APPENDIX: RESOURCES TO HELP YOU KEEP MEDITATING
If Jeff and I have done our job correctly, this book should leave you wanting to dive more deeply into meditation. What follows are some practical ways to do so.
THE 10% HAPPIER PODCAST
From the Dalai Lama to RuPaul, every week I interview a fascinating person about his or her meditation practice. (And if the person doesn’t have a practice, we teach them—live.) Writers, teachers, scholars, athletes, military officials, politicians, celebrities—we welcome all sorts. Hearing personal stories—and varying perspectives on practice—can provide motivational rocket fuel. Available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.
THE 10% HAPPIER APP
While a guided audio version of every meditation in this book is available to you for free on the app, we also have much more on offer. My teammates and I have brought together some of the best teachers in the world, who provide lessons about how meditation can help with stress, eating habits, relationships, sleep, and more. We believe that what sets us apart is our mix of both video and audio content as well as our insistence upon approaching the meditative endeavor with a sense of humor. Plus, if you sign up, you will get a coach—a real person, not a robot—who can answer your questions and help you stay on track.
Once again, here’s the link to download the app and unlock the content: 10percenthappier.com/access.
THE CONSCIOUSNESS EXPLORERS CLUB
The CEC is a registered not-for-profit dedicated to exploring meditation and personal growth practices “in a playful, social, pluralistic way.” The website features free guided meditations, short articles, and various course and retreat offerings. Jeff says he hopes the CEC can become a resource for “community practice around the world,” so all ideas and support are welcome. To sign up for the CEC’s newsletter and get involved, go to cecmeditate.com.
DAN, JEFF, AND 10% HAPPIER ONLINE
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Instagram: @danharris
Facebook.com/10percenthappier
Twitter: @10percent
BOOKS WE LOVE
You’ll notice that many of the titles listed below contain the word “Buddhism,” which may—at first blush—seem out of place in a reading list designed for skeptics. However, Buddhism is practically tailor-made for freethinkers. The Buddha did not claim to be a god or a prophet. And to the extent that he espoused ideas such as karma and rebirth, he explicitly told his followers to take them or leave them. He didn’t even envision something called Buddhism; he was simply teaching people to meditate and behave ethically. It is true that in many parts of the world people do practice Buddhism as a religion, complete with elaborate metaphysical claims. But you are under no obligation to accept these. I was raised by secular scientists in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts. (As I like to joke, I did have a bar mitzvah—but only for the money.) I’ve spent my career as a proud skeptic. My favorite part of being a journalist is the right—the obligation, really—to examine everything and everyone with a healthy amount of doubt. Nevertheless, I call myself a Buddhist. That doesn’t mean I believe in anything I can’t prove. I’m not sure the Buddhists are right about reincarnation or enlightenment. But I am convinced that they’re correct about the ego, about the inevitability of death, and about the superiority of compassion over unbridled selfishness. The books below approach Buddhism (and related contemplative traditions) with both clear eyes and open minds.
FROM DAN
Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright
Waking Up by Sam Harris
Buddhism Without Beliefs and Confession of a Buddhist Atheist by Stephen Batchelor
Real Happiness and Real Love by Sharon Salzberg
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön
Altered Traits by Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson
The Trauma of Everyday Life and Advice Not Given by Mark Epstein
One Dharma and Mindfulness by Joseph Goldstein
On Having No Head by Douglas E. Harding
Evolving Dharma by Jay Michaelson
FROM JEFF
The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
Coming Home by Lex Hixon
A Path with Heart and After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield
The Science of Enlightenment by Shinzen Young
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa
The Making of Buddhist Modernism by David L. McMahan
The Progress of Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel M. Ingram
Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, edited by David Godman
Waking the Tiger by Peter A. Levine
Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, narrated by Daniel Goleman
Waking, Dreaming, Being by Evan Thompson
Radical Dharma by Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens, and Jasmine Syedullah
The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa (John Yates)
Nonduality by David Loy
Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill
For the Time Being by Annie Dillard
This is by no means an exhaustive list. We will continue to update and expand it at 10percenthappier.com/reading.
RETREATS
For many reasonable people, the idea of going away to a retreat center and sitting silently with a bunch of strangers is irremediably abhorrent. I get it. That’s the way I used to feel. I have four pieces of good news for you. First, doing a retreat is by no means mandatory. I did one for the first time in part because I was working on a book and needed some stuff to write about. However, if what you’re looking to do is establish an abiding, daily-ish habit, you can do so successfully without attending retreats. No shame in that game. Second, the other reason I attended (or, to use a term of art, “sat”) my first retreat was curiosity. I had an inkling that meditation was both useful and meaningful, and I wanted to see what would happen if I dramatically upped the dosage. I certainly got results—although not always the ones I wanted. For the first few days, I was thoroughly miserable. But then I had a breakthrough of sorts where, for about a day and a half, I experienced a dramatic diminution of mental chatter and, as a consequence, a kind of happiness I had never tasted before. Then I went straight back to being miserable. I have gone on to do many more retreats, and hope to continue for the rest of my life. They are a fantastic way to train the skills that Jeff describes in this book: concentration, clarity, equanimity, friendliness, and enjoyment. Speaking of Jeff, here’s his take.
I love retreats. First of all, it’s nice just to switch gears and get out of the daily grind. Retreats give us perspective on our lives. They also lead to insights and breakthroughs: suddenly we really understand this thing we may have heard a hundred times before. Whatever it is—acceptance, being in the moment, impermanence, some pattern of thinking or behavior—the teachings now make sense on a whole new level. These insights ripple out into our lives and boost our motivation to continue with practice.
Third piece of good news: if you can’t stomach a full seven- or ten-day meditation-a-palooza, there are plenty of options for daylong workshops or weekend retreats. (Although, in my experience, there is a real benefit to doing the longer retreats because it can take a few days for the mind to settle.) Fourth and final positive tidbit: at the two spots listed below, the physical settings are beautiful and the food is surprisingly delicious.
Insight Meditation Society: Founded by Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield in the 1970s. Located in sylvan central Massachusetts. Offers everything from weekend retreats to—for real—a three-month course. People actually do that!
Spirit Rock: The West Coast sister center, founded by Jack Kornfield, is located on a gorgeous patch of land north of San Francisco.
For a full list of retreat centers, check out 10percenthappier.com/retreats.
Whether you opt for the retreat option or not, there is practically infinite potential for expansion in your meditation practice. As my teacher Joseph Goldstein says about our inner world, “This whole thing is vast.” As Jeff puts it, “The insights go on and on. What begins as a technique to manage stress can become an inquiry into who and how we are. We find things are not quite as they seem. Life is broader than we once imagined it to be—and so, it seems, are we.”
In sum, keep it going. In the words of the Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, “Happiness is available. Please help yourself to it.”