Happy Mind: Meditations from the Ancient World to Modernity

The great masters have explained in no uncertain terms that we are not the doer. But what in the world can they possibly mean?! How is doing nothing (if that is what they mean) the key to happiness and health? The answer isn’t what you think. You first need to learn what the old sages mean by expressions like “The wise person does nothing, yet nothing is left undone” (Lao Tzu) or “Self, confused by the idea of an ‘I’, thus thinks, ‘I am the doer’" (Krishna). Or, if you prefer, you can look to the Islamic mystics of 12thcentury CE (such as Ibn ‘Arabi) for a solution. He made a distinction between “Divine Will” and “Divine Wish” which helps elucidate what these ancient teachings mean. Ibn 'Arabi might express it by saying that the truth of reality is that everything that happens, the world as it is and as it becomes each moment, is an expression of God's Will (or you could just say is an expression of the forces of nature of physics, if God isn’t your thing). This is what he calls the ‘Divine Will.’ In contrast, ‘Divine Wish’ is concerned with how each one of us individually as a human can reach "heaven" or "Nirvana" or discover within ourselves the underlying perfection that union with the all (what Ibn 'Arabi would call "Oneness of Being") allows to become manifest. You see, it quickly becomes complicated and overly intellectual. For those that like that kind of thing, I explain what all that means in my blog. But sometimes it is just easier to experience the lesson. That is what this meditation is for. To teach you how to let go, to show you what that feels like, to open you to the possibilities that emerge when you learn this lesson. Just relax and let me do the work for you. Note: This is a 60 minute version of the Be The Vehicle meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The great masters of old were all consistent with at least one piece of advice: the key to happiness and health is to stop doing. Wu Wei ('not doing'), the ancient Chinese masters might have said. Old sages like Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching tell us that “The wise person does nothing, yet nothing is left undone” or we can look to Krishna who tells us “Self, confused by the idea of an ‘I’, thus thinks, ‘I am the doer’". Or, if you prefer, you can look to the Islamic mystics of 12thcentury CE (such as Ibn ‘Arabi) for a solution. He made a distinction between “Divine Will” and “Divine Wish” which helps elucidate what these ancient teachings mean. Ibn 'Arabi might express it by saying that the truth of reality is that everything that happens, the world as it is and as it becomes each moment, is an expression of God's Will (or you could just say is an expression of the forces of nature of physics, if God isn’t your thing). This is what he calls the ‘Divine Will.’ In contrast, ‘Divine Wish’ is concerned with how each one of us individually as a human can reach "heaven" or "Nirvana" or discover within ourselves the underlying perfection that union with the all (what Ibn 'Arabi would call "Oneness of Being") allows to become manifest. You see, it quickly becomes complicated and overly intellectual. For those that like that kind of thing, I explain what all that means in my blog. But sometimes it is just easier to experience the lesson. That is what this meditation is for. To teach you how to let go, to show you what that feels like, to open you to the possibilities that emerge when you learn this lesson. Just relax and let me do the work for you. Note: This is a 15 minute version of the Be The Vehicle meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wu Wei. Non-doing. What in the world can the great masters possibly mean?! How is doing nothing (if that is what they mean) the key to happiness and health? The answer isn’t what you think. You first need to learn what the old sages mean by expressions like “The wise person does nothing, yet nothing is left undone” (Lao Tzu) or “Self, confused by the idea of an ‘I’, thus thinks, ‘I am the doer’" (Krishna). Or, if you prefer, you can look to the Islamic mystics of 12thcentury CE (such as Ibn ‘Arabi) for a solution. He made a distinction between “Divine Will” and “Divine Wish” which helps elucidate what these ancient teachings mean. Ibn 'Arabi might express it by saying that the truth of reality is that everything that happens, the world as it is and as it becomes each moment, is an expression of God's Will (or you could just say is an expression of the forces of nature of physics, if God isn’t your thing). This is what he calls the ‘Divine Will.’ In contrast, ‘Divine Wish’ is concerned with how each one of us individually as a human can reach "heaven" or "Nirvana" or discover within ourselves the underlying perfection that union with the all (what Ibn 'Arabi would call "Oneness of Being") allows to become manifest. You see, it quickly becomes complicated and overly intellectual. For those that like that kind of thing, I explain what all that means in my blog. But sometimes it is just easier to experience the lesson. That is what this meditation is for. To teach you how to let go, to show you what that feels like, to open you to the possibilities that emerge when you learn this lesson. Just relax and let me do the work for you. Note: This is a 30 minute version of the Be The Vehicle meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We all seek happiness and health for ourselves and the ones we love. But somehow it seems to elude us most of the time. The great masters tell us that one of the reasons we suffer so much is that we hold on to things without being aware of it. We hold our breath and we don't realize it. We hold our muscles tight and we are unaware of it. We hold onto patterns of thinking and judging and blaming and criticizing and we aren't conscious of this. And then we are surprised when we get angry or sad, when we feel anxious or aimless, when our muscles spasm or we get sick. So, what to do? It is time to let go. This is one of the most powerful techniques we have to experiencing a life of peace and happiness. But how do you do that, and why does it work? There are many ways to let go but the reason it works is that your underlying nature, your true self is inherently beautiful and joyful and loving. You’ve just forgotten. You’ve moved your attention to other things. You’ve done that for so long that you now think that the body and the brain and the thoughts and feelings and memories they produce are who you are. But that isn’t true. That isn’t who you are any more than your car or your bedroom is who you are. To escape this illusion, most of us need more than hearing someone tell us this truth. We have to put in the regular meditation practice to train our mind to stabilize on the truth of who we are. So today, rather than telling you, let me show you what I mean, let me help you let go of your illusions and remember who you really are.Note: This is a 15 minute version of the What's Left When You Let Go episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Letting go sounds like such an easy thing to do. But trying to let go is like saying try not to try. The act of trying reinforces the holding. Holding is something most of us do unconsciously. We hold our breath and we don't realize it. We hold our muscles tight and we are unaware of it. We hold onto patterns of thinking and judging and blaming and criticizing and we aren't conscious of this. And then we are surprised when we get angry or sad, when we feel anxious or aimless, when our muscles spasm or we get sick. So, what to do? It is time to let go. This is one of the most powerful techniques we have to experiencing a life of peace and happiness. But how do you do that, and why does it work? There are many ways to let go but the reason it works is that your underlying nature, your true self is inherently beautiful and joyful and loving. You’ve just forgotten. You’ve moved your attention to other things. You’ve done that for so long that you now think that the body and the brain and the thoughts and feelings and memories they produce are who you are. But that isn’t true. That isn’t who you are any more than your car or your bedroom is who you are. To escape this illusion, most of us need more than hearing someone tells us this truth. We have to put in the regular meditation practice to train our mind to stabilize on the truth of who we are. So today, rather than telling you, let me show you what I mean, let me help you let go of your illusions and remember who you really are.Note: This is a 45 minute version of the What's Left When You Let Go episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holding is something most of us do unconsciously. We hold our breath and we don't realize it. We hold our muscles tight and we are unaware of it. We hold onto patterns of thinking and judging and blaming and criticizing and we aren't conscious of this. And then we are surprised when we get angry or sad, when we feel anxious or aimless, when our muscles spasm or we get sick. So, what to do? It is time to let go. This is one of the most powerful techniques we have to experiencing a life of peace and happiness. But how do you do that, and why does it work? There are many ways to let go but the reason it works is that your underlying nature, your true self is inherently beautiful and joyful and loving. You’ve just forgotten. You’ve moved your attention to other things. You’ve done that for so long that you now think that the body and the brain and the thoughts and feelings and memories they produce are who you are. But that isn’t true. That isn’t who you are any more than your car or your bedroom is who you are. To escape this illusion, most of us need more than hearing someone tells us this truth. We have to put in the regular meditation practice to train our mind to stabilize on the truth of who we are. So today, rather than telling you, let me show you what I mean, let me help you let go of your illusions and remember who you really are.Note: This is a one hour version of the What's Left When You Let Go episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Letting go is one of the most powerful techniques we have to experiencing a life of peace and happiness. But how do you do that, and why does it work? There are many ways to let go but the reason it works is that your underlying nature, your true self is inherently beautiful and joyful and loving. You’ve just forgotten. You’ve moved your attention to other things. You’ve done that for so long that you now think that the body and the brain and the thoughts and feelings and memories they produce are who you are. But that isn’t true. That isn’t who you are any more than your car or your bedroom is who you are. To escape this illusion, most of us need more than hearing someone tells us this truth. We have to put in the regular meditation practice to train our mind to stabilize on the truth of who we are. So today, rather than telling you, let me show you what I mean, let me help you let go of your illusions and remember who you really are.Note: This is a 30 minute version of the What's Left When You Let Go episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

No one likes to think about it but each of us has experienced the feelings of shame or humiliation or done something we deeply rgret. At one time or another, more frequently or less, everyone has had the fear that people will see you as a fraud, they will judge you as a failure, or that they will reject you because you are unreliable. That toxic cocktail of deep embarrassment combined with fear and regret and even self-loathing is not something anyone wants to taste.So, if you’d rather not go there right now, I understand. Most of the Serena meditations allow you to bypass these dark places. The method is such that, without repressing or suppressing these darker passages of our history, we can free ourselves from them without directly addressing them. But sometimes the unpleasant moments of our past (we could even call them ghosts) haunt us with such persistence that it is helpful to have a technique to just go right at it and let go of these feelings and memories directly. So that is what we are going to do today. I am going to guide you through the steps to let go of your “ghosts” of regret, shame or humiliation. As a side note, I should say that I will be using the words ghost and demons in this meditation. You should be aware that I use them as a device to focus your mind. If you prefer, you can call them habitual patterns of neurological activity that irresistibly manifest as unpleasant emotions and dysfunctional behavior. But those aren’t words we can work with very easily to effect a change in your life. They might please our intellect, but they do nothing for our emotional self. So, I’m going to stick with the ghost metaphor and (unless you’re someone that is really into ghosts), I ask that you just think of this term like a sort of brain hack or shortcut and play along with the metaphor. Note: this is a 30 minute version of the Letting Go of Shame & Regret meditation See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have you ever noticed that, even though meditation makes you feel better, you seem to be the same person with the same negative feelings and sometimes inappropriate reactions to situations? You meditate, you feel great, or at least settled, afterwards. Your mood improves. But then your baseline emotion springs back and your fears or disproportionate reactions shows their ugly head again.So, what to do? It’s time to learn to let it be. It is time to honor the space in which these feelings live. The secret is to allow whatever the negative feeling or reaction is to be the content of your awareness but to focus on the fact that it is the content and you are the one who is placing and keeping your attention on these feelings. You are NOT the feelings themselves and the feelings are NOT real. So, it is time to let go of trying to let go of them. It is time to learn to just allow them to be at the same time as you remember they aren’t real. But that isn’t as easy as it sounds. So, let’s practice that together now. Note this is a 1 hour version of the Let Go of Letting Go episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s time to learn to let your emotions just be. It is time to honor the space in which these feelings live. But how to do that? The secret is 1) to allow whatever the negative feeling or reaction is to be the content of your awareness but 2) to focus on the fact that it is the content and you are the one who is placing and keeping your attention on these feelings. You are NOT the feelings themselves and the feelings are NOT real. So, it is time to let go of trying to let go of them. It is time to learn to just allow them to be at the same time as you remember they aren’t real. But that isn’t as easy as it sounds. So, let’s practice that together now. Note this is a 45 minute version of the Let Go of Letting Go episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You probably have tried other meditations, and they might have worked for you. You feel great, or at least settled, afterwards. Your mood improves. But then your baseline emotion springs back and your fears or disproportionate reactions shows their ugly head again.So, what to do? It’s time to learn to let it be. It is time to honor the space in which these feelings live. The secret is to allow whatever the negative feeling or reaction is to be the content of your awareness but to focus on the fact that it is the content and you are the one who is placing and keeping your attention on these feelings. You are NOT the feelings themselves and the feelings are NOT real. So, it is time to let go of trying to let go of them. It is time to learn to just allow them to be at the same time as you remember they aren’t real. But that isn’t as easy as it sounds. So, let’s practice that together now. Note this is a 30 minute version of the Let Go of Letting Go episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Meditation has the ability to make you feel great. And it has all sorts of health benefits. But the question is whether it can really fundamentally change your inherent baseline emotional state; whether it can address the sorts of reactions that seem to unconsciously creep in to your day to day life. The secret to extending the benefits of meditation is to learn to let your feelings just be; to learn to honor the space in which these feelings live. You can learn to allow whatever the negative feeling or reaction is to be the content of your awareness. And instead of getting lost in that content, you can learn to shift your focus onto the fact that the content is just that, the content. And you are the one who is placing and keeping your attention on these feelings, on this content. You are NOT the feelings themselves and the feelings are NOT real. So, it is time to let go of trying to let go of them. It is time to learn to just allow them to be at the same time as you remember they aren’t real. But that isn’t as easy as it sounds. So, let’s practice that together now. NOTE: This is a 15 minute version of the Let Go of Letting Go episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Regardless of the particular negative feeling, we all experience them. Fortunately, there are many methods we can employ to let them go. But it does require facing them. Repressing them, resisting them or pretending they don’t exist will only strengthen them. So, we have to take a different tack. For you the negative feeling could be anger, sadness, loneliness, fear, anxiety, shame, or even boredom or apathy. Or something else. Whatever your negative feeling flavor is today, for this meditation, it is best if you have a specific feeling in mind, or memory of an experience that generates that feeling, to work with.We need to speak the language of our emotional selves if we are going to let go of negative feelings or heal an emotional wound. The way this part of our self works is that anytime our life veers on a course that even remotely resembles the facts or circumstances of a past moment where we had these feelings, these emotional ghosts become very animated and old patterns and habits reemerge. The fear that something bad is going to happen again creates a surge of energy that activates these long-buried demons. A surge so powerful that they can take you over, literally almost like a possession where your thoughts, feelings and actions start to become disconnected from the reality of your situation. You are just living your life and before you know it you are acting like a crazy person. You might have a big deal at work or a speech to give or a family member going through some troubles, but your levels of fear and anxiety are more in line with a situation where your own life is in immediate mortal danger.Most of the Serena meditations allow you to bypass these dark places. The method is such that, without repressing or suppressing these darker passages of our history, we can free ourselves from them without directly addressing them. The ghosts or echoes of long ago events hang around long after the actual incident. These memories will haunt you for many years, some would say many lifetimes. And sometimes the unpleasant moments of our past haunt us with such persistence that it is helpful to have a technique to just go right at it. So that is what we are going to do today. I am going to guide you through the steps to let go of your “ghosts” of negative feelings inside. As a side note, I should say that I will be using the words ghost and demons in this meditation. You should be aware that I use them as a device to focus your mind. If you prefer, you can call them habitual patterns of neurological activity that irresistibly manifest as unpleasant emotions and dysfunctional behavior. But those aren’t words we can work with very easily to effect a change in your life. They might please our intellect, but they do nothing for our emotional self. So, I’m going to stick with the ghost metaphor and (unless you’re someone that is really into ghosts), I ask that you just think of this term like a sort of brain hack or shortcut and play along with the metaphor. NOTE: This is a 15 minute version of the Letting in the Light guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each of us experiences negative feelings of one kind or another, and for most of us, these feelings are present far more often than we would like. (NOTE: It is best if you have a specific feeling in mind, or memory of an experience that generates that feeling, to work with). These feelings come an endless variety of flavors. For you it could be anger, sadness, loneliness, fear, anxiety, shame, or even boredom or apathy. Regardless of the particular negative feeling, we all experience them. Fortunately, there are many methods we can employ to let them go. But it does require facing them. Repressing them, resisting them or pretending they don’t exist will only strengthen them. So, we have to take a different tack.We need to speak the language of our emotional selves if we are going to let go of negative feelings or heal an emotional wound. The way this part of our self works is that anytime our life veers on a course that even remotely resembles the facts or circumstances of a past moment where we had these feelings, these emotional ghosts become very animated and old patterns and habits reemerge. The fear that something bad is going to happen again creates a surge of energy that activates these long-buried demons. A surge so powerful that they can take you over, literally almost like a possession where your thoughts, feelings and actions start to become disconnected from the reality of your situation. You are just living your life and before you know it you are acting like a crazy person. You might have a big deal at work or a speech to give or a family member going through some troubles, but your levels of fear and anxiety are more in line with a situation where your own life is in immediate mortal danger.Most of the Serena meditations allow you to bypass these dark places. The method is such that, without repressing or suppressing these darker passages of our history, we can free ourselves from them without directly addressing them. The ghosts or echoes of long ago events hang around long after the actual incident. These memories will haunt you for many years, some would say many lifetimes. And sometimes the unpleasant moments of our past haunt us with such persistence that it is helpful to have a technique to just go right at it. So that is what we are going to do today. I am going to guide you through the steps to let go of your “ghosts” of negative feelings inside. NOTE: This is a 30 minute version of the Letting in the Light guided meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Your heart is the place your emotional self expresses love. When you feel loved by someone, it glows and you can feel the love and the joy and the completeness coursing through your whole body. When you are feeling rejected or unloved, your whole body aches in response. Your heart is the seat of love in your body. And love is the closest we can come to experiencing heaven in this body of ours.There is an old saying that home is where the heart is. But like many old sayings, there are many layers to this phrase. It doesn’t just mean that we can be happy and safe and at rest (i.e. at home) where our loved ones are. Home can also be understood as our true nature our true self. In this sense, we can see why the heart has played the role of the bridge to the mystical or magical parts of the self; we can see why it has been seen as the door separating our lower, physical self from our higher, numinal self. Today we are going to bridge that divide.NOTE: This is a one hour version of the Grateful for My Heart Guided Meditation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.