And how do you do this? By analyzing your thought patterns. When you do, you realize that you are full of “misknowledge”—misunderstandings of yourself and the world that lead to anger, discontent, and fear, mainly that you are the center of the universe, that your self is a fixed, constant, and bounded entity. When you meditate you develop new habits of thinking. You free yourself from the constraints of your habitual mind. In other words, you teach yourself to think differently. And then, you are on the path to happiness, fulfillment, and even enlightenment.

The battle for happiness is fought and either won or lost primarily within the mind. If you can recognize delusion, greed, anger, envy, and pride as the main enemies of your well-being and learn to focus your mind on overcoming them, you may find yourself able to install wisdom, generosity, tolerance, love, and altruism in their place.