Happy

The subject of happy was the theme of the Mindfulness In Healing Sangha on June 22, 2022. It was inspired by this quote: I am happy even before I have a reason. – Hafiz Thich Nhat Hanh says, “We have everything we need to be happy right now!” What do you need to be happy […]

Gratitude Prompts

In all of my teachings and learnings, one of the most important in my current life has been the practice of gratitude. Every night for so many years I have been recognizing at least three things I am grateful for each day. More often than not, there are many more than three things. For example, […]

Gratitude as a Path to Happiness

In April, 2017 Mrs. Kudo gave a talk at the San Francisco Konko Church about gratitude as a path to happiness and cancer recovery. She had been diagnosed with cancer in 2008. Here treatment was very severe and she lost her hair. With each hair that came out of her head she offered gratitude. She […]

The Importance of Gratitude

If you have been following this blog for very long, you know that one of the main teachings here is the importance of gratitude. You may recall that as my children were growing up, my wife used to say to them when they wanted something they couldn’t or shouldn’t have, “To desire what you don’t […]

Lesson On Gratitude from Louise Hay

This lesson on gratitude from Louise Hay is right in line with my practice and my teachings. This excerpt came in my email today. Enjoy! I have noticed that the Universe loves gratitude. The more grateful you are, the more goodies you get. When I say “goodies,” I don’t mean only material things. I mean […]

Practice Kindness

One of the many things that you can do for your happiness and the happiness of others is to practice kindness. Kindness has the capacity to spread like wildfire. If you are kind to the grocery clerk who checked you out, he or she will be kind to the rest of the people she serves […]

Gratitude Teachings by The Buddha

In the Netflix series on Buddha, there was an interesting conversation with a householder couple that presented the gratitude teachings of the Buddha. I have reproduced the English translations here, along with a snap shot of the couple. Buddha: It is important to have harmony in a married life. If the husband and wife share […]

Gratitude and Desire

In my new book, Mindfulness Breaks: The path to inner peace and happiness (under construction,) I have a whole chapter on gratitude and offer a Gratitude Mindfulness Break. Gratitude is an important practice if we want to get beyond being self-centered and progress in spiritual development. This is something I have learned from personal experience. […]

Self-Forgiveness

Self-forgiveness, like self-compassion can often be very difficult. If we remember what Jack Kornfield said, “Forgiveness is giving up all hope of a better past,” we can begin to forgive ourselves and other people in our lives. In my way of thinking, forgiveness, like gratitude and loving kindness, are clear paths to inner peace and […]

Happiness is the Normal State

One of the most memorable teachings of Father Eli is that, “Happiness is the normal state of a healthy, well-adjusted individual.” Another one of his interesting ideas about happiness is that “Happiness is a state of mind in which our thinking is pleasant a good share of the time.” He says that happiness is not […]