mANY of us spend our lives in the pursuit of happiness. “If I lose five more kilos, I’ll be hap pier,” we tell ourselves. Or: “If I win the lottery, I’ll be happier.”
But one person will tell you there’s only one thing that will bring you true happiness – and it has nothing to do with physical appearance or money or ma terial possessions.
“There’s so much suffering in the world it should
kindle your com passion and if your compassion is kindled you go to a stronger, healthier, more meaningful way of being,” Matthieu Ricard says. “That’s what I call happiness.”
Sound a little woowoo? Well, consider this: this monk has been the bearer of the title “the world’s happiest man” for near ly 20 years so he knows what he’s talking about.
Matthieu (77) was given the name after he took part in a 2004 research project at the University of Wis consinMadison.
The project involved wiring participants up to an electroencephalo gram, which records the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain and levels of gam ma waves, which are associated with well being, focus, cognition and memory.
Matthieu scored significantly higher than hundreds of other volun teers and his gamma waves were off the charts, resulting in the project organisers declaring him the happiest man alive.
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