We confuse pleasure with happiness. There are simple pleasures, which we experience through our senses.

Pleasure is often getting what I want. Pleasure easily carries with it a sense of having and owning. Pleasure is the result of an effort, a movement towards. An initial experience of pleasure can lead to habits, more desire, dependency and addiction. Pleasure is not a substitute for happiness.

Happiness comes through receptivity, calmness of being and interest – a star-filled night sky, a work of art, sight/sound of something unusual, depths of meditation, love and liberation of the heart.

In this workshop, we explore mindfulness, meditation and sharing of experiences to see deeply into our relationship to pleasure and happiness.

The day will include a talk on the theme, practical exercises and an opportunity for questions and answers.

Christopher Titmuss, a senior Dharma teacher in the West, offers retreats, facilitates pilgrimages and leads Dharma programs worldwide. His teachings focus on insight meditation (vipassana), the expansive heart and enquiry into liberation. Poet, photographer and social critic, he is the author of numerous books. More than 1000 of his talks are freely available on:

www.soundcloud.org

Christopher writes a weekly Dharma blog on a wide variety of global issues. A former Buddhist monk in Thailand and India, he has lived in Totnes, Devon, England since 1982. 

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