By Nihal Dissanayake
HappiCraft.com is about happiness.
It deals with the craft of harnessing mind power for happy living.
The Book
Happicraft.com – The Craft of Harnessing Mind Power for Happy Living is the first book published by Nihal Dissanayake. This book is an adaptation from the website by the same author on happiness.
Introduction – By the Author
Happiness is a lofty ideal. Its exalted position on the value structure of the man has been explained by Lord Gautama Buddha himself when he said: “Happiness is Wealth Supreme” [santhusti paramang dhanang in the Pali language]. That means there is no other wealth whatsoever, more valuable to the human beings, than happiness.
The main objective of this book is to help the readers to share that supreme wealth, known as happiness. Metamorphosing that high and lofty ideal to the level
of a craft, to enable the general public to share that supreme wealth, is a great challenge.
Lord Gautama Buddha said: “Happiness is Wealth Supreme”.
The main objective of this book is to help the readers to share that supreme wealth, known as happiness.
Happiness can also be described as the ultimate objective of every human endeavor. There is no other human activity that takes place unless that activity creates happiness for the individual concerned, either directly or indirectly. This definition is useful specially when you look at happiness from a behavioral perspective.
The society goes after beauty, money, fame and power because they believe that they can enter into the kingdom of happiness through those gates. Some of them are gates to unhappiness.
The society goes after beauty, money, fame and power because they believe that they can enter into the kingdom of happiness through those gates.
Some of them are gates to unhappiness.
The third definition is formula that explains how one could be happy, a behavioral model. “Happiness is the dividend that accrues to you for your investments to make others happy, either in thoughts, words or in deeds.” It explains in plain language what people should be doing if they wish to be happy.
The complexity of the problem gets compounded when you analyse happiness. It is only an attitude of mind. The world keeps on moving forward and backward, on the attitudes of the people, on how they see reality from their own point of view. Attitudes are also described by the corporate world as the worst problem of the human relations scientists and productivity experts.
The magnitude of the problem can now be understood very easily if you consider the target readership. It was designed for those who are running after mirages thinking of water. The path to happiness is not clear to the man on the street. This book meets with that demand.
The plan of the book
The book is divided into four parts: One is about the mind. The mind is the main tool that has to be used in understanding the concept of happiness. The second
part is about happiness and unhappiness. The third, is devoted to three concepts designed to make the study more meaningful, and also to facilitate the
communication of the message to the man on the streets. The last part is about the action front. This section describes what you could do to perpetuate
your interest on happiness.
The Mind
The mind is such a complex subject, the depth of which is unfathomable. Even the scientific community appeared to have failed so far to understand the true nature of the mind power. Dr Granville Dharmawardene, a former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of Sri Lanka and a Professor in Physics at the Colombo University, compared the mind power with that of atomic energy, when he said: “The mind is more challenging”. That is because the nature of the mind cannot be measured by the available tools of scientific analysis.
Instead of adding a million pages about the mind, the problem has been oversimplified by including only what the readers need to understand about the mind component in the happiness equation. The section of the mind has only three chapters. “Know Your Mind” is a very short page and gives what one need to know about his own mind. It is given as a bulleted list for easy comprehension.
The second page describes the “Mind Skills” that one should acquire, develop and use in moving into higher echelons of happiness. The chapter does not give anything new, but lists the attributes that we are familiar with , but do not normally use as tools.
The third section is about attitudes. As the sole objective of the book is to help the general public to understand and change their attitudes towards happiness and life, this chapter is comparatively long. The material used in this page are exactly the same as the materials that I have been using in my seminars on attitude control. The examples drawn are from the day to day experiences, such as why some people do not eat dog meat when some countries consider it as a delicacy.
How attitudes get changed are explained in another section. They use brain washing techniques to change the attitudes of others, and can we do it ourselves? The page on attitudes is a long list of challenges to the ordinary reader, such as, if a blind man could conquer the Mt. Everest, why can’t we do it?
You, and only you can decide whether you are happy or unhappy at any particular moment of time.
This decision cannot be taken by any other person.
Others can only influence your decisions or your levels of happiness.
Happiness & Unhappiness
Happiness is a subject that has received the attention of the philosophers for more than 2500 years. But the formulae recommended differed from time to time and
from country to country. Happiness is highly subjective and depends on the person who wants to be happy or unhappy.
You, and only you can decide whether you are happy or unhappy at any particular moment of time. This decision cannot be taken by any other person. Others can only influence your decisions or your levels of happiness.
Happiness to one person is different to the happiness as seen by another person. What makes one very happy may contribute to make another person unhappy. Happiness is not transferable; nor can it be purchased for any other value.
Happiness is time related in the life cycle of an individual. You can be happy now and maybe unhappy during the next ten minutes . It is very difficult for a person to continue to be happy throughout the day.
Of the three chapters on happiness, the first is about happiness and unhappiness. Here the concept is looked at from several different perspectives. Individuals move from happiness to unhappiness, and back regularly. In between the two, there is a zone of indifference, when you are neither happy nor unhappy.
The next chapter is about the enemies of happiness. They are the factors that prevent you from entering into the world of happiness. Envy, anger and hatred along with ignorance and greed are among the major defilements that prevent you from being happy, or disturb your levels of happiness. There is also a very short page that list some of the definitions given to happiness from the time of Aristotle to the present day.
Happiness and unhappiness are neighbors separated only by a thin margin. Happiness is created by happy thoughts that are generated by the mind, either in collaboration with the five senses or without their help. Therefore, it is correct to assume that one’s
level of happiness depends to a greater extent on the environment in which he lives or works, his actions or experiences in the past and what he is planning to do in the future. You can move up and down the time lines of happiness with changes that are taking place in the environment.
The concepts
The book deals with three new concepts designed to help the reader to understand and compare the concept of happiness under different environments.
All the three concepts combined together explain the reality that happiness is within you.
The book deals with three new concepts designed to help the reader to understand and compare the concept of happiness under different environments. All the three concepts combined together explain the reality that happiness is within you. The most important of the three concepts, is the concept of The Happyraj.
The Happyraj, known as the Kingdom of Happiness, is a new kind of resort island.
It is designed to help visitors to live in an environment where the enemies of happiness cannot easily penetrate the firewalls to disturb your serene life styles.
At the Happyraj you are provided with all your food, accommodation and clothing. Qualified and experienced professionals are there to look after your sicknesses. While you are within the island you are not expected to communicate with any other person other than your personal animators who will help you with guidance necessary to complete your mission. The other objective is to help you compare the lifestyles available in the island with that of your own. These comparisons will certainly open your eyes to the realities of the world.
The HappiCraft is the other concept. It is the restaurant boat that ferries you to the Happyraj. The boat ride is a mega party where enjoying life is limited to the personal likes and dislikes of individuals. On the HappiCraft, food, drinks and everything you need is available, and are free. It is an extension of your own society where you live and work. It will also provide you with the framework to help you compare the two life styles and make adjustments to your own style of life so that you could be happier.
Sompal de Unhappi is the third concept. He is the thread that combines the Happyraj with that of the HappiCraft and with the realities of life. His responsibility is to make you happy while you are traveling in the party boat. The chapter on Sompal explores the Happyraj is intended to explain the facilities available in the resort island known as the Kingdom of Happiness.
Happiness is not a commodity that you can purchase from the supermarket,
but a component that you should add to decorate your own life and the lives of your beloved.
Action Plans
The section on action plan is intended to help you go into action, almost immediately. Action plans include a multilevel plan, the main objective of which is to help you define your priorities so that you could move into a higher level of happiness during the short period.
The chapter on meditation is to help you go into a meditative mood almost immediately. There is a very brief section on the advantages of meditation. This chapter also introduces you to the practice of meditation or how to begin.
The last section is on the purpose of life. Here one has to assimilate what he has already collected while reading the pages: the attitudes, knowledge and skills. The objective here is to stress the importance of a global plan for one’s own life.
Happiness is not a commodity that you can purchase from the supermarket, but a component that you should add to decorate your own life and the lives of your beloved.
May all beings be happy!
Nihal Dissanayake, 2006 A Stamford Lake Publication
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