By Karla Johnston

It’s the end of a lovely day, made all the lovelier by sleepily making my way to a bookshelf where nestled into a crevice sits a glass mason jar, a practice companion, labeled, “Oh, My Happiness!” Taking out a piece of scrap paper and pen from within its depths, I list: The light returned to Patty’s eyes in Sangha this morning, feather from a flicker inspired a song, snowflakes on the hood of the car …

When I read the Seventh Mindfulness Training for the first time at Deer Park Monastery, I was nearly brought to tears. Growing up in a Pennsylvania home amidst the struggles of family members affected by mental illness, I often looked at the night sky, touched by the beauty of sparkling stars or the full moon and how it moved slowly and peacefully across the quiet space. While inside my Pennsylvania home, life raged. I couldn’t comprehend the existence of both realities, but I felt them, deep in the marrow. Somehow I suspected seeing peace and tranquility in the midst of chaos was a saving grace.

The Seventh Mindfulness Training inspired me to cultivate a disposition of gratitude and reprogram my learned habit energies of martyrdom, the opposite of dwelling happily. Thay articulated a paramount practice in the training, outlining how to move in the direction of peace, love, and understanding—an existence I had always sought but didn’t have words to convey.  

I left home a few weeks after high school graduation, determined to find a place of calm. I moved to Florida and then ten years later to Golden California. There, I discovered and connected to my Native American roots and began singing on a large ceremonial drum. The drum became my first Sangha, surrounded by three to twenty other singers. We practiced ceremonial songs and traveled to Sundance, singing as one voice. 

In Native American tradition, the drum is the heart of ceremony, an instrument of transformation and healing—the beat that keeps the dancers teathered to the present. In the Bible, a verse in Psalms suggests, “Sing! Make a joyful sound …” Native ceremonial songs are an occasion of joy, an anchor point that directs the heart, mind, and bodily actions towards stepping lightly on the earth while encouraging practices of love, understanding, forgiveness, and gratitude. When I’m worried about the future or slip back into the past, I have a personal mantra: sing it into submission.

In 2014, I began the process of Order of Interbeing aspirancy after visiting Deer Park Monastery on a personal week-long retreat with the nuns in Clarity Hamlet. When I attempted to explain the experience to my husband, I described it as touching something holy, happiness at its core. 

In the years since that first visit to Deer Park, I have gravitated towards the Plum Village songs and sutras. These treasures make up my present-day practice of Dwelling Happily in the Present Moment and always, without fail, turn my heart towards what is good and beautiful, like the roses and the daffodils. Total relaxation is another personal practice joy, which has proven instrumental in relaxing and releasing, letting go and nourishing, especially when paired with lullabies and music.  

The Order of Interbeing mentoring process opened my eyes, ears, and heart more fully to the daily experience of happiness. My mentors John Salerno-White and Laura Alderice were exceptional at providing loving care, wise counsel, and warm hearts. They put me in touch with two other regional Order of Interbeing aspirants, Kathi Workman and Vicki Nagalo Or So, who became two dear companions and offered support with the challenges faced on the path and inspiration in the beautiful ways they lived their lives. These four Order of Interbeing cheerleaders provided confidence and resources in facilitating and founding a community of practitioners in my mountain town of South Lake Tahoe, California. 

In the summer of 2014, a few days after July 4, Independence Day, Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community (LTMC) was born. LTMC has been a tremendous source of joy and support in my life that has rippled out to a local substance abuse treatment center I visit every week to share the practice of mindfulness in our tradition. It’s no surprise that the residents are especially fond of the total relaxation practice. 

The brave men and women I practice alongside every week are inspirations, the lights I see shine brighter each moment they live their lives in health and sobriety. Dwelling Happily in the Present Moment is watered by counselors and staff who have as their sole desire freedom from addictions. In my local Sanghas, I have found a loving extension of Thay, Deer Park Monastery, and beloved Order of Interbeing mentors, sisters, and brothers in the practice. My practice community is one of my greatest joys and treasures.     

Challenges still exist for me to recognize happinesses in the midst of suffering, especially when it comes to my Pennsylvania heartstrings. Yet with my Sanghas, companions on the path, as well as the Dharma of ministering songs, I’m supported in coming back to the breath, to the stillness, and to the wonders of life and sweet home. 

I gratefully place a printed copy of this reflection within the open-mouthed jar of my practice companion—Oh, My Happiness!

Karla Johnston, True Compassionate Dwelling, was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in September 2017 after practicing with Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community since 2014. She happily sings in her Native American tradition and writes a blog for her business InnerConstellation.com and her beloved community at LakeTahoeMindfulness.com.