The Search for Happiness

The world is constantly searching for happiness. The majority of people believe that they can find
lasting happiness through the acquisition of material wealth – more money, bigger house, faster car,
more food and entertainment. To them, happiness means the maximum stimulation and indulgence of
their senses.

If only they truly understand the universal law of polarity, they will realize that whatever goes up must
come down eventually. Such state of sensual stimulation, no matter how high, can only be sustained for
a limited period of time. Eventually, it will have to end. Then, in order to re-gain that happiness, they
will need to seek even greater sense stimulation. The end result, however, will always be the same –
crashing down to earth.

True lasting happiness is not really this type of happiness at all. Real everlasting happiness can only be
achieved through inner peace. Inner peace is a state of mind and heart that is right in the middle of the
pendulum of polarity. It is neither the peak of sensual pleasures nor the depth of pain, but rightly
balanced in the middle of both. It is a state of imperturbability, like a mountain that is immovable by
rain or sun. It is not shaken by the winds of change – good or bad, rich or poor, health or sickness, fame
or blame.

The way to this inner peace is through introspection. It is an inner knowledge, a self knowledge. The tools you will need to find this inner peace, your true nature, are mindfulness and letting go.

Mindfulness is simply a constant, non-judgmental awareness of your own thoughts and feelings. It is
important to be aware of two facts. The first is that your mind is the creator of your reality and second
is that this universe is truly impersonal. Knowing the first means that you create your own heaven and
hell. You cannot be unhappy unless you co-operated with your mind to make it so. And this is true
because of the second fact, that this universe is neutral and impersonal. Unhappiness is created only
when you identify or personalize your experience, and own it as yours. It arises only when you are not
able to accept reality as it is, and instead want to change it into something else it is not.

We all have this mental habit of wanting things to be other than what it is, and we therefore want to
control, manipulate or change it – whether it is a person, a circumstance or an event.

That is why I like the Serenity Prayer, which says “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I
cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”. Wisdom is
the key to finding inner peace, dwelling in inner peace and be totally anchored in it. With wisdom, we
are then able to let go of our needs or mental tendency to change, manipulate or control anything at all.
Only then can we see that inner peace has been in us all along.