May 1, 2001

Dear Happy Friends,

Happy May To You!

Welcome to our Happ-E-Newsletter for May 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: Thoughts on Happiness. Enjoy it, and pass it on to your friends.

Happ-E-Power: Get rid of unhappiness and any of those negative thoughts. Happiness will put you in the right frame of mind, every time.

Happ-E-University: Jim Comstock, one of the graduating students of "Personal Power and Success Through Happiness," at Sacred Heart University had this to say:

April 12, 2001

Thank you Lionel,

Thank you for making happiness your crusade, the message you share should be heard by all, there is nothing goofy or silly about it. NaySayers should stop and think next Friday's paycheck is important, however the things it will buy are not happiness, they are just things. As you say, "happiness is not conditional." Each person should take a little time to review the conditions they put on happiness. Your class on "Personal Power and Success through Happiness" has helped me in my quest to answer that big question, "what am I working for?" Your assignment to list the ten most important things to me was more appropriate to me than you could imagine. I was given this assignment in Humanities class when I was a senior in High School. You have given me a chance to correct an error I made twenty-nine years ago. I just wish Mr. Strauss were here to hear about it…

I matter, I matter to me. It's not important what anyone else thinks; it's what I feel about myself that makes me happy.

The ten most important things to me list...

I matter

I don't hurt anyone on the way

Today matters

Giving my best effort, facing the tasks at hand

Realizing what I cannot do, and admit it

Working with my heart, with honesty and compassion

Caring for those that care for me

Accepting those that don't

Admitting my faults, with sincerity, acknowledging the failures I have committed

Making each day count

This is all that matters, no body, no money, no job, no toy; it is the moment and each day that counts. Every day is the only day. Give thanks for each sunrise, for color, for speech, for greetings in friendship, for gifts given and received in love and caring.

Happiness is not out there; it is not in the future, or the past. It is right now, it is in self-satisfaction and no one else is responsible. This can be done everywhere, it is not a private thing, and it is a gift we can share. Find peace and share it. It is a smile, a joke, and a moment in sorrow with someone that needs it. This is happiness, being available, in life right now!

Thank you Lionel for making happiness important.

Finding happiness is smiling from the heart.

Jim Comstock

Happy-E-Mail: Someone from Thursday's meeting posted the latest article at work, and we got this e-mail.

Greetings!

I was absolutely delighted to discover your Site. Someone at work had placed "Thoughts on Happiness" on a bulletin board and I was greatly inspired. I fully intend to share your site with my friends. Would you kindly add me to your e-mail list? Thank you. Cheers!

Happ-E-News: If you or someone you know is not getting the Newsletter just send an e-mail to happinessclub@aol.com.

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

Happ-E-Helper: We need someone who knows about handling web pages. Anybody want to offer their assistance. Please send an e-mail to PrintLRK@aol.com.

Happ-E-Book Recommendation: AWARENESS, by Anthony de Mello, was a Jesuit priest before he died in 1987.

Happ-E-Quote: "You cannot pour happiness on others without getting a few drops on yourself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happ-E-Thought: Do not want happiness. Become happy by "Being Happy." - Lionel

Happ-E-Meeting: Join us for the next HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING

"Dealing With Difficult People"

Presentation by Lionel Ketchian and Friends

Date: May 17, 2001

Place: Fairfield Public Library

Time: 7:00 - 8:30 P.M.

In the: Rotary Room

Address: 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06430

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

P.S. Read the article (Thoughts on Happiness) below!

BE HAPPY ZONE, By Lionel Ketchian

April 25, 2001, Fairfield Citizen-News

Thoughts on Happiness

Happiness leaves clues. Let's explore them.

No one on earth has received happiness training.

Unless you give happiness a try, you will never know how happiness feels.

The decision to be happy is most important.

Gratitude is essential to the experience of happiness.

The thoughts you entertain, not life, are responsible for your happiness.

You can dismiss any negative thought.

Your thoughts dictate your feelings.

Your thoughts control your emotions.

Unhappiness is only a result of your negative thinking, not the problems you have.

It is your reaction to things, and not the things themselves that determine your state of happiness.

It is best to let go of the past, whether it was good or bad.

Forgiveness is a powerful tool for being happy.

When you can respond rather than react, you will master your emotions.

Your attitude is your own responsibility.

You can be right or you can be happy, why not choose to be happy.

Observing others by not judging them allows you to view reality in the most direct way.

Choosing love allows you to experience happiness.

Let go of the things you cannot control.

Live simply.

Employ common sense.

Don't put your energy and thinking into the problems that you encounter.

Put your energy and thinking into the choices, options, and solutions that you have available.

Being unhappy leads to more unhappiness.

Being happy leads to continued happiness.

When you are unhappy you will not think of the best options available to you.

Your feelings will tell you when you are on the wrong path.

Happiness feels good, and unhappiness feels bad.

You can always choose the happiness path no matter what is happening.

Being happy allows you to respond with the best choices possible for you in the moment.

Be responsible.

What are you thinking right now? This is the reason you are happy or unhappy?

When you are in a low mood you allow your negative thoughts to determine how you feel.

It is your moods that cause your suffering.

Even though you have reasons for being unhappy, those reasons are part of your problem.

The worse you feel and the more unhappy you are, the bigger your problems will become.

I am not telling you to ignore your problems; just you're negative thinking.

Live in the moment.

Happy people have the same number of problems as unhappy people; they just don't let their negative thinking control them.

The more you hurry the more you'll worry.

You will experience whatever you focus your attention on.

Happiness is peace of mind.

Happiness is freedom, because you are learning to take control of yourself, rather than give that control to others.

When you become happy, no one can make you happy, or unhappy.

Young children are happy, we can learn something from them.

Don't dwell on negative things just let them go.

Happiness is an inside job.

You can't place conditions on your happiness.

Happiness is unconditional.

Be happy, no matter what.

Become a happiness expert, SMILE.

If you cannot find a solution to your problem in a happy state of mind, you will have an impossible chore in an unhappy state of mind.

You must want happiness even more than you want to get rid of a problem.

Make happiness the number one thing in your life.

Be happy and your children will learn it from you.

Be unhappy and your children will learn it from you.

Give up struggle and adopt happiness in your life.

Happiness is power.

No one knows everything, but pessimists think they do.

Become an optimist and you can allow things to go right, rather than focus on being right.

Your problems are not your problem, your thinking is.

Stop wanting, and start getting by being happy.

Wanting does not get you happiness.

Happiness can get you anything.

The best way to teach happiness is by being happy.

A good life can come out of your feeling of being happy, not the other way around.

Our next meeting is Thursday, May 17, 2001, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. The topic is "Dealing With Difficult People," it will be held in the Rotary Room, at the Fairfield Public Library, located at 1080 Old Post Road. There is no charge for the meeting.

If you have been choosing unhappiness, it is not too late to make a change. The decision to be happy will determine how you feel, and what state of mind you experience. This intention allows your thoughts to work for you rather than against you. Welcome to Life 101, I hope you decide on the Happiness Curriculum. You'll be the big winner and besides, you'll be happy you did.

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