Reminding you to make the "Happiness Decision." Letting you know about our meeting dates, giving you happiness information, and your latest copy of the Be Happy Zone Article's that are published every other Wednesday in the Fairfield Citizen-News. At the end of this newsletter you can read the latest article called: EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY.

Think Smart, Look Smart, Be Smart...Be Happy! - Lionel

HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING:) Join us for our next Happiness Club meeting Thursday, April 17 from 7:00-8:45 p.m. The topic is Stress Reduction Techniques You Want with Lionel Ketchian and Lynette Turner. Don't miss this valuable meeting, and meet some wonderful people using happiness in their lives.

Topic:) Stress Reduction Techniques You Want
Date:) Thursday, April 17, 2003
Time:) 7:00 - 8:45 P.M.
Place:) Fairfield Public Library
In the:) Memorial Room (upstairs)
Address:) 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT

Open to the public and admission is free. www.happinessclub.com.
Call Lionel Ketchian (203) 258-7777 or E-mail: PrintLRK@aol.com

Directions:
From New York - I- 95, Exit 21, Mill Plain Road. Right at bottom of ramp. Under railroad overpass make a left at light (Post Rd.), 1/2 mile on right at the corner.
From New Haven - I- 95, Exit 22, North Benson Road. Left at bottom of ramp. Under railroad overpass make a right at light (Post Rd.), 1/2 mile on left at the corner.

Happ-E-Quote:) "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." - Helen Keller

Happ-E-Poem:) I do not know who wrote this poem, but it is a good one.
May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door

Happ-E-Quote:) "The ability to love oneself, combined with the ability to love life, fully accepting that it won't last forever, enables one to improve the quality of life."
- Bernie Siegel, MD

DR. BERNIE SIEGEL AT HAPPINESS CLUB DINNER MEETING:) Join Dr. Bernie Siegel and the Happiness Club for a dinner celebration to honor Bernie's work in bringing happiness to the world. Dr. Siegel is the author of Love, Medicine and Miracles. He has written several other books and is also the founder of ECaP - Exceptional Cancer Patients, in 1978. ECaP is an organization dedicated to providing tools, information and resources for individuals challenged by chronic illnesses. Learn more: Click here: Mind-Body Wellness Center - your source for whole person care.

The dinner meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 25th at the Peppermill Restaurant in Westport. You can find maps and travel directions on their web site Click here: Peppermill Restaurant in Westport, CT.
Event: HAPPINESS CLUB DINNER WITH DR. BERNIE SIEGEL
Place: Peppermill Restaurant
Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Address: 1700 Post Road East, Westport, CT 06880
Time: 6:30 - 9:30 P.M.
Price: $32 includes tax and tip. Payment must be received by June 11, 2003
Choose one: A) Aged, Boneless Prime Rib of Beef
B) Baked Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp with Seafood Stuffing
C) Chicken Cordon Blue
Includes: Salad, entrée and vegetable, rice pilaf or roasted potato, soft drinks, coffee, cake and ice cream.

$32 Check payable to:
American Litho
63 Unquowa Road
Fairfield, CT 06824

Please send your check along with your choice of entrée.
Seating is limited, if you wish to attend please send your check today!
Lionel Ketchian (203) 258-7777, E-mail: PrintLRK@aol.com.

Happ-E-Quote:) "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Norman MacEwan

BE HAPPY ZONE
Fairfield Citizen-News
April 9, 2003

EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY
By Lionel Ketchian

One truth that we can all agree on is the fact that we live in an uncertain world. It seems that this is true now more than ever before. Maybe we have always lived in an uncertain world and it is only now with the events we experience these days that seem to make that fact even more real to us.

I just finished reading a really great new book titled, Embracing Uncertainty by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D. Click here: Susan Jeffers Website. This book is about exploring, understanding, and coping with the anxiety most people feel about the uncertain nature of everyday life. Susan wrote another great book that you may recognize. It is called Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway, It was also a truly wonderful and empowering book, and was the first of many books she has written.

I had the opportunity of doing an hour phone interview with Dr. Jeffers last week. Susan lives with her husband in Los Angeles, California. Some of the things you should know about Susan is that she is a thinker and she has a wonderful way of putting her thoughts into a book for you to benefit from the wisdom acquired from her experiences. Dr. Jeffers really understands the basis of happiness, and explains, "Always remember that how we live our lives is a personal decision, not something that is put upon us from the outside world."

She discusses ways to create a "WONDERING LIFE" instead of a "HOPING LIFE." Instead of hoping things are different you can learn to create a wondering mind and wonder how things will turn out rather than worry about how they will turn out. This gives you the power of detaching from the outcome and reducing your stress and anxiousness, worry and fear. Dr. Jeffers recommends that people, "CHOOSE THE PATH OF TRUST." What does she mean by choosing the path of trust? This is what she says, "When you fully understand that you have little control in the external world, you then have two choices: you can choose to see yourself as a poor-me victim at the mercy of circumstances...or you can choose to develop the trust that, no matter what happens in your life or in the world, you will have the inner strength to create something good from it all. Hopefully you will choose the latter!"

I have found so much agreement with the things Dr. Jeffers talks about such as, "It makes us so much happier when we don't have the need to be right. Trust me when I tell you that you will feel so much freer with the power of MAYBE." Susan introduces us to this interesting concept, "the power of MAYBE." In her book Susan goes on to say, "You notice that I haven't mentioned peace of mind, joy, fun, creativity, or spontaneity. That is because these wonderful feelings go with a lack of expectations. The irony is that while we think our expectations are giving us a measure of control, our expectations are really controlling us!"

Can you imagine not letting worry get the best of you? You will if you understand what Dr. Jeffers says, "When you're feeling lousy about something happening in your life or in the world, it isn't about the something happening that is the problem, it's your inability to let go of the expectation of how it's supposed to be." She gives us the wisdom to understand that we can have more control by realizing we do not have control of the outside world and the many things that can happen that we wish did not happen.

Dr. Jeffers teaches us, "When attached to outcomes, by definition, we are attached to unhappiness. As hard as we try, as fast as we go, we can never feel the security of being in control of the outside world. When we break our attachment to our expectations of control, we become happier people. If you knew you could find happiness in whatever state you found yourself -- ill health or good health, rich or poor, in a great relationship or not, and so on -- then your worry about the uncertainty in your life would be greatly diminished."

Dr. Jeffers advises us to, "INCREASE YOUR INNER SENSE OF POWER. One way to help you develop trust in yourself is to cut off the negativity in the mind by saying to yourself over and over again, Whatever happens in my life, I'll handle it! While we can't control the world around us, we can certainly learn how to respond to all things -- yes, ALL THINGS - in a health-affirming way. We have the power to create a life that feels good, rather than one that feels bad -- despite the actual circumstances in our lives and in our world." Do you feel that life has treated you less than fairly? Well, as Dr. Jeffers says, "The prime cause of our suffering is our wanting things to be different than they are! Happiness is the best revenge!"

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be held on April 17, from 7:00-8:45 p.m. The topic is "Stress Reduction Techniques You Want" presented by Lionel Ketchian and Lynette Turner. Don't miss this valuable meeting and the opportunity to meet some wonderful people who are using happiness in their lives. The meeting will be held at the Fairfield Public Library, located at 1080 Old Post Road, in the Memorial Room. There is no charge for the meeting or the happiness you will find. Join Dr. Bernie Siegel and the Happiness Club for a dinner celebration to honor Dr. Siegel's work in bringing happiness to the world. Dr. Siegel is the author of Love, Medicine and Miracles. You can find it on our web site.

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.

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"Without the rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Life is full of opportunities. Go For It! Carpe diem!

© Copyright 2003, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.