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In an online course entitled, “A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment”, Week 1 Video 10: Prioritize but d not pursue Happiness, Rajagopal Raghunathan recommends that for greater fulfillment we should prioritize goals, rather than pursue them. He demonstrates what this means by using sleep as an example. To prioritize sleep we should do what brings a restful night—exercise, good diet and no arguing before bedtime! We cannot find good sleep by simply going to bed and willfully pursuing it; that will likely keep us awake! And this principle can be applied to other dilemmas; Overeaters Anonymous, for example advises members not to pursue weight loss but to prioritize abstinence and working their Twelve Step program. All healing platforms affirm: illumination by any name is a reward for doing what enables it.

“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” (Carrie Fisher). Although the other person won’t die, resentment does poison Good. Yet we guard our resentments against a touch of forgiveness as if our lives depended upon it! In a state of resentment all forgiveness retreats to a mental blank spot. But forgiving is the only way to fully recover from the effects of toxic resentment. Through doctrines and teachings all major faiths advocate for forgiveness as essential for faith fulfillment. In secular life too forgiveness is recognized as necessary for well-being. But forgiveness has not always meant what it does today.

In every waking moment we make choices: mostly with sensible decisions based on coherent information with due consideration for consequences. But intellect alone does not control thinking. Neuroscientists point out that our actual ‘brainpower’ lies in signals between 86 billion unique neurons. Their intricate networks communicate, relay, and integrate signals within and between regions of the brain. These regions function with changing strengths and different information for various purposes. Their electrochemical impulses act and react with a barrage of rational, emotional, social, cultural, environmental, and physiological influences. Galaxies of neural forces evaluate risks and benefits in every choice.

Tapping the Quiet Mind might be as simple as stepping back from a situation to take a few deep breaths, just zoning out, or the practice of meditation. But one way or another we all need to escape from demands, distractions and disturbances. A Quiet Mind lets us pause to enjoy some peace and quiet. In quietude we become detached from outward thinking to be ‘here’, and relinquish the past and future in favor of ‘now’.

Our conscious thoughts seek to make sense of life, analyze problems and reach decisions. And they affect how we act: we transfer what we think to those around us. Angry thoughts, for example produce angry interactions. Peaceful minds, however develop peaceful attitudes; and these bring greater fulfillment. But peace cannot be achieved by its conscious pursuit; it is found in a Quiet Mind. Unlike conscious, intellectual thinking that asserts self-interest, the Quiet Mind is a source of ‘Not Self’. Not Self really means Not as Selfish; to think less of yourself and about yourself. And this can bring us fulfillment in ways that transcend intellectualization.

We experience the sun differently each day; but its heat does not change. In the same way, we experience busy thoughts each day, but wisdom does not change. We use those thoughts to make sense of our various outlooks, but we need our quietude to find wisdom.

Our Good is born in purity
As we awaken, each short day
This Good survives through struggles,
Tackles fears
Faces tests
Within the loud affray

Spirit of mercy

Be my guide

Shalom

Source of Good;
grant me the serenity
to accept
that I cannot change other people;

Faith is the doctrine for happiness
Love, a scripture of life;
Service, our processional
Peace, the eternal rite

Can this mind be at peace with the moon and the stars

In my nights?

Source of physical being; help me to hear you in my body. Teach me to tend to my physical needs and be aware of my bodily conditions.

1 The roots of decency spread deep in the earth of Goodness, and no turmoil can disturb them.
2 In the eyes of the selfish, the upright appear to be unhinged; their humility is seen as weakness,

Enter my hearing, Oh, silence
Soften my sight with love
Rid my thoughts of harshness
Open my search for good

Some leaves in winter dangle on
Though wrinkled, fragile, old

Stubborn leaves that flinch on empty trees
Through cruel storms in damning cold

But it is not only God that is recurrently jealous and punishing. Other monolithic entities can also be jealous: your nation, the military, employers, and political causes all demand unswerving loyalty. They chastise members who refuse to obey or ‘worship false Gods’ by colluding with enemies, conspiring with political, professional or commercial rivals. And God help those who whistle-blow, aaaagggghhh snitch!

Where are you, my Comfort?
In fears, apprehensions
Disruptions, grief, delays

The professor and mountaineer Ernest Gellner told of how he once became lost. No matter how he tried to follow his map, he could not find his way down the mountain. Then he realized that his map was of the wrong mountain.

I grow
Faith in forgiveness
When willing

Open my heart,
Pure Healing Power
To remove emotional pain;
Open this heart
Pure Healing Power
Again, again, again

What went wrong? Oh, what went wrong?

I sought to be humble
But boasted

My agitation cannot rest, my busy mind is not attentive; hope evades me. Gloom fills darkness and dawn does not dispel my plight.

I believe in a mysterious impulse, where the essence of peace restores what is good
I believe in healing love that grows through faith to create joy

Whatever our beliefs may be or holiday meals that we celebrate, I hope that these “transfaith” blessings may help to nurture focus and gratitude.

When she was six, my daughter Hannah asked, “What’s God?” I am not sure what I replied, but I certainly assured her that it varies for different people and whatever she thought about it was OK: God is not trapped in one religion. We all have “gods”, for we all hold faith in things unseen— principles, affections, opinions and other intangible sources of conviction, inspiration and direction.

Oh, Source of All Gratitude, help us to be Thankful when we are tested to our limits

Although our denials, evasions and minimizations sometimes delude us, we are basically rational, mostly moral and often reasonable; and we remain lovable, capable and forgivable. We seek to improve, and strive for what is right. But it bodes us well to acknowledge that our limited minds are too partial to supply objective views about ourselves, others or situations. Our self-justifications, personalized preferences and subjective notions can always benefit from a candid reality check.

Faith in goodness leads to serenity, where peace with quiet flows. With faith I can cease being a hostage in the jail of fear and grief, and escape the prison of what went wrong.

Oh, nurturing God we thank you for the seeds
The source is yours and all in it

Especially when I feel stressed, may stillness help me to become calm, so that I can wait for silent consolation.

Early Christians too brought great historical stories to their new convictions: stories that had preceded Jesus. Matthew, for example presented Jesus as a revitalized Moses who completed revelations from the Torah. He showed how the new faith emerged with fresh expectations and a novel sense of liberation. But he also showed how it consistently remained within established Jewish law and practices.

One breath; one breath at time.
A breath-on-breath is all we get,
and you cannot take it with you

Oh, Guide of the Way,
My safety in trust
Determine my path

The Right Moral Way has not changed over time and remains psychologically sound. In a “Psychology Today” article entitled ‘The (Only) Seven Spiritual Principles We Need to Succeed’, Karl Albrecht reveals traditional key values for moral living that are still crucial in contemporary times.

Wage peace!
to acknowledge faith
declare love
confess failure
expose injustice
admit mistakes

Sing a new love song; for in every moment, compassion does marvelous things: its power dissipates hate and revenge. Compassion creates contagious miracles