COURSE

Traveling The Path To Happiness

Led by Sharon Salzberg, this 10-day course brings a lifetime of experience, profound knowledge and approachable practice to guide you on the path to lasting happiness. This course begins with a contemplation on the source of happiness and explores a variety of practices including: concentration, lovingkindness and self-compassion designed to help you cultivate a life of greater ease and joy. Throughout this course, Sharon offers deep personal insights and teaches how to develop the skills to redefine the meaning of happiness and redeem your sense of the word. Whether you're just beginning or a seasoned practitioner, Sharon's lessons bring new guidance to elements of happiness, including pleasure, generosity and ethics, bringing us one step closer to a truly happy life. Credit to © 2017 Tawni Bannister for the course cover image.

Happiness Health & Happiness Mindfulness Secular Buddhism Mindfulness Meditation Secular Mindfulness

Meet your Teacher

Sharon Salzberg

New York, NY, USA

Sharon Salzberg is a pioneer in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She has played a pivotal role bringing meditation and mindfulness into mainstream American culture since 1974. Sharon is co-founder of the first western meditation center in the United States - The Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, MA. She has authored 10 books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, her seminal work, Lovingkindness and her 2017 release, Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection. Acclaimed for her down-to-earth and relatable teaching style, Sharon offers a secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings, making them instantly accessible. Sharon writes regularly for On Being, Huffington Post, and Medium and hosts her own podcast, The Metta Hour, with 90+ episodes featuring the top leaders and voices in the meditation and mindfulness movement.

10 Days

30.2k students

4.8 stars

11 min / day

Happiness

English

Lesson 1

Redefining Happiness

In the first lesson, Sharon lays the groundwork for the course. She shares examples and methods to challenge old, more limited ideas of what happiness might be in order to grow confident about a sense of happiness not reliant on only nice things happening. In this contemplation on sources of happiness, Sharon offers a new way of being to genuinely become a great deal happier.

Lesson 2

Happiness & Concentration

Focusing on the most fundamental exercises in meditation, Sharon leads the lesson through examples and breath techniques designed to deepen the force of concentration.

Lesson 3

Happiness & Aspiration

In this lesson, Sharon shares her personal story of discovering aspiration and a personal motto. In order to find that sense of aspiration we take risks, we dare to imagine a bigger life, something that is freer. This lesson leads us closer to finding something that is more encompassing of a bigger picture of our lives.

Lesson 4

Happiness & Self-Compassion

It is all too common to get caught in spirals of judgement. This lesson on self-compassion teaches ways to view our faults and frailties as human qualities worth of compassion. Sharon teaches the virtuous goal of softening the inner monologue. This lesson includes a meditation to gently let go, and begin again.

Lesson 5

The Beginner’s Mind

Sharon often explains that meditation is “simple but not easy.” This lesson shares how meditation invites us to see the enormous power in beginning again, while no amount of external circumstances can prevent us from inner peace and happiness.

Lesson 6

Happiness & Allowing Joy

In this lesson, Sharon addresses the conscious effort to include the positive in our thought patterns. This practical meditation invites positive emotions - happiness, joy, comfort, contentment, gratitude - into daily practice.

Lesson 7

Happiness & Generosity

Today’s lesson finds Sharon teaching the cultivation of generosity, and learning how giving is an essential ingredient for happiness. Through a mindfulness practice, we explore many questions. What does it feel like in the act of giving? Do you feel regret? Or perhaps you feel powerful connection? These topics and more are explored.

Lesson 8

Happiness & Ethics

Through familiar storytelling and demystifying the practice of love for oneself, an other and the world around us, this lesson brings consciousness to our meditation practice. Sharon highlights an enlivening, opening, and at times surprising outcome.

Lesson 9

Happiness & Connection

In today’s world of disconnection and virtual communities, real connection may be difficult. Sharon believes connection is a capacity within that reinforces our sense of safety and, better still, is simple and abundant. This practical lesson helps train our mind to recognize the life that is rising up all around us. The gift you can give yourself is to pause in that moment and appreciate it.

Lesson 10

Lovingkindness Meditation

The final lesson is one of hands on “metta” or lovingkindness, an inclusive, connected and caring practice. The power of this practice is in gathering all of our attention to be completely present behind each phrase, and when our attention wanders, to let go and begin again. Sharon notes, the happiness we’ve been working on throughout the course reveals itself in our lives, not necessarily in the formal period of practice.

4.8 (3025)

Recent Reviews

meri-sue

February 7, 2026

This was a helpful introduction to learning about happiness through meditation. I’ve often used meditation to feel calmer, grounded but am now able to bring it together with loving myself a bit more which helps to find goodness in others. Thank you.

Jay

January 13, 2026

Sharon is genius putting words to help me understand the energy of the heart

Lenni

January 3, 2026

I absolutely loved this course! Thank you Sharon ♥️

Gloria

November 7, 2025

Thank you, Sharon! That was wonderful. I now wanna start day one and begin again.

Betsy

October 16, 2025

Thank you

Liz

September 15, 2025

This was so helpful in deepening my practice of meditation and my overall happiness. Each story felt like it was just for me, touching on an aspect of my own practice that I have been struggling with recently. I am so very grateful for this course and the wisdom within it. Thank you!

Susan

September 14, 2025

I would love more courses by Sharon please

Lynn

September 13, 2025

This is a phenomenal tutorial and Susan Salzberg is a gifted, clear, exceptional teacher.

Kevin

September 9, 2025

Sharon is amazing

Margaret

June 1, 2025

Sharon is a gentle kind and thorough master teacher. Anyone can learn something. Everyone can add more happiness in to their daily lives with simple effective strategies taught in this course.

SjeSje

May 31, 2025

I have a lot of work to do on myself. This meditation reminds us to be patient and kind to ourselves. I am a bit slow and need some time to absorb new information. I will come back to this meditation.

Tety

May 1, 2025

Amazing! Such deep insights which touched my heart. Thank you so much!🙏🏻

Kim

April 18, 2025

So simple and yet profound and challenging. Beautifully recorded as well

Linda

April 3, 2025

Excellent, calming simple but true.

Linda

March 23, 2025

I really enjoyed this course. Her voice is very calming and I love that she ended with a lovingkindness meditation.

Griselda

March 18, 2025

I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in simplifying the concepts. Hearing you teach joy and loving kindness in such empowering language gives me tools to use them as conduits for developing intentions in my mindfulness practices. Thank you so much for the gift.

Mary

February 10, 2025

Wonderful teacher- thoroughly enjoyed this series!

Matt

January 14, 2025

Thank you. A beautiful way to start my morning for 10 days.

Andre

January 9, 2025

This is a course will be coming back to. I have witnessed myself becoming happier and lighter during the course. I’m very grateful she has shared this.

Greg

January 2, 2025

This course was so empowering. The Dharma shared was so insightful. Happiness is right here…right now. You are such a kind and wise teacher. Thank you!

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