![]() When I say happiness, I’m not necessarily referring to this euphoric experience that’s like being in a Disney cartoon where we’re just skipping down the road and humming a melody, and the sun is out and it’s raining candy. In my practice, happiness is this experience of contentment, connectedness, and balance. Happiness is always there, but often I have to be reminded of that. A really dramatic experience of this can be seen on a plane flight as the plane takes off and ascends above the cloud level, breaking through to the intensity of sun radiating in the clear sky. Because the sky is overcast doesn’t mean the sun is not shining. In my practice, I often think about the metaphor of a cloudy day. Many contemplative traditions seek to lead us to this essential truth about ourselves. Happiness doesn’t exist outside of ourselves. Happiness is the natural state of our minds, as it holds space for all the material of our minds and our experiences, both the comfortable experiences as well as the uncomfortable ones, and everything in between. ![]() When we experience happiness, we are not taking it away from someone else. ![]() I often think about the times when I have been violent and how unhappy I have been in those times. I am committed to supporting people to be happy because it has been my experience that happy people create less violence. But what I am interested in is people living lives where they feel resourced enough to limit violence against themselves and others and to experience a sense of happiness. I always say that I am not interested in people being Buddhist or meditators or engaged in any spiritual path in general. In this excerpt of the book, Owens explores the interconnection of happiness and self-trust despite discomfort and suffering in our lives. He frames his approach within accessible Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice. In his new book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger, Lama Rod Owens shares his personal journey with rage.
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