‘The Ultimate Happiness prescription’ by the wonderful Deepak
Chopra is an insightful and inspiring read and one that I highly recommend. He talks about one of the leading theories of
happiness, what causes suffering and the seven keys to enlightenment and contentment.
H = S + C + V
Happiness = Set Point + Conditions of living + Voluntary
Activities
Researchers have found that 40% of happiness depends on your
‘Set Point’ which refers to your
genes and your upbringing (Nature and Nurture).
Children’s brains have neurons that mirror the brains of adults around
them, so if a child is surrounded by unhappy adults, the nervous system will be
programmed for unhappiness even before he has any cause for unhappiness
himself.
The good news is that neither your brain nor your genes are
fixed structures, they are constantly changing and evolving. Research has shown that the brains set point
can be changed through:
Ø
Drugs (not ideal as it’s a short term with
potential side effects)
Ø
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Ø
Meditation
Living conditions
only account for 7% to 12% of happiness.
Almost 50% of the happiness formula depends on Voluntary Activities which are the
things we choose to do every day.
According to researchers, making other people happy proves to be a fast
track to happiness and its effect is long lasting. Turning
to creative expression to make yourself happy can also generate positive
results that last a lifetime.
1.
Not knowing your true identity
2.
Clinging to the idea of permanence in a world
that is inherently impermanent
3.
Fear of change
4.
Identifying with the socially induced
hallucination called the ego
5.
Fear of death
Fortunately, it isn’t necessary to wrestle with five causes
of suffering. They are all contained in
the first: ignorance of your own
identity. Once you experience who you
really are, all suffering will come to an end.
He then talks about the 7 keys to enlightenment
1.
Be aware of your body
2.
Find true self esteem
3.
Detoxify your life
4.
Give up being right
5.
Focus on the present
6.
See the world in yourself
7.
Live for enlightenment
To me the key messages are that some of us are
lucky to come from a great nature and nurture set point but if you don’t, it
doesn’t mean you cannot change it.
Living conditions are only a small contributor to happiness and what
really matters is how you choose to live your life, turning to your creative
expression and how important it is to not get mindlessly wrapped up in the
delusion of the ego!
Sounds like a must read! The point about EGO is important, and often very difficult to notice. Letting ego dictate actions can make oneself very miserable indeed.
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