Happ-E-Newsletter for February 1, 2004

A Warm & Happy Welcome to You My Dear Friend,

Dr. Bernie S. Siegel and I have just finished video taping a two hour interview in his home in Connecticut. It was an important opportunity to learn more life lessons from one of the most compassionate doctors that has ever lived. We talked about his new book, called 365 Prescriptions for the Soul, (Daily Messages of Inspiration, Hope, and Love.) We also talked about attitudes, pain, suffering, health, healing, and happiness. Bernie shared his personal thoughts in this video interview which will be released soon. A segment of this interview will be aired on The Happiness Show on cable TV stations. We anticipate the rest of the program may be aired on a regular television network. We will keep you posted.

Dr. Bernie Siegel's book: 365 Prescriptions for the Soul, Daily Messages of Inspiration, Hope, and Love, has just been published. It is now available in book stores everywhere. It is an inspirational, uplifting and empowering book of thoughts to get us through each day. Each page gives you a prescription for living each day with a quote that directs you to an understanding of life. Bernie shares his life experiences and lessons with you each day. He gives you a daily solution to life's challenges. He calls them Soul-utions! I recommend that you take Dr. Siegel's Prescriptions for the Soul daily.

Dr. Bernie Siegel has been a leading advocate of alternative healing and patients' rights for over twenty-five years. He is the author of several books on healing, including Love, Medicine, and Miracles; Peace, Love, and Healing; and Prescriptions for Living. He is retired from medical practice. Currently, Dr. Siegel enjoys giving lectures and spending time with his family.

Dr. Bernie Siegel explains: "Everybody faces obstacles in life; those who succeed in getting past them learn something in the process. I can still hear my father telling me that one of the best things that happened to him, when he was twelve, was that his father was dying. It taught him what was important about life and to be kind to other people. Sometimes it takes a disaster to wake us up and make us realize the blessings we have."

Happiness Empowerment to You!
PRACTICE HAPPINESS - LIVE RICHLY

Happiness is one of the most important things in your life. Happiness does wonders for your soul. I want you to practice "Premeditated Happiness." Happiness is an issue of power. We give our happiness to others for many reasons. Then we think that they make us unhappy. The truth is that we have given others the power over ourselves. We must take our power back in order to be happy again. Now is the time for you to learn to use happiness in dealing with challenges and difficult people in your life so you can develop the strength to prevail. You should know that reading this newsletter will not just make your life better; it will make the world a better place because you have decided to be happy!

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 Articles that are published every other Wednesday in the Fairfield Citizen-News. At the end of this newsletter you can read the latest article called: The Happiness Diet: Gaining Health for Life.

"You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others." - Unknown

Happ-E-Quote:) "If I won't be myself, who will?" - Alfred Hitchcock

Happ-E-Mail:) At the last Happiness Club meeting Barbara Cartsounis gave Joanne Petitti, Lynette Turner and myself a beautiful umbrella with smiley faces all over them. I used my smiley umbrella while taping the interview with Dr. Bernie Siegel. We were talking about letting a smile be your umbrella. I pulled out the umbrella Barbara had given me and opened it up to do just that.

I sent Barbara a note thanking her for the smiley umbrella she gave us. She said: "I am glad you liked it and you are most welcome. When I saw it in the store, I immediately thought of three of my happiest friends and was moved to purchase them as gifts to commemorate the Fourth Anniversary of the Happiness Club. It was great seeing you and the group." - Barbara Cartsounis

Happ-E-Quote:) "Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of someone else." -Judy Garland

Happ-E-Mail:) You're probably happy if:

you have no desire to change places with anyone else

you appreciate praise but don't take it too seriously

you stopped thinking about how much money you want

you don't blame anyone else for the way you feel

I love you all !!! mike - happyplace.net

Happ-E-Quote:) "Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." - Aldous Huxley

Happ-E-Mail:) Thank you for helping me find more happiness! - Geta

Happ-E-Quote:) "Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy." - Rabbi Abraham Heschel

Happ-E-Mail:) I'd like to read about your club before I come to a meeting. I love the idea. Thank you. - M.

Happ-E-Quote:) "Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself." - St. Francis de Sales

Happ-E-Mail:) Lionel, I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank you for the kind words. This is an absolutely wonderful idea and I believe that the club will eventually catch on everywhere. I know that you are probably very busy, but I wanted to ask a quick question that I hope that you can either answer or recommend a book that would guide me. What if any correlation is there between your feelings/emotions, (and also depression) to choosing happiness? On a conscious level I believe it is very easy to make a choice to be happy, while on a subconscious level it is somehow made difficult when feelings and emotions are taken into consideration, (which somehow have a way of indirectly sabotaging my efforts). Any quick advice? I wish you and everyone that you touch continued success and prosperity. Thank you, A

Happ-E-Reply:) Dear A, I do have advice for you. For one thing take a look at some of the articles I wrote on the happinessclub.com web site. There are about 90 of them and each one contains a great deal of advice on just what you are talking about. I also have about 360 books on our web site that I have read and recommend. Want one that I think will hit the nail on the head for you? It is Shortcut Through Therapy, by Richard Carlson, Ph.D. Two other really great books by Richard Carlson, Ph.D. are: You Can Be Happy No Matter What, & You Can Feel Good Again. Keep working on happiness and you will become the happiest person on the planet. Sending Love, and Happiness to you, Lionel

Happ-E-Quote:) "Put love first. Entertain thoughts that give life And when a thought or resentment, or hurt, or fear comes your way, have another thought that is more powerful - a thought that is love." - Mary Manin Morrissey

The Happiness Show on TV:) Watch "The Happiness Show," every Wednesday night, at 8:30 - 9:00 PM. Tune in and catch some happiness. Your CO-hosts are Lionel Ketchian & George Ortega. It will be broadcast in six towns on Cablevision of Connecticut channel 77. It airs in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Milford, Orange, Stratford and Woodbridge. It can be seen on Cablevision in White Plains, New York on channel 76 every Thursday night, from 9:00 - 9:30 PM.

HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING:) The presentation will be: THE HEART OF HAPPINESS, by Lionel Ketchian and Ray Rogers. I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting which will take place on Thursday, February 19, 2004, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM at Sullivan Independence Hall - Downstairs in the back. Just around the corner from the Library. The address is 725 Old Post Road, Fairfield, 06824. Meet some new friends and get yourself in a happy mood for the New Year. Admission is free.

"Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still" - Chinese Proverb

Meet:) "THE HEART OF HAPPINESS"

Date:) Thursday, February 19, 2004

Directions to Fairfield Independence Town Hall

725 Old Post Road (corner of Beach Road)

I 95 Southbound Exit 22
Left onto North Benson Road
Cross Post Road/Route 1
Continue one block to stop sign
Right onto Old Post Road
Continue one block to stop sign
Town Hall is across the street on the left
Independence Hall is down the driveway from Town Hall

I 95 Northbound Exit 22

Right onto Round Hill Road
Cross Post Road/Route 1
Continue one block to stop sign
Town Hall is across the street on the right
Independence Hall is down the

Happ-E-Quote:) "Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a
keen pulsating desire which transcends everything." - Napoleon Hill

Health & Fitness Supplement
January 28, 2004

The Happiness Diet: Gaining Health for Life.

by Lionel Ketchian

A wish changes nothing…a decision changes everything! This year I did not have to make a New Years resolution. That's because I have been on the Happiness Diet. It works for me, and it's much better than a diet. The Happiness Diet is not a diet. It is a direction for life. It brings together all the things that are good for you every single day.

Diets don't work. I have been on a great many of them in my lifetime, and you probably have as well. The reason diets don't work is that you are setting yourself up for a "loss" right from the beginning. You think it is all about "losing weight." With that kind of thinking it's no wonder that you can't win. You have to change your thinking around to "gaining health," that's the reason you are on a diet.

You think you have to change the way you eat so you can "lose weight." Then you go back to eating the same old way again, right? If you are thinking in this fashion then you're not going to keep it off. The reason that you should change the way you eat is not to lose weight; it is to "gain health for life"

I have been on the Happiness Diet for eight months and have lost 32 pounds. The problem is not losing the weight, it's keeping it off. The 32 pounds is only the tip of the iceberg. It really does not tell you how much health I gained, only how much weight I have lost. In the health gain department I have gone from an above normal cholesterol level to a level of 150. I had high blood pressure and was prescribed two high blood pressure reducing medications. Now my blood pressure is a low 100/64. I am now on the lowest dosage of just one medication. I have been diagnosed with having asthma, and requiring the use of an inhaler every day. I was told that diet and exercise would not help me overcome my problem. The doctor said it would be required for the rest of my life. I am happy to report that for the past four months I have not need to use the inhaler and I no longer have asthma. I am also fighting pre-diabetes, but my blood sugar level is getting much better. I am winning; I am gaining health. That is not even the most important thing of all. I will tell you what the most important thing is at the end of this article.

What am I telling you? I am telling you that your scale is lying to you. It only tells you about the weight that you have lost. It does not tell you about the health that you have gained. Muscle weighs more than fat and the scale does not differentiate between the two. I get on the scale every day. It lets me know whether I have gained or lost weight and for that reason it is good feedback information for me. But the real fight is not in seeing the scale move down. Once I had lost 30 pounds, I never saw the scale move down again for months. This is where the battle is won and lost. This is where the Happiness Diet has worked better for me than anything else ever has. Since I changed my eating habits to something I could live with for the rest of my life it is easy. I eat much less carbohydrates. I eat more fruits and vegetables. I eat more salads with my meals. I even eat more than I did before and more often. I am going to eat this way for the rest of my life. I have chosen better foods to eat and better ways to eat.

My wife Barbara has lost 37 pounds on the diet. This is not as impressive as the many health benefits that have come with the change in her life style. For example, she has more energy, she gets a better nights sleep. Her allergy symptoms are 80% better, and her sinus problems have decreased 50%. She is happy that she has made the decision to take control of herself.

The Happiness Diet is not just about what you eat. It is also about how you live. How you choose to exercise is another part of the diet. Do something you love every single day or as often as you possibly can. I walk as much as I can. I have invested a very small amount of money in a pedometer. It is a tiny step counting machine. Once it is calibrated it will tell you how many miles you walk each day. But the real reason I have it is just to count the steps I do each day. My goal is to walk 10,000 steps, which is about five miles a day. It includes every step you take all day long, not all at one time. Why measure your steps? The reason for that is to motivate you to walk more often.

I am learning to be less efficient than I have ever been. Yes, now I am teaching myself to walk up and down stairs instead of using the elevator. I've been making several more trips down to the basement, instead of effectively caring everything up at the same time. I'm also getting up and out of my recliner much more often to take a few steps. I am finding more reasons to walk and I love it. I have changed my behavior. Watch your step…you could change your life. If walking is not for you, then find anything that you can be passionate about. Stick to it and just do it as often as you possibly can

The final and most important part of the Happiness Diet is "Being Happy." The reason people give up their diet is that they become unhappy with the weight loss results. They are "trying to lose weight." That's the wrong point to focus on. The Happiness Diet is a direction for you to take steps toward. You will be "Happily Headed for Health." Being Happy gives you the inner strength to choose not only what you want to eat, but also what you want to see, and be. Our negative emotions can be heavier than the pounds we carry around. The Happiness Diet is not about losing weight it is about losing our negative emotions.

I promise I won't "Dessert you." We can do it together. A wish changes nothing…a decision changes everything! Come to a Happiness Club meeting or read the Be Happy Zone in the Fairfield Citizen-News. Watch your "step" and become happy and healthy. Stop feeding your face and start feeding your soul for life.

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

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Happiness is an inner state of well being. A state of well being that enables you to profit from your highest: thoughts, wisdom, intelligence, common sense, emotions, health, and spiritual values in your life. - Lionel Ketchian

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"Don't let go of the vine." - John Weissmuller, from the film, Tarzan.
Life is full of opportunities. Go For It! Carpe diem!

© Copyright 2004, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.