲੇਇ ॥ But what if that one thing were not given, and the ten were taken away?
ਤਉ ਮੂੜਾ ਕਹੁ ਕਹਾ ਕਰੇਇ ॥ Then, what could the fool say or do?
* Start to use the 'Thank-you' mantra
* Treat each moment as a gift
* Bahuta Karam Likhiya Na Jae, Vadda Daataa Til Na Tamaee - Japji Sahib