Happ-E-Newsletter for September 1, 2004

Welcome My Dear Friend,

I want you to know that when I call you my dear friend. I really mean it. For those of you that do not know me that well. My friendship with you is my wealth. I am grateful that you receive this Happiness Newsletter. I hope that their is some small part that resonates with where you are now and fills some small need you may have at this time.

I just received a phone call from an individual about our next Happiness Club meeting this Thursday evening. It was going to be his first one. He asked me if I could guarantee him happiness if he came to the meeting. I told him no, I could not. Then he asked what I could guarantee. I said I can guarantee you will learn something about happiness that you can use. If you are looking for guarantee in life you will not find them. But you can always find happiness and use it, that I guarantee you!

"If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it." - Bill Cosby
Happiness Empowerment to You! LIVE RICHLY...PRACTICE HAPPINESS!

Happiness is one of the most important things in your life. 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 does wonders for your soul. Practice "Premeditated Happiness." Happiness is an issue of power. We give our power to others for many reasons, and we think that they will make us happy. The truth is that we have given others power over ourselves. We can 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." Giving you our meeting dates, happiness information, and your latest copy of the Be Happy Zone Article that is published every other Wednesday in the Fairfield Citizen-News. At the end of this newsletter you can read the latest article called: Do You Want To Be Happy?

"Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment." - Lao-Tzu

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

Happ-E-Quote:) "Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy." - Norman Vincent Peale

Happ-E-Quote:) "The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid." - Lady Bird Johnson

Happ-E-Mail:) Lionel, well said! Life is about rhythm and not noise or quiet. Also as a medical secretary at the hospital said: "I hated my job and gave two weeks notice.
I got up every day miserable for two weeks. The last day I got up happy and went to work happy and noticed all the people around me were happy. So I didn't quit I decided to come in happy." She told me this years after it happened.

Also it's okay to say someone died. We deny death with all these words, passed away,
went to a better place, failed, gone, kicked the bucket, lost. What makes me happy is knowing I will die someday. So I don't waste my life time being miserable and joining victim groups I prefer happiness clubs. Club someone with a happiness club and you beat on them until they learn to accept joy. Now if I can just win the lottery, that will be a challenge to my happiness. Peace, Dr. Bernie Siegel.

Happ-E-Quote:) "We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them." - Charles C. West

Happ-E-Mail:) I just read the newsletter and once again it gives me inspiration on what to teach my first day of class. I am now teaching nursing at Southern and want to share happiness. I can teach all the skills I want to, but without happiness and peace what kind of nurse will we graduate? So my first job is teach happiness and share what I learned from you. Thanks again for all your inspirations. Barbara

Happ-E-Quote:) "You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair." - Chinese Proverb

Happ-E-Mail:) I saw this quote and thought of you: "What lies behind us and lies before us are small matters to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ...........within us is Happiness and that makes all the difference in the world. Love, Renee Filloramo

Happ-E-Quote:) "I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life." - Maya Angelou

My special friend Lionel Ketchian told me about you, and urged me to contact you. I was moved when I heard about your campaign, and truly hope that it touches thousands of hearts worldwide. Best of all would be participants in countries such as Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Yemen or Algeria. I cant offer you that, but maybe next year I can put you in touch with a wonderful group of young people from across the globe whom I worked with in Antarctica back in 97. They came from 21 countries including Israel, Palestine, North and South Ireland, Black and white South Africa, China, Vietnam, USA, India, Greenland, Turkey, Argentina and Brazil, Russia, Chetchnya, Hong Kong and Tanzania. All exceptional people, many of whom might be able to widen your message, perhaps.

I offer my own participation this year, anyway, and my love and friendship to you and your community. I am inspired by your example, and hope one day to find the thing that I was "put here" to do, as you have done. People like you and Lionel certainly help me to move closer towards it, I know. Bless you, Love Dr. Barbara Manighetti, Marine Geologist, New Zealand

Happ-E-Quote:) "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead were there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happ-E-Quote:) "Almost all your unhappiness in life comes from your tendency to blame someone else for something." - Brian Tracy

HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING:) Our next Happiness Club meeting will have a presentation called, "Personal Happiness and the Work World," it will be the presentation by Cal Sutliff. Cal is the author of Everyone's Challenge: Improving Your People Skills. He is a management trainer, organization consultant in people management areas and a management coach. It will be on Thursday, September 16, 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; everyone is welcome. I look forward to seeing you at our meeting. Come on down, meet some great people, get connected, and be happy.

Meet:) Happiness…"Personal Happiness and the Work World"

2004 UPCOMING HAPPINESS CLUB MEETINGS DATES:)
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Thursday, December 16, 2004

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:) "People get so in the habit of worry that if you save them from drowning and put them on a bank to dry in the sun with hot chocolate and muffins, they wonder whether they are catching cold." - John Jay Chapman

Happ-E-Quote:) "Being rich isn't about money. Being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to take time to stop and eat the heart of the watermelon. And some of us will be rich without ever being more than a paycheck ahead of the game." - Harvey B. Mackay

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian
September 8, 2004

Do You Want To Be Happy?

You want to be happy…right? Do you know anyone that does not want to be happy? Do you know one single person that does not want happiness? Of course, everyone wants to be happy. No one wants to be miserable. Yet many people are miserable. Everyone wants happiness, yet so many people are miserable. How can this be possible? There must be some reason for this condition to exist. With all the psychology and philosophy, and religion we have access to by now, we should know the answer to this question and the solution to the problem. Yet no one seems to know what the answer is.

What if I told you the reason that people are unhappy? You may not believe me, but I'm going to tell you what the real reason is. Are you ready? The reason that people are not happy is because they want to be happy. Yes, because they want to be happy…they are unhappy! I know it does not make sense at first, but bear with me and I will show you why it is true.

The more humanity wants to be happy, the more miserable human beings become. The more you want happiness, the more unhappy you become. The reason for this is the way the human mind functions. If you want to be happy, you have to get away from the desire to be happy. Desire is always for something in the future. Wanting happiness moves you completely away from happiness to unhappiness. Wanting it creates the need for happiness in the future. You can never, ever be happy at some future time. By wanting happiness you create the need to be happy at some future time. You can only be happy now. In fact you must choose being happy each moment. Choosing happiness in this moment allows you to connect with this moment.

Your desire to be happy at some future time has lead you away from being happy right here and now. Your desire for happiness shows you that you are not happy now and you want happiness by getting something in the future, someday, some way, somehow, but not now. If you are unhappy right now, you take that projection into the future and you experience unhappiness in each and every succeeding moment. This will create the following problem. The more unhappy you are, the more you want happiness. This creates even more unhappiness because now you are on the down hill spiral leading to even more unhappiness and misery.

Give up the desire to have everything go the way you want it to go. Give up the desire to have everything you think you want. You have missed the train to happiness, because you are trying to catch the train at some future time. You can only board the train in this moment. Catch happiness in this very moment or you miss it. If you start to realize you do not need anything or anyone to be happy right now you could catch the happiness train. The only time it is possible to catch happiness is now, not then and not when.

Being happy now is the only way to be happy. In fact if you would only think about right now, you would be happy and nothing could negatively affect you. Your problems are created as soon as you think about the past. You start connecting with the problems you think you have and you lose track of the train to happiness. You may start thinking about the future, about when things will get better and you start becoming unhappy because you begin to worry about things not going the way you hope they will go.

Happiness is not about your past, or your future. It is about right now. Happiness is about where you are right now. Not where you have been or where you are going. Unhappiness is impossible right now in this moment. As soon as you find that you are becoming unhappy you have either started to think about something from your past, or you are thinking about something that may happen in the future. You have put yourself on the wrong track again. The track to happiness is now or never. It is always now or never. And you will never be happy if you are not happy now. Because being happy now makes you realize you can be happy again in this moment right now. And choose to be happy again and again and again, in spite of what happens and no matter what happens.

Dr. Wayne Dyer was absolutely right when he said, "…there is no way to happiness; happiness is the way." Everyone wants happiness. Give up wanting happiness and start being happy! Take the happiness train now. Don't look back to see if you missed it, and don't wait for it because you think it is coming. Get on the right track and catch the happiness train now! The next train for happiness leaves right now, don't miss the boat, I mean don't miss the train. As my good friend Epictetus said 2000 years ago, "There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things that are beyond the power of our will." You must be willing to be happy now! Where there is a happy will, there is a happy way!

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be on Thursday, September 16, from 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. at the Fairfield Sullivan Independence Hall in Fairfield. The topic for the evening will be "Personal Happiness and the Work World," will be the presentation by Cal Sutliff, a management trainer, organization consultant in people management areas and a management coach. Come on down, meet some great people, get connected, and be happy. Admission is free; everyone is welcome.

Do you want to see Dr. Bernie Siegel? The DVD Video: Conversations with Bernie, Health & Happiness, is ready for those who would like to see us. Dr. Bernie Siegel and I share in a delightful conversation together for over one hour. The interview took place in Dr. Siegel home, and it was aired on Public TV. Three cameras were used to beautifully capture the mood and the moment professionally done by Van Gorder Studios. You will feel like you are there with us, as we journey together. So join us and share the moment now!

This DVD Video aired on Public TV. It is presented in two parts.

Part One: To Learn and To Live 1. Introduction, 2. Kids as Teachers, 3. No False Hope, 4. Fifteen Minutes, 5. Love as a Weapon, 6. A Bitter Potion, 7. Worse Than Nothing, 8. A Past Life, 9. Credits.
Part Two: In the Journey Together 1. Introduction, 2. Wings, 3. Beyond Surgery, 4. The Journey, 5. Heal Your Life, 6. A Subway Doctor, 7. Wounded Healers, 8. A Modern Parable, 9. Credits.

You can order a copy by sending a check (payable in US funds) for $19.95 plus $2.00 shipping in the US, for as many DVD's as you want. Send check to LRK Communications, Inc. 63 Unquowa Road, Fairfield, CT 06824.

The DVD Video: Conversations with Bernie, Health & Happiness is available at one store: The Wisdom of the Ages, located at 1408 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT 06070. Phone #. 860-651-1172.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you desire. Please include the copyrights and credits due the authors.

Our mailing list and your name is never sold, traded, or given to anyone outside of our organization. You can smile about that!

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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.