Happ-E-Newsletter for June 15, 2004

Welcome My Dear Friend,

As Ronald Reagan once said, "Every new day begins with possibilities. It's up to us to fill it with the things that move us toward progress and peace."
Happiness Empowerment to You! LIVE RICHLY...PRACTICE HAPPINESS!

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.

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, and we think that they will make us happy. 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 to learn to use happiness in dealing with challenges and difficult people in your life so you can develop the strength to prevail. 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: Facing Boredom.

Nancy Reagan said,

"A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water."
Think Smart, Look Smart, Be Smart...Be Happy! - Lionel Ketchian

Happ-E-Mail:) It was a wonderful program last night. I had a good time but it went too quickly. I have some workshops coming up. Do you have any DVD copies of Conversations with Bernie, Health & Happiness for sale? - Bernie Siegel, MD.

My Reply:) Thanks Bernie, you were fantastic as usual. I will let you know as soon as the DVD's are available. Sending Love, and Happiness to you, Lionel

Happ-E-Quote:) "Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves." - James M. Barrie

Happ-E-Mail:) Thank you so much for the wonderful experience of being on CPTV last night with Dr. Bernie Siegel and yourself. It was awesome! Dr. Siegel is an incredible, man and he was gracious enough to spend time conversing with me and other volunteers about his philosophy during one of the breaks. There was so much love and happiness in the studio last night. I can't wait to see the show run again on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. Please include me if an opportunity like this comes up again. With warmest regards, Fran Gargano

Happ-E-Quote:) "What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life." - Leo Buscaglia

Happ-E-Mail:) Thanks so much for all you have done to share your happiness and for all you are doing to help us find our way to happiness too. I would really like to purchase a DVD of the special with Dr. Bernie Siegel shown tonight, please tell me how to do this. A couple of months ago Jim, who was volunteering tonight (I don't know his last name), told me about you and the Happiness Club which led me to your website and the program tonight. Thanks again, Gene Banks

Happ-E-Quote:) "It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are." - E.E. Cummings

Happ-E-Mail:) The end result...the CPTV Special is beautiful. I think that they used the Happiness Club very well after all. We looked terrific! I enjoyed the members of the club and the day and seeing how the end result turned out from the bits and pieces. The smiley lunch boxes made the day for everyone. You did a great job and stayed so calm. Thank you for taking me.

I think that a meeting where Bernie sells his latest book would be great. He would come...he seems to have the time and would sell enough books to make it worthwhile. The Club comes out in numbers for him. I have more ideas but will call you quickly with them this week. I took notes....I would like to read your book...Food for thought in a Can. Where can I get one? Thank you for the experience Friday and for driving. Dolly Curtis

Happ-E-Quote:) "'New' doesn't equate with 'happy,' or there wouldn't be any antique stores." - Wilfred Ford

Happ-E-Mail:) I am planning to see the show. Again I think this is so super that you were able to do this, congratulations again. I'm really proud to tell people that my friend is doing this. - Stephen M. Perle, D.C., M.S., Associate Professor of Clinical Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT 06601

Happ-E-Quote:) "When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you." - Lao-Tzu

Happ-E-Mail:) The slide show and talk by Darryl Hawk was uplifting and wonderful. He is a rare individual who follows his heart and fully enjoys life. Of course, it is not necessary to go further than one's backyard or to look up at the sky to see beauty and the wonder of nature. It is not necessary to go further than the street to see interesting faces. Please have more people like Darryl do presentations at Happiness meetings, those with a positive attitude about themselves and others, those who listen to an inner voice and yet are very grounded. People who follow gurus or isms or cults just don't get it.

Your article on boredom is, in my opinion, the best you have ever written. The ideas are brilliant and well-expressed. You are finally realizing that you have as much of value to say as all of those authors you have read. Still waiting for YOUR book!

You are a delight to watch when you are an interviewer, as you were on the show with Bernie. You exude confidence, calm, and quick thinking, asking important and relevant questions, making clear and important points. And always your warmth comes through...a rare quality in so many people today. Keep up the good work, and soon we will all say, "we knew you before you were so famous!" Love, Alice Katz

Happ-E-Quote:) "Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity." - Gilda Radner

Happ-E-Mail:) It's me, the long time lost laffer, Marilyn from New York City. Hope all is well. Haven't forgotten you. I'll call you to catch up on things. In the meantime I wanted to know if you have a DVD of the interview with Bernie that will be on the PBS special. I would love to get a copy. I'll contact you in the next few days. Thanks. Marilyn

Happ-E-Quote:) "Happiness consists in the attainment of our desires, and in our having only right desires." - Saint Augustine

Happ-E-Mail:) GOOD MORNING, LIONEL........WHAT A SHOW!...WHAT A SHOW! I WONDER IF YOU COULD HEAR OUR CAR LAUGHING ALL THE WAY HOME...I WONDER IF THERE WAS ANY RUM IN THAT CAKE??????? THE GATHERING IN THE CAR WAS A PERFECT FIT (excuse the pun) AND MATCH...WE TALKED ALL THE WAY UP AND LAUGHED ALL THE WAY HOME...IT TRULY WAS A CARAVAN OF LAUGHTER...YOU MIGHT HEAR ABOUT IT FROM ONE OF THE OCCUPANTS.......IT WAS MARVELOUS ...AND SOME OF US WERE STRANGERS....WHAT DOES THAT SAY??????

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE HAPPY YELLOW LUNCH BOX OR HANDY CONTAINER....I WILL FIND A GREAT USE FOR IT....AND DISPLAY THE MESSAGE IT SENDS....REMINDS ME OF THE BRIGHT YELLOW JEEP I DROVE IN ST. THOMAS.

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE THINGS YOU HAD TO DO TO ORGANIZE THE PBS SPECIAL LAST NIGHT...I AM SURE IT WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE MAPPING IT OUT AND THEN SEEING THE GREAT RESULTS...CONGRATULATIONS. WE HAVE ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY...SO GO FOR IT AND ENJOY ALL ITS BENEFITS.....CHEERIO! JOAN E. KLEINKNECHT

Happ-E-Quote:) "If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us, we would all be millionaires." - Abigail Van Buren

Happ-E-Mail:) Good Luck ! I am so proud of you and so disappointed that I will not be able to see it in New York. This is a time when it would be nice to be living in Conn. I hope that you will have a DVD available for me to see. Love, Dyan

Happ-E-Quote:) "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." Thomas Jefferson

Happ-E-Mail:) Thank you so much for such an enchanting and spirited evening last Thursday evening which was my first experience at a meeting of the Happiness club. I did, however, fail to sign up for your newsletter to be sent to me via email. Thanks for doing something so positive in our area. I look so forward to the next meeting and will be sure to spread the news of your efforts of spreading joy.

Also, I mentioned to you the idea of having my friend, Cathie Pike a local author, discuss "Generous Moments," her book that is filled with beautiful and simple stories of generosity that she has captured in print from the most simple to the grand. I provided the floral watercolor illustrations for the book. She is a very engaging speaker and I think a great prospect for the Happiness Club. I told her about you and my experience at the meeting and she was thrilled at the possibility of speaking. It was a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to more enlightening experiences at the Happiness Club. Thanks for your kind words and warm welcome! Alison Buchanan

Happ-E-Quote:) "You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you." Brian Tracy

Happ-E-Mail:) Friday evening was special. I watched the taping Sunday morning and you mentioned The Course In Miracles. I have been a student of the course for the past 15 years while I was living in New York. It nice to be able to share. Claudia.

Happ-E-Quote:) "If you go looking for a friend, you're going to find they're very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere." - Zig Ziglar

Happ-E-Mail:) Thanks for a great meeting Thursday Night. Daryl's program was very uplifting. Thanks too for all the affirmative news and views. I wasn't able to see the Friday interview. Let me know if it will be rebroadcast. Love & Health to you, Mabel Zolan

Happ-E-Quote:) "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." William Jennings Bryan

Happ-E-Mail:) I was thinking that many of your readers who receive the Happy Newsletter might want to join the listserv we created in February to explore and promote ways of becoming happier. It has been steadily growing, and we're now up to 33 members. This group might be especially helpful to readers who have recently created, or are thinking of creating, new chapters of The Happiness Club, and would like to share ideas or ask questions about how to get started and run meetings.

Thanks for all you are doing to help everyone become happier, and congratulations on your June 11th PBS special! - George Ortega

Happ-E-Quote:) "When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that in itself is a choice." William James

Happ-E-Quote:) "Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality." Les Brown

Happ-E-Quote:) The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer up somebody else. - Mark Twain

Happ-E-Mail:) I had my yearly physical yesterday. The doctor could not imagine that I don't need any prescription medicine at my age. He seemed to wonder about my attitude and how happiness affects one's health. Then your name came up. I told him that I know you and that I've been to Dr. Seigel's seminars and that I had a friend who supposedly had six months to live 25 years ago and during one of Bernie's support group sessions he gave up his anger the cancer went away. - Sid

Happ-E-Quote:) "Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." - Dale Carnegie

Happ-E-Mail:) I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. I have been really enjoying your website...with all the wonderful articles and books, some of which I've read and loved. Thank you! Billie

The Happiness Show on TV:) Watch "The Happiness Show," every Monday night, at 9:30 - 10:00 PM. Your CO-hosts are Lionel Ketchian & George Ortega. The TV show is 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:) "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." - Henry Ford

HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING:) Our next Happiness Club meeting will have a presentation

by our own Happiness Club Doctor, Richard Ellis, M.D. who will present a slide show and discussion about his experiences with living in Alaska to the Happiness Club on Thursday, July 15, from 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. at Sullivan Independence Hall, Fairfield, CT 06824. Come on down to the meeting. What's better than meeting some happy people? Admission is free. I look forward to seeing you at our meeting.

Meet:) "The Happiness Doctor"

Date:) Thursday, July 15, 2004

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

Place:) Sullivan Independence Hall

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, then cross Post Road/Route 1 and
continue one block to stop sign. Take a right onto Old Post Road and continue one block to stop sign. Town Hall is across the street on the left and Independence Hall is down the driveway from Town Hall.

I 95 Northbound Exit 22: Right onto Round Hill Road, then cross Post Road/Route 1 and
continue one block to stop sign. Town Hall is across the street on the right and Independence Hall is down the driveway from Town Hall.

Happ-E-Quote:) "I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones." -John Cage

Happ-E-Quote:) "We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

June 9, 2004

With all the interesting things that are going on in my life lately, people ask me, are you excited? My answer is no, I'm not excited. Actually, I am at peace. Why do I experience peace when most people see the excitement? I have been working on not being afraid to face boredom. Our minds seem to feed on drama and excitement to make us feel that we are alive and kicking.

Facing our boredom may seem very dull, but the truth is that it is liberating. I do not even mind getting stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. I do not try to find it but when it happens it is perfectly all right with me. I have been finding that in facing my boredom I do not experience any lack of interest. I seem to have overcome the need to run away from trying to face boredom.

An essential component of this is not reacting to things that happen for which we have no control. It is our resistance to the situations that occur in life that creates all our problems. It is right at the moment when things get bad that your thinking becomes your worst enemy. It is better to remain calm in the moment. It is in this moment that our thinking becomes our worst nightmare.

To be bored is to be so uninteresting a person that you cannot face yourself. The problem with this is that you do a lot of activity to avoid yourself. We need to be occupied so we are not alone with our thoughts driving us crazy. I am learning to disregard my thoughts and enjoy the awareness of not thinking about every last thought that enters my mind.

If you have not tried this before it is truly a path to freedom. I have improved my ability to focus my mind on things when I need to. I have always felt my memory was not very dependable. Now that I carry much less on my mind, I have more room for the important thoughts. Most importantly, I have much more control of my thinking. I am not letting my thinking control me as much as it did.

How is this possible? It is really very simple. I allow myself to experience being happy in the moment. I trust the moment to present me with what ever I need to experience. The most important thing about what I am telling you is that I have let go of the past. It is not in my present moment awareness. The past is dead and gone, unless we fan the flames. This is true for the good things as well as the bad ones. We don't need to think about either one of them. The present moment is more than enough, unless you don't want to be happy for the rest of your life. In that case hold on to the past and ignore the present moment.

We are all searching for peace. We think peace is having everything work out the way we want it to be. That is not peace, it is control. The problem with that kind of control is that our mind is never happy with anything that we get. Our mind goes right to work finding out what else we need or is not right in our world.

It is time to start facing ourselves. If you don't give up your unhappiness, you will never be happy. Start giving unhappiness up right now. Now is the time to give happiness a chance. If you want to learn more about what I am talking about I suggest you read a book called The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle. It is a very simple and powerful book to help you find the stillness within you.

Our next Happiness Club meeting will have a presentation by international documentary photographer Daryl Hawk. He will present a slide show entitled It's the Journey That Counts to the Happiness Club on Thursday, June 10, from 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. at the Fairfield Sullivan Independence Hall in Fairfield. This slide presentation will be a retrospective of various expeditions and trips Mr. Hawk has taken starting in the Canadian Arctic, through all of North, Central and South America, Patagonia and ending in Antarctica. Mr. Hawk will discuss his style, philosophy and some of the most important lessons he has learned about life on the most remote back roads of the world. He will also share some of his most recent poetry. Come on down to the meeting. Meet some great people, take a trip around the world and be happy. Admission is free. I look forward to seeing you.

PBS in Connecticut will be showing an interview I conducted with Dr. Bernie S. Siegel, acclaimed author and surgeon. It is a taped interview in Dr. Siegel's home in Connecticut and it is called Conversations with Bernie, Health & Happiness. It will be airing on CPTV, channel 10 in our area, Friday, June 11, at 8:00 to 9:30 PM. Dr. Bernie Siegel, members of the Happiness Club and I will appear live during the telecast.

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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.