Dear Happy Friends,

Welcome to our third Happ-E-Newsletter for April 1, 2001.

This is a bimonthly newsletter whose purpose is to remind you to be happy. It will also let you know about meetings, happiness information, and a copy of the Be Happy Zone Articles published twice a month in the Fairfield Citizen-News. Read today's article: ARE YOU HAPPY?

Enjoy it, pass it on to your friends, and give us your feed back.

Happ-E-Power: Don't allow yourself to get side tracked with unhappiness. Stay on track with Happ-E-Power, it will get you where you want to go every time, unhappiness won't.

Happ-E-Health: Make sure you read the article in this issue about happiness and living longer, and healthier. Better to be happy!

Happ-E-Joke: Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. All of these attributes made him.....

(Oh, man, this is so bad it's good!! :-)

A super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
Thanks J.C. for that one.

Happ-E-News - We are receiving requests from people to be put on the our E-mail list for the Happ-E-Newsletter. If you or someone you know is not getting the Newsletter just send an e-mail to happinessclub@aol.com.

Requesting a newsletter be sent to your friend - let us know and we will send it to them.

Not receive your newsletter twice-a-month - let us know. Give us your change of E-mail address as well.

Want to start a Happiness Club in your area - Let me know, by sending me an e-mail to PrintLRK@aol.com.

Happ-E-Book Recomendation - The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People, by David Niven, Ph.D.

Happ-E-University: The course called "Personal Power and Success Through Happiness," at Sacred Heart University is going great. A person who has inoperable cancer addressed the last class and
taught us all quite a bit about "Being Happy."

Happ-E-Meeting: Join us for the next HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING
April 26, 2001, ALL YOU NEED IS...HAPPINESS

Presentation by Lionel Ketchian and Lynette Turner.

Date: April 26, 2001
Place: Fairfield Public Library
In the: Rotary Room
Address: 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06430
Time: 7:00 - 8:30 P.M.

Open to the Public and Admission is Free
Call Lionel Ketchian (203) 258-7777 or E-mail: PrintLRK@aol.com
http://www.happinessclub.com

Directions to the Fairfield Public Library

from New York - I- 95, Exit 21, Mill Plain Road, Right at bottom of ramp. Under railroad overpass. Left at light (Rt. 1), 1/2 mile on right

from New Haven - I- 95, Exit 22, North Benson Road. Left at bottom of ramp. Under railroad overpass. Right at light (Rt. 1), 1/2 mile on left

Be Smart! Stay Happ-E!
Hope to see you at the meeting!
Lionel

BE HAPPY ZONE , By Lionel Ketchian
March 28, 2001, Fairfield Citizen-News

Live Longer, Be Happy!

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

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 you 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 just 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.

Those of you, who know me, know I am happy. In this case I am very happy that this study has been done so that you can 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," it 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.

Thirteen years ago I wrote a book called "Food for Thought." Dr. Bernie Siegel endorsed it as well as Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, and Ken Blanchard, Ph.D. That was thirteen years ago, and since then people like Dr. Bernie Siegel, who wrote, "Love, Medicine and Miracles," have changed the way people think about being responsible for their health and attitude. As far as I am concerned it seems to be taking forever.

We have witnessed an unprecedented rise in school violence. People say they don't know the reason for this phenomenon. I'll tell you the reason, it is being unhappy. Look at each case and you will see unmistakable revealing evidence of this fact. Maybe it is time to teach happiness in school. Emotional intelligence is just as important as fact learning. Do we need to remain stressed out all our life and find out what the price we are paying is much too high?

You have a choice right now to look at things differently. Now you know that having an unhappy outlook may result in proving you right. Is unhappiness worth the price we all pay? NO!, the price is much too high. Take control of your happiness, it is the one thing you have control over. Do you really think you can control all the people and circumstances in your life? You will wear yourself out first. 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 is 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 set 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, and in your heart, and head. 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, even the unhappy.

By taking happiness for yourself you will be able to give it to others, for how can you give 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 has made. You have made all the difference in the world, and you have done it by "Being Happy."

Our next free meeting is Thursday, April 26, 2001, from 7:00-8:30 P.M. The topic is "Why We Need the Happiness Club!" it will be held in the Rotary Room, at the Fairfield Public Library, located at 1080 Old Post Road

Avoid having a stroke, Be Happy! Live Longer!

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

Click here: www.happinessclub.com

© Copyright 2001, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.