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*"What are these false beliefs that block you from happiness? Here are some examples. First: You cannot be happy without the things that you...consider so precious. False. There is not a single moment in your life when you do not have everything you need to be happy. ...
*"Another belief: Happiness is in the future. Not true. Right here and now you are happy and you do not know it because your false beliefs and your distorted perceptions have got you caught up in fears, anxieties, attachments, conflicts, guilt and a host of games that you are programmed to play. If you would see through this you would realize that you are happy and do not know it.
*"Yet another belief: Happiness will come if you manage to change the situation you are in and the people around you. Not true. ... What makes you happy or unhappy is not the world and the people around you, but the thinking in your head. ...
*"Another false belief: If all your desires are fulfilled you will be happy. Not true. ... The fulfillment of desire can, at the most, bring flashes of pleasure and excitement. Don't mistake that for happiness.
*"What then is happiness? Very few people know and no one can tell you, because happiness cannot be described. Can you describe light to people who have have been sitting in darkness all their lives? Can you describe reality to someone in a dream? Understand your darkness and it will vanish; then you will know what light is. Understand your nightmare for what it is and it will stop; then you will wake up to reality. Understand your false beliefs and they will drop; then you will know the taste of happiness."

Anthony de Mello, SJ
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