Hi, my name's Andy and welcome to Radio Headspace and to Monday morning.

So now you've woken up feeling this morning.

I was looking back a few days ago at one of my favorite books and the author of this book

has been called the happiest person in the world.

I can think as well of another person who's had that same title who was on the front of

Time magazine once.

They both happen to be Buddhist monks.

I'd quite like to see them going up against each other, to be honest, smiling, seeing

who can give the biggest smile.

It's an interesting thing we don't talk a lot about science on Radio Headspace.

But there is something interesting looking at what's happening beyond the mind, perhaps

in the brain, in the body, as we train the mind.

No matter what nature that training takes, whether it's more sort of reflection, contemplative,

meditation, whatever it might be.

Certainly in these studies where they've ended up coming out with these ideas of sort

of the happiest person or the most compassionate person, they're looking very specifically at

what's happening in the brain and at the different areas of the brain.

The areas of brain associated with feelings of positive wellbeing, where we perhaps

might be less reactive, where we might be more focused.

There's something I think really interesting in that.

The bottom line, of course, is that it's how we feel.

It's not what we read about in a scientific paper, but it is helpful.

...