In pursuit of happiness
DAVID LIGHT (Staff Reporter)
26 July 2008
Dubai-based Dina Sabnani believes in spreading joy, and has founded the Happiness Club in the UAE to help people find that elusive streak of sunshine in their lives
COULDN’TWE all do with a little bit more happiness in our lives? While life in the UAE is certainly not arduous, our fast paced lifestyles can leave us feeling a bit empty. Alright so you have the car, the villa, the job that makes you a small (or large) fortune, but can we ever say we have enough laughter, friends and fun? The job that does make you a tidy sum often gets in the way of the finer things in life. Nine to five is out and in the Emirates work takes precedence.
How can one find the time to specifically dedicate to nourishing the soul, feeling good about life and enjoying oneself?
It is therefore with some considerable excitement that City Times can announce the inaugural meeting of The Happiness Club today at 3pm to 5pm at Zen restaurant, gate six of Zabeel Park Dubai. A phenomenon that originated in America and has swept across the world, Happiness Clubs are all the rage from Los Angeles to Lausanne.
Founded by American Lionel Ketchian, the first Happiness Club met in January 2000 in Fairfield, Connecticut as a result of a Happiness Class Lionel gave at a University in the state.
After the class graduated they wanted to keep meeting to continue to practice the new found happiness skills they learned hence the establishment of the Happiness Club. The Fairfield Club has been meeting every month since that date. They have continued to spread the word across the USA and the world via the internet, and Dubai is the 38th Happiness Club. At the moment there are five Happiness Clubs in countries outside the United States in: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Jerusalem, New Zealand and Switzerland. Dubai is set to become the sixth.
The UAE gets a Happiness Club
The woman responsible for bringing the idea to the UAE and recently appointed Happiness Club Ambassador for the Emirates by the founder, the effervescent Dina Sabnani, had a chat with City Times giving us the low-down on what goes on in the meetings and what she hopes to achieve with the club.
Dina has been living in Dubai for the last three years. “People here have such busy lives that they often forget that beyond the cars and villas that work affords you there needs to be happiness otherwise what’s the point? I’m an extremely happy person and I see others here that are not so I thought I would start up this group that meets every month.”
“It really all began with Facebook. With Facebook being as social as it is I have been networking with some interesting people across the world and one of those was a popular law of attraction coach in the US.
Through him I got an invite for International Happiness Day which is on July 10 and has its own group on Facebook. I just loved the concept of it so I went and checked it out and they were looking for ambassadors for different countries.
I asked them what I had to do to be ambassador for the UAE and they said, ‘Just ask,’ so I did.”
Dina immediately began to get going on organising ideas for happiness related events and information in line with her new role. “I first of all sent out the press release advertising International Happiness Day on July 10, trying to get the word out. It got picked up online which I was really excited about. From there I set up the UAE Facebook group for the Happiness Club which now has over 185 members. And then I decided to form an actual Happiness Club where people can meet and find happiness.
These clubs are all over the US and the world so I thought I would give it a go here. It’s my way of giving something back and fulfilling my passion for doing something for humanity, as cheesy as that sounds, I’m beginning to sound like Miss Universe! But seriously I thought you have conferences on leadership, success workshops, management and stress classes so why not happiness?
Ultimately we are all looking for it so I think these classes can give people a helping hand.”
Read more: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/citytimes/inside.asp?xfile=/data/citytimes/2008/July/citytimes_July250.xml§ion=citytimes&col
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Finding Your Zone
The new book, Finding Your Zone, Ten Core Lessons for Achieving Peak Performance in Sports and Life by Michael Lardon, M.D. The lessons are truly great lessons for athletes and everyone who want to learn how to deal with life's stresses and problems. Dr. Lardon is a sports psychiatrist who has worked with may well-known PGA, NFL, and Olympic athletes. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego. His website is www.drlardon.com or www.Knowmindsports.com. Dr. Lardon writes, "If you want to find the Zone of life, you can seek to find what makes you happy, and when you do this, your ego does not matter." I benefited from reading Finding Your Zone and enjoyed the way Dr. Lardon explains many of the ways the will better serve us in sports and in life. He shares his expertise knowledge of dealing with fear. Dr. Lardon has done a good job of explaining The Zone by using a great deal of spirituality and his wisdom is truly powerful and will make a big difference in your life. Get in the Zone today! Lionel Ketchian
Thursday, July 10, 2008
International Happiness Day
International Happiness Day, today July 10, 2008
We have a wonderful happiness gift for you!
The book: Gateway To Happiness, (A Condensed 60 page Edition) by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin has been made available to you as a free e-book. International Happiness Day is July 10th, which happens to be a year to the day that Rabbi Pliskin's mother passed away. It is Rabbi Pliskin's vision to see that people are as happy as possible. Rabbi Pliskin is happy to share his extraordinary book with you, so that you can experience the wonderful joy of happiness. Read this book, practice what you learn and you are on your way to being happy. Go to www.happinessclub.com look under the "books" section at the top of the screen and download the book for yourself, and tell your family and friends to do the same.
Gateway To Happiness is very helpful book to assist us all in understanding happiness better. It is a very enlightening and comprehensive book on happiness. The most incredible components of this book are the first four chapters. Chapter 1: Happiness is an obligation, Chapter 2: Appreciating what you have, Chapter 3: Happiness is dependent on your thoughts, and Chapter 4: Peace of mind. These four chapters include some of the best thinking and teaching explanations on happiness.
You can put your name and information at this point and send this out to everyone who you would like to have this gift book.
www.internationalhappinessday.com
Activities today:
3:30pm EST (12:30pm PST, 8:30pm UK time) - Join the phone call with Eva Gregory and Jeanna Gabellini, the US Ambassadors for International Happiness Day and the founder of the Happiness Clubs, Lionel Ketchian on specific strategies for being happier. Free registration at the website.
Downloading a list by Sonja Lyubomirsky for strategies to increase happiness - specifically created for international happiness day.
Information on how to start a local Happiness Club on the website www.happinessclub.com.
Sharing Real Love, Lasting Peace, Brilliant Health & Enduring Happiness with you,
Lionel Ketchian
www.happinessclub.com
We have a wonderful happiness gift for you!
The book: Gateway To Happiness, (A Condensed 60 page Edition) by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin has been made available to you as a free e-book. International Happiness Day is July 10th, which happens to be a year to the day that Rabbi Pliskin's mother passed away. It is Rabbi Pliskin's vision to see that people are as happy as possible. Rabbi Pliskin is happy to share his extraordinary book with you, so that you can experience the wonderful joy of happiness. Read this book, practice what you learn and you are on your way to being happy. Go to www.happinessclub.com look under the "books" section at the top of the screen and download the book for yourself, and tell your family and friends to do the same.
Gateway To Happiness is very helpful book to assist us all in understanding happiness better. It is a very enlightening and comprehensive book on happiness. The most incredible components of this book are the first four chapters. Chapter 1: Happiness is an obligation, Chapter 2: Appreciating what you have, Chapter 3: Happiness is dependent on your thoughts, and Chapter 4: Peace of mind. These four chapters include some of the best thinking and teaching explanations on happiness.
You can put your name and information at this point and send this out to everyone who you would like to have this gift book.
www.internationalhappinessday.com
Activities today:
3:30pm EST (12:30pm PST, 8:30pm UK time) - Join the phone call with Eva Gregory and Jeanna Gabellini, the US Ambassadors for International Happiness Day and the founder of the Happiness Clubs, Lionel Ketchian on specific strategies for being happier. Free registration at the website.
Downloading a list by Sonja Lyubomirsky for strategies to increase happiness - specifically created for international happiness day.
Information on how to start a local Happiness Club on the website www.happinessclub.com.
Sharing Real Love, Lasting Peace, Brilliant Health & Enduring Happiness with you,
Lionel Ketchian
www.happinessclub.com
Saturday, June 28, 2008
I Will Not Be Broken
The new book, I Will Not Be Broken by Jerry White gives you five empowering steps to cope with bad situations. It will help you take control of your life no matter what has or will happen to you. Jerry says, "To truly thrive, we must consciously choose for our lives to go on in a positive way." Jerry's experience has given him simple wisdom, which was not easy to learn. Jerry said: "On April 12, 1984, that landmine stole a part of my leg, but not me. I never gave it the power to make me less than whole, less than who I am. I've learned that nothing is big enough to do that. Nothing can eradicate joy and peace forever, unless we allow it." I included Jerry's quote because this is the secret to enduring happiness.
Jerry learned to escape the victim trap which is essential for healing the body and the mind. We must learn to face reality, no matter what we are dealt and empower ourselves no matter what our obstacles might be. Jerry lost his leg and almost lost his life. After reading I Will Not Be Broken I think that Jerry not only overcame the loss of his leg but became a truly whole human being. We could envy what Jerry has become because he has gained so much more than he lost. He has become more than he ever was and most importantly, Jerry shares it with you because giving back is one of the ways Jerry has empowered himself and so many others. If you read his book you will learn this profound wisdom and be able to use it in your own life.
Jerry learned to escape the victim trap which is essential for healing the body and the mind. We must learn to face reality, no matter what we are dealt and empower ourselves no matter what our obstacles might be. Jerry lost his leg and almost lost his life. After reading I Will Not Be Broken I think that Jerry not only overcame the loss of his leg but became a truly whole human being. We could envy what Jerry has become because he has gained so much more than he lost. He has become more than he ever was and most importantly, Jerry shares it with you because giving back is one of the ways Jerry has empowered himself and so many others. If you read his book you will learn this profound wisdom and be able to use it in your own life.
Monday, June 23, 2008
INTERNATIONAL HAPPINESS DAY!
INTERNATIONAL HAPPINESS DAY!
July 10, 2008
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian
What would be the impact, in the world, if 1,000,000 people celebrated happiness the same day? Eva Gregory and Jeanna Gabellini are the US Ambassadors for International Happiness Day. How did this all start, you ask? A man, who's name is Liberto Pereda Romera of Barcelona, Spain recently initiated this project. In addition an organization called: This Happy Planet with Mark Webb, Aymee Coget and myself are also working on this project.
The reason I am giving total support to International Happiness Day, is that we have been speaking to Jeanna and Eva, who are both truly wonderful human beings who completely understand happiness. Here is what Eva said about happiness: "This is a reminder to folks that happiness is their birthright and it's available to everyone. But they must make the decision to be happy. They have to choose. Happiness is a state of BEING not something we pursue. It is within the core of our being of who we really are." Now you can see why we have created this alliance to promote this wonderful day of awareness for being happy. Eva explains happiness exactly as I have for the past 18 years.
We currently have about 35 Happiness Clubs here in the USA and around the world. This month, we had our first meeting of the Whangaparaoa, New Zealand Happiness Club with Pat Armitstead leading it. On July 3, we will have the first meeting of the Happiness Club of Jerusalem, Israel at The Israel Center, with Host: Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, author of Gateway to Happiness and 22 other books. We are opening our first club in Las Vegas, NV with Christine Kevorkian as the facilitator. We have started one in Sydney, Australia with Professor Timothy Sharp, Ph. D., as the Advisor.
Do you want to start a happiness club near you? Listen to step by step instructions about how to do it with Happiness Expert Aymee Coget? Aymee started the San Francisco Happiness Club in 2004, and is ready to share simple steps to help your happiness club succeed. Join us for our once a month hour-long happiness club leadership Video-Teleconference. Listen on the phone, or watch and listen to Aymee while on your computer. The call will be held on July 2nd at 12:00 PM, EST. To receive call in access information and conference materials, send an e-mail to Narine at: narine.psy@gmail.com
Eva, further speaks about International Happiness Day by saying: "This is kinda like the Pay It Forward approach. Don't know if you saw the movie Pay It Forward but Trevor, the 12-year-old hero of Pay It Forward, thinks of quite an idea. He describes it to his mother and teacher this way: "You see, I do something real good for 3 people. And then when they ask how they can pay it back, I say they have to Pay It Forward, to 3 more people each, so 9 people get helped. Then those 9 people have to Pay It Forward to 27." He turned on the calculator, punched in a few numbers. "Then it sort of spreads out, see, to 81, then 243, then 729, then 2,187. See how big it gets?" The Pay It Forward concept of doing unselfish acts of kindness, a service for someone, and asking them to pay the kindness forward instead of paying it back, is a powerful idea. We can do this for International Happiness Day...and beyond!" I totally agree, Pay It Forward is one of my favorite movies.
Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, where she is teaching Positive Psychology and is the author of the new book, The How of Happiness, has scientifically proven that practicing 5 acts of kindness a day will produce lasting happiness in an individual. Doing kind things for others, whether friends or strangers, either directly or anonymously, either spontaneously or planned, will help you to create and keep the happiness experience yourself.
We need your help and support in promoting the celebration of International Happiness Day on July 10th. We understand that "Intention Creates Outcome." What if one million people from all over the planet celebrated happiness on the same day? What would the impact in the world be with such a strongly shared intention? We're convinced that this will have a powerful, positive impact on the world. Come join our group on Facebook. facebook.com/editalbum.php#/group.php?gid=10644279659
We have gotten the party started so, come on in and leave a message on our Wall! If you don't have a profile on Facebook yet, it's easy! Go to Facebook.com to sign up. Once you've joined, click on: Join Group just under Jeanna's and Eva's picture. Be sure to review the page, read the discussion boards, and enjoy the videos. Bookmark the Group Page and come back often as we'll be getting active with discussions and free Tele-classes between now and International Happiness Day on July 10. Pass this message along to all your friends, and ask them to do the same!
Join me for International Happiness Day on July 10. Let's share our joy and Pay It Forward. Help spread happiness all around the world. Here's to outrageous and contagious HAPPINESS!
Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.
July 10, 2008
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian
What would be the impact, in the world, if 1,000,000 people celebrated happiness the same day? Eva Gregory and Jeanna Gabellini are the US Ambassadors for International Happiness Day. How did this all start, you ask? A man, who's name is Liberto Pereda Romera of Barcelona, Spain recently initiated this project. In addition an organization called: This Happy Planet with Mark Webb, Aymee Coget and myself are also working on this project.
The reason I am giving total support to International Happiness Day, is that we have been speaking to Jeanna and Eva, who are both truly wonderful human beings who completely understand happiness. Here is what Eva said about happiness: "This is a reminder to folks that happiness is their birthright and it's available to everyone. But they must make the decision to be happy. They have to choose. Happiness is a state of BEING not something we pursue. It is within the core of our being of who we really are." Now you can see why we have created this alliance to promote this wonderful day of awareness for being happy. Eva explains happiness exactly as I have for the past 18 years.
We currently have about 35 Happiness Clubs here in the USA and around the world. This month, we had our first meeting of the Whangaparaoa, New Zealand Happiness Club with Pat Armitstead leading it. On July 3, we will have the first meeting of the Happiness Club of Jerusalem, Israel at The Israel Center, with Host: Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, author of Gateway to Happiness and 22 other books. We are opening our first club in Las Vegas, NV with Christine Kevorkian as the facilitator. We have started one in Sydney, Australia with Professor Timothy Sharp, Ph. D., as the Advisor.
Do you want to start a happiness club near you? Listen to step by step instructions about how to do it with Happiness Expert Aymee Coget? Aymee started the San Francisco Happiness Club in 2004, and is ready to share simple steps to help your happiness club succeed. Join us for our once a month hour-long happiness club leadership Video-Teleconference. Listen on the phone, or watch and listen to Aymee while on your computer. The call will be held on July 2nd at 12:00 PM, EST. To receive call in access information and conference materials, send an e-mail to Narine at: narine.psy@gmail.com
Eva, further speaks about International Happiness Day by saying: "This is kinda like the Pay It Forward approach. Don't know if you saw the movie Pay It Forward but Trevor, the 12-year-old hero of Pay It Forward, thinks of quite an idea. He describes it to his mother and teacher this way: "You see, I do something real good for 3 people. And then when they ask how they can pay it back, I say they have to Pay It Forward, to 3 more people each, so 9 people get helped. Then those 9 people have to Pay It Forward to 27." He turned on the calculator, punched in a few numbers. "Then it sort of spreads out, see, to 81, then 243, then 729, then 2,187. See how big it gets?" The Pay It Forward concept of doing unselfish acts of kindness, a service for someone, and asking them to pay the kindness forward instead of paying it back, is a powerful idea. We can do this for International Happiness Day...and beyond!" I totally agree, Pay It Forward is one of my favorite movies.
Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, where she is teaching Positive Psychology and is the author of the new book, The How of Happiness, has scientifically proven that practicing 5 acts of kindness a day will produce lasting happiness in an individual. Doing kind things for others, whether friends or strangers, either directly or anonymously, either spontaneously or planned, will help you to create and keep the happiness experience yourself.
We need your help and support in promoting the celebration of International Happiness Day on July 10th. We understand that "Intention Creates Outcome." What if one million people from all over the planet celebrated happiness on the same day? What would the impact in the world be with such a strongly shared intention? We're convinced that this will have a powerful, positive impact on the world. Come join our group on Facebook. facebook.com/editalbum.php#/group.php?gid=10644279659
We have gotten the party started so, come on in and leave a message on our Wall! If you don't have a profile on Facebook yet, it's easy! Go to Facebook.com to sign up. Once you've joined, click on: Join Group just under Jeanna's and Eva's picture. Be sure to review the page, read the discussion boards, and enjoy the videos. Bookmark the Group Page and come back often as we'll be getting active with discussions and free Tele-classes between now and International Happiness Day on July 10. Pass this message along to all your friends, and ask them to do the same!
Join me for International Happiness Day on July 10. Let's share our joy and Pay It Forward. Help spread happiness all around the world. Here's to outrageous and contagious HAPPINESS!
Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Choosing Brilliant Health
Choosing Brilliant Health
June 4, 2008
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian
Rick Foster & Greg Hicks, along with Jen Seda, M.D. have just published a very important new book called: Choosing Brilliant Health. 9 Choices That Redefine What It Takes to Create Lifelong Vitality and Well-Being. "Scientists have found that happiness or as researchers call it, "positive affect," not only precedes good health, but is a root cause of good health." What the authors mean by the term brilliant is: "the way we engage our maximum intelligence and emotional wisdom through choices that elevate us both mentally and physically, even in the face of illness or disability."
Foster & Hicks have spent years traveling around the world talking with doctors and finding model happy people and patients to compile all the research in this book. Rick and Greg have spoken to thousands of people. This book is a revolutionary step to more freedom, responsibility, happiness and health. It changes the focus of health. It details how we can empower ourselves to better health by learning to incorporate more happiness in our lives.
The first book they both wrote: How We Choose to Be Happy, is on my 20 best happiness books listed on my website. They found that what distinguishes those people who are extremely happy, are the nine choices they make throughout their lives — choices that determine their behavior in a wide range of circumstances. The book How We Choose to Be Happy showed us how anyone can incorporate these choices into their lives to create personal happiness.
With the creation of this new book, Choosing Brilliant Health, the authors have given us a new model for learning how our happiness positively affects our heath. For example, one of the 9 choices that affects our health is Intention. "Creating a Brilliant Health Intention happens at the moment you make a conscious choice toward your most beneficial thought, feeling, or behavior. In doing so, you are purposefully giving yourself messages about who you want to be, how you want to react, and what actions you want to take."
This is a very important book that will change the way we view modern medicine. Like it or not, we can't continue to just treat the body and expect maximum good health, we must include our mind and our attitude. Rick and Greg say, "When you're not choosing Brilliant Health Intentions, your unconscious mind can bring on the negative, and you create pathways in your brain that, indeed, reinforce the negative, painful, and threatening aspects of the experience." This adds nothing but stress, because your mind starts looking for everything that is wrong around you.
The work produced in this book is now coming to hospitals everywhere in the world. St. Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport has been listening to a two-day presentation by Rick Foster one of the authors. The staff is learning how to incorporate some of these beneficial scientific health and happiness connections.
Another important happiness concept is accountability. The authors have found that happy people are accountable to themselves. Why is this so important for your health? The authors found have uncovered the fact that feeling and acting like a victim has devastating effects on a persons health. They report, "When this becomes a way of life, we're stuck in the lower brain functions of reacting, with a direct impact on brain regions that secrete chemicals into the bloodstream."
Another example of their 9 findings of happy and healthy people is Appreciation. A patient using appreciation techniques reported: "By the time the doctor strolled in, the patient was much more present, calm, cool, and collected. The news was good, and with his wits about him, he was able to hear the diagnosis and ask intelligent questions about managing his health as he moved forward." Appreciation can make you smarter and more responsive to the situations in the present moment.
Two days ago, I finished a one-hour interview with Greg Hicks on our Virtual Happiness Club. You can listen to the entire interview on our website. It is a very important discussion that you don't want to miss. It can improve your health. Greg mentioned that he thought one of the most important things you can do is to create the right intention for you life. He also felt that regardless of the circumstances, you could choose to be happy and create the kind of attitude that is beneficial for you. I cannot agree more with Greg's words.
Rick Foster and Greg Hicks have given us a gift. Like all gifts, if you don't open it, and I am referring to their important and wonderful book Choosing Brilliant Health, you cannot benefit from it. The gift that Rick and Greg are giving you is very valuable. Make sure you pick up your gift and open it, read it, and benefit from 13 years of work needed to produce this remarkable masterpiece. The faster you learn how much control you have over your health, the happier and healthier you will be!
Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.
June 4, 2008
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian
Rick Foster & Greg Hicks, along with Jen Seda, M.D. have just published a very important new book called: Choosing Brilliant Health. 9 Choices That Redefine What It Takes to Create Lifelong Vitality and Well-Being. "Scientists have found that happiness or as researchers call it, "positive affect," not only precedes good health, but is a root cause of good health." What the authors mean by the term brilliant is: "the way we engage our maximum intelligence and emotional wisdom through choices that elevate us both mentally and physically, even in the face of illness or disability."
Foster & Hicks have spent years traveling around the world talking with doctors and finding model happy people and patients to compile all the research in this book. Rick and Greg have spoken to thousands of people. This book is a revolutionary step to more freedom, responsibility, happiness and health. It changes the focus of health. It details how we can empower ourselves to better health by learning to incorporate more happiness in our lives.
The first book they both wrote: How We Choose to Be Happy, is on my 20 best happiness books listed on my website. They found that what distinguishes those people who are extremely happy, are the nine choices they make throughout their lives — choices that determine their behavior in a wide range of circumstances. The book How We Choose to Be Happy showed us how anyone can incorporate these choices into their lives to create personal happiness.
With the creation of this new book, Choosing Brilliant Health, the authors have given us a new model for learning how our happiness positively affects our heath. For example, one of the 9 choices that affects our health is Intention. "Creating a Brilliant Health Intention happens at the moment you make a conscious choice toward your most beneficial thought, feeling, or behavior. In doing so, you are purposefully giving yourself messages about who you want to be, how you want to react, and what actions you want to take."
This is a very important book that will change the way we view modern medicine. Like it or not, we can't continue to just treat the body and expect maximum good health, we must include our mind and our attitude. Rick and Greg say, "When you're not choosing Brilliant Health Intentions, your unconscious mind can bring on the negative, and you create pathways in your brain that, indeed, reinforce the negative, painful, and threatening aspects of the experience." This adds nothing but stress, because your mind starts looking for everything that is wrong around you.
The work produced in this book is now coming to hospitals everywhere in the world. St. Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport has been listening to a two-day presentation by Rick Foster one of the authors. The staff is learning how to incorporate some of these beneficial scientific health and happiness connections.
Another important happiness concept is accountability. The authors have found that happy people are accountable to themselves. Why is this so important for your health? The authors found have uncovered the fact that feeling and acting like a victim has devastating effects on a persons health. They report, "When this becomes a way of life, we're stuck in the lower brain functions of reacting, with a direct impact on brain regions that secrete chemicals into the bloodstream."
Another example of their 9 findings of happy and healthy people is Appreciation. A patient using appreciation techniques reported: "By the time the doctor strolled in, the patient was much more present, calm, cool, and collected. The news was good, and with his wits about him, he was able to hear the diagnosis and ask intelligent questions about managing his health as he moved forward." Appreciation can make you smarter and more responsive to the situations in the present moment.
Two days ago, I finished a one-hour interview with Greg Hicks on our Virtual Happiness Club. You can listen to the entire interview on our website. It is a very important discussion that you don't want to miss. It can improve your health. Greg mentioned that he thought one of the most important things you can do is to create the right intention for you life. He also felt that regardless of the circumstances, you could choose to be happy and create the kind of attitude that is beneficial for you. I cannot agree more with Greg's words.
Rick Foster and Greg Hicks have given us a gift. Like all gifts, if you don't open it, and I am referring to their important and wonderful book Choosing Brilliant Health, you cannot benefit from it. The gift that Rick and Greg are giving you is very valuable. Make sure you pick up your gift and open it, read it, and benefit from 13 years of work needed to produce this remarkable masterpiece. The faster you learn how much control you have over your health, the happier and healthier you will be!
Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Five Reasons for Being Happy
Five Reasons for Being Happy
SUCCESS
Success is a great reason for being happy. Albert Schweitzer wisely said: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." What do you think success is? You might think it is a great paying job, a large house, or driving the latest car. Those things may help you look successful, but unless you're happy you won't feel like you're complete or successful. Don't allow the outer world to define your success. Only you know what is important to you. Doing what you love may not make you as much money as some other type of work, but it will make you more successful than just making money.
HEALTH
Health is another good reason for being happy. This not only includes your physical health, but your mental health and wellbeing as well. The health benefits derived from being happy are tremendous and there are many additional benefits you will receive from being happy. Research has found that you can live ten years longer! Not a bad benefit from being happy! You can also reduce anger, experience less stress and confusion, while having the capacity to focus and concentrate on what you are doing.
FRIENDSHIP
Friendship is another great benefit of happiness. Start by becoming friends with yourself first. Being happy is the very best way to accomplish that task. Foster C. McClellan said, "Create the kind of self you will be happy to live with all your life." Being happy leads to enhanced relationships, and gives you the ability to enjoy your life, while enriching the lives of others with your happiness. As you learn to use happiness to make a positive difference in your life, you will want to start using it to spread happiness to others, increasing your probability of meeting more friends. The important element is that you will be attracting more friends that you have a lot in common with.
POWER
Believe it or not, power is a benefit of being happy. The reason for this is that happiness is authentic power. When you are being happy, you do not give your power away to others. You learn to exercise control within yourself, no matter what the situation is. You will think in terms of the choices available to you at the time. The world has tried to use power over others, rather than developing inner power. Inner power requires self-discipline and practice. By being happy we use better patience and self-control. We are better able to access greater intelligence and utilize wisdom. As a result of controlling ourselves we experience emotional competence.
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 others think you should act. Authentic power 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. You will be able to 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 this moment based on your past conditioning. It means you become proactive, to allow your wisdom and common sense to make the change you want to see occur in the next moment.
SPIRITUALITY
Spirituality is a big benefit to being happy. Spirituality is creating inner peace. I have always said that fear is the opposite of happiness. John Milton is known for these beautiful words: "The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell and a Hell of Heaven." As you become happy, you find that you are less fearful and less motivated by the negative. You are more attracted to the positive. Acceptance is a large part of spiritual teaching. Dealing with change is very difficult for people. When you don't accept something that has already happened, you create resistance to it. The resistance you are creating will cause you to suffer. The change has already happened and if there is nothing you can do about it, but you continue to resist it, you will make yourself unhappy.
Another aspect of spirituality is being thankful about something most of the time. What are you grateful for now? Meister Eckhart spoke these words of wisdom: "If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice."
Being in the present moment is essential to happiness. Awareness is a critical ingredient of happiness. Only a conscious person can be happy. Only a conscious happy person can use the power of making a choice for his/her own good. Ego is the enemy of happiness, and over thinking can create unhappiness. Learn not to take things personally. Most of our thinking is about obsessing over things we have no control over. Happiness is a way to inner peace and a doorway for peace in the world.
SUCCESS
Success is a great reason for being happy. Albert Schweitzer wisely said: "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." What do you think success is? You might think it is a great paying job, a large house, or driving the latest car. Those things may help you look successful, but unless you're happy you won't feel like you're complete or successful. Don't allow the outer world to define your success. Only you know what is important to you. Doing what you love may not make you as much money as some other type of work, but it will make you more successful than just making money.
HEALTH
Health is another good reason for being happy. This not only includes your physical health, but your mental health and wellbeing as well. The health benefits derived from being happy are tremendous and there are many additional benefits you will receive from being happy. Research has found that you can live ten years longer! Not a bad benefit from being happy! You can also reduce anger, experience less stress and confusion, while having the capacity to focus and concentrate on what you are doing.
FRIENDSHIP
Friendship is another great benefit of happiness. Start by becoming friends with yourself first. Being happy is the very best way to accomplish that task. Foster C. McClellan said, "Create the kind of self you will be happy to live with all your life." Being happy leads to enhanced relationships, and gives you the ability to enjoy your life, while enriching the lives of others with your happiness. As you learn to use happiness to make a positive difference in your life, you will want to start using it to spread happiness to others, increasing your probability of meeting more friends. The important element is that you will be attracting more friends that you have a lot in common with.
POWER
Believe it or not, power is a benefit of being happy. The reason for this is that happiness is authentic power. When you are being happy, you do not give your power away to others. You learn to exercise control within yourself, no matter what the situation is. You will think in terms of the choices available to you at the time. The world has tried to use power over others, rather than developing inner power. Inner power requires self-discipline and practice. By being happy we use better patience and self-control. We are better able to access greater intelligence and utilize wisdom. As a result of controlling ourselves we experience emotional competence.
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 others think you should act. Authentic power 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. You will be able to 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 this moment based on your past conditioning. It means you become proactive, to allow your wisdom and common sense to make the change you want to see occur in the next moment.
SPIRITUALITY
Spirituality is a big benefit to being happy. Spirituality is creating inner peace. I have always said that fear is the opposite of happiness. John Milton is known for these beautiful words: "The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell and a Hell of Heaven." As you become happy, you find that you are less fearful and less motivated by the negative. You are more attracted to the positive. Acceptance is a large part of spiritual teaching. Dealing with change is very difficult for people. When you don't accept something that has already happened, you create resistance to it. The resistance you are creating will cause you to suffer. The change has already happened and if there is nothing you can do about it, but you continue to resist it, you will make yourself unhappy.
Another aspect of spirituality is being thankful about something most of the time. What are you grateful for now? Meister Eckhart spoke these words of wisdom: "If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice."
Being in the present moment is essential to happiness. Awareness is a critical ingredient of happiness. Only a conscious person can be happy. Only a conscious happy person can use the power of making a choice for his/her own good. Ego is the enemy of happiness, and over thinking can create unhappiness. Learn not to take things personally. Most of our thinking is about obsessing over things we have no control over. Happiness is a way to inner peace and a doorway for peace in the world.
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