“Happiness can not be found through great effort and will power, but is already present in open relaxation and letting go.”
 
One does not have to be a Buddhist to appreciate and benefit from Buddhist insights that free the mind from suffering.

Of all the spiritual paths, Buddhism is the most psychological in nature. Most of the early transpersonal therapists were influenced by the teachings of the Buddha, and the concept of the “Self.” My own interest in consciousness and the nature of mind, fuelled by a good dash of dire necessity, has led me to an admiration and integration of these teachings in my life and work.

The Buddha was born in India approximately two thousand five hundred years ago. This was an epoch when many great spiritual teachers came into incarnation.

The Buddha said that every person wants to be happy and is seeking to be free of suffering. Everything he taught was towards this liberation. He taught how to achieve inner peace through mindfulness and awareness. Life is full of paradox; we must use the mind to heal the mind. With the tools of meditation, self observation, patience and an attitude of loving kindness towards one’s self, one can find the treasure that is already waiting at the core of your being, your own Buddha nature. Your own True Self.

Buddhism teaches that suffering and happiness are states of mind and that our experience of life is highly subjective. Certainly, outside events and people do affect us, but our joy or suffering is predominantly based on our internal interpretation of these events. Our own inner hurts and angry thoughts, repeated over and over, can keep us stewing in very disturbing juices. In turn, this internal environment affects our entire experience of life. How does one change this? Primarily through attitude adjustments. Therapy offers an opportunity to look at oneself and life through a different lens.

Recently, someone asked the Dali Lama, “What makes you so special?” He quickly replied, “I’m not so special.” Then he thought for a moment and added, “Well, maybe in this one way; every morning when I wake up, I’m willing to re-adjust my attitude.”

In my therapy practice I teach meditation as well as a variety of gentle techniques to examine one’s own thinking and attitudes and how to work with them. We address how to develop awareness, self-observation, the inner witness, and most importantly, patience and compassion towards oneself.

Both meditation and psychotherapy are based on truth, which can sometimes be like a jeweled and slippery fish, requiring courage, awareness and curiosity in order to catch it and take a good look at it, before letting it go.