Happy Mind: Meditations from the Ancient World to Modernity

Driving appears to be the very place where the world conspires against us. We discover that people can become unusually inconsiderate when they feel they are anonymous and are in a rush. Yet we can choose to convert this time from one of frustration and stress into part of our systematic program for retaking control of our life. We are going to use this time and this experience of driving your car to advance on your path of retraining your brain. The great masters have consistently told us that there is an end to suffering and that the world is designed to maximize our individual wellbeing (see the quotes, below). It doesn't look that way because we don’t always recognize what is in our long term best interests. We mistake a push in the right direction as a frustration of our near sighted and self-defined goals. So, in a way, we can use this meditation to deepen our understanding of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths. As a reminder, the First Noble Truth states that suffering (or unsatisfactoriness) is a defining characteristic of this existence of ours. The Second Noble Truth is that the cause of suffering is attachment or craving or resistance to what is happening to us in the world (like a traffic jam). The Third Noble truth is that suffering can end. There is a method that allows a human being to escape the resisting, the holding and the wanting. The Fourth Noble Truth is this method, and it includes following the Noble Eightfold Path, restraining one's self, cultivating discipline, and practicing mindfulness and meditation. Listening to guided meditations like this one is part of that method. Or in the words of the Bhagavad Gita: "Through devotion to [Krishna and the practice of tranquility of self] ... one reaches through my grace an imperishable, unchanging home... Take me alone as your place of rest, and do not grieve, because I will free you from all evils." In the words of the Gospel of Luke: "Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”" And finally, in the words of St. Paul, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness." If you enjoy these practical guided meditations, you may like to listen to the Serena Podcast (https://goo.gl/Dxu4eo) which provides the theory behind these practices and where we are headed by doing them. And obviously, if you are driving the most important thing is your safety so please give your primary attention to the road and the cars around you.