On May 15th I attended the “Change your Mind, Change the World” conference in Madison. “Thought leaders” from around the world discussed how economics, environments, and healthcare combine to make the world a happier, healthier place. The honored guest was the Dalai Lama, who indeed seems like a very happy person. He and many Buddhist monks practice mindful meditation on a regular basis, for hours at a time. Matthieu Ricard, a French Buddhist monk and a protege of the Dali Lama also attended the conference.
This year he was deemed by scientists to have scored “off the charts” in regard to his left pre-frontal cortex activity, “giving the monk a huge capacity for happiness.” Since most of us do not have the luxury of having a few hours each day to meditate, it was indeed good news to hear that recent research has shown that even 15 minutes a day of meditating can show positive results in regard to positive health and well-being.
Personal happiness is affected by many factors, like economics and physical health. More of the panelists thoughts on this can be found at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.
