5 TILF Thubten Chodron's Google Talk

 Link to YouTube video of Google Talk titled "Creating Habits for Happiness."

Here are some of my notes:

1. She starts the talk with a short meditation and a “motivation check in.” We should set good motivation for all that we do. And check it consciously to make sure that it is a good motivation. For Buddhists, it's not what you do, but WHY you do it. We often don't know our own motivations. There are, however, intentions for all of our actions... but we are spaced out, we live on automatic. So, we aren't fully alive because we are not making a conscious choice about how to use our energy and not steering our mind in a virtuous or wholesome direction.
2. We need to develop our introspective awareness: what are we thinking and saying and why? what are we doing and why are we doing it? We should apply reason and wisdom so we can differentiate rotten from beneficial motivations, and cultivate the beneficial. Do we create more problems or benefit more people then we create? That's what gives meaning and purpose to our lives.
3. We need to be on top of what's going on in our own minds. We need to check how we fulfill our motivations and remedying when we mess us. We need to be responsible for our choices. We need to pick ourselves up and continue with a lot of joy..
4. Mindfulness is good, but bare attention isn't sufficient. Just telling ourselves that we are angry, and then being angry isn't enough. Speaking out in anger isn't good ("I'll be imprinting more anger.") It's not external things that imprison us. It's internal things. We can't suppress anger. But we can let it dissipate. Ask yourself: "why am I angry?" And again. Sooner or later I get beyond the "they" Why did I get angry when they did that?"