Hi Bill,

It's a pleasure to interview you about your newest book, "The Happy Mind". The Happy Mind approach offers us an opportunity to start thinking differently about happiness. It allows us to make happiness the starting point and not the destination, the driving force and not a whim of fortune. I really enjoyed reading your book and I think my readers will, too. How is it that you came to develop the principles in your book?

For the past 45 years, I have been studying Eastern and Western philosophy and religion searching for answers to the “big” questions: What’s going on? Why are we here? What’s the meaning and purpose of life? The driving force behind such questions was my desire to improve the quality of my life: to experience an inner sense of peace and well-being—in short, more happiness. This is not merely a selfish quest, since an inner sense of serenity and well-being is the wellspring of genuine compassion and unconditional love. And of course it works the other way as well: when we extend compassion and love to others, it brings us joy.

So over the years, I’ve come to focus on the question of happiness itself:  Where does happiness come from? What causes unhappiness? How can we shift from unhappiness back to happiness?

I’ve discovered that happiness is our natural inner state of being, rather than an outer state of affairs. Whenever we are upset, it is because we are blocking our own awareness of our inner happiness. Ultimately, those inner obstacles are based on a few core beliefs that we have simply inherited from our culture. If we can shift those core beliefs, we can open ourselves to experience the deep and lasting happiness that is our true nature. The Happy Mind develops an alternative set of core beliefs that can help us to open our minds to that deeper self-awareness which is the essence of true happiness.

Q- The first principle you outline is the principle of "One Power"; that power being the infinite eternal creative potential forever expanding well-being; in essence, the power of love itself. I consciously choose to live by this principle, and it's what I teach in my Reiki classes. Yet, my students still struggle with this idea and many of them feel the need to shield themselves from "bad energy" or "evil influences". Can you explain this from your perspective?

The principle of one power is the core belief that there is only one power or source, and that power is love—the infinite eternal creative potential for ever-expanding well-being. The other possible core belief is a belief in two-powers—the belief that there is a second power that can block or limit or threaten the power of love. You are always believing in one or the other of these core beliefs, even if only subconsciously. You start off in a two-power way of thinking, since that is the dominant thought pattern of our culture. This means you experience your life as a mixture of good and bad. 

But whenever you experience badness or evil, you can interpret that experience in one of two ways. You can choose to believe that the reason you’re experiencing evil is that there really is evil out there. Then it would be appropriate to feel afraid, to shield yourself from the evil influence, or to attack it and overcome it. 

Or you can choose to interpret your experience of evil from a perspective of one-power. This way of thinking would say that you are experiencing darkness not because there really is some power for darkness, but simply because your own eyes are partially shut. In other words, the darkness you perceive in the world is only a reflection of the darkness you are projecting. The answer is not to fearfully attack the darkness or fearfully defend yourself against it. The most appropriate response is simply to extend more love.

You don’t always get to choose when you perceive evil and feel fear. But you can always choose how you will interpret and respond to it. Your choices are fear or love. Your response will either reinforce the illusion of evil or dispel it.

Q- You describe how our culture tends to take a "technique approach to life and happiness". We read books, take classes, and try some of the approaches we learned for a while, but never seem to be satisfied or to achieve happiness. Can you explain what's going on here?

We start in a way of thinking based on a foundational belief in two powers. That way of thinking necessarily adds elements of fear and conflict to every experience we can possibly have. A “technique approach” gives us tools to deal with our many experiences of fear and conflict. But if we don’t actually change the foundations of our whole way of thinking, we will continue to make more “problem experiences” for ourselves. If we believe that we are separate from the source of our good, then we will always experience our lives as limited and lacking in some way, no matter how many techniques we use to manipulate and change the world. 

This is not to say that all of these various techniques are wrong. Indeed, they may be extremely helpful in dealing with particular problems in our daily lives. But to really experience deep and lasting happiness, we have to change those underlying core beliefs that give rise all of our experiences of fear and lack and threat. Otherwise we will spend our whole lives just battling the symptoms, but never really healing the underlying “disease,” the underlying illusion of the absence of love.

Q- A large part of my practice focuses on the past. In the past life readings and past life regression sessions that I offer, I help people release the perceived influences of their past with the goal of manifesting happiness in the present. Can you talk about time and how it influences our thinking in this regard?

The real focus of The Happy Mind is the beliefs and thoughts that shape and color our experiences. We ourselves add all of the meaning that we find in our experience, and the perceived meaning of our experience determines how we feel. So my book tries to find the few underlying core beliefs that lie at the foundations of all of our other beliefs and thoughts. Changing those core beliefs is essential to changing the quality and feeling of our life experience. In other words, healing our lives means healing the inner thought patterns that are blocking our awareness of love’s presence. 

One possible way to understand these inner thought patterns is in terms of “the past.” From this perspective, previous experiences that left some lingering influence in our current thought patterns will continue to determine the quality of our life experience now. So it is helpful then to uncover, heal and release any limiting thoughts from previous experiences. This whole process of uncovering and healing the past can be extremely helpful in healing the present.
 
I say that this is “one possible way,” because I believe that sometimes we can heal our present thought patterns directly without reference to the past. For me, “the past’ is ultimately just a story that we are telling ourselves now, consciously or subconsciously, It doesn’t actually “exist” now, except in our memories. However, virtually everyone in our culture believes in the reality of time and the past. This belief has deep roots in our psyche both collectively and individually. In that context, ‘healing the past” may be an essential part of healing the present.

The important issue is releasing our limiting thought patterns now. So for me, it doesn’t make any real difference whether we do this by using a framework of past life regression, or a framework of remembering my deepest inner truth now. It all depends what is the most effective approach for the person you are trying to help. Both approaches can arrive at the same destination of deep inner peace and joy.

Q- Many of us have fearful thoughts that block our experience of happiness and love. Can you offer one simple tool we can use right away to begin to allow happiness into our lives?

One simple tool that can help you to shift from unhappiness to happiness is wonderful opportunity exercise. When you are upset, it is because you yourself are blocking your inner happiness. You are blaming your upsetness on someone or something else, but it is really caused by your own thoughts. So you can think of the person or situation you are upset about as a wonderful opportunity to uncover and let go of your own inner obstacles. Until you let go of those thoughts, they are always working in the background to limit and sabotage your happiness. Every situation in which you feel upset can become wonderful opportunity to uncover your own self-deception, and open yourself to a whole new level of happiness.
 
This does not mean that the situation you’re facing is wonderful. It means that if you are upset now, that upsetness is coming from inside yourself. It is being caused by you blocking your own deeper self-awareness. So any situation that brings those inner obstacles to light can serve as a wonderful opportunity for you to discover and heal the real cause of your unhappiness.
 

Q- Thank you , Bill, for your wonderful insights. I highly recommend your book and your workshops. Where can people go to experience more of your work? (include your website, location for your book, and upcoming workshops). 


Visit my website www.TheHappyMindBook.com for hundreds of articles, practical exercises, and more. My wife and I offer a one-day workshop entitled The Happy Mind Workshop. The whole idea of changing the foundations of all of your unhappy thoughts is simple in theory. But in practice, it can be challenging, since you have a lifetime of believing your old beliefs, and a lifetime of experience that validates and justifies them. Plus you live in a culture that unconsciously accepts those old beliefs without question, and reinforces them for you every day.
 
We offer a 2-hour mini-workshop entitled Happiness: The Gateway to Everything You Want For Yourself and Others. The next mini-workshop will be offered at the Unity Church in Albany on June 19th. Many people think that getting everything you want is the gateway to happiness. But actually it’s just the opposite. Happiness is the key to physical health, loving relationships, genuine compassion, realizing your deepest dreams, and experiencing prosperity and well-being in every area of your life. And it is your guide on your journey of self-awakening.
 
We offer an extensive three-day workshop, Living the Happy Mind: Undoing Your Inner Obstacles To Happiness. This workshop goes into depth about how to actually live the seven principles in your daily life. And it guides you to discover your own unique life purpose and the gifts you bring to this journey. 

We also do book signings and presentations in the upstate New York area. For information on our workshops and other events, visit www.TheHappyMindBook.com. If you would like us to come to your area to offer a workshop or a talk, please contact us through the website or call us at 315-736-3324.

Best of luck, Bill. I hope that my readers will check out the wonderful things you have to offer. I highly recommend your work!
Blessings,
Mary
www.IntegratedEnergyHealing.com