Most of us only want to be happy and free from our pain. But how comfortable are we with the sensation of happiness? It can be challenging to be present with this emotion, especially in the face of so much global suffering. Being able to connect with joy can help both ourselves and the people around us.
In this guided meditation with Sean Fargo, we’re invited to cultivate feelings of happiness by bringing to mind a past joyful experience. By working with memory, we invite happiness into the present moment. In this way, happiness can be available here and now.
Listen in a safe, quiet place where you can be relatively free from distraction. Find a posture that balances comfort with alertness, whether standing, seated, or lying down. May this meditation be of benefit to you in your practice.
Sponsored by the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification MindfulnessExercises.com/Certification
When working with happiness in meditation, we do so not as a means of bypassing or avoiding negative feelings, but to spend time familiarizing ourselves with positive emotion. After all, when we turn toward the emotion of happiness in an effort to get to know it better, we might at first notice some resistance or discomfort.
With practice, we may find it easier to access positive feelings in a wider range of circumstances.
When working with happiness, note there are two types of happiness. External happiness arises from getting what we want, from satisfying our craving or aversion. Internal happiness is more akin to contentment and not at all dependent on external circumstances.
While the first type of happiness (relief) is impermanent, the second type of happiness (contentment) is often described as lasting and available, even if temporarily obscured from our view.
Explore happiness further with the following free mindfulness resources:
- Blog: Is it Selfish to Want Happiness?
- Guided Meditation: Drink Your Joy by Gil Fronsdal
- Audio: Practice as a Path of Happiness with James Baraz
- Audio: Heart Practices for Awakening Joy with James Baraz
- Audio: Hardwiring Happiness by Rick Hanson
- Audio: Ripples of Happiness with Matthew Brensilver
- Meditation Script: Cultivating Joy
- Meditation Script: Noticing What Brings You Joy
- Meditation Script: Growing Happiness in the Mind Script
- Worksheet: Cultivating Joy
About Sean Fargo:
Sean Fargo is a former Buddhist monk who founded Mindfulness Exercises and leads the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification.
