The Dalai Lama¡¯s Shares His 5 Secrets For A Healthier, Happier Body And Mind!

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people in exile, the Dalai Lama, has some invaluable advice on how you can stay happy regardless of your circumstances by imbibing certain values. In a recent interview with CNN, here¡¯s what he suggested you need to stay happy regardless of your environment.

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Accept and embrace yourself

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The Dalai Lama speaks about embracing the Buddhist concept of self-compassion. He¡¯s a firm believer of developing compassion for yourself first, even before showing it to someone else, because he claims we would be a happier lot if we learned, accepted, and appreciated our own flaws first.

It¡¯s easier to feel compassionate over time for someone else when you genuinely feel it for yourself first. It¡¯s also different from self-pity, where you dwell in pain from harsh self-criticism, rather than looking at it as a life experience you¡¯ve learned something from. Feeling happy has a lot to do with your mental attitude, adds Lama.

He also claims that the lesser you criticise yourself, the better it is for your health.

Dive deep into your thoughts

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Compassion comes easier if your spend time reflecting every day. The Dalai Lama, for instance, is up by 3 am for a five-hour meditation session. Although that sounds like a stretch, even 10 to 20 minutes is known to physically alter parts of the brain helping you handle stress better, enhance your feelings of empathy, improve your memory, and attention span.

The Dalai Lama states that the deeper you meditate, you begin to realise nothing exists as it appears. It also helps put things into context. The very basis of your negative emotions grows thinner, and as they surface and you begin to see them for they are, adds Lama.

Use compassion to keep anger at bay

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It¡¯s easy to allow to anger to constantly pervade your thoughts. Being constantly angry about your situation, the circumstances that surround you, or about any other aspect of your life can further lead to anger, insomnia, depression, heart issues, bingeing, and even early death!

The Dalai Lama is a firm believer that constant anger is detrimental to your health. He takes control of this situation by surrounding himself by compassionate people, which helps him stay compassionate in his mind above all else. Your mind stays healthier this way, he claims.

Service to others is the key to happiness

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The Dalia Lama claims that being of service to others, regardless your situation, can keep up your self-confidence and happiness. The service can be in any form: whether it involves volunteering at a soup kitchen or orphanage or even just listening to people¡¯s problems.

People who volunteer feel more connected because they are not lonely, and suffer less from ailments such as high blood pressure and depression. Additionally, people who are good listeners can reduce their feelings of stress and improve their frame of mind, as shown by a 2016 study in the Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine.

Don¡¯t let go of the child in you

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Lastly, and most importantly, the Dalai Lama asks us to imbibe the qualities of children: to be playful and childlike. Children are very honest and accepting towards others¡ª regardless of race, religion, culture or nationality. This is the basic nature of being compassionate, states Lama. While existing in a competitive and materialistic environment can blanket these feeling, being playful and childlike can resurface it.

Several studies, such as one in a 2013 study in The European Journal of Humour Research, shows that people who are playful are more satisfied in their relationship as well as in other areas of their life. They also tend to be healthier and suffer less from issues, such as anxiety. This can clearly be seen in his holiness¡¯s demeanour. He remains playful and childlike even while speaking about heavy subjects.

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In a previous interview with CNN¡¯s chief medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta, the Dalia Lama speaks about the inbound U.S. administration while mentioning that, ¡°the world belongs to humanity and each nation belonged to its people. America is the leading nation of the free world.¡± And so he has no worries about Trump being heralded as the president of the U.S. as eventually, all presidents are forced to work with the reality at hand. Here¡¯s a video of him reinstating that point.