Happiness Again

If you are happy with what you have and your life then I guess you are less likely to judge and more likely to accept.

 

That's exactly right, but would you believe there are plenty of unhappy, negative people in this world.

 

The highest form of human intelligence is to observe yourself without judgement. Only then can you stop judging others and finally be happy.

What you judge in others is what you don't like in yourself.

 

I know I am jumping in late on this one. Somehow missed it when it was posted. I recently started a meditation class and it wasn't at all what I expected. I thought it was just sitting around and trying to have an empty mind. It's not. I usually have a lot going on in my head all at the same time and most of the time that is fine. But sometimes I would like to have a "quiet mind". For this, the meditation classes were really good. We started off with some simple guided meditations where the instructor walked us through some meditation exercises. These were basically body awareness and then controlled breathing. I found it very relaxing.
Anyway, it is helpful to think of meditation as a skill that is to be learned and mastered. Think about if you couldn't swim but you wanted to learn how to swim. There are certain skills and techniques you need to learn and master before you can “swim”. But even after you learn these you will need to practice regularly to become an accomplished swimmer.
Meditation can be thought of like that: skills and techniques to learn but then you will need to practice to become an accomplished “meditator”. I have heard that it takes a while. That said, I noticed benefits quite soon after starting. I think it is a worthwhile pursuit. It does take a little bit of time out of your day but I consider this to be a worthwhile investment.

@Blacky might be interested in this too.

 

Yeah. I would be interested in something like that. I agree meditation is a learned skill.

Ive had some basic instruction and can usually listen to my heart rate. I can even control my heart rate to an extent and consiously slow it - this is a freediving skill, but also a meditation technique.

I would like to do a course sometime.

Perthguy - Did you do it in Perth?

Blacky

 

Yes, it was in Perth but it was organised through my employer so I don't know anything about general public classes they run. I have been looking for a local class that I can go to every week to keep practicing. I found out there is one a couple of blocks from where I'm living that I would like to try out.

WA Classes