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May 2008: Happiness And Its Causes - 2008 |
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Earlier this month, on 8-9 May,
the 3rd “Happiness and Its Causes” Conference was held in Many of you will know I’m a fan of this conference, and have attended every year since the inaugural conference in 2006. Each year it gets better and better. The next conference is on 14-15 May: http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/index.stm We heard from over 50 international and local speakers from diverse and
distinguished areas: academic, professor, monk, psychologist, psychiatrist,
researcher, health expert, medical reporter, scientist, Harvard lecturer,
CEO, financial analyst, neurosurgeon, child psychologist, school principal,
newspaper editor, relationship expert, choir director, artist, philosopher,
economist. I asked a number of my friends and colleagues to
share their opinions with me, these are woven into
the summary, or quoted in parts. (Gratitude and thanks to you all). We all
left the conference “invigorated and
optimistic”. After attending the conference and pre- and
post-conference workshops, I returned to Here are our reflections: The excellent presentations, from East, West and Science, were
informative, enlightening and inspiring. The mix of science, philosophy,
personal anecdotes and humour created an energising and enjoyable two days.
2,000 Australians left the conference knowing what we each can do to improve
the wellbeing of our country. This conference crowd is quite unique: people of all walks of life, all backgrounds, all
interested in learning how to increase the wellbeing of our people and our
society. The participants and
organisers were compassionate, curious and friendly, which added to the
enjoyment of the experience. Learning to be mindful: monks, scientists, academics, professors
and university lecturers all reinforced the importance of being still,
mindful and paying attention. Many did
it by role modelling: just by doing that themselves – their calming effect on
the whole audience was inspiring. They reminded us to build moments into each
day to rest, recovery and regenerate.
Our way of being gives us the resources to deal with life’s ups and
downs. Mindfulness and attention are the key to
mental balance. The future of our country: Steve Biddulph
entertained us all, revealed his inner child, and reminded us of the
importance of nurturing our young. Tal Ben-Shahar’s
story of the incredible woman who inspired him, Marva
Collins, reminded us of relentless optimism and tenacity in bringing the best
out in children. A rough, splintered and uneven piece of wood: a wonderful analogy about how we are like
that piece of wood. People who push
our buttons, who are coarse, uncomfortable and prickly, are the ‘sandpaper in
our lives’. They feel rough, but they ‘help to create a better me’, they help
provide us with opportunities to smooth those splinters, and thus we are more
able to deal with life's challenges. Simple messages: “To me it comes down to some
simple messages: work out what's meaningful in your life and engage and be
joyful about it; give generously to others - connect deeply; stop the noise
and simply be here right now. Love your life and be grateful!” - “My take
home message was the recipe for a happy life which is to include the
following daily- meditation practice (mind training), positive thinking, two
pieces of dark chocolate, red wine and …[removed in case you have a strict
firewall]”! There was extensive science and research that helped
demonstrate the tangible differences that some really simple tasks can
create. The Buddhist and the Scientist: a highlight was hearing from Matthieu Ricard (the world’s
happiest man) and then hearing from Richard Davidson, the neuroscientist who
is famous for his research involving measuring Matthieu’s
brain as he meditated in an fMRI machine. He found evidence that happy centres in the
brain light up during meditation.
Richard Davidson told us “I am committed to putting compassion on the
scientific map”. Mind, body, emotion,
brain: “I am even more aware of the inextricable
link between the mind, brain, my reactions to the events around me, and my
health (not to mention, my sanity). The research and evidence on neurogenesis
and neuroplasticity gives rise to a sense of
urgency to applying my mindfulness practice on a daily basis. The cumulative
effect of such practice has enormous benefits.” Negative emotions: we have them, we work with them.
It’s not about avoiding them.
“Do not allow them to persist beyond when they’re useful”
(Neuroscientist, Richard Davidson). Our mental training allows us to
cultivate antidotes to negative emotions and helps us to recover more quickly
from negativity. We learn to transcend
our negative emotions, we do not allow them to
define us. “It takes no more emotional energy to be kind than to be rude” (Dr
Stephen Post). Don’t be the slave of
your own mind; happy people are not slaves of their minds. It’s for everyone: we all found that this
conference helps us with ourselves, our families, children, friends,
communities. It helps us to think
about the grander policy issues, and how society could benefit. At work, we have new information to help
build better workplaces. “I was thinking about what it meant for me but also
what it means for my workplace.” This
conference inspires and gives us hope that we could institute some real
changes for creating real, sustainable well-being for the country – now and
into the future. “It’s not what you
do, it’s the heart you bring into it” (Dr Stephen Post) “Being mindful of
each other is the way to enhance and nurture social connections, and to bring
the best out in each other” (Conference participant) -------------------- This article… …aims to provide you and your teams with information for your
professional and personal development.
Topics are based on areas of interest raised by clients and
colleagues, with material drawn from journals, books, articles and shared
experiences. Add / Remove: Please send an email to:
info[at]amandahorne[dot]com[dot]au Back copies of previous
articles: www.amandahorne.com.au/html/resources.html © |
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