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.

Lighten Up! Be Happy!

By Lionel Ketchian

How are those New Year's resolutions you made going for you? You may have made it through the first week and now you realize you're not keeping them. Don't be hard on yourself; Lighten Up! Be Happy! You say you would like to be happy, but you have problems. Guess what, everyone has problems. Stop letting your problems affect you.

Are you worrying about your problems? Most people allow worry to get the best of them. Worrying is not going to solve your problems. In fact, worrying is just another problem for you to deal with. Thinking about your problem is not worrying. That's because thinking is directed toward solving the problem. Think about the solutions you have available to you. When you come up with solutions, you will not need to worry about your problems.

According to one survey of white-collar workers, most of them have or would have made reducing stress their number one resolution, they felt that it was even more important to them than losing those extra pounds or to stop smoking.

Lighten Up! Be Happy and you will reduce stress in you life as well as find solutions to your problems faster. You will even find better solutions because you will be in a better frame of mind. Lighten Up! Change your attitude. Your attitude is a part of your problem. Attitude has a dramatic effect on your problems and your life. How does lightening up and being happy have a positive affect on you life? I'll tell you the secret if you promise to tell everyone. It is all about POWER. Energy is power that you have control over. Energy is Power and Happiness is Power. Happiness is energy of the highest order. Happiness is your power source, get connected! As a source of power it can produce energy. Energy is all around us, so it's not about finding energy and using the energy, it's about tapping into your power supply.

Your connection is happiness. To prove it to you look at the opposite, which is unhappiness. Unhappiness is a feeling of being disconnected. Unhappiness is about being cut off from the energy that we feel when we are happy. Look at how we describe both states of being. We describe unhappiness as being down and out or feeling low. We describe happiness as feeling high or being in the flow. Happiness is our connection to power. Happiness is our connection to one another. When we experience happiness with another human being we feel connected. Laughter produces the same results, and as an aspect of happiness, it makes us feel better. It's an energy producer, and it is a source of power because it brings people together.

Remember the old saying, "Laughter is the best medicine?" A medicine changes a weakened state into a healthy, more powerful state. To be able to lighten up and laugh may be one of the most powerful things you can do, especially when things are not going well. When a family member, a friend or you are not feeling well, or maybe are fighting a serious illness, how can lightening up and being happy change such a serious situation? Lightening up can be the most powerful thing you can do in a serious situation. The reason is that you are taking control of yourself. That is real power! To laugh often and much, especially at your self, can create the energy you need to help you have the power and energy to overcome the illness.

Whether you have medical, financial or relationships problems, Lighten Up and Be Happy and notice the positive benefits. What are they? Being happy when everything looks bad makes you take charge of the situation and yourself. You are not allowing the situation to tell you what to do. Once you become unhappy, you are letting the problem tell you what to think and how to act. When you can be happy in the worst situation you, become the most powerful person in the world. You become who you really are. Problems do not make you; they reveal who you really are.

Everyone wants to be happy. To really be happy, you must learn happiness is a cause, not an effect. Almost everyone lives his or her life with happiness as an effect. People want happiness, and hope it comes to them in their day to day lives. People wake up in the morning hoping it will be there in a compliment or in something that happens to them during the day. The problem with happiness as effect is no matter how many"good things" happen, you will let the smallest "bad thing" takes it all away. This is the real reason most people do not find happiness "out there."

There is another way to live your life. Live your life with "Happiness as a Cause." OK but how do you do that? Decide to be happy -- no matter what. You wake up in the morning and decide to be happy. You go through the day and experience people and events that would make most people unhappy, Not You! You're too smart for that. You know that you, and only you, are in charge of your happiness, no one else is. You wouldn't want anyone else to be in charge of your happiness.

The secret to living your life is to: "Lighten Up! Be Happy!" This is your power source for energy, rarely experienced by most people. Yes, it does take discipline to stick to the resolution to be happy. It is worth it, believe me. Nothing makes more sense than Being Happy. It will carry you from the valleys of despair to the mountaintop of joy.

You have a right to be unhappy. I cannot talk you out of it. Most people have allowed unhappiness to be the strategy to living their life. Does it feel right to you? Of course not! There is another way. Lighten Up! Be Happy and you will be the cause of what you experience. No one can change your attitude without your permission. Sometimes things will go your way and sometimes they won't. You may not always get to choose what happens, but you always get to decide how you will think about what happens.

Lighten Up! Be Happy. Become the most powerful person you have ever known. Another important key is that you must want happiness even more than you want to get rid of your problem. Happiness will give you the energy to overcome your problem, if it is at all possible. Control your power and you control your problem. Happiness is the power you have, choose it and use it well. The real secret to happiness is don't wait for it to happen, make it part of your life.

DO GOOD THIS YEAR, STARTING WITH YOURSELF

By Lionel Ketchian

If you would like to find a way out of your unhappiness then let's begin by understanding that happiness has value and that is what you want for yourself in all cases. You could make the happiness decision for yourself. Once you do that you could be making better choices regarding the way you are acting and doing things in their life.

Once someone makes the happiness decision, they begin to do good things for themselves. If you don't start with doing what is good for you, you will not be able to do good for others. Most unhappy people want to do good for others. They think it is the right thing to do by doing good. You are not a good enough person until you are happy, because then you will be happy and do good happily.

It is great to "do good" for others. It is wonderful to "do the right thing," for others. Forget about others for now. You are not good enough until you are happy. Then you will be good and happy as well. You must attend to yourself first. If you don't have yourself in order, which is using happiness to your advantage, then your life will not be in order as a result of your not taking care of the one thing that counts in your life, you and they way you use your thinking.

You must ask yourself, what if I don't give a gift, or make a call, what is the worst that can happen. Why do I have to drink wine, so I can fit into the crowd and feel like I am making others happy? Find happiness for yourself first and then you can gift it to others.

This means you will begin to examine every single thing you do. You begin to do nothing without making a choice about doing it. You might start by acting like you are happy and then watch what you do or don't do. It does not matter what you do or don't do; it matters what you are being. Once you are being happy, everything you do will be the right thing for you. Believe it or not, it will also be good for others as well. If others don't want you to be happy that means there is something wrong with them.

Once you are being happy you begin to realize that you can recognize when things make you unhappy. Go back to being happy and in that higher state, you can more clearly see what your choices are regarding the problem or situation you are faced with. You may not have a choice about what you want to do and what you must do. But you always have a choice to do it with happiness no matter what.

You don't have to believe this, you only need to apply it in your life. You will feel the power of happiness working for you until you extinguish it with your own negative thoughts.

Yes, it is never the situation that makes you unhappy. It is your own thoughts and negative reactions that make you unhappy. It does not matter as much what happens, it is your reaction that matters most. Do you know why this is? The reason is that when something bad happens, it happened and it is over and done with. It may not even exist. It is your thoughts about the thing that happened that you are still living with, not the actual thing.

It is like saying that it is cold outside, it is 25 degrees out today. So you go outside and take all your clothes off because you don't like the fact that it is cold out. That sounds crazy, right? It is exactly what we do when we don't like a situation; we do what is bad for us. Our unhappiness is what we have to live with, not the problem. And our unhappiness will not be a solution to our situation. Our happiness will find the very best choice that we can use as a solution to the problem. This immediately makes us feel better, or at least does not make us feel unhappy.

If you are unhappy you are allowing the world and everything in it to tell you what to do, feel and think. If you like being controlled by everything than continue using unhappiness as your strategy for living. If you are unhappy, then that is proof positive that you have given your power away to people or to circumstances and situations. It is not your fault that you have been doing that because, until now, you did not know a better way. Now that you know you have a choice, it is your responsibility to use happiness to your benefit. Now you know better than putting your hand on a hot stove.

Do I think you should be happy? No, I don't care what you do. My job is done; I am showing you that your happiness is your decision and that you can choose it in any situation. It is your business what you do with the information and with this strategy. You can choose to learn more about how to use happiness in your life. You can read about it, go on the web, go to meetings regarding it. There are unlimited things you can choose to do to lift yourself up in life, but you can only do what's best for you when you are in a calm, happy mental state of mind.

If you have been making the unhappiness decision, you can now make the happiness decision. Once you make this happiness decision you can choose happiness in every situation. Only when you are aware that you can make the choice to be happy is the choice available to you. You can't make the choice that you are not aware of. The next time you are unhappy and blame it on something else, remember that you forgot that you had the choice to be happy. It is not possible to be happy with a victim mentality. A happy person has that choice and an unhappy person does not know they have that choice.

It is your life and you don't get to choose what happens, you can always choose your response. The way you have been, is a function of what you have already decided is true for you, and your life. Instead of using your past to decide what your future will be, you can always make the happiness decision now.

The only question to ask yourself is; Am I going to choose something good or bad for myself. Am I going to choose to be my own worst enemy, or my own best friend? Your decisions not only dictate your life; they are your life. Choose well my friend.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

By Lionel Ketchian

I'd like to ask you a question. Are you happy? Right now is always a great time to begin Being Happy! What are you waiting for? Maybe it is more money, or a house. Maybe it's a bigger house or a better house? You may be waiting to have kids or you are waiting for the kids to leave. How about a better girlfriend, or boyfriend or a new improved husband or wife? Are you waiting for things like this to make you happy?

If you were waiting for reasons to make you happy, a hundred years more would not be enough. Choose happiness first and the reasons will flow into your life. In fact, why not choose unconditional happiness? If you place conditions on your happiness, you will be conditioned by events and people you have no control over. You will allow the outside world to have control over you. By not choosing happiness, you are allowing situations and people to control your life.

You're unhappy because you are not in control of your happiness. Why give control of something as important as your happiness to other people? That job is best left up to you. Make the Happiness Decision. Make being happy your New Year's Resolution. In fact, learn that you can be happy no matter what.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned was from a wonderful man by the name of Epictetus; he was born 2,009 years ago as a slave in the Roman Empire. He was granted freedom at age 30, so he lived half his life as a slave and the rest of his life till he was 60 years old as a free man. The lesson he taught me was the following: "It is our opinions of things and not the things themselves that cause the disturbances of our lives."

Life may not be fair, but if we allow the things we cannot control, to control us, than we are the ones who are not being fair. The part that we need to learn is that we must be fair to ourselves. Instead of letting events tell us what to do and how to feel, we must look for new ways to deal with the upsets of life. We need to be there for ourselves. No matter how bad things may get, being unhappy does not do us any good. Being unhappy actually makes things much worse then they already are.

We must be fair to ourselves. A good way to do this is to make the Happiness Decision and choose happiness, no matter what. In this way, we can deal with what is happening and make the very best of it. No one is smart enough to be negative, because no one knows what will happen next. It doesn't make sense to be a negative person. Life can be unfair, knowing that, whose side are you on? Do you expect to have anyone else on your side if you're not! Choose happiness and you will be supporting your best side, as well as doing your best for other people. Being happy attracts people to you like a magnet. That's why positive people attract more people to themselves.

It has been said that circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him. Life may be unfair, but the only choice we have in the final examination, is what will we do next. Emotions can become our worst enemy when we lose control of ourselves. Happiness is one thing that does make sense. It is the way of wisdom, when we need to know which way to go from here. The Happiness Decision allows us to deal with the situations and the circumstances we face in life, in more intelligent ways.

True happiness gives birth to love. Love comes from happiness. People stop loving each other because they allow themselves to become unhappy, and negative. True happiness is peace. You cannot be peaceful and unhappy. The two states cannot exist in the same dwelling. True happiness is the way of peace. This time of the year we wish each other peace, and also wish each other Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. Only when each of us becomes happy; can true peace emerge.

The Happiness Decision and being happy gives us the best strategy for dealing with life. Being Happy allows peace to be encountered by other people. Peace is not something to acquire like a material possession. Peace is not something to get. You cannot have peace, you can't own it, you can only use it. Peace is here for you now, don't let it go, be smart and make good use of it by being happy.

If you really want peace, Being Happy is your best choice. Happiness begins within you. To give it to others, you must have it, and to have it and you must be it. You cannot give away what you have not got. You need to be happy in order to give happiness to others. Showing people you are happy is the best gift you can give them. It is one of the most effective ways to make a positive difference in this world for yourself and others.

Happiness is truly the gift that keeps on giving. A smile passed along from you to someone else can keep being passed along. A smile is infectious, so you can create a happiness epidemic. People know when you are happy and they connect with it. It is the happiness within you that is most important.

Instead of wishing people happiness, show them happiness by Being Happy. Your Happiness Decision and the happiness you experience brightens the world! Many people tell me they would like their life to make a difference. Being happy does more to change the world, then many other things you can do. Even people who are dedicated to helping others can do so much more to help, when they are being happy. Anything you do with happiness is the greatest way to serve people.

Happiness will also make you healthier, so share the joy with everyone! Be fair to yourself and to everyone around you; make the Happiness Decision and choose a Happy New Year!

HAPPY YET?

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

I bought an old book called Happiness by Hugh Black; it was published in 1911. That's 98 years ago. It was a really good book. I wondered why we haven't learned the lessons of happiness in all these years.

Another book by the same title, Happiness by William Lyon Phelps, published in 1927, also contains valuable ways to live. For example he says, "The principle of happiness should be like the principle of virtue; it should not be dependent on things, but be a part of personality." This puts happiness in its place, within the individual, not outside.

If almost 100 years is not enough time to look back, then let's look back 2,400 years. You remember Socrates, he said, "know thyself." He also talks a great deal about happiness. He wrote: "Not only is knowledge virtue, but virtue itself is identical with happiness, for a man who is doing what is right is doing that which is for his own good, resulting in happiness."

Socrates thought that life's highest good was happiness. He said: "Man pursues a great variety of goals, but the one he seeks as his ultimate end is happiness. Everything else is a means not an end." Money is only good for buying things, which gives people the outer feeling of happiness. Socrates said, "For, in a word, everything that we choose we choose for the sake of something else -- except happiness, which is an end in itself."

My point is that happiness is one of the most important and least understood values we have as a human race! It has been around for over 2,400 years but has not been understood. Take a look at any negative headline in the paper today. Someone kills another or a student in school does something terrible. We want so much to understand their reason for doing what they do. Do you want the reason? Unhappiness is the real reason.

We are living in a more positive and more proactive world. Personal responsibility is better understood. Happiness is being mastered for what it is, a cause, not an effect. We have lived with happiness as being the effect of something else for too long. Get up in the morning choosing to be happy; that cannot be taken away from you. Even if you found it, the effect it would have on you would be to make you unhappy. If the thing you have makes you happy, than the fear of losing it, and not wanting to lose it will make you unhappy.

Living with happiness, as a cause, rather than an effect, will give you everything you've dreamed of in life. I am talking about unconditional happiness. Become a thermostat, so you can control your own temperature. Most people are like a thermometer, allowing themselves to be affected by outside circumstances. Get up in the morning, use your decision to be happy as the cause of experiencing happiness for the day, and for the rest of your life. Where you put your attention is what you will experience. If your attention is on happiness it will expand, and you will experience it. Happiness can't happen when you place its source outside yourself, it must come from within.

People need to understand that they can be responsible for their own feelings. They have a choice to be happy or unhappy, regardless of what is happening in their life. Understanding this choice would positively impact the individual and the world would be better for it. Society is not teaching people the benefits of happiness, and it should be. Happiness should be in every school. The rewards of learning happiness would change the world.

Interested in living your life with happiness? You need to practice being happy. It is what you want; it is what you need. It is what the world needs right now, more than anything else. It's your choice. If you want to do good or be good...be happy. Not all good people are happy, but happy people are good, and they do a lot of good for others, because they are happy.

Are you happy yet? Be Smart, Be Happy! Your time has come! Welcome to the Happiness Zone!

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

JOIN US LIVE AT THE WESTPORT, CT. BARNES & NOBLE BOOK SHOP

Join Vishwa Prakash and Lionel Ketchian and hear us both speak and experience some Laughter Yoga for yourself.

Vishwa is the author of a spiritual book called: Who Stole my Soul.

Brian Tracy, the author of Maximum Achievement, Psychology Of Achievement says: "This thought-provoking, insightful book will give you the tools you need to live a more purpose-filled life."

Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D., internationally renowned author of several New York Times bestsellers including Mother-Daughter Wisdom, Women's Wisdom writes: "Who Stole my Soul is beautifully written, very engaging and enlightening. It's a gem!"

Meet us at the Barnes & Noble bookshop at the Post Plaza Shopping Center, Post Road East, Westport, Connecticut, 06880. Vishwa will be having a book signing on Thursday, November 12th at 6:30 PM.

Vishwa is the "laughing guru" of New York and runs an active laughter club at his office. His website is: www.yogalaff.com & www.vishwaprakash.com

See you there!!!

WHY BE HAPPY?

WHY BE HAPPY?

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

We all know that money can't buy happiness. I can lease it to you by the month, or if you prefer to rent…I'm just kidding. Happiness is a decision, which is why money can't buy it. It is a decision only you can make. The decision is just a one step method…that's it, not three, or twelve steps. Who can remember so many? But everybody can remember just one step. You can find a copy of the Happiness Decision on the Happiness Club website.

All you have to do is remember the one step: Choose happiness every moment in your life over anything that can take your happiness away! Now that you have made the happiness decision you realize that happiness is where you're headed. Choose happiness instead of allowing anything to upset you. Once you have make the happiness decision it becomes easier and easier being happy from moment to moment.

Why choose happiness? Because that's what you want. When something makes you unhappy, the reason you feel that way is because you think the person or situation took your happiness away. You have let yourself become a victim. Victimhood just does not work. When you are unhappy you become a victim who has no choices.

You're unhappy because you have a problem, and you have cut yourself off from the choices available to you. The problem becomes bigger than life; it consumes you and overwhelms you. You feel there is nothing you can do about it because your state of unhappiness directs you to see life that way. Once you think unhappily, once you think in terms of the problem and not the solution, you disempower yourself from dealing with the problem.

Problems have solutions. Take a look at death as an example. Death is not a "problem." Do you have a choice about death? What choice do you have over death? Nothing, it's a fact of life! So, why choose to make it a problem. If you don't accept it you are going to be unhappy. Death is just a part of life. You will suffer as a result of your reaction to your own negative thinking. This is your choice, but you have another choice … to live and enjoy your life. Just be happy!

In a happy state you can deal with any problem because you can better see what choices you have available to you. This clarity enables you to deal with your problem. You can only make the best choice available to you now. That's all you can do. But first you need to know what your best choices are. Happiness can allow you to clearly see these choices. If you have no choice then you have something you do not like. It's not that you really have a problem.

The way to empower yourself is to decide to be happy no matter what. Choose happiness over anything else. This gives you the power to deal with life and deal with yourself. Happiness is power for those who practice it. When you're happy it gives you the awareness to realize what choices you have and what options are right for you. What real power do you have in doing this? You have power over yourself. That is the only real power you have, and this is very important, my friend; this is authentic power.

Have you noticed how hard it is for you to control anyone or anything? Well, you can control yourself by lightening up, relaxing, laughing about things, having fun, and enjoying life. What you are learning is that you can only control yourself, not anyone or anything else. Learn to let go of the things you can't change. This way they don't change you. Live with happiness and allow it to work for you.

Do you know the reasons people do not live with happiness? Many people are not even aware of happiness as being a choice they can make. Once people start learning that being happy is a choice, some don't think they are deserving of it. Often people do not love themselves enough to treat themselves with happiness. Take my word for it, BE HAPPY, YOU'RE WORTH IT!

Why be happy? Because it's the best way to live, and it's the best way to give. You can't give away what you haven't got. When you're happy, you start to share your happiness with others and show them your happiness and then they can model this behavior from you. They can become aware of happiness through you. They will see the wisdom of choosing to be happy for themselves. They can't contaminate you with their unhappiness. To the contrary you will infect them with your happiness. It is about controlling yourself, not others. This is the reason we have Happiness Club meetings.

People's happiness is up to them … not up to you. You can show them happiness even when they are not happy. What good does it do for you to become unhappy along with them? It doesn't do them any good, and it doesn't do you any good either. If they need quiet time, give it to them. If they want to be alone, fine. They don't need you to become unhappy because they have chosen to be unhappy. Becoming unhappy is not the way to prove to people that you love or care for them. Stay happy, support them, and show them you are happy. This will demonstrate that you love them. You need to maintain your own happiness. In this way you support and show them they can choose to be happy as well.

Learn to change what you can, and accept what you can't change. Being Happy allows you to tap into your own wisdom and common sense. Choosing happiness will make a big difference in your life … a difference that can change the world.

Happiness Guarantee!

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

You are about to read the first happiness guarantee ever made. If you follow what I am about to reveal to you, I guarantee your happiness. If you choose not to follow it, you can have your unhappiness back. This is the most direct method you will learn. It is simple, I promise you! It is simple, but it may not be easy. Since it is simple you will remember it and be able to practice it until it becomes a positive habit and it becomes natural for you.

First and foremost, you must make the decision that being happy is the most important thing for you to be and to do. Once you understand that your happiness really counts, you are ready for the next step. I want you to NOT CHOOSE TO BE UNHAPPY in every moment. Yes, that is the secret. Once you understand that being happy is important and necessary to your well being, you will be ready to take charge of your emotional and rational capacity as a fully functioning human being.

When you encounter a situation that is not going the way you would like it to go, learn to make a choice about what you are going to choose to do. But, do NOT CHOOSE TO BE UNHAPPY. Don't make that choice. Every time you become unhappy, you are choosing it. How does it feel to have a problem and also have to deal with your unhappiness on top of all that? It doesn't feel good, does it? No, it doesn't! It is time for you to stop terrorizing yourself. It is time for you to become your own best friend.

The reason that not choosing unhappiness works so well, is that as soon as a bad situation presents itself, you react to it and make unhappiness your choice. What you could be doing is choosing the best possible solution. In order to do this, it requires a balanced state of mind. If you did not choose unhappiness, you could maintain a state of well being that supports your most creative problem solving strategies.

When you are not happy, you are letting your thinking make the worst possible choice you can possibly construct. This may sound very extraordinary to you, but by not choosing unhappiness you are controlling your thinking. By thinking about what to do in an unfavorable situation, you will react with consistent negativity.

It has become extremely important to control our thinking. I am not just talking about negative or positive thinking, but all of our thinking. The problem with our thinking is that we have absolutely no control of it and therefore, our thinking has gained absolute control over us. Our thinking is making us unhappy. When we are unhappy, it is because we are choosing it.

The only way you are ever going to be happy is by not choosing unhappiness. Every time you are unhappy, you have engaged your thinking to take control of your emotions and your state of being. Once you connect to unhappiness, you have lost your inner peace. You are operating from your negative thinking, moods and feelings. In fact, when you are unhappy, you are giving your power away. Being unhappy is just another term for being powerless and feeling helpless. Why would you go though life allowing yourself to feel that way? Why would you allow yourself to experience the worst possible outcome?

I will tell you why you do it. You are not happy because you do not know how to not choose unhappiness. It has become a reaction, a conditioned reflex. You are not happy because being happy requires a great deal of consciousness and awareness. You choose unhappiness because you are not aware you are doing it. Everyone else does it so why not go along with the crowd, right? Well, it is not right. It is time for you to take your power back by not choosing unhappiness every time things don't go the way you wish they would.

Wake up and take your power back. Become aware of how you choose unhappiness in unpleasant situations. Being more aware of how you lose your power, you can gain control of your life. As Henry David Thoreau said, "Above all, we cannot afford to not live in the present." Rabbi Zelig Pliskin just wrote a great new book called Life Is Now! Rabbi Pliskin is the author of 24 books including the best book on happiness called: GATEWAY TO HAPPINESS.

Become more aware of how you react when you automatically and unconditionally choose unhappiness. I want you to make not choosing unhappiness a contract with yourself. You only have to think about the happiness decision. Once you have done that, you don't need to use your thinking anymore because that will lead you to choose unhappiness again.

Choose your unhappiness wisely, because it will cause much devastation in your life. Unhappiness is a choice, don't make it! You will learn to make less often, or at the very least, you will see why choosing it will keep you unhappy! My friend, you deserve to be happy! As John Milton wisely stated, "The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven."

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

Happiness Is The Way!

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

You're driving down the highway or you're stuck in traffic. You're not happy; you're thinking about something that is really bothering you … and you don't know what to do about it. Maybe you just had a fight with someone. You have a problem, and you can't seem to find the solution. Things are not making you happy. The bumper to bumper traffic is not making you happy. People certainly are not making you happy. So how can you be happy? Can life make you happy? Can you change the situation enough so you can make yourself happy?

Will you ever "find" happiness? The answer is NO! You will never find IT, you have to become IT! There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way! Is it possible to be happy? The answer is YES! Here is another question for you. Is it possible to be happy all the time? I know you are probably thinking that is impossible. You're right, but that only goes for you. In life, you can be right or you can be happy. Which one have you been choosing? The good news is you only need to be happy.

I've been happy for over 18 years now, and things have been great; I'm not saying I don't have problems. Happy people have problems just like unhappy people. They are happy in spite of their problems, making for a better environment in which to deal with the problems. It is the way we deal with problems, that makes the real difference.

Everyone wants to be happy. Being Happy, not wanting to be happy, or pursuing happiness, is the goal. As Aristotle said: "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." Being Happy is my most important job. All you need is the desire to be happy. There is no other way to be happy than to understand how to do it or have someone show you how. Happiness is a learned response. Find someone who is happy and model that person, so you can learn how to be happy as well. It does not matter what your situation or circumstance is. What matters is your intention.

Happiness must be premeditated. You can't find it OUT THERE! You have to bring it with you. When you practice Premeditated Happiness, you go into every situation bringing your own happiness with you. You have your own reservoir to dip into. You don't have to look for it; you just need to practice being happy.

I gave a course on Happiness (Personal Power & Success through Happiness) at Sacred Heart University. Students who took my course received a "Bh.D." (Being Happy Daily Degree.) In 1999, the first year I gave the course, students at SHU, having finished the course on happiness, wanted to continue learning and practicing happiness. As a result, in January 2000, we started the first Happiness Club meeting. We have met once a month in Fairfield ever since then. We discuss with and listen to various speakers covering all aspects of happiness and how to be happy.

At one of our meetings, a whole bunch of people made the decision to be happy. It was a lot of fun. We placed a stair-stepper in front of the room and had everyone individually take the HAPPINESS STEP UP. People got up on the stepper and proclaimed they had made the happiness decision. It was that easy.

One woman who got on the stepper, later shared with me the fact that she was 88 years old. She felt she had not really been happy her entire life. Now at 88 she is choosing to be happy! She had made the decision to live happily for the rest of her life. Later when I spoke to her, she said the sad thing is that she had missed out on being happy her whole life up to that point.

I said to her, "You and I have the same amount of time left. The fact is neither one of us knows how much time we have. My time may be up before yours, but the important thing is being happy now. We all don't know how much time we have left, and life is short, isn't it? So why not be happy right now!" This is a great decision to make.

You can be happy by being happy right now. "Being" incorporates many things; it includes: thinking, feeling, doing and it all gets rolled up into that state of being. The Dalai Lama says that happiness is the most important thing in the world. Read his book, The Art of Happiness.

I have a sign in my office with these words: BE HAPPY ZONE. You know, it's one of those large yellow road signs with black lettering. It's the kind of sign you would see on the roadside attached to a post. If it were up to me, I would love to see road signs in Towns all over the world saying: "Be happy Zone" or "Smiling Strictly Enforced!"

Happiness allows you to use effort in a positive way and minimize struggle. Who said you needed your emotions to deal with a situation. Worry never changed anything for the better. Isn't it true that most of what we worry about doesn't happen. Even if the worst were to happen, worry leaves you in a terrible state. Worry has you completely and negatively affected by the situation and out of control.

Being happy is actually a smart choice. When you're happy, you're able to function much better. You feel better. You operate in a better space. Life seems to go smoother. When you're happy, you stop struggling. You put out the effort, but without the struggle because you are learning to control your negative emotions.

Don't drive yourself crazy. Lighten up! Let's work on becoming our own best friend, and do what's best for us. Be Happy - It's The Law!

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club, a Happiness Coach, and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The Web site is http://www.happinessclub.com.

MIND PROGRAMMING

Dear Friend,

We all know that minds create and most of us put a lot of energy into positive thinking. Why then are we living in such troubling times? Today I bring you information that is vital for living truly free lives, where we are in control and can once again create our ideal life.

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I am writing about my friend and colleague, Eldon Taylor and his brand new book, Mind Programming: From Persuasion and Brainwashing to Self-Help and Practical Metaphysics. This is simply a must-read book! This message is so important that many of the world's visionaries, myself included, have joined together to support this book launch.

View the trailer for Mind Programming
http://www.progressiveawarenesspromotions.com/innertalk/May09/index.htm

Eldon bares the facts, exposing the groups ranging from media types to governmental agencies that have spent billions of dollars learning how to surreptitiously gain access to your thoughts, your motivations and your choices. See for yourself in the 'smoking gun' of advertising manuals, in the secret clandestine work of governmental agencies, in the neuro-technology labs of the sellers of goods and services. You will be shocked and horrified at the extent a few have gone to shape every aspect of your thinking, and this programming goes on everyday!

Brainwashing and marketing are big business; and your precious mind is a coveted commodity. In this book Eldon Taylor exposes all and tells you how to take your power back and be free to become your own best self. Eldon is a grand master of the mind. Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. author of Your Soul's Compass

Mind Programming is really two books in one. The first half of the book is the tell-all story that uncovers the unseen influences that are so pervasive, penetrating and effective. The second half of the book is all about the tools and technologies you can use to cleanse your mind of the non-sense you may not have even recognized as being present before reading this liberating book. Think about it. How many original thoughts do you really have? How many thoughts are about your limitations, your fears, your anxieties, the things you want, and so forth. You will learn that from sickness and anxiety to the way you comb your hair and dress, and so much more, are all a part of what you have been trained to think and choose. You will also learn some very simple easy-to-use tools that can free your mind and empower your being.

Even if you already have some awareness of the everyday mind manipulation techniques, and are already guarding against these intrusions, there will be areas you simply have not heard of. Even if none of this information is of interest to you because you are already guarding the input into your minds, you will be thankful to finally have the facts, figures and hard evidence to present to your family and friends, so they too can escape from the everyday brainwashing. But Eldon does not leave it there as he also covers numerous tools and techniques to assist you in taking back the control of your mind. These tools range from exercises that will not cost you a penny, such as the '50-day plan,' automatic writing, and mind exercises, to high tech (but affordable) tools such as cortical electro-stimulation. Whatever your preference, Mind Programming will provide you with the information vital for today's climate.

PLUS: Mind Programming ships with a free, high-tech, mind-training CD, that utilizes the patented and proven InnerTalk technology. I know this can make a powerful difference in your life. That is why I have joined with many visionaries in offering special bonus incentives when you get your copy today. When you purchase your copy of Mind Programming, you will:
1) Have a chance to win 2 tickets to a Hay House conference. Everyone who orders Mind Programming between May 19th and June 17th can enter to win a trip to the I CAN DO IT Conference in Tampa, Florida where Eldon will be appearing in November. (Trip includes 2 full conference tickets, hotel accommodations, and round-trip domestic coach airfare).
2) Be entered to win Eldon's finest success library, Your Personal Best, featuring 28 programs on 20 CDs; all using the patented and proven InnerTalk technology. This is a $599 value.
3) Attend a free pre-screening of Jeff Warrick's mind-blowing documentary, Programming The Nation.
4) Gain free membership to Eldon's Mind Matters community, where you will find numerous gifts valued at over $5000. These gifts are all yours for acting today and getting your copy of Mind Programming. Pick up all your gifts today, or come back once you have read Mind Programming - the choice is yours. Take your time and enjoy exploring the best tools available. Try them for free and decide for yourself what works best for you! These gifts come to you from almost 300 supporters including Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Marci Shimoff, Joan Borysenko, Judith Orloff, and Bruce Lipton.

PLUS: For every book sold during this event, Eldon will be donating all of his author proceeds to Women for Women International, an award-winning non-profit organization. Women for Women provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. So don't hesitate, act now and get your copy today. It's only your mind if you manage what goes into it, otherwise it is analogous to a computer that the world has read and write access to. Eldon Taylor, author of Choices and Illusions and Mind Programming.

Sincerely,

Lionel Ketchian

HAPPY YET?

April 8, 2009
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

Eight years ago I decided to try to hand feed some birds in my backyard. I put some crushed walnuts in my right hand and extended it. It was winter and the weather was cold, but I stood absolutely motionless, and completely quiet. Within a few minutes, a bird landed on my hand for the first time in my life. It was a cute tiny bird called a Black Capped Chickadee.

It flew onto the tip of my fingers, picked up a piece of walnut and flew off to enjoy it. Soon it returned to land on my hand again. This time it picked up a piece of walnut and dropped it on the ground. Then it picked up another and dropped that on the ground as well. Finally it selected a third piece, which must have been just the right one, and flew off with it. It trusted me enough to take its time and make sure it had a nice delicious piece.

It was not long after this event that I realized I had read the following quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne. "Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." Now I can say, "Happiness is a Black Capped Chickadee, a cute tiny bird, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

For me, an interchange with nature is an unforgettable occasion and is nothing less than a spiritual experience. This event made me realize that happiness requires us to quiet down and allow things to come to us. The more we pursue things that are beyond our grasp, the more they move away. The faster we try to pursue them, the faster they move away. Happiness requires us to relax, become quiet, and act as if we will get what we expect, without the need to become upset if we don't.

The greatest things in life require patience, mindfulness, and knowledge of what is possible; being happy is a similar thing. I never thought I would be able to feed a wild bird and I thought the odds were against me. You may not think you can do something like become happy, but if you learn enough about happiness, you can do it. The important thing is knowing it can be done. It has been done before. Remember the four-minute mile. People did not believe it was possible to run a mile in less than four minutes. As soon as one person did it, the record began to be broken over and over again. What one person can do, another can do also.

Have you wondered: Is it possible to be happy all the time? Yes, it is! How is it possible to be happy all the time? Being happy all the time does not mean bad things don't happen to you. It just means you are able to handle them and not let them make you helpless and hopeless.

You may ask: How can I be happy? You can be happy by making happiness a decision, and by choosing happiness all the time. You can be happy by not allowing a situation, or a person to make you unhappy. Don't give up your happiness, because happiness is what you want more than anything else.

You may wonder: Why is happiness important? When things make you unhappy, you lose your power. In fact, you give your power away to the things that make you unhappy. The truth is, when you allow someone to make you unhappy, you have given your power to that person. Happiness is an issue of power. It's time to take your power back!

If your question is: What if something bad happens? This is the time that you need happiness the most, during times of hardship and stress. Happiness should be your strategy for dealing with negative things. When bad things happen, you need all the balance, wisdom and endurance you can find. Happiness allows you to gain access to your emotional intelligence. It is in times of difficulty, that you need to control your thinking, so you don't allow stinking thinking. You become unhappy as a result of your thinking, not because of what has happened to you. Your reaction, as a result of your thinking is what makes you unhappy, not the event itself. Happiness is your connection to yourself.

If your concern is: How can I make happiness work for me? The decision to be happy allows you to find out when you are off track. As soon as you realize you are unhappy, you are in control of changing your thoughts to allow you to choose happiness and get yourself back on the right track. You can practice being happy even when you feel unhappy. Pretend to be happy and you will start to make yourself feel happy. Act as if you are happy and you will become happy. Once you are operating with happiness, you begin to gain access to your best thoughts, change your negative ones, and your whole state of mind becomes peaceful. You begin to be flooded with good choices, alternatives, and options. You will begin to have ideas to serve you in the best way to find solutions to the problems you face.

What if there is no solution to my problem? If there is truly no solution, you have no problem. You have something that you do not like and cannot change. In this case, you are the problem. You will therefore remain unhappy unless, and until you change your attitude. Learn to accept what you cannot change, and move forward.

Do I have to live with what I don't like? If you can change it -- change it! If you can't change it, then learn to love it, or it will make you unhappy. Once you change your attitude about the thing you can't change and don't like, the situation can change. What you resist -- persists. When you stop fighting what you can't do anything about, the problem usually vanishes. Remember the "Serenity Prayer" and let happiness show you the wisdom to know the difference between what you can and cannot change.

Finally, you ask: When can I be happy? Be Happy Now! Stretch out your arm and as you open your hand, you realize that happiness is right there in the palm of your hand. It has always been within you. It's time! Go and Be Happy!