Smile! :)

It is often advised to put on a half smile while meditating. Why is this? Is it a natural state for us as humans? What makes it so beneficial to meditating?

Smiling is associated with positivity. When we smile it just tends makes everything better. It makes others around us happier and more positive. If you smile while you are meditating it can help you realize what around you you are smiling about and will give you a more positive view on the world.

Dalai Lama says that he is a professional laugher even though he has faced many difficulties in his life. His simple family lifestyle in a small village has helped him be more jovial as his family were always amusing themselves and teasing each other.

“Of course problems are there. But thinking only of the negative aspect doesn’t help to find solutions and it destroys peace of mind. Everything, though, is relative. You can see the positive side of even the worst tragedies if you adopt a holistic perspective.” – Dalai Lama

This is a very important thing to look at, I think, especially in this day and age. It seems like because of technological and scientific advances, we have everything we could ever want in life yet we are never happy. I mean depression rates are increasing every year! Dalai Lama and his people have lost their country. He’s homeless. But he still smiles and laughs everyday because he looks at the positive points of his situation (like meeting new people and travelling all around the world) rather than the negatives. This has helped him preserve his inner peace.

“An authentic smile arouses an authentic feeling of freshness, and I think the smile belongs only to human beings. If we want those smiles, we must create the reasons that make them appear.”

Cites:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/11zpkw/is_the_half_smile_the_natural_relaxed_state_of/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/10/24/dalai-lama-on-laughter-and-compassion.html