The Happiness Decision

I,                        

Do solemnly Decide to adopt the Happiness Decision

by BEING HAPPY NOW.

Rather than react to my problems, I will use Happiness

to Respond to them, forsaking all negative thoughts.

Regardless of circumstances, IN ALL WAYS I WILL Choose Happiness for the rest of MY LIFE.

Signed _____________________

Date ____________

www.HappinessClub.com               printlrk@aol.com

Copyright © 2000 by Thomas Finelli, Glen Ketchian, and Lionel Ketchian

                                                              Katherine Ward

Biology, Happiness, Oracio and Nostalgia

I am working on an article for the February issue of the Happiness Newsletter. As I am dealing with a bit of clutter in my office space. I went out to the garden for some fresh air and practiced my breathing exercises;

Inhale slowly and deeply the mindful energy of CALM. Hold it. Exhale slowly through your mouth the energy of clutter and allow anything else that your mind and heart are ready to let go of, to come out, to reveal itself to you. Use your diaphragm muscles to push air out slowly and through your mouth. Once more inhale slowly and deeply the mindful energy of SPACE and BALANCE. Hold it. Exhale slowly through your mouth tension and any other negative emotions that you are feeling in your body. I practiced these breathing exercises for about two minutes, each one of them, and twice. I then looked up to the sky and began to use my imagination to visualize memories of the happiest moments in my life, I closed my eyes and allowed each of these memories to fill me up until I began to feel good, then I felt a little more optimistic, then free and joyful and then very happy. By the time that I achieved this state of happiness I opened my eyes and felt stronger and my energy has shifted considerably. I have then connected the heart to the mind and my mind had achieved a state of clarity.

Now I am better ready to write a wonderful article. I returned to the office feeling this amazing state of happiness that helped me to achieved clarity of thought and a sense of freedom. Pain is resistance and my breathing cultivation helped me to release negative emotion, tension and to shift my focus of attention.

Hello everyone, I want to introduce you to my dear friend Oracio. This morning I saw Oracio in the kitchen and I was observing how Oracio made a left turn or a right turn while exploring the kitchen counter. I noticed that he paused and waited, sort of like problem solving, and that there was some cuing involved sensing the environment around. The environment is our extended body. Oracio was paying attention to vibrations, heat or light (energy), to smell, to hear, to proceed or to stop. I then had the most wonderful realization, Oracio can make CHOICES and those are like an impulse that moves Oracio to want to, to better and more. The impulse is an unstoppable freedom that came from within Oracio, the very happy and curious ant in my kitchen. Ants are symbols of cooperation, determination, patience, perseverance, order, team work, unity and expansion. Oracio happens to have the divine gift of creativity so all light beings too. How grateful I am because Oracio is in my life. Oracio brings a smile to my face and it uplifts my vibration, too.

I want to elaborate further on the concept of "the environment as our extended body" and on how important is to be mindful of the energy that we live in, that surrounds us, our space, our relationships and the energy of our HOME. We live in our body, our home is our body. The THOUGHTS that we CHOOSE to think are energy that influences our body and generate brain chemicals "neurotransmitters" that travel throughout our body firing up chemical messages and those are the EMOTIONS that we feel. We first think a thought and then we feel an EMOTION. This is very good to know because this means that when we choose happy memories or happy thoughts, when we intentionally choose our self-talk, we can influence our health and well being at a cell level.  In a sense we are more electrical beings than what we think or know about and the thoughts that we think and the emotions that we feel influence our human biology, our immune system and generative biology or computational biology which stimulate cell behavior. Our CHOICES of THOUGHTS affect our generative shape model and this is covered by the science of Evolutionary Biology. How good it is to know that we can create ourselves, that we can master to focus thoughts, energy and to perfume the cells of our body choosing thoughts and emotions intentionally. Each Spiritual Human Being is a community of 50 trillion living cells. There is not one function in the human body that is not already present in every single cell.

Over the years in my work with elders and their caregivers, in Geriatrics and Gerontology, I have designed and implemented therapeutic interventions to craft better health and a better quality of life into being. The free choices of happiness, optimism, positive expectation and positive emotions to shift focus-of-attention from the-lack-of or from the present circumstances of resistance, dis-ease or negative emotion have been instrumental boosting human bodies' capacity for healing, well being, for strength and vitality. 

Positive emotions like happiness and love are too vibrations, subtle bio-energy that flows through the life force that is also known as Chi, Qi. In 2011 I completed my studies in Chinese Energy Medicine focusing on Medical QiGong and Taoist Meditation. Every light form, vibrates. Qi or life force can be measured in Hertz as electromagnetic vibrational frequencies. Each atom and molecule in the Universe, in all forms of life has specific vibratory motions. Each periodic motion has a frequency, a number of oscillations per second that can be measured in Hertz. In Medical QiGong we craft and use intentional energy to move, transform and evolve energy as a way of healing all aspects of health; emotional, physical, mental social, vocational and spiritual which encompasses All There Is. 

Love is the strongest form of vibration that exists and the average vibrational frequency of love is 528 Hertz, this is central to the “musical mathematical matrix of creation.” LOVE frequency resonates at the heart of every light form that exist, visible or invisible to the human eye. All forms of life are interconnected. All Spiritual Human beings can choose, like Oracio, to live IN love, to give birth to love, to craft love into being with the choices of their thoughts, their emotions, their speech, their actions, their life style. We can also choose love as a way of self-talk practicing self-appreciation.  Our “intent” must be deeply, personally and sincerely engaged, where pure positive energy of "the heart", LOVE, is felt and expressed by our creative life force, Qi, perfuming our whole template of energy at a cell level. We can say that to live IN love, to love ourselves, to take-actions-IN-love, to allow our thoughts and emotions to be born in the premise of love is the most important form of healing and well-being for humanity and for our planet Earth. To choose happiness is an act of self-love. :)  To choose love is to craft happiness into being.

This month of February fall-in-love with YOU. Let's us activate the crafting of happiness and love as a form of self-love and love for others, to live intentionally nurturing our environment, our dear planet Earth and evolving our spiritual humanity, mindfully.

Love gives birth to life.
Love is never IN danger.
Love is freedom and happiness.
Love never cease to call us forward.
Love loves.

Here we go again... more clutter. I am yearning, craving for marshmallows. I think that I am having an episode of Type III Cravings, the most severe form of craving. It is known as "associative cravings" and it is my mind explaining itself to me... "you did it." :) Associative cravings are the most difficult to deal with because it is uncertain about whether they're beneficial or not and the will power surrenders completely. This is a case of Biology and Nostalgia. I have enjoyed writing this article for all of you immensely. :)

May you be blessed again,
Katherine :)

Katherine hosts The Happiness Club Meeting ever month with the Youth Group of My Divine Travels followed by a meditation and a TAO QiGong Cultivation for better health, in California.
Blog: http://mydivinetravels.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DearestSource

Katherine Ward is the Clinical Director and founder of My Divine Travels which encompasses the Lotus Bioenergy Clinic, Majestic Mountain Meditation Center and Root Before Branches Kundalini Family Yoga and Restorative Yoga. MDT is a center for spiritual human evolving. Katherine is also a Gerontologist, graduated in Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Washington DC and George Washington University. She is a Recreation Therapists, a Group Psychotherapist, a Kundalini Yoga Instructor that has dedicated more than 17 years to the care of elders, their caregivers with diverse forms of dementia. She studied in John Hopkins University Hospital Neuropsychiatry Of Dementia, ALFA University, worked in Hospice, the End-Of-Life-Care Unit and most recently authored by fifth book, God's Genes. In 2011 Katherine completed her studies in Chinese Energy Medicine focusing on Medical QiGong and Taoist Meditation. Katherine is a member of the Editorial Board of the Activities, Adaptation and Aging Journal, she also studied Psychology and International Relations. Katherine is a Elementary School Teacher, her first academic accomplishment. She has been a keynote speaker at numerous health care conferences, in Canada and the United States, for Delta Kappa Gamma Women's Educators at their International Conference in Chicago, IL, the 10th Annual Conference of the National Hispanic Medical Association in Washington DC, the North West Regional Rural Health Conference, she has taught at the Catholic University in Washington D.C., the School of Social Work at Haward University in Washington D.C., Applied Neurology at George Washington University, and she has been invited as guest professor to speak at numerous colleges and universities in Canada and the United States. Katherine is also a Universal Peace Ambassador an artist, studied ballet while attending elementary school, she paints, sings, sketches and plays the guitar.  

Authentic Power

By Lionel Ketchian

Authentic Power!


"The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public." These are the powerful words by one of our past Presidents, Robert F. Kennedy.

Now more than ever we seem to be living in a world where the abuse of power has become headline news every single day! "We have, I fear, confused power with greatness," said Stewart L. Udall in his commencement address to Dartmouth College graduates on June 13, 1965.

Yes, and what an important difference! The tenth edition of Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines the word POWER: as ability to act or produce an effect.

We want power, we fear power, but we really do not understand power. We have all heard the quote: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," by historian Lord Acton who lived from 1834 to 1902. He issued epic warnings that political power is the most serious threat to liberty. Consider this one: "The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse," words uttered by Edmund Burke in 1771.

But do we understand what real power is? Maybe we must call real power - "authentic power." Authentic power is the power that comes from Being Happy. Being happy means realizing that you cannot be happy unless you are in control of yourself.

This power allows you to experience being stronger, smarter, freer and more comfortable and fully yourself. It allows you to take action. It is the power TO DO IT! It is A CAN DO attitude even if you think you can't. It lets you decide what is good for you. It means doing what you can, when you can, rather than waiting for someone or something to change on it's own. It is a method of taking charge of your life and being responsible for yourself.

It means finding the solutions to a problem, and making the best choice now. Authentic power means never volunteering to make yourself a victim. It means that you do not try to control other people. It means that you do not allow yourself to be forced into acting the way that others think you should act. It allows you to feel like you can change the world because you are taking control of yourself. It allows you to deal with difficult people and anger when it arises.

It gives you the ability to cope with fear and anxiety, forgive people and stop labeling them. Free yourself from self-doubt and despair, stop feeling guilty, and let go of the past so you don't react to the moment from your past conditioning. It means you become proactive to allow your wisdom and common sense to make the change you want to see in the next moment. Authentic power is a mechanism to access new habits to self-empowerment. This power must always include wisdom because without wisdom power is unwieldy and hard to handle.

Wisdom is nothing more than having the discipline to do the right thing at the right time. "We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom," said Stephen Vincent Benet in 1935. His words are just as true today; people seek power without seeking wisdom. "What is strength without a double share of wisdom?" said Milton in 1671. If you could have wisdom you could gain all the power you could ever require.

Charles Caleb Colton said in 1825, "No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power." This is reason enough to develop power within yourself and not give it to everyone who says they know more than you do. When you choose unhappiness you give people and circumstances power and control over you. When you are unhappy you're giving your power away. You are allowing situations to be more important than the power of control you have within yourself.

Being happy is a method of reassuring yourself that you have the wisdom to think clearly about what has happened. To trust yourself and make choices that will get you where you want to be. Authentic power means having value and meaning in your life, and this allows you to live the life you choose to live.

Happiness is power for those who practice it. It is a power that requires discipline. Power without discipline, is like a car without brakes. Power is energy and discipline is the control of that energy. Robert Louis Stevenson said, "There is no duty so much underrated as the duty of being happy." Make it your duty to practice being happy so you can make this power work for you.

"The sole advantage of power is that you can do more good." Baltasar Gracian wrote these words in 1647 in The Art of Worldly Wisdom, a magnificent book. Happy people are good people, and they are also powerful individuals. They know what they want and they know how to get what they need.

As Goethe wrote: "As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live." Happiness gives you the ability to use the power within you. Real power is not power over someone else; it is power within yourself. "An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens," these are powerful words by another of our past Presidents, Thomas Jefferson.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff!

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

This is a true story; the name of this individual has been changed for his privacy. I had the privilege of meeting and talking to Frank, who was scheduled to have an operation to remove cancer in his stomach. . When Frank went to the doctor to get ready for the operation, he was informed that it could no longer be done. The doctor told Frank that the cancer had metastasized, therefore it was too late to operate on him.

This is bad news for anyone, but Frank meet this difficulty in his life with extraordinary peace and power. I spoke to him about where he was with his fight against cancer. I think it is very important to share this with you, because it shows what people can do when faced with a worst case scenario. Frank told me, "I am happy!" He was not happy that he has cancer, he was happy in-spite of it! This made all the difference in the world for him.

Frank had arrived at a place of peace regarding the cancer he was fighting. This peace is exceptional. He had been through it all. He had been sad, mad, and he had tears, lots of them, he had self-pity, fear, and he experienced every human emotion. Frank declared that self-pity is the worst; it brings you down and keeps you there, with absolutely no benefits.

Frank has met this challenge with weapons of happiness. He was grateful for all that life had given to him. He is grateful for his wife, his children, and his entire family. He is grateful for living his life. Armed with gratitude, he goes on to handle the cancer the doctors have told him he has.

We discussed the fact that doctors must be careful of giving "false hope." So doctors tell us the way it is. Doctors can only give us their medical opinion. We always have more available to us than that. At the same time, there is such a thing as "false despair." We must guard against this, because, once we feel hopeless or helpless we will needlessly despair. Unhappiness can be as much of a problem as the obstacle we must face.

We also discussed the saying that "CANCER is just a WORD not a SENTENCE." Once you allow that word to have control over your mind and life, your problems only get worse. Another aspect we discussed is the way to ask for healing. Unless you contemplate a full recovery, you diminish your chances for success.

The way to "beat it," is a two-part path. First, you must be grateful for being free of your cancer. In other words, thanking God in advance that you are healthy. Seeing, feeling, and being healthy and showing gratitude for this victory. After all, this is a demonstration of perfect faith, and faith is believing things that you cannot see.

The second step is to accept whatever happens. You might look at this as God having the last word. Once you walk this thin edge, anything can happen, and the very best often does. Some call it a miracle. I call it getting out of the way and letting the best happen.

Gratitude is an interesting dynamic. Unless you are grateful for what you already have, having more will never be enough. Take an inventory of what you have and learn to appreciate it. Once you operate with gratefulness you allow the very best to transpire. This is different from expecting the best to happen for you.

When you expect something, you are asking for it to happen. When you are grateful, you act as if it has already happened. This works as long as you remember to accept whatever happens for the moment. Now you have made both sides of the spectrum work for you. You have set up a "win-win, no lose" way of dealing with life and the problems you encounter. You have made peace a part of your life, and have it working for you.

"Of one thing I am certain, the body is not the measure of healing - peace is the measure." - George Melton

This article is about happiness, and finding peace even in the problems of life. It is about changing the things we can, and accepting the things we can't change. Peace and happiness give us the power to control ourselves. We can make the right choices for ourselves, because we are dealing with authentic power. We may not be able to have direct control over things in life, but we can control ourselves. Direct control of ourselves translates into the indirect control of life itself. This is our chance to allow the very best of everything to happen.

Frank is positive proof that you can be happy -- no matter what! Frank said, "You know; when I think back on my life, I realize I did not need to sweat the small stuff, and it was all small stuff."

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club. He can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The Web site is www.HappinessClub.com

Live Longer, Be Happy!

By Lionel Ketchian
"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." - Epictetus

Nine years ago, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reached their conclusions about the protective effect of happiness after analyzing data on 2,478 men and women. They were all 65 years of age or older.

These people were all given a questionnaire that consisted of twenty questions or statements that required a yes or no response. Sixteen of these were negative pronouncements such as "I felt that I could not shake off the blues, even with the help of my family and friends," "I thought that my life had been a failure" and "I felt fearful." The other four statements were positive, such as "I felt that I was just as good as other people," and "I felt hopeful about the future."

None of the participants had ever had a stroke at the time the questionnaire was completed. The researchers then followed the participants over a six-year period to see how their health had changed. During that time, out of the 2,478 people who took the study, 340 had strokes, and 75 of these people died. The researchers then tried to connect those occurrences to the participants' original answers to the questionnaire.

For each "yes" answer to a positive statement there was a 26% decrease in the risk of stroke. Let's take a close look at this study. There were 20 questions or statements, 16 negative ones that dealt with unhappiness, and 4 positive ones that were about being happy and optimistic. If they had answered yes to all 4 positive statements there was a 100% chance of not having a stroke. Strokes are the third most common cause of death and they are the leading cause of long-term disability among the elderly.

This study was published on Friday, March 23, 2001, in the Journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. Researchers said that this study shows that "high levels of positive effect" seem to shield older people from having a stroke. Elderly folks who often feel blue tend to have more strokes than those who are not depressed, according to the study.

I am very happy that this study has been done. We can now all see the positive effect of "Being Happy," on the health, quality, and length of life. If you are the type of person that needs proof, then here you have it - "Proof Positive," is here for you to see!

The need to become happy is one that we must learn to embrace. If it is not enough to know that it affects your health, now you know it is nothing less than a life and death matter. Your thinking, your state of mind, and the way you feel, all have a direct effect on your health.

You have a choice right now to look at things differently. Now you know that having an unhappy outlook may result in proving yourself right. Is unhappiness worth the price we'd have to all pay? NO, the price is much too high. Take control of your happiness, it is one of the most important things that you can do. Do you really think you can control all the people and circumstances in your life? You will wear yourself out trying. Take control of yourself, which is where your power lies.

"At every single moment of one's life, one is going to be no less than what one has been." - Oscar Wilde

If you are unhappy now, then in the next moment you will be no less than you have been, and that is unhappy. The good news is that this can work the other way for you. If you decide to be happy now, your next moment will be no less than what it has been. Your happiness or unhappiness is your intention to decide how things will continue to be. If you decide to be happy, than you have sent that intention ahead of you to act as your trailblazer for the path you shall travel. Life is hard enough without being your own worst enemy!

Walk with happiness, get the feel of it in your stride, in your head, and in your heart. You will experience the very best that life has to offer you. Of course you will encounter negative things along the way, just like anyone else. But you will be taking the high road in life and you will be doing the best you can with what you have. You will feel happiness within yourself and you will spread it naturally and effortlessly to everyone you meet, the happy and the not so happy.

By taking happiness for yourself, you will be able to give it to others. How can you give away what you do not have. Another important aspect about living a happy life is the fact that you will be spreading happiness in the world. This world needs happiness more than anything. What a wonderful gift your happiness will make. You will make all the difference in the world, and you will do it by "Being Happy."

Avoid having a stroke, Live Longer, Be Happy!

LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!

By Lionel Ketchian

The three most important things about real estate are LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! It's just as true when it applies to your HAPPINESS.

Like most people, you're probably looking for happiness. Our country is founded on the principle of the "pursuit of happiness." We have grown up being told, and believed, that happiness is out there...somewhere. Happiness cannot be found "out there," because it's within you! Happiness is a matter of LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! If you cannot find happiness where you are right now, where are you going to find it?

The pursuit of happiness is wonderful way of finding happiness. You must pursue happiness is the right way. Often it leads you to the very opposite, which is unhappiness. As long as you think someone else will make you happy, you have taken the power away from yourself to make it happen.

If you are waiting for the right things to happen, so you can finally be happy, then you are losing valuable days of your life. You are waiting to finish school, so you can get on with your life, and get a good job so you can pay for your education and make a living. You're waiting to find someone nice, so you can have a loving partner and get married, and have kids. Then. you wait for the kids to grow up, catch up on the bills for the kids, and the house, so you can be happy. You hope the kids finally leave the house so you can be happy. You try to make enough money for retirement so you can finally be happy. Happiness has somehow eluded you.

Happiness will not be your mate, your marriage, your kids, your house or your money! Happiness is not found outside of yourself. Happiness can only be accomplished from the inside out. When you need reasons to be happy, you end up with reasons to be unhappy. Why does that happen each and every time? Life will never be perfect enough for you to be happy. You must first be happy, for everything else to finally be perfect enough.

Once again, happiness is a matter of location. As long as you put your power outside yourself, you allow someone, or some thing else to have power over you. You will not be happy. The same is true of allowing yourself to be happy when the situation gets better. Great! Now you're happy because things are finally going the way you want. However, just as soon as the situation becomes worse, you become unhappy again. You must ask yourself is if you were ever happy to begin with.

Many times you end up getting the situation you desire in life, and yet you are still unhappy. Worrying about losing something prevents you from being happy. It's strange, because you get what you want, than worry about losing it. This is the way millions of people live their lives. They just don't know where happiness is located.

Why give people, events, situations and even serious illness power over you? Change what you can, and don't give the things you can't change power over you. Happiness is an issue of power. When you give your power away to any of life's situations, you lose your happiness. It is so important to not give up your power, which is your happiness. Think about it, if something makes you unhappy, it has power over you, right? If a person makes you unhappy, it's an issue of power. They seem to have the power to make you unhappy, the truth is, you have given them your power. Remember to take it back, it belongs to you!

We think we have to get loud and angry or get mad, get sad, or get even, to change things. In other words, we think we have to become unhappy to get what we want. It is a current belief that acting unhappy is a powerful way to change things that you don't like. Actually the opposite is true. When you stay happy, you are exercising your power. Staying happy allows you access to your wisdom. Stay with your happiness, it's what you want. Think about a time when you were unhappy. Take a good look at how you felt when you were unhappy. Is it worth feeling like that for anything? No, of course not! Staying happy will get you what you want much quicker, and better than unhappiness ever will.

In the book, As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen, he says, "Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life." Remember that what has happened is not as important as what you do about what has happened.

The next time someone asks, "Where do you find happiness?" Tell them it is all about location, location, location. Tell them they are standing on the very spot for finding happiness...it is right there within themselves.

THE HEART OF HAPPINESS!

By Lionel Ketchian

We recently celebrated Valentine's Day, so let's talk about matters of the heart. On Valentine's Day you think of love. But let me ask you this question; what is love? Of course it is about your feelings for another person. Where does love come from? I'll tell you where! Love comes from your happiness. Think about it for a minute. We talk about finding the love of our lives and living happily ever after. Do you know anyone that wants to get married so they can live unhappily ever after? I don't think so. Although many people fall in love to become happy, many eventually become unhappy nevertheless.

A happy heart is a loving heart! Happiness is where love comes from. When you are happy love is there. When you first fall in love, the other person seems so perfect. You don't see any faults, you see only beauty and you're in touch with only wonderful feelings for them. It may take days, months, or years, but you begin to wonder what happened to this person you fell in love with. Why have they changed so much? Did you really know them in the first place? What happened to them? Maybe it's you? Maybe you changed your expectations of them. Maybe, you fell out of happiness!

You cannot feel love toward another unless you are happy. Happiness is the foundation for love. Much of the time people want to be loved. They want to be loved because they do not love themselves. The reason for that is they are just not happy. If you can begin living your life with happiness, love would find you so fast, you would not believe what happened. The way it seems to happen is we are unhappy, so we need someone in our life to fill the void.

We go out and look for someone to love, desperately. Even if someone would, or could love us in that state we would still soon be unhappy. This is because we are unhappy and we are looking for someone to make us happy. Even if the other person you loved were happy it would not be enough to make you both happy.

We need to learn the art of Being Happy. Once we are happy we will go out and attract, or be attracted to someone who is sincerely happy. Instead of being unhappy and finding someone to fill the void, being happy allows us to find someone to share our joy. WOW! What a winning combination that would be. Two people who are happy could really find and share love, and it would be the real thing. Love can only grow in a happy environment, which is part of your very soul.

What is happiness? It is unconditional acceptance of life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Once we can understand unconditional happiness we can love, and be loved. Part of what I am talking about is accepting yourself for all your parts, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Once you do that you realize you are good enough. In fact you're perfect! When you feel good about yourself it is then that you can improve yourself. In fact Being Happy is the best self-improvement exercise that I know of.

How many times have you heard that you need to learn to love yourself? People ask me if it is self-centered to love yourself. The answer is no! When you love yourself you are gentle on yourself, and you can more easily be that way with others. It's when you are self-centered, rather than self-loving that the problems start.

Self-centered people want to talk about themselves all the time. They don't really care about others. This is what a self centered person might say: "Oh, here I am talking about nothing but myself, I have been talking about myself for twenty minutes, enough of that. OK, it's your turn to talk about me." This is a joke of course, but there is a lot of truth to it.

Self-centered people want everyone else to tell him or her how great they are. They want other people to love them, but they can't love back. Why? The reason is; they are just not happy. A person who is self-centered is not Being Happy and must constantly look for happiness. Self-centered people have no love for themselves so they have none to give others.

A self-loving person is happy and wants to share their happiness and love with other people. Self-loving people love themselves, so they are in touch with love within themselves. That is where they get the love they have to give others. When you love yourself, you are connected to yourself. You know yourself, and you have healthy self-esteem. You love others as much as you love yourself.

It is so important to be happy. We must learn to detach our sense of worth from outside things and place it within ourselves for a real sense of worth. After all, how can you give love unless you have love to give? How can you give happiness, unless you have happiness? When you have happiness within you, you can reach within and give love to another.

If you want to live happily ever after, then be happy now. This is the way to real love. People stop loving because they decide things that have happened are more important than their happiness. If you want to love forever than don't give up your happiness. Allow Being Happy to show you the way to deal with obstacles and the problems that get in your way in life.

Remember no one is perfect. We are all doing the very best we can. Though it does not look like people are doing their best...they are. It may not be the best you can do, but given their life experience, fears, hopes, and thinking, it is the best they can do at the time. Let's not be too hasty to judge others, especially the ones we love.

Love flourishes in happiness, love multiplies and overflows in a rich and happy heart! Have a heart - Be Happy, and you will be more loving. Happy Valentine's Day! I Love You with a happy heart.