If your answer is “Yes” to any of those questions, I have good news for you:
We’re in the early stages of a promising disruption in wellness and spirituality that’s ideally suited for our culture.
The need is obvious. Unhappiness, stress, anxiety, loneliness,depression, addiction and divisiveness had been rising long before COVID made them worse. By 2022, happiness in the US hit a 50-year low. And the US is not alone.
If mindfulness, meditation, yoga, talk therapy, positive psychology and other popular approaches were enough to reverse this trend, it would have happened by now.
They have many benefits, and if they’re helping you, great. Keep doing them.
But keep an open mind about a proven approach with the same ancient Indian roots that’s coming out of the woodwork, and can’t come soon enough.
It can be an ideal complement to whatever else you’re doing, or a standalone alternative.
It would be very presumptuous of me to tell you what the meaning of your life should be to you! I think's a personal decision.
I believe the Meaning of Life is whatever makes you feel most fulfilled.
That’s not exactly going out on a limb. But here’s what’s important:
Think about fulfillment. It can result from pursuing a purpose. But fulfillment is not a result. It’s an emotion -- something you feel.
Meaning is infused in fulfillment, as well as happiness, serenity, love and other warmhearted emotions.
Whether the Meaning of Life to you is helping others, having loving relationships, making a fortune or something else, what you’re seeking is not the objective itself. It’s the emotional reward.
I believe we need to be fully engaged in the world – it needs our help!
But no purpose, achievement, relationship or anything else external will get you off the proverbial emotional rollercoaster.
How do I know? Because it has never happened. Not to anyone. Ever.
Think of the world’s richest and most powerful people in the world: Presidents, prime ministers, CEOs, celebrities, billionaire investors.
They set and met ultra-ambitious goals.
But do they look more fulfilled, happy or peaceful than half the people you know?
Lasting peace and happiness, and unshakable fulfilment couldn’t be more accessible or attainable.
You don’t have to change anything you do in life.
You just have to know where and how to look.
Happiness has never been complicated. We have complicated happiness.
There is a simple fix: We need to stop looking for it in the wrong direction!
Mindfulness, meditation and yoga rightly teach that awareness (also known as consciousness) is your true essence and the source of lasting peace and happiness. In these traditions awareness is just our simple, silent observing presence that knows what see, hear, think, feel…everything we do. It doesn’t think or analyze. It’s the source of attention.
But most forms of these practices direct attention onto specific things: Our breath, body energy, memories, mantras, the present moment, etc.
This has many benefits. But it prolongs the search for lasting peace and happiness and spiritual awakening because it directs our attention aware from what these traditions teach is the source the of lasting peace and happiness and spiritual awakening.
Common sense tells us that if you want something, you go directly to its source.
Optimized for Western professionals, Reverse Mindfulness for Lasting Happiness(“Reverse Mindfulness”) is an ultra-practical adaptation of the simplest Yogic tradition. It’s resurfacing thanks to its simplicity, portability, lack of time commitment and amazingly fast results.
Its core is what I call “reversing attention.”
You can effortlessly pay attention in two directions: To what you’re aware of (which is automatic) and by bringing the rest of your attention back to what is aware of it --awareness itself.
Essentially, you shift mindfulness into reverse. Effortlessly, you “reverse your attention.”
Reversing your attention grounds you in awareness, which is flawless, inherently peaceful and fulfilled, and incapable of negativity.
So, what’s the simplest secret of lasting happiness and stress relief?
No matter how stressed, unhappy or upset you might feel about a situation or life in general, something within you feels just fine.
For however long your effortlessly pay attention to it – eyes-open, alone, or in a conversation or meeting -- you’ll feel just fine, too. Neutral at worst. And you’ll function better than usual.
The more OFTEN you pay attention to and EXPLORE it, the sooner you’ll experience lasting peace and happiness, and dissolve stress and worry, much faster than in any other way.
In a fraction of the time required by other methods, you’ll enjoy additional benefits:
The logic behind Reverse Mindfulness for Lasting Happiness is obvious: If you know the source of lasting peace and happiness, then pay some attention to it, rather than everything EXCEPT it 100% of the time!
From ages 12-23, I lived a very challenging, illness-ridden life linked to an undiagnosed genetic condition.
In 1988, a year after graduating from Harvard, my resistance collapsed and I fell into an extreme depression.
Fortunately, it led me to find very successful treatment. I finally felt “normal.”
But normal seemed to mean riding an emotional rollercoaster driven by events and circumstances with almost everyone else.
So, alongside a demanding career in communications and eventual family life, I explored how something better than normal – lasting happiness – is pursued worldwide with approaches such as Mindfulness, meditation, yoga, positive psychology, ancient spiritual teachings and more. It was a fun but unremarkable hobby for 20 years. Then...
I was driving home as usual when the world seemed to blossom into vivid colors. Even lampposts and road signs seemed vibrant and alive. Something had shifted; I wasn't sure what.
Within 48 hours, I realized that a lifelong, disruptive stress condition in my heart had vanished, never to return.
Even more bizarre, when I focused on an object, I felt a pressing sensation between my eyebrows and an unearthly sense of peace and “oneness” with the space around it.
The “eyebrow center” is the location of the “third spiritual eye” in some Eastern traditions. Courtesy of Google, I soon learned that it's associated with deeper states of consciousness, wisdom, intuition and more.
Fast forward to 2019. I had been teaching a popular wellness and spirituality workshop for a few years.
I couldn’t imagine feeling any better. (I was soon pleasantly surprised.) But for my clients, I still didn’t have a magic bullet for lasting happiness.
To me, it was the magic bullet. But I knew it wouldn't be obvious to everyone. Most people who “got it” had tried almost everything else, as I had.
I call the general approach “reversing attention.” To simplify it for a mainstream Western audience, I spent over a year studying different approaches to reversing attention.
With much outside input, l created a condensed program that is more experiential, visual and simple – more from the heart than the head – than the original. Today, it's called Reverse Mindfulness for Lasting Happiness.
I believe reversing attention will eventually become more prevalent than mindfulness. It's easier, faster, 100% portable, involves no eyes-closed meditation (mindfulness programs often do) and provides what most of us want above all: lasting peace and happiness, and fulfilment that can't be shaken by events and circumstances.
For now, it’s working absolute wonders for people who try it.
Get the Life You Deserve!
All you need is a few specific skills and some basic knowledge and insights to experience to the peaceful, joyful essence of who you are every day. That’s what I’ll help you do as an individual coach and counselor, or a speaker at your company or organization.
I'd be delighted to give you a free 30-minute, no-obligation introduction to Reverse Mindfulness for Lasting Happiness. I promise you'll enjoy it. I teach serious, life-altering material in a down-to-earth, lighthearted way.
“Bruce doesn’t teach you to think positive as a temporary state of mind. He teaches you to feel positive - happy and fulfilled - as a way of life. Positive thinking then comes naturally. He helped me increase focus, productivity and a sense of purpose in my career, which led to more enjoyment in my life. Bruce is is savvy and knows all the tricks of the trade in business, which was important, as I am a born skeptic."
“I worked with Bruce, sometimes around the clock, when he was the Communications Director at a leading technology firm. His skills in communication, conflict resolution, dealing with C-Suite executives are exceptional. He's a natural executive mentor. In his current role, I saw a whole different side of him. He gave me a powerful framework for examining my life, truly assessing what I want it to mean, and finding lasting happiness.
“I have struggled throughout my life with pervasive negative thoughts. Bruce gave me simple, effective tools that I use to transform my mood and feel better immediately. I’m not usually a consumer of “self help,” but I’d recommend working with Bruce to anyone. What he will teach you is truly transformational. It can improve how you feel, think and work every day.”
“It is so easy to become derailed by our own negative thoughts and conditioned behavior in work and life, and very challenging to get back on track. Bruce gave me vital tools, techniques and advice that have given me greater tranquility, happiness and wellness.”