Hi,
I'm Ray Good from The Good Place.
It's really great to be here with you and for you today.
Now we all wanna be happy,
But real happiness is an inside job.
If you wanna change the world,
It all starts with you.
So today I'm gonna guide you for a practice that will not only boost your happiness,
But can also impact the happiness of those around you.
A practice grounded in neuroscience.
Now if you ask Google who is the world's happiest man,
The name Mathieu Ricard comes up.
Now Mathieu is an ex-biochemist,
A long-term meditator and a Buddhist monk.
And he's undergone many hours of MRI scans during which scientists found his levels of happiness were off the scale.
So what's the secret to Ricard's happiness?
It's a meditation practice called Metta,
Or as I like to call it,
Kindfulness.
In this meditation we offer kindness,
Compassion,
Happiness,
And one more thing,
Friendliness to ourselves and others,
Which increases our feelings of wellbeing and happiness.
We feel more connected and closer to others,
Even strangers.
And in countless studies this practice has been linked to greater life satisfaction,
Stronger relationships,
And better mental and physical health.
In fact brain scans show the areas of the brain associated with positive emotions get thicker and stronger the more we practice.
Plus we get a hit of dopamine,
Serotonin,
Oxytocin,
And endorphins.
The brains feel good chemicals.
And if that wasn't enough,
Research from Harvard shows it can actually slow down the aging process right down to the DNA in our cells.
So let's give it a go.
Get comfortable,
You can lay down,
Or if you're sitting on a chair or cushion,
Make sure your spine is nice and straight and the chin slightly tucked in.
And gently closing the eyes if that feels comfortable,
Or just lowering your gaze gently in front of you in a loose and unfocused way.
Now let's take three nice deep breaths,
Breathing in through the nose,
Filling the lungs,
And slowly breathing out through the mouth as if you were breathing in through your nose.
And then slowly breathing out through your mouth as if you were blowing up a balloon.
So breathe in.
And slowly out.
Breathe in.
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
That's great,
One more time,
Breathe in.
And out.
And then just allowing the breath just to return to its natural rhythm.
And then bring your attention into the body,
Being aware of the feeling of where the body makes contact with the floor,
Chair or cushion.
The hands resting in the lap or on the legs.
And then let's take three nice deep breaths.
The hands resting in the lap or on the legs.
The feet touching the floor.
We begin by offering kindfulness to ourselves.
I want you to silently say to yourself,
May I be happy,
Healthy,
Free from suffering and safe.
Again,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be free from suffering and may I be safe.
Now you try it,
Repeating the phrase again and again,
Wishing this for yourself.
Allow the words to generate a feeling of friendliness and compassion to yourself.
Let's try it again.
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be free from suffering and may I be safe.
Now you.
If your mind wanders off,
That's okay.
We just bring it back and refocus on the words.
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I be free from suffering and may I be safe.
Okay,
Great.
Let's take it up a level.
Now I want you to bring to mind a loved one,
Someone that you care about,
Someone that inspires you or just makes you smile.
Got someone in mind?
Now I want you to offer them some kindfulness.
I want you to say in your mind,
May you be happy,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be free from suffering and may you be safe.
Repeating the phrase again and again.
Next,
Bring to mind someone you know who's having a tough time right now.
They've experienced a loss,
Painful feelings or a difficult situation.
When someone comes to mind,
Bring them here and offer them kindness.
When someone comes to mind,
Bring them here and offer them kindness.
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be free from suffering and may you be safe.
Now bring to mind a neutral person,
Someone you don't have any positive or negative feelings towards.
Maybe someone you walk past daily or buy your coffee from.
Offer them some kindfulness.
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be healthy,
May you be free from suffering and may you be safe.
Next,
Let's bring to mind someone you've been having difficulties with recently.
Could be someone at work,
A family member,
A child,
Just someone that you've experienced tension with.
Now you're going to offer them kindness from the mind and the heart.
This may be more challenging.
Let's try it and really try to feel it and mean it.
Think of the person that you're having difficulty with and again say,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be free from suffering and may you be safe.
And finally,
I want you to bring to mind all people of the world,
Just like you,
That want to be happy,
Healthy and safe.
Think of them now and offer the same gift.
Are you ready?
May all be happy,
May all be healthy,
May all be free from suffering and may all be safe.
And as our meditation comes to an end,
Just bring in your attention back into the body and the feeling of contact with the floor,
Chair or cushion.
And whenever you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
Right now,
The world really needs more empathy,
Gratitude,
Kindness and compassion.
We need a more mindful world.
By training our brains,
We can transform our minds and transform the world.
Wishing you to be happy,
Healthy and safe with gratitude and a whole lot of love.
Thank you.
