Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

We must therefore broaden our inner horizons to the point where there are no walls for negative emotion to bounce off

We must therefore broaden our inner horizons to the point where there are no walls for negative emotion to bounce off of.

It is essential to develop and sustain this broadening of the inner horizons.

When you feel overwhelmed by emotions Imagine a stormy sea with breakers as big as houses. Each wave is more monstrous than the last. They are about to engulf your boat, your very life hangs on those few extra yards in the rushing wall of water. Then imagine observing the same scene from a high-flying plane.

When you feel overwhelmed by emotions Imagine a stormy sea with breakers as big as houses. Each wave is more monstrous than the last. They are about to engulf your boat, your very life hangs on those few extra yards in the rushing wall of water. Then imagine observing the same scene from a high-flying plane. From that perspective, the waves seem to form a delicate blue-and-white mosaic, barely trembling on the surface of the water. From that height in the silence of space, your eye sees these almost motionless patterns, and your mind immerses itself in clear and luminous sky.

The waves of anger or obsession seem real enough, but remind yourself that they are merely fabrications of your mind; that they will rise and also again disappear.

The waves of anger or obsession seem real enough, but remind yourself that they are merely fabrications of your mind; that they will rise and also again disappear. Why stay on the boat of mental anxiety? Make your mind as vast as the sky and you will find that the waves of afflictive emotions have lost all the strength you had attributed to them.

Systematically blaming others and holding them responsible for our suffering is the surest way to lead an unhappy life.

We should not underestimate the consequences of our acts, words, and thoughts.

“A single dog barking makes more noise than a hundred silent dogs.”

“One moment of anger can destroy years of patience.”

I came to see how destructive an emotion anger really is, reducing our clarity and inner peace and turning us into veritable puppets.

never underestimate the power of the mind, which is capable of reifying vast worlds of hatred, desire, elation, and sadness.

anyone can get angry. That’s easy. But to get angry “on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner and at the right moment and for the right length of time” — that’s not easy.

the immediate identification of an angry thought as it arises, and for its deconstruction the next instant, the way a picture drawn on the surface of water melts away as it is sketched.

Merely eliminating sadness and depression is no automatic guarantee of joy and happiness. The suppression of pain doesn’t necessarily lead to pleasure. It is therefore necessary not only to rid oneself of negative emotions but also to develop positive ones.

Consider hatred, jealousy, or obsession at the moment they form — there is no question that they make us deeply uncomfortable. Moreover, the actions and words they inspire are usually intended to hurt others.

Conversely, thoughts of kindness, affection, and tolerance give us joy and courage, open our minds, and free us inside. They also spur us on to benevolence and empathy.

Every incident of aggression and jealousy represents a setback in our quest for serenity and happiness.

The ideal, contrarily, is to allow negative emotions to form and dissipate without leaving any trace in the mind. Thoughts and emotions will continue to surface, but they will not proliferate and will lose their power to enslave