These talks present meditation as a way to true happiness. The Beatitudes contain a universal blueprint for happiness – ‘happy are the sorrowful’, ‘happy are the poor in spirit’. But the mind struggles with this teaching though its wisdom speaks to the heart. Meditation, Laurence Freeman says, offers a path from the head to the heart. The simple, faithful recitation of the mantra is a direct entry into the poverty of spirit that enriches all life and enables us to face adverse situations with contemplative wisdom. How we face adverse situations is the true test of the art of happiness.