In 2016, Michael collaborated with designer Robin Yolanda Lamarr to create this beautiful e-book using his essay on happiness as a gift to the sangha. Today, we’re sharing it with our patrons as a thank you for your continued support. The legacy of Michael’s teachings – the podcast, website, online courses – couldn’t be sustained without each of you.
Here is an excerpt:
Download the eBook by becoming a supporter on Patreon.
“When I was twenty I started attending silent meditation retreats, and my favourite centre was in wooded New England, outside of Boston. On my second retreat, during one of the sits, I told myself I would
follow my breathing, and that if any thought or distracting sensation arose, I would just stick with my breathing no matter what, keeping my body relaxed. For forty minutes I stayed with my breathing without
distraction. Thoughts arose, but they stayed at the periphery, and my breath was in the foreground of my attention.
When the timer went off, I got up from my cushion and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. As I set the glass down, joy showed up, without invitation. I was overcome with joy—an elated but calm hap-
piness that spread down my arms and legs and lasted for almost five minutes. I was smiling from ear to ear. It felt like a happiness that had settled in my nervous system and had nothing to do with anything out-
side of the concentration in my mind. In other words, nothing outside of me had created the happiness. I couldn’t say that the happiness was inside either, but settling the mind on the breath certainly created
the conditions for a joy that hadn’t been there before. I’ve been able to repeat the experience since then, and it’s changed the way that I think about and seek out happiness”
Available to our supporters on Patreon.