'The happiest man in the world' shares the secret to being happy

Buddhist Monk Matthew Richard shows "unheard of" brain activity whilst meditating

What if happiness was a skill you could learn to master, and you could enact that brain state at will? According to Matthieu Ricard, a 78 year old Tibetan Monk, humanitarian, author, photographer and former geneticist, it is!

Most people live within the persistent illusion that happiness is something that comes from the outside.

You eat your favourite food, or drink your daily cup of coffee, and you think that the sensory experience ‘causes’ you to be ‘happy’.

You decide to go away somewhere idyllic, and the sun and sea ‘make you happy’… you get the point.

However, if you have an upsetting encounter — today, that can be either in person, or online via social media or WhatsApp — it totally eclipses your meal, or drink, or even your entire holiday!

The point? The outer experience alone does not make you happy.

Depending on how much that negative energy (in the form of thoughts and emotions) is amplified, your incoherent emotional state causes havoc on your body. Instead of blissful, relaxed appreciation, you feel tension.

Happiness is an inside out job, not the other way round.

Scientific testing shows anyone can be happy by training their brain

Monks seem to be all the rage today, with Jay Shetty (author of “Think Like A Monk”) and Matthieu Ricard leading the way.

Scientific testing of Ricard’s brain revealed a brain wave pattern previously unseen by neuroscientists.