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ellisonz

(27,754 posts)
Mon Nov 5, 2012, 03:09 PM Nov 2012

This Buddhist Monk Is The World's Happiest Man



Frankie Taggart, Agence France Presse | Nov. 5, 2012, 10:56 AM

As he grins serenely and his burgundy robes billow in the fresh Himalayan wind, it is not difficult to see why scientists declared Matthieu Ricard the happiest man they had ever tested.

The monk, molecular geneticist and confidant of the Dalai Lama, is passionately setting out why meditation can alter the brain and improve people's happiness in the same way that lifting weights puts on muscle.

"It's a wonderful area of research because it shows that meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree but it completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are," the Frenchman told AFP.

Ricard, a globe-trotting polymath who left everything behind to become a Tibetan Buddhist in a Himalayan hermitage, says anyone can be happy if they only train their brain.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-scientists-figured-out-who-the-worlds-happiest-man-is-2012-11

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SoapBox

(18,791 posts)
1. I like his smile!
Mon Nov 5, 2012, 04:20 PM
Nov 2012

...and now for my bit of snarkatude...

What I should be practicing is NOT reading the posts in the Politics 2012 forum! I would be much, much happier!

ellisonz

(27,754 posts)
2. It's not so much that you read the Politics 2012 forum, it's how and why you read Politics 2012!
Mon Nov 5, 2012, 04:43 PM
Nov 2012

Looking forward to this being over soon.



SoapBox

(18,791 posts)
3. "Looking forward to this being over soon."
Tue Nov 6, 2012, 01:21 AM
Nov 2012

I'm readying my long and heavy, deep breath in...hold it...and REALLY let it go.

ellisonz

(27,754 posts)
4. Speaking of which
Tue Nov 6, 2012, 01:22 AM
Nov 2012
Bill Maher about an hour ago
I know everyone's feeling stressed about the election - I suggest some deep breathing exercises - breathe in...hold the smoke..breathe out


Glimmer of Hope

(5,823 posts)
7. Me too. My meditation was bringing up too many stressors so I stopped for awhile.
Wed Nov 7, 2012, 07:55 PM
Nov 2012

I feel back on track already!

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
8. I have the book "The Art of Happiness" by the Dalai Lama. I haven't read the whole thing....
Sat Dec 8, 2012, 11:50 AM
Dec 2012

but I've read a large part of it.

One of the main ways to be truly happy is.....guess what?

(at least, that's what I've gathered from the book so far)

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