1. JAYAN E. ROMESH
HAPPINESS NOW
AWAKENING INSTANT HAPPINESS

2. Copyright © 2015 by Jayan Romesh Edirisinghe
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any manner without the
prior written permission of the author.
Published 2015
Cover designed by Jayan E. Romesh
Cover photo Shutterstock
Book design by Designs by Jen
www.yourdesignsbyjen.com
ISBN-13: 978-1512184914
ISBN-10: 1512184918

3. For the Happiness Seeker

4. Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge each of my thoughts,
circumstances, and the people who led me to the
present moment, guiding me along the way as my
life unfolded and especially you who will learn
the lessons in this message and find your happi-
ness right now, wherever you are, no matter what.
My gratitude to neuropsychologist and author of
Hardwiring Happiness Rick Hanson, who took his
valuable time to go through my writing and gave
me the encouragement and blessings for the benefit
of humanity.

5. Author Foreword
This book is transformational writing that has come
out of awakening. As you read, a shift takes place
within you that can awaken instant happiness that
is available for anyone. An essential part of this
awakening is the recognition of the conditioned
mental processes that perpetuate the unawakened
state that creates unhappiness. This newfound
ability of rising above thought and realizing a
dimension within yourself that is more vast, is the
key to instant happiness. This awareness that is prior
to thought and action will create awareness that will
dissolve unhappiness and awaken happiness
now for you.
Jayan E. Romesh
Vancouver, BC

6. Happiness is mental harmony

7. Happiness Now
Seeking happiness has been my lifelong purpose. In
the vast cosmological scheme, it is rare and precious
to be born as a human being on this planet; happi-
ness is our natural state. There is a way through inner
transformationwherewefindhappinessrightnowand
where we are regardless of our circumstance. I found
this way by breaking the cyclic chains reactions
of the mind.
In the past I searched for the things that I thought
would give me material success and happiness.
As most of us believe that our happiness depends
on outside circumstances, I became habituated
to reaching for things that could provide it. I cer-
tainly tried many different things. I acquired mate-
rial items that made me happy. I built relationships
that did not have mutual understanding or love. I
looked for external things to provide happiness.

8. In Search of Happiness .…
In year 2010, affected by war, conflicts, and economic
downturn, I was compelled to leave behind my mate-
rial wealth and travel to Canada in search of safety,
peace, prosperity, and happiness. My quest did not
provide me with the lasting happiness I was looking
for as I had to undergo many challenges in a distant
land where I lacked love and support. My first year in
Canada was a cold winter where I had to struggle with
only a very small amount of funds. Sometimes I was
deprived of even basic needs. Even though I was not
in any real danger, the hunger, the cold, and lack of
friendlypresenceledmetothevergeofpanic.Yetwith
great effort and with mindful awareness I was able to
live each day in for the moment. I came to realize that,

9. “Happiness and Peace
doesn’t exist in a distant land
or through external things,
they are within us”.
- Jayan E. Romesh

10. In 2012 my life unraveled. In one horrible year it
felt like my life evaporated. I lost all my material
wealth I left in my motherland while I was strug-
gling in a distant land in search of prosperity and
happiness. I was left without material reminders of
my previous life. Everything was gone and I had
to make decisions about how to move on. As these
thoughts entered my consciousness, I had a choice to
move on. I realized thoughts have no power except
what we give them. I was carefully becoming more
aware of how they are triggered and the habitual
feelings and reactions that go with them. Thoughts
start the moment the senses connect with a stimu-
lus like sights or sounds. This link runs from sens-
ing to perceiving thoughts to feeling, craving, and
clinging and then ending with intention and action.
This understanding gave me more choice for how I
respond to the circumstances I had no control over.
This mindful awareness leads me to find the
beauty and happiness of the present moment.
10

11. 11
“You have the choice to decide
the moment to moment
experiences of your life”

12. 12
“Happiness can be found
right now where you are
whatever the circumstance is”
- Jayan E. Romesh

13. 13
I was initially so filled with grief and hatred
towards circumstances and the people I believed
created these conditions for me. As my pain began
to fade through mindful awareness, I gradually let
go of the past with forgiveness and compassion.
I did not react emotionally and instead through
the practice of mindfulness I began to break the
emotional chains that tied me down. I came to
realize that

14. 14
“By breaking the link
that connects intention and actions,
we could create emotional freedom;
the key to happiness”

15. 15
mindfulness practice has helped me to understand
how we create our external world with our habitu-
al thoughts and emotions. I also gained personal
power through mindfulness to break these habits and
to create choice. The break came after the sense per-
ceptions, but before the mental habits created further
thoughts and feelings. Happiness is always a choice
and I was then able to tap into the creative potential
of my life.

16. 16
Exercise
The breath, awareness and Happiness
This exercise develops your awareness of breathing
in and out. Take few deep and moderately forceful
breaths and then into your natural rhythm of res-
piration. This is a practice of simply watching the
breath, being with the breath. Doing this practice,
we are letting ourselves experience the process of
breathing. Let the breath come and go. See for your-
self that sometimes it is short or shallow, sometimes
deep, sometimes it is soft and subtle and sometimes
it can be rough. Most of all, we see that it changes
over time. We are aware of our breathing. We de-
velop stillness of the mind awakening happiness.

17. 17
“Happiness is a Choice”

18. 18
I was deeply touched by my inner stillness that gave
me transformation. It had managed to find me, even
in the dark. I started to recognize how precious the
human life on this planet is and how we could serve
to elevate it and bring some cheerfulness, hope,
well being, and spiritual growth or ecstasy into the
life of another person with mindful living. I found
when we focus our attention to the present moment,
instead of moments that are over or yet to be, we
can maximize our productivity, creativity, and
abilitytoaccomplishgoalsandtodiscoverthethreadof
interconnectedness. Thoreau saw this in his message,

19. 19
“Only that day dawns to which we are awake”
-Thoreau
“It tends to be a momentous occasion
to intentionally stop all your outward activity
and open to an interior stillness
that holds the key to happiness ’’

20. 20
With this new found view of my life I turned my
attention to cultivating present moment orienta-
tion. My actions were governed by awareness, as
well as right thoughts and speech. My thoughts and
brain was wired with beautiful thoughts of love and
compassion, which created happiness from within;
that is lasting regardless of many vicissitudes of
life. Things and circumstances that I thought I need-
ed for my happiness came to me with no struggle
or effort. The cycles of gain or loss, good repute or
ill repute, praise or blame, joy or sorrow could no
longer touch my inner stillness. I could accept things
as they are with equanimity and non-harming. The
rise and fall of my emotional tide and external
conditions would not deter me from my course of
transformation. With dependency gone there was
no fear of losing external things and my life flowed
with grace, ease, and lightness. I have made an effort
to pay attention to my thoughts, sense perceptions,
emotions, desires, and actions. I let them come and
go with more awareness. I have let resentments and
past sorrows fall away. I have developed a sense
of peace, contentment, and love that is present

21. 21
together in my mind. A sense of wholeness feels like
my natural state. Finally I am now able to take
pleasure in the happiness of others. I feel a sense
of inner abundance and joy. When my hatred ceased
and it became easier to treat others with love and
compassion, there was no more struggle in
my life. I felt spontaneous forgiveness for the
people who have done me wrong. Through
mindfulness, I have found a balance from the
inside that helps to temper my reactions and I feel a
genuine willingness to accept and forgive. I also
felt free to express love for all living beings
with kindness.
With a new awareness of interconnectedness
and love, I feel the vast openness of space, which
cannot be tainted or marred. I recognized my union
with all of life. This loving kindness for all be-
ings has been the foundation of my spiritual awak-
ening. It opened up a boundlessness of life, the
immeasurable nature of sentient existence. I saw the
beauty of love and the beauty of the present moment.

22. 22
Exercise
Happiness by expanding Loving Kindness
First begin by sending loving kindness to yourself.
Use the following phrases:
May I be safe,
May I be happy,
May I be healthy,
May I live with ease.
After directing loving kindness to yourself, you
move on to someone you find inspiring, or to whom
you feel grateful. Bring the person’s presence into
your mind and direct the loving phrases toward him
or her:
May you be safe,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you live with ease.
In the final phase we offer loving kindness to all
beings everywhere.
May all beings be safe,
May all beings be happy,
May all beings be healthy,
May all beings live with ease.

23. 23
I now live each moment with this newfound
awareness and stillness neither looking back in
to the past nor anticipating about the future. I
found the past is mere memory, the future is just
our thoughts, and present is real. The only way to
experience lasting happiness is to learn to live your
life in the present moment. Regardless of your past,
your current circumstances or your future, you could
still learn to live happily in the present moment.

24. 24
“Do not live in the past which is mere memory
Do not anticipate future, which is mere illusion
Live Happily in the present moment Right now
Where you are”

25. 25
I have found my true wealth that is the radiant joy of
being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes
with it right now. Contentment is the greatest wealth.
I do not look outside for happiness. I look in at a trea-
sure within that is infinitely greater than anything the
world could offer me. I did not always take the con-
tent of my mind seriously. My thoughts lost power
and I felt a certain stillness and peace inside me. With
practice the sense of stillness and peace deepened
and felt a subtle emanation of joy arising from deep
within, the joy of being. The whole external world
became insignificant to me and I evolved into a
selfless state.

26. 26
“By observation of the objects
whether it is the breath, pain or whatever else arises
without grasping, aversion or ignorance,
it looses its power over you.”

27. 27
I have come to know that challenges are gifts and
opportunities to learn. I have learned lessons from
my setbacks and made them as opportunities to
increaseacceptance,forgiveness,flexibility,patience,
compassion, joy, and equanimity. Genuine
boundless love and compassion for all living
beings makes me feel like life has powerful
possibilities. I felt a deep feeling of
appreciation, the value of human existence
and of its potential for flourishing. It created
happiness from within, a profound sensation with
inner stillness that endured the true happiness.
Finally, I have learned to allow the present moment
to be and to just accept the impermanent nature of
all things and conditions. My thoughts will be con-
structive, never destructive. My mind will dwell in
the present moment that has infinite possibilities.
It will not dwell in the past, which is a mere illu-
sion. Regardless of what happened in the past or
what may happen in the future, now is where hap-
piness lies. Life is really nothing more than a se-
ries of present moments to experience, one after
another. Your life and happiness is right now,
this very moment. I am finding peace and
lasting happiness on this planet.

28. 28
I lose no moment of passing life
by remembering the past
I take the path to happiness now
Living in the moment
No matter what
- Jayan E Romesh
Thank you for reading

29. Happiness Now
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www.jayanromesh.com
where you can learn more about
Jayan E. Romesh