Imagine a life in which you can strengthen your mind to such an extent that you could mentally switch off physical pain and also use the same skill to be a lot happier. The trick is to teach our mind a technique to handle sense signals it receives (e.g. taste) and then use the same technique to block out pain. The exact same technique can make the mind happier because it learns how to neutralize the negative psychological signals - just like the negative physical signals. When you do practice this technique, you develop a mental muscle. Use the muscle one way to remain at a happier level than...