Whether it is through a new drink, a new shirt, or a new car—what all those ads you see while scrolling through Facebook or browsing through your favorite magazines are selling to you is nothing more but some mythical feeling of happiness. As we discover how hard times can enhance the development of mindfulness, compassion and forgiveness, we can develop a fearless outlook on life and lasting, unshakeable happiness.

It is very personal. Thubten portrays his own, personal way from an apparent bohème enfant terrible to becoming a monk in Tibetan Buddhism in Scotland. He is very humble, his quiet and well-meaning way of speaking is palpable throughout the book. A myth we have believed throughout our lives is that we have to “get” happiness, and if we can just get the external details of our lives right, we will be happy. This is not happiness, it is a form of enslavement. It is this latter part of the brain that meditation targets and attempts to develop: the observing part:If deep down, the mind is more than just its thoughts and emotions, this signifies freedom, which is complete happiness. As we gain familiarity with that, we might begin to discover that the mind is essentially good—underneath all of our problems we are okay. That is the meaning of Buddha. Buddha means basic innate goodness, the purity within us. Our deep potential for happiness and freedom also exists at a physical level. It is no longer seen as a mystical belief, but is being discussed within neuroscience; it is now regarded as neurological fact. The work of late neuroscientist Candace Pert was particularly interesting in this field. Pert was the pioneer who discovered opioid receptors and endorphins (the body’s natural chemicals used to free us from pain), which led her to famously state: “We are hardwired for bliss.” Our natural state is to feel good—we are built for happiness. A Monk’s Guide To Happiness is exactly what it says on the tin. Within is a guide that is pragmatic and realistic in nature that offers beneficial and satisfying advice about both meditation and mindfulness (not the same thing) that can be brought into our lives in many different ways. Thubten has 25 years experience with meditation, using it as an advantage to see the world and its many interactions in new and interesting ways. Bringing together all of his knowledge and behaviour over the years as a monk, a speaker, a teacher and at the same time openly recognising his past choices and mistakes. Much more, it is freedom—freedom from the fear of missing out, freedom from the burden of the past and the future, freedom from your wants and desires. You Are Hard-Wired to Be Happy: Use This to Be Happy As Often As Possible

We live in times where there’s a lot of emphasis on feeling good. We look for some kind of “hit,” like a sugar rush, and so we lurch from one “buzz” to the next, concerned with having our senses stimulated and satisfied, sometimes all of them at once. The reason is called hedonic adaptation, which, in layman’s terms, means that your brain takes the good things that happen to you for granted, and the bad states as aberrations. In other words, it only notices when something is bad. Let’s say you’re looking to get a promotion at work, for example. You don’t have it yet, but you somehow think that getting it will make you happy. This gives you a feeling of incompleteness.However, it is important to note that we don’t experience any of these thoughts or emotions 100 percent of the time; there is an everchanging flow, in fact many thousands of changes per day. From the point of view of meditation, this is encouraging, as we can learn methods which help us consciously direct this flow. Our thoughts and emotions are really just habits, and so we can build new, positive ones and become less habituated to those that are negative. In other words, when everything’s fine, you feel nothing. When something is wrong—you feel bad. And you can’t help it: your brain will always adjust to the perfect state of things and notice only the bad things. Thubten is able to explain meditation using clear language and an approach which really speaks to our modern tech-infused lives. With openness, humility and humour he delivers a deep message that will resonate in our modern culture.' Thubten manages to explain his points perfectly with a combination of nature, technology, psychology and science which surprised me for a monk. Thubten’s incorporation of neurological and psychological issues made me respect him so much more. It made the weight of his words feel more considered, unbiased and genuine. Words are nice but action provides better results and Thubten sees happiness not as something to be bought or searched for externally but to be found within our minds. Allowing us the chance to change our perspective on what happiness truly is. Training our minds like a muscle to be more resilient to negative and unhelpful thoughts and learning to keep the mind from wandering resulting in lost focus and harmful distraction. To help us be more present and less influenced by the past, the future and the unknown. Allowing us to maintain a more substantial state of happiness and stopping unnecessary surges of adrenaline and cortisol from ruining our life experiences. I loved Thubten’s view on waiting for example. How waiting for something doesn’t have to be a stress inducing inconvenience but instead a moment to pause, time to just be until it is time to re-engage with your day and hurry off.