Experts Say Nation Could Use A Stimulus of Happiness

The Toledo Blade columnist Roberta de Boer did an interview with me for this article in todays paper. The full article is here. Below is an excerpt.

"After years on the fringe, the practice of meditation is now a mainstream and frequently recommended approach to recalibrating racing minds.

"Toledo native Jay Rinsen Weik returned here from Boston in 2001 and founded the Toledo Zen Center.

"One of the main [Buddhist] practices is generosity, because that strikes right at the heart of this cocoon we wind around ourselves, this 'I have to protect me.' That feeling [nationally] is like a thick fog right now: 'We're going down the tubes, baby, and I'm hunkering in.'•"

In fact, Mr. Weik argued, the economic downturn offers an upside.

"We have a great opportunity, actually. When these material things are taken away, what are you going to do? On the other side of it, it's a way of seeing, 'You know what? That wasn't who I was anyway.' I mean, I'd rather have a full retirement account, but there's much more to me than that."

Mr. Weik describes with a Buddhist mindset the weekly meditation practice and periodic gratitude workshops he leads, but he echoes findings in positive psychology..."

"Jay Rinsen Weik, founder of the Toledo Zen Center, finds a silver lining in the economic downturn."
( THE BLADE/LORI KING )