Psychologists and Buddhists both think that our emotions can influence a personпїЅs thoughts, actions and words and can also influence a personпїЅs happiness or state of being. But a Buddhist thinks that some emotions are good for a healthy life and some are not. The Buddhist term for happiness is sukha, which in general terms means flourishing. This is when someone has mental balance and is in tune with the reality of their life and the universe. This is an enduring and constant state of mind, as opposed to moods or reaction to stimuli.
A true Buddhist believes that we can achieve sukha by transforming our consciousness and training ourselves in mindfulness and emotional balance. This mental training can help us to distinguish what is reality and what is true to nature. This helps us in regard to fleeting emotions, moods, our temperament and really, dealing with our emotions.
To take this idea of meditation a little further, there are some psychologists who have studied the brains of meditators and feel that meditation probably has the capacity to strengthen connections and the functioning in our brain that calm feelings such as anger and fear. The brain waves of people who meditate routinely also seem to show that the highest level of activity in their brains are the areas associated with positive emotion and happiness. Meditation may actually help to develop positive emotion. We are also beginning to find out that meditations of compassion are associated with happiness and well being. The monks who study meditation have studied also that the best way to become happy is through meditation. This is different to what we usually think, that happiness comes from outside, when it really is an inside job. Meditation can be simple, based on cultivating positive emotion by meditating on limitless love, compassion, equanimity and joy. It can also be more complex as in the sequence of meditations called the seven point cause and effect method.
Meditation helps us to consciously focus our attention to achieve insight and as mentioned, enhance well being. In this way we can begin to look at how the connection can be made of Buddhist philosophies and Western medicine. In mindfulness meditation we can allow our thoughts to come as they will, observing them without making any judgment about them. Science is showing how many medical problems have been effectively treated with this practice. Things such as anxiety, substance abuse, insomnia and others have shown to be diseases that react well to meditation. It is even a good way for therapists to deal with their own stressors and enhance compassion.