In my restorative class on Gambier Island this past weekend, here are some of the thoughts I shared:
“I believe the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our sense of well-being. Cultivating a close warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.” Dalai Lama
“As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery . . . we have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness.” Dalai Lama
Loving Kindness (adapted from BuddhaNet.net) as a meditation practice, brings about positive change while developing the quality of loving acceptance. The four qualities of love are:
- Friendliness – warmth that reaches out and embraces others.
- Compassion – as loving kindness practice matures it becomes compassion, as one empathizes with other peoples difficulties.
- Appreciative Joy – the positive experience of empathy is an appreciation of other people’s good qualities or good fortune, or appreciative joy, rather than feels of jealousy towards them.
- Equanimity – remaining caring towards everyone with an equal spread of loving feelings and acceptance in all situations and relationships.
May you be free of animosity, oppression, trouble and may you look after yourself with ease.
Namaste,
Barbara