The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom

The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom Book review - The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom

I bought this little book a while ago & have read it quite a few times.

The Dalai Lama is one of the world's most well-known spiritual leaders. But don't let that put you off. This book is mainly common sense.

He advises us to perform experiments on our own minds. This means observing your thoughts as they come & go and determining which thoughts lead to peace of mind and which thoughts disturb it. From my own experience, I have found that peace of mind comes from thoughts of compassion, forgiveness, kindness & gratitude.

Here are a few sections of the book to give you more of an idea -

When I see beings of unpleasant character
Oppressed by strong negativity and suffering,
May I hold them dear - for they are rare to find -
As if I have discovered a jewel treasure!

This verse refers to the special case of relating to people who are socially marginalised, perhaps because of their behaviour, their appearance, their destitution, or on account of some illness. Whoever practices bodhichitta must take special care of these people, as if, on meeting them, you have found a real treasure. Instead of feeling repulsed, a true practitioner of these altruistic principles should engage and take on the challenge of relating. In fact, the way we interact with people of this kind could give a great impetus to our spiritual practice.
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Within the body there are billions of different particles. Similarly, there are many different thoughts and a variety of states of mind. It is wise to take a close look into the world of your mind and to make the distinction between beneficial and harmful states of mind. Once you can recognise the value of good states of mind, you can increase or foster them.
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The Dalai Lama also speaks about unbiased compassion. This means to treat everyone equally regardless of whether you have labeled them in your mind as "friend", "enemy" or "stranger". He says that we are all basically the same in that we each wish to experience happiness & we wish to overcome suffering. We do have a tendency to reserve our kindest thoughts for those who agree with us & who are most like us.
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For a few more of the Dalai Lama's thoughts try this site:

http://rudyh.org/dalai-lama-quotes-quotations.htm

If you enjoyed this review and would like to know more about the books I have read & the interesting sites I have found over the years, why not drop me a line -

[email protected]

Geoff Allen

Glimpses � A compilation of uncensored real life experiences with Mental Illness

I continue to put together the manuscript of personal experiences with mental illness for free distribution to Carers, Consumers, Educators and Clinicians, in hope of increasing awareness and reducing stigma surrounding mental illness and it would benefit greatly from your story. Most contributors indicate it was a very therapeutic exercise writing about their experiences with mental illness.

The manuscript is called Glimpses and a free updated version is distributed electronically quarterly (if new stories have been received). Several Universities use this manuscript as a course resource, it is posted on websites nationally and internationally. So only submit your story if you are happy for it to be distributed and forwarded freely.

I am inviting you to submit your Consumer or Carer story on your personal experiences with: - Anxiety Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, PTSD, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Anorexia, Post Natal Depression, Any other MI I have overlooked. I would especially like some stories from people in their late teens and early 20's.

The average length of stories so far are 6 to 15 pages. However I do have those that are 3-4 pages, minimum accepted (narrow margins, size 12 Arial font) and one that is 32 pages long. At this stage I will continue to collect stories until Glimpses has around 300 pages.

People have told of the lead up to diagnosis, dealing with MH Services, medication issues, identifying triggers, working towards recovery and coping strategies. What and how much you want to share is up to you. Use your whole name, first name or a pseudonym, the choice is yours; but please know that your story, however you present it, could make a difference in how the world sees us. See below for my contact details.

If you would like to be added to or removed from my distribution list, please forward me an email. Unfortunately Glimpses is not available in hard copy, but feel free to print a copy.

Minds Unleashed � A collection of poetry by people with a Mental Illness

I am compiling a collection of poetry for distribution in pdf format. So if you have always wanted to share your talent, now is the time to do so.

Minds Unleashed is distributed for free to Carers, Consumers, Educators and Clinicians, in hope of increasing awareness and reducing stigma surrounding mental illness and it would benefit greatly from your poetry.

A free updated version is distributed electronically bi-monthly (if new poems have been received). Several Uni�s/training organisations use this manuscript as a course resource. Minds Unleashed reaches people all over Australia and some other countries. So only submit your poetry if you are happy for it to be distributed and forwarded freely.

Submissions are welcomed on an ongoing basis, with updates being scheduled for distribution in March, June, September and December.

Email, post or fax your story to:-

Nicci Wall

Mental Health Advocate

c/o 43 Browallia Drive

Rose Park Vic 3214

[email protected]

email submissions preferred

Fax: 03 5222 6847

Here's my entry for the publication - click here

Myths about happiness -

This is the main page 2 look at

Here is the text JUST in case the impermanence of cyberspace -

The 5 Myths of Happiness (you wont be happy till you understand these!)

Everyone believes in happiness, but your beliefs may actually be false. Happiness has many false beliefs. I will outline some of the most prevalent so that you can see them in your life. Once you realize these are myths then you can begin to eliminate them, becoming more happy.

The 5 Myths

1) Happiness is time based

Are you waiting for happiness to happen to you? Is there a future time that you will be happy? Will it be after you retire? When you get a new job? When you get married or perhaps divorced? Will it be the WEEKEND, or after 5:00 Pm today? Will it be when you are in a relationship, when you lose weight, make more money, or any other future event? People are waiting for happiness to happen to them. They battle against the bad things in life and they hope that eventually happiness will come. Happiness does not come in the future! Happiness is not time based. There is no amount of time that will create happiness. If you are on this earth for a hundred, or a thousand, or a million years you will not be happy. If you are thinking that at some point in the future you will become happy this is a myth. You can be happy now, but you can not be happy some day, for some day never comes. Happiness is not predicated on time. It happens only in the now.

2) Happiness is event based

If I asked you �what would make you happy� you might respond with some event. Something happening to you that would create happiness in your life. Events come and go, but they don�t bring happiness with them. Marriage, jobs, vacations, are all events, but will they really make you happy? Have you ever been unhappy in any of these? If you have, this proves that happiness comes from somewhere other than an event.

3) Happiness is related to �stuff�

Material things are nice. They make life more comfortable. They can be fun, but they don�t bring happiness. Now we probably all know this to some degree, but most of us still live our life as if it is true. You might say �money does not bring happiness� but deep down, in your core, you probably still feel that some degree of happiness comes from money. The truth is that if you are unhappy now, you will be unhappy when you have more stuff. When you have more stuff there will be more taxes, more bills, more insurance, more things breaking, more problems. Happiness and stuff are mutually exclusive. They are not related.

4) Happiness comes from external sources

You may have noticed that the first 3 myths are external �things.� They are things that are outside of you, or yourself. While external things can help you to achieve happiness, true happiness comes from inside. Its true that a good relationship can seem to bring happiness, but first you must be happy inside. If you are an unhappy person then the good relationship will only carry you so far. Have you ever been with a good person and been unhappy? I know I have. I have had inner turmoil when in a great relationship. Even families can be a source of unhappiness. In other words, if the happiness is not first coming from inside of you, then you can�t receive it from external things. So you must have happiness internally. If you are looking for some external source to make you happy, or to bring happiness in your life then you will never find it for any lasting amount of time.

5) Fighting BAD creates happiness

�Bad� things happen every day in life. Most people fight against them. This means that they get upset, stress, hate the situation, talk bad about it, and resist it with their heart or soul. You can fight �bad things� as much as you want, but fighting bad does not create good. Said another way � dwelling on the bad does not create happiness. So your life has difficult things in it. So what! Every life does, but your life also has great things in it. Happiness is appreciated by dwelling in the good things. You have a choice. You can chose to dwell on what sucks, or dwell on what�s amazing. Its up to you. Usually when we dwell on what sucks we are fighting against it. We are talking about why it sucks, why we don�t like it, and how rotten it is. This does not create happiness. This creates more misery. Its called complaining, and complaining does not create happiness. So why fight bad, just enjoy the good.

Do you do any of these things? Are you looking for external sources of happiness? If so, its time to stop! If you catch yourself feeling unhappy where is that feeling coming from? Is it really coming from an external source or are YOU the cause of it?

Unhappiness also fits with these myths. Many people think that unhappiness comes from external sources, but it is the same as happiness. It comes from you, not your boss, your job, your broke down car, or anything else.

Any comments?

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/the_5_myths_of_happiness

A search for more myths

Count your blessings is also great advice

Hundreds of links on this excellent page :)

Update - look 4 golden rule in that bunch - an excellent site!

Some online games -

Othello - also triple othello - click