by

Dan Harris

%10
HAPPIER

How to tame the voice in your

head and find fulfillment
 Dan Harris

Daniel B. Harris is a retired American journalist

for ABC News. He was an anchor for
Nightline and co-anchor of the weekend
edition of Good Morning.

Harris encourages the use of meditation, and

himself uses a method of watching the breath.
His "10% Happier" podcasts are interviews
with other meditators.

Harris has said that his self-examination,

abandonment of drugs, and adoption of
meditation were prompted by an on-air panic
attack in 2004.
We often fall victim to whatever is
happening in our minds or “drifting unaware
on a surge of habitual impulses.”

Author Dan Harris realized that this lack of

awareness was not only responsible for his
panic attack on live television, but for his
drug addiction, overeating, and
overreacting.

Most of us live our lives in a complete daze,

we barely have time for ourselves and are
constantly “busy” with something else. We
are either worrying about the past or trying
to predict the future, leaving the present
entirely unattended.
According to the Buddha, we all have 3
habitual responses to everything we
experience:

• We want it (ex: pleasurable experiences).

• We reject it (ex: painful experiences).
• We zone out (ex: boring experiences).

But there’s also a fourth option made

available to us which is known as
Mindfulness.

It is a way to observe the contents of the

mind without becoming attached to them.
For instance, avoiding the physical urge to
scratch an itch on your arm. Rather than
itching it or doing something about it, the act
of just being aware of it is what Mindfulness
is.
What mindfulness does is create some space
in your head so you can, as the Buddhists
say, “respond” rather than simply “react.”

According to the Buddhist philosophy, you

have no control over what comes into your
head or the type of thoughts you have;
everything arises out of an unknown and
mysterious void.

We are fond of berating and judging

ourselves quite harshly for feelings that we
had no hand in creating. The only thing you
have control over is simply how you choose
to handle it.
Meditation is a simple three-step process. Sit
down, Get comfortable, Focus on your
breath.

When you try to meditate, you will find that

your mind has a million different thoughts
that fly through it like a freight train on a
highway.

This happens to every single one of us.

When you notice yourself getting lost in
thought, don’t be dissuaded; just refocus
your attention on your breath and don’t
worry or think about how you’re “not doing it
right”.
What is the best environment for meditation?
The honest answer is anywhere. Just find a
space that you feel comfortable, somewhere
you can put yourself (and your thoughts) at
ease. It might be your office, a park bench,
your living room, etc.

Pick a place to start your practice and

resolve to do it for 5-30 minutes, (you could
easily set an alarm on your smartphone)
starting with 5 and working your way
upward to 30 (and past that if you like).

What is the true benefit of meditation? It

teaches one to observe the contents of their
consciousness (ie. the voice in your head)
without judgment or reaction.
The essence of mindfulness is the ability to
recognize what is happening in your mind at
the moment. Whether it be anger, jealousy,
sadness, the pain of a paper cut, etc.
without getting identified with or carried
away by the feeling.
We live in a world that constantly bombards
us with information from pretty much every
conceivable direction, pulling our attention
from here to there which does not get us
anywhere. This causes our bodies to release
stress-inducing chemicals (like cortisol) that
surge through our veins and eventually
leads to a sharp decline in our physical,
emotional, and mental wellbeing.

What does all this mean? All this kind of

stress is very detrimental to our wellbeing.
One way to deal with it is medication. This
method, unfortunately, is only a band-aid. A
better, more sustainable method of handling
all the stress is by practicing meditation,
which leads to a healthier, compassionate,
and mentally stable lifestyle bursting with
fulfillment and purpose.
When next your heart begins to race and
your breath quickens, when next you feel a
surge of emotions, take a step back to
recognize what you are feeling. Then allow
yourself to feel this way, there is nothing
wrong with it. Investigate how this affects
you and make sure you do not self-identify
with the emotion.

Remember to enjoy the moment. Relish the

journey. Smell the roses. Have a blast while
you pursue that dream of yours. Because
happiness is actually the bi-product of
pursuing a worthy goal. To put it another
way: happiness is what happens when we
think we’re pursuing happiness
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HAPPIER