Happ-E-Newsletter for April 1, 2004

Welcome My Dear Friend,

PBS in Connecticut will be broadcasting a video special with Dr. Bernie Siegel and myself. It is about Health and Happiness and it's called Conversations with Bernie. We will have details for you soon and a chance for you to be on the air with us. PBS recently did a special with Dr. Wayne Dyer which you may have seen.

Our first International Happiness Club is being held in Canada. The meeting will be at the St, Catharines Public Library, Church Street, St. Catharines, Canada, in the Bankers Room on Thursday, April 22, 7:00 - 8:30 PM. It will be hosted by Jane Bradley a wonderful person that is not only happy but understands happiness as well. Jane is the new president of the Canadian Chapter. Cheers to Jane! For more information and to speak to Jane please call the phone number: 905-684-6242. All inquiries welcome! Admission to the Happiness Meeting is: no charge just a big smile!

As George Burns once said, "I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy than a success at something I hate."

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: Dear Oprah Winfrey.

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." - Charlie Chaplin

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

Happ-E-Quote:) "An easy life doesn't teach us anything. In the end it's learning that matters what we've learned and how we've grown." - Richard Bach

Happ-E-Mail:) How about a collection of happy bumper stickers. Recently I saw this one: "I'm getting better with age...and trying for perfection." - Dick De Witt, Fairfield, CT

Happ-E-Quote:) "Any powerful idea is absolutely fascinating and absolutely useless until we choose to use it." - Richard Bach

Happ-E-Mail:) Please sign me up for your newsletter. It was great talking about Self-esteem and self-love last night at the ''Getting the Most Out of Life" meeting.

Namaste (which means, the light in me honors the light in you),

Janis Bowersox (Yoga for Everybody, Fairfield, CT)

Happ-E-Quote:) "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do, than by the things you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Happ-E-Site:) I found out the Hersheys Chocolate is using happiness to sell their product. You can check it out for yourself. But don't go there if you are on a diet. Hersheyshappiness.com

Happ-E-Quote:) "Nine-tenths of wisdom is appreciation. Go find somebody's hand and squeeze it... while there is still time." - Dale Dauten

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.

Happ-E-Quote:) "Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." - John Wooden

Happ-E-Quote:) "If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most
powerful being in the world." - Emmet Fox

HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING:) Our next Happiness Club meeting will present Why You Need Happiness. It will be held on Thursday, April 15, 2004, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM at Sullivan Independence Hall - Downstairs in the rear entrance. The address is 725 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT, 06824. Meet some great people. Admission is free. I look forward to seeing you at our meeting.

Meet:) Why You Need Happiness.

Date:) Thursday, April 15, 2004

Time:) 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.

Directions to Fairfield Sullivan 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:) "It takes a real storm in the average person's life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls." - Unknown

BE HAPPY ZONE

March 31, 2004

By Lionel Ketchian

Dear Oprah Winfrey,

Hello! My name is Lionel Ketchian and I am writing to you in response to your article in O, The Oprah Magazine. The March issue of O dealt with how to be happier. First of all, I want to thank you for focusing on "happiness" in your monthly magazine. I think that being happy is one of the most important things, as human beings that we can concern ourselves with.

I have been involved with teaching people about happiness. Oprah, when you were 29 years old, you made the Happiness Decision when your boss told you that you would not succeed in Chicago if you left him to pursue your career. In O Magazine, you wrote, "In that moment, I chose happiness. Not just the temporary satisfaction I felt from standing up for myself but the lasting happiness that abides with me every day because I decided not to be afraid and to move forward."

Happiness is the opposite of fear and you proved that by the way you responded in that situation. I have realized that happiness is power. One of the reasons you have succeeded, besides the fact that you are a talented individual, is that you are a happy person. As you know, the world has a great deal of talent, but it needs more happiness. I want to thank you for making people more aware of happiness as a choice for all of us through your life's message and work.

As you said, " I know for sure that I created this happiness by choice." You are so right about the fact that you did make that choice. The fact is that you made that choice because you were conscious enough to make the choice to be happy. The problem for most people in life is that they are unconscious to that choice because they allow their fear to dominate their thinking. If you are not aware that you have a choice to be happy, how can you make it? You can only make the choices that you are aware of. This is the basic reason that people are unhappy.

Oprah, as you stated, "I live in a state of exhilarated contentment (my definition of happiness), fueled by a passion for everything I'm committed to: my show, this magazine, the people I work with, my home, my gratitude for every breath breathed in freedom and peace." Your words show your understanding of the true nature of happiness. Without gratitude, happiness cannot exist. Furthermore true freedom is being happy. We live in the greatest country in the world and the pursuit of happiness is our right. We need to exercise that right every single moment of our lives in order to experience the freedom that comes with it. Oprah, when you speak of peace, you also speak of happiness. Peace is just another word for happiness. When you are in a state of peace, a meditative state for example, are you unhappy? No, of course not. Happiness and peace are the same state of mind. Unhappiness cannot exist in a state of peace. Being happy is a state of peace and an authentic spiritual path.

Oprah, your commitment to yourself exemplifies happiness. Your service to people is the reason you have sustained your happiness. The service that you give to others is an unfailing way of maintaining your happiness experience.

Thank you Oprah for teaching us about happiness. In order to have peace and freedom in the world, we must understand happiness. You have encouraged us to do just that. I would be happy to be on your program to share more about happiness with you and your audience. I recognize your understanding of happiness because I too have made the Happiness Decision more than 12 years ago. As I am approaching the age of 59, I realize it is the best decision I have ever made. I believe happiness can change the world, one person at a time, starting with ourselves.

I founded the Happiness Club in Fairfield, Connecticut in 1999. I host free monthly meetings to discuss the benefits of happiness and share them with others. The Happiness Club has recently expanded to California and Canada, thanks to the greater awareness of happiness recently. I wrote the "Happiness Formula" and a have a "One Step Method for Happiness."

Our next Happiness Club meeting will present Why You Need Happiness. If you happen to be in the area, we would be grateful to have you at our next meeting. It will be held on Thursday, April 15, 2004, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM at Sullivan Independence Hall - Downstairs in the rear entrance. The address is 725 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT. Meet some great people. Admission is free.

Thanks Oprah! Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Sending love and happiness,

Lionel Ketchian