"Praise saves us money, enriches our relationships, and creates happiness. We need to spread more of it around.

"The hardest person to give any praise to is yourself. I was brought up to believe that someone who praises themself becomes big headed. That's not so. They become big hearted. Praising our good qualities to ourself is positively encouraging them.

"When I was a student, my first meditation teacher gave me some practical advice. He began by asking me the first thing I did after getting up in the morning.

" 'I go to the bathroom,' I said.

" 'Is there a mirror in your bathroom?' he enquired.

" 'Of course.'

" 'Good,' he said. 'Now, every morning, even before you brush your teeth, I want you to look in that mirror and smile at yourself.'

" 'Sir!' I began to protest. 'I am a student. Sometimes I go to bed very late, and get up in the morning not feeling my best. Some mornings, I would be frightened to look at myself in a mirror, let alone smile!'

"He chuckled, looked me in the eye, and said, 'If you cannot manage a natural smile, then take your two index fingers, place one on each corner of your mouth, and push up. Like this.' And he showed me.

"He looked ridiculous. I giggled. He ordered me to try it. So I did.

"The very next morning, I dragged myself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. 'Urrgh!' It was not a pretty sight. A natural smile was a nonstarter. So I took my two index fingers, placed one on each corner of my mouth, and pushed up. I then saw this young guy making a silly face in the mirror, and I couldn't help grinning. Once there was a natural smile, I saw the student in the mirror smiling at me. So I smiled even more. The man in the mirror smiled even more. In a few seconds, we ended up laughing together.

"I continued that practice every morning for two years. Every morning, no matter how I felt when I got out of bed, I was soon laughing at myself in the mirror, usually with the help of my two fingers. People say I smile a lot these days. Perhaps the muscles around my mouth got kind of stuck in that position.

"We can try the two-finger trick any time of the day. It is especially useful when we feel sick, fed up, or downright depressed. Laughter has been proven to release endorphins into our bloodstream, which strengthens our immune system and make us feel happy. It helps us see the 998 good bricks in our wall, not only the two bad bricks. And laughter makes us look beautiful.

"That's why I sometimes call our Perth Buddhist temple ''Ajahn Brahm's Beauty Salon.' "