40 Pieces of the Happiness Puzzle - Part 9

Happiness Puzzle

Being happy is a state of being most of us want to experience, though not everyone is skilled at reaching and prolonging this state. There are a range of ways to experience feelings of happiness, with certain methods being better for some than others. 

This is the 7th post in a series of 40 on the techniques you can employ to experience and prolong the feeling of happiness. The first post was on Sensory Hedonism, followed by Achievable Challenges, Serving Others, Expertise, Fake it Till You Make It, Stay Busy, Aligned Integrity, and Constructive Activism. 

#9: Live Quietly

Some people derive their greatest happiness from living a life of quiet contemplation. Avoiding the hustle and bustle and troubles of the outside world allows one to shut themselves away and focus on seeking inner peace. 

Inner peace can be found in many ways. Meditation, praying, or relaxing on the couch and watching Soap Operas are reported ways of relaxing and calming oneself. 

Some people prefer seclusion, opting for a reclusive life away from it all. These people might move to the countryside, live in a refurbished government bunker in Kansas, or buy a boat and sail away, forever eating Cheesburgers in Paradise. 

Other people enjoy the company of other people in their seclusion and instead join monastic orders, which still gives them a sense of "living in the real world," but quietly and without needing to interact with a larger audience. 

While there is definitely a social order within traditional monastic life, there are those who simply "keep to themselves," focusing instead of deeply contemplative self-improvement or enlightenment type of thinking. 

People who live in a more contemplative way tend to be less extraverted, being satisfied with their own company and thoughts. Although deep contemplation can lead to ecstatic religious experiences, it often lacks the highs of active excitement and lows that help us "make sense of it all," which keep the mind targeted toward goals of such an exalted nature. 

Sophy on living a quiet life...

I tried living a quit life, but forgot my Buddhist beats in my other Mahayana.

A Buddhist friend told me if I wanted to know the meaning of life

 I'd have to inquire within...

"Where is that exactly?" I asked.

Have you heard about the dyslexic yogi who goes around chanting "MO"? 

I love to meditate, I send my sprit to a corner for an hour and go out shopping

When I get back, I'm spiritually refreshed by the mere idea of having meditated

and I've got milk to boot! 

I do yoga in my mind
It's an exhausting but well worth it meditation technique

I also meditate in the tanning bed for 10 mins 3 days a week

it's where I do my best meditative tanning

If you carry crystals in your pockets

You might be a New Ager

If you refuse to go to a job interview because the Feng Shui isn't just right

You might be a New Ager

If you have plastic containers and thick take-out menus sitting in your kitchen for the sole purpose of capturing insects and then releasing them into the garden

You might be a New Ager

If you chant while putting spices on your pizza

You might be a New Ager

If you feel that your illnesses are caused by the Tanic posession, Pranic dissonance, or an imbalance between Yin & Yang

You might be a New Ager

If you buy tickets to a performance by the Blue Man Group in the hope of seeing a ritual  honoring "The Green Man" or a preview of the Burning Man Festival

You might be a New Ager

If you have a pet named "Karma-Ra-Rainbow Bodhi"

You might be a New Ager

If you refer to said pet as your "Animal Companion" 

You might be a New Ager

If you read these jokes and mentally replaced the word "You" with "We are all one" 

We are all one might be a New Ager