Ep 21. In this episode we summarize the main aspects of starting to understand our mind and providing with a healthy nutrition to our mind. The mind, very subtle, quite less understood and too much dependent upon, we are almost slaves to our mind's wants and wishes. A prelim understanding of our minds is invaluable in the long process of establishing oneself in the seat of happiness. This is the final episode of the season & a must-listen one!
Ep 20. In this episode we talk about broadly classifying our emotions into spontaneous & trained emotions & discuss how spontaneous emotions lead to much trouble & unhappiness. We share lessons from a 2010 HH Dalai Lama's retreat where he explains our internal biases & our natural responses to spontaneous emotions & how an intellectual intelligent study of the Self could lead to a well trained response.
Ep 19. In this episode we talk about building an understanding of change & the changing nature of our lives. Understanding change & accepting change as the only Truth of life could be a huge relief and prevent us from resisting changes. Rather, a good understanding of the constantly changing nature of our existence would help us to build reverence & respect and mitigate, if not completely eliminate, stress from our lives.
Ep 18. In this episode we talk of 2 very simple yet very effective practices of self analysis, mental introspection and quieting the mind. These can be done anywhere anytime. However, depending on the earnestness we have & the purity of our intentions, it may start showing great results from early as 3 months.
Ep 17. The Buddhist texts as well as the ancient Indian philosophers have explained the nature of existential problems & the pain & suffering that comes with it. A large part of the pain & suffering that we encounter can be managed & mitigated with a proper understanding of the nature of our existence, our dependency on each other & the right perspective of pain & suffering. We also wish to extend our prayers to those affected directly & indirectly by the sufferings caused to people due to the ongoing Ukrainian war & hope that peace descends quickly upon us.
Ep 16. Continuing to getting a better understanding of our speech, what drives it & how does our speech comes to life, gives us an opportunity to change it. In this episode, we discuss the ways & means to control not only what we say but also to get a good understanding of why we say what we say. The dialogue provides a direct insight into my Guru's own teachings & how meaningful this difficult but important step has been to my personal transformation.
Ep 15. Getting a better understanding of our sensory organs like eyes, nose, ears, tongue & skin is essential to getting to know what triggers your mind. While you cannot control ears, nose or skin from working & responding all the time, you can control, or at least be mindful of what you see & what you talk. In this episode we have the dialog on speech & talking & how being mindful of our tongue, words & speech eventually leads to a better, more careful control of the mind.
Ep 14. Finding the time to know yourself, what drives you, is an essential step to embracing happiness. Happiness is not an object that can be acquired & assimilated - it is your presence. So knowing how your "presence" works & manifests in daily life is a positive step towards focusing on things that do matter & eliminating things that distract yourself from the true nature of your life.
Ep 13. Having the right perspective towards daily work work helps us to be more productive, efficient & achieve an overall sense of happiness. Drawing from the analysis of Viktor Frankl & customizing that towards our day to day life. Having the right point of view of work done at home, office or community could bring in a huge sense of purpose & achievement that is not restricted selfishly to oneself but adds value to a larger community of our friends & families.
Ep 12. discussing the age old question & practice of meditation in the efforts to win happiness. Detailed discussion & experiences in the philosophy of meditation. Also picking up from the question from Ep 11 as to our concept of Happiness & why it cannot be won with mere actions or inactions. In this episode we also talk on the Purpose of Meditation & the Role of Yoga in our efforts to becoming Happy!
Ep 11. Answering a persisting question on the fleeting nature of our happiness. Why does our happiness seem unsustainable? Discussing this perception of the fleeting nature of happiness & why our actions, either thought actions or physical actions does not lead to sustainable happiness. This podcast takes relevance from Manly Hall's lecture "Realising the Good Within" as well as from the Eastern philosophies.
Ep 10. A very relevant story of a man who challenged one of my teachers, a monk, who has lived a life of discipline & renunciation. This story left a big mark on the way I used to think of actions and analyzed how my daily life led to my happiness or sorrow. This story would be very relevant to anyone who is in a professional world & working through jobs, family, communities etc & yet trying to find happiness. Could be an eye opener for many of us, helping us to put our own actions & thoughts in perspective.
Ep 9. In this episode we discuss the various philosophies of existential problems and pain along with the facts of the reality of pain. Pain is real, and is often the most obvious cause of unhappiness. Having the right perspective of pain hence becomes important for us to deal with it and make subtle changes to ourselves to pave the way for happiness.
Ep 8. In this episode we develop the understanding of what propels us to act or react in the way we do. This simplifies our understanding of how to evaluate our actions into meaningful propensities & lay the foundation for future corrective actions.
Ep 7. In this episode we discuss the concepts of the Mind & share a simplified view of the Mind to help us understand it's role in our Happiness. The discussion combines the Eastern & the Western Philosophies of the Nature of the Mind & how a simplified view combining the best of both these philosophies helps us how & what to do in self-introspections.
Ep 6. In this episode we deviate into understanding nothingness & everything, zero & infinity and scratch the surface of the Eastern philosophies of Hinduism & Buddhism to see their relevance & perspective into the phenomenon of happiness & bliss. This series is about practical ways to be happy, calm & peaceful in life. Apart from philosophy of happiness & bliss, we all need a personalized approach to our happiness. it is about the journey from being always anxious & terrified to being always blissful!
Ep 5. In this episode we look deeper into the analysis of our self-introspection exercise & identify actions that relate to the world we create including I, Me & Mine versus the world that we create that includes You, He/She, Them & Their's. We also talk about the implications of our perspective of this dualistic view & how if affects our happiness. This series is about practical ways to be happy, calm & peaceful in life. Apart from philosophy of happiness & bliss, we all need a personalized approach to our happiness. it is about the journey from being always anxious & terrified to being always blissful!
Ep 4. In this episode we discuss a critical part of self introspection - understanding the part that our actions, actions of people around us & the actors who play those actions, influence our level of happiness. I share a personal story of my daughter that made me stop & look at actions & actors critically. This series is about practical ways to be happy, calm & peaceful in life. Apart from philosophy of happiness & bliss, we all need a personalized approach to our happiness. it is about the journey from being always anxious & terrified to being always blissful!
Ep 3. In this episode we discuss starting the process of self introspection. How can we analyze our actions and how we deliver our actions that finally lead to either a stressful situation or a happy one. Actions are vital in life, so is building the right perspective to actions. This series is about practical ways to be happy, calm & peaceful in life. Apart from philosophy of happiness & bliss, we all need a personalized approach to our happiness. it is about the journey from being always anxious & terrified to being always blissful!
Ep 2. Laying the foundation for further conversation. Touching upon interesting points like the fine line between materialistic & spiritual perspective, the initial challenges to know what to look for and how to reflect on oneself kindly. This episode paves the way for the next wave of conversations & examples of roadblocks & how to understand the path to happiness better. Why should you listen to another "Happiness" Podcast? I'm competing with 1 billion crazy people almost desperate to cause troubles, 2 billion spouses, 3 billion authors from toddlers to suited-booted marketers who write prolific bestsellers on happiness & yet are extremely unhappy by themselves & numerous other sources of unhappiness - from boss to your burger :)