I trust the new format for this newsletter is pleasing to you.

I would also like to thank Carl Rodia for his recommendations for a more readable newsletter.

We had another wonderful Happiness Club Meeting on Thursday, February 17, 2005. The meeting started with a message from Catherine Onyemelukwe from AmeriCares. She told us the following story. "Early one evening a man was walking along a beach when he saw a boy
picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. The man asked the boy why he was doing this. The boy explained the starfish would die if left to the morning. The man asked the boy, "What difference will your efforts make when there are thousands of starfish on the beach?" The boy stopped and looked at the starfish he was holding and said, "It will make a difference to this one." AmeriCares has been doing a wonderful job of bringing relief to the tsunami survivors overseas.

Help deliver humanitarian aid to those in Asia who need it the most, now and as they rebuild.

Donate By Mail: Please send checks to:

AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave.
Stamford, CT USA 06902
Donate by Phone: Please call:
1-800-486-HELP (4357)

The Honorable First Selectman Ken Flato attended and spoke to us about some new things going on. We had a New York Times reporter and photographer at the meeting working on an upcoming article. Dr. Richard Ellis gave us some happiness quotes, while Alice Katz shared some of her insights with us. Stuart Losen, Ph, D., spoke to us about the perspective he has regarding psychology and happiness. I spoke about the Happiness Decision after a brief showing of a tape from the The Happiness Decision from The Happiness TV Show .

"Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy."

- Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) Writer and speaker

Happiness Empowerment to You! LIVE RICHLY...PRACTICE HAPPINESS!

Sharing Love, Peace and Happiness with you,
Lionel Ketchian

Reminding you to make the "Happiness Decision." Giving you our Happiness Club Meeting dates, bringing you The Happiness TV Show, on television and on the Internet, the newest 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: Gateway to Happiness.

""A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy." - Alexander Solzhenitsyn

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

Hi, This a great newsletter and I love to go through it in detail and also recommend it heartily to my friends.Some of whom have also subscribed to it. My only request is to make it weekly for good thoughts are welcome in higher dozes. regards

"Let's be grateful for those who give us happiness; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom." - Marcel Proust

I hope all is well with you! On Monday evening, April 4, 2005 Dr. Bernie Siegel, retired
general/pediatric surgeon, respected teacher and a tireless advocate of the healing power within each of us, will speak at St. Rose of Lima Church, 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person. Advance ticket sales only. Please send a self-addressed stamped envelope and check to Fran Gargano, St. Rose of Lima, 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT, or call 203-426-1014 for information and reservations. Refreshments will be served in the Parish Hall following the talk. You won't want to miss this wonderful opportunity. Thanks so much, Fran Gargano

"A single candle can light a thousand more without diminishing itself."

- Hillel the Elder (c. 30 B.C.-10 A.D.) Scholar

This message was sent to us from Dr. Bernie Siegel.

On my desk I have the following quote: Peace comes when you relinquish desires.

Here is something I put on the web site today: Because of the important role hope plays in our lives and how we interpret events, this quote seems very powerful to me.

While in a soviet prison Nathan Sharansky wrote the following: "Deceptive hope poisons the soul and weakens the spirit. What then is the solution? The only answer is to find the meaning in your current life. It's best if you are left with only one hope -- the hope of remaining yourself no matter what happens."

Sharansky is talking about people who betray themselves and set themselves up to be disappointed. What he also said was that they create new hope and betray themselves because the deceptive hope poisons the soul and weakens the spirit. Deceptive hope is an interesting term versus false hope or no hope and this has given me a new perspective.

- Bernie Siegel, MD

"You can be happy, helpless or hopeless. It all starts with you. You can be proactive about it and decide now that you will be happy. You can then begin to make choices that will bring you to your desired outcome." - Lionel Ketchian

I just got your newsletter and read it from top to bottom, as always. I am sorry to say that I will not make this month's meeting. Yes, I know, it has been a while. Things are very hectic around here. Nikki has totaled two cars and between driving her to work, on my way to work, and Danielle's activities, it's pretty busy around here. I think of you often and hope all is well. Please say hello to everyone for me! This weekend is my 41st birthday and I plan on celebrating as much as possible. Remember, age is just a number and attitude is everything!!!!! Love, peace and happiness! Lisa

"The history of free men is never written by chance, but by choice - their choice."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Hello dearest Lionel,

Just got back in town from the beautiful funeral for my beloved Uncle Johnnie. 86 happy years and he had the best sense of humor! Robert ended the celebration of his life with his harmonica playing, the Ode to Joy. - Barbara Muller

And Robert just handed me the following note to you...

Dear Lionel,

Let us make the Earth the happiest planet in the Universe.

Happily living on Earth,

Robert Muller

From Robert's Golden Sayings :

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Thank you for sending this newsletter the day after Valentine’s Day. It was a very bad day for me, not really being thought of or told I was loved by my significant other. It hit me this morning quite hard and seeing this email, reading how wonderful even strangers can be to one another, has really helped me to get through today and I am working back to a place of being able to count the blessings I do have in my life. I love the quotes, emails and information you send out every month. I tend not to always read them right away unless I need them right away. I always keep them in my happy folder to look at on the not so good days (I know we all have them). Thank you again for sharing. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am to have the blessing of this newsletter, especially today.

"The happiness we all want and the suffering we all try to avoid are produced precisely by our own actions." - Dalai Lama XIV

If you are not happy you are doing something wrong. Unhappiness is caused by our culturally conditioned habit of value judging, criticizing, finding fault and condemning anyone or anything that does not conform with or comply with our personal values, desires or expectations and we then consciously or unconsciously emotionally resist their "Reality" never realizing that our resistance can't change them to meet our values, desires or expectations. Happiness is generated by accepting "What Is," "As Is" even though we may not like it or want it because we realize that emotionally resisting "What Is" can not change "What Is" to meet our values, desires or expectations. Such as emotionally resisting the sun for rising or setting. Sid Madwed

"I am happy and content because I think I am." - Alain-Rene Lesage (1668-1747) Writer

Thanks for the Feb. e-mail, and thank you so much for such a great meeting last night. It's always wonderful listening to you speak! It's so uplifting. Then, my friends and I go out and tell everyone we meet why we're smiling and so happy! The looks we get when we say we've been to the Happiness Club! Thanks again! Sincerely, Rachel

"Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond." - Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein

YES! I AM HAPPY NOW! I would like to express my gratitude to all of you involved in the Happiness Club... It has been my experience that allowing happiness into our lives and in our hearts to be expressed and experienced, holds the potential to ripple much farther than we realize...I know that we have the ability to touch and inspire everyone we interact with...what better way to do so that with a SMILE filled with our JOY!

Thanks for thinking of us and wanting to encourage others to sign our guest book in support of World Peace! I've included a couple of paragraphs below about our Billboards for Peace Project and our links (to our site/blog/press release)... Feel free to use all or what you feel will work for you...and also let us know if we can be of assistance to you in any way!

This season the Oprah Winfrey Show is running a series called "Oprah's Wildest Dreams Come True"...The University of Light & Creativity/Universal Voices has recently submitted a collective dream to Oprah...The dream - to post billboards on every major highway in the United States that say: "WORLD PEACE & HARMONY BEGINS WITH ONE PERSON...YOU!"

Imagine the potential of this message being portrayed all across our country .... Imagine how this simple message could ripple out to touch our entire global community...World Peace IS possible...We have the ability to make this dream a reality! We know that many voices coming together make ONE powerful voice - WE ARE MANY AND WE ARE ONE!

Join us in supporting Global Harmony and World Peace! Add your voice to this dream and empower the experience of a dream we ALL hold in our hearts. Sign our guest book to show your support...forward this e-mail to anyone you feel resonates with this Dream of peace!

WORLD PEACE & HARMONY BEGINS WITH ONE PERSON...YOU!!

" There is always a certain peace in being what one is, in being that completely." - Ugo Betti

Dear Lionel, Congratulations on overcoming the challenges of diabetes, and sharing it with others. It can really make a difference in the lives of many, and at the same time, it is quite an accomplishment for which I applaud you. I came across the following article from Dr. Andrew Weil and thought I would pass it on to you. Be well and best regards, Marianne

"Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe." - Tao Te Ching

A special smile to you for that wonderful meeting last Thursday. It was just great! Love and happiness, Miriam

"You need a lot more out of life, so be happy!" - Lionel Ketchian

Thank you for a very timely and uplifting article. I stumbled across it in a semi-conscious state while surfing the web. It woke me up from weeks of slumber. I can't tell you what a blessing it was. I am awake again and inspired from your beautiful writing. Thanks, Shelia

" Opportunities do not come with their values stamped upon them. Every one must be challenged. A day dawns, quite like other days; in it, a single hour comes, quite like other hours; but in that day and in that hour the chance of a lifetime faces us." - Maltbie D. Babcock (1858-1901) Clergyman

Thanks for this thoughtful letter. It quotes some of my favorite people, like Mother Teresa and R.L. Stevenson. I also want to recommend a book to you. It is called" The Unmistakable Touch of Grace," by Cheryl Richardson. Love, RAYPOP

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. Watch "The Happiness Show," every Thursday night from 9:00 - 9:30 PM on Cablevision in White Plains, New York on channel 76.

We are proud to present, at no charge, over eighty 28 minute episodes we've taped so far in streaming audio (for 28.8Kbps+), streaming video (for 56Kbps+), and Select episodes in broadband streaming video (for DSL, cable, wireless and satellite) Internet connections.

"The Happiness Decision is the control box, choice is the switch." - Lionel Ketchian

Gateway to Happiness, by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin.

We look forward to seeing you. Come on down, meet some great people,

get connected, and share the joy!

Meeting :) "Gateway to Happiness!"

Date :) Thursday, March 10, 2005

Time :) 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Place :) Sullivan Independence Town Hall

Address :) 611 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824

To see a photo taken at one of the meetings of the Happiness Club.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Directions to Fairfield Sullivan Independence Town Hall
725 Old Post Road (corner of Beach Road) Fairfield, CT 06824

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.

" It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived."

- Helen Walton

Jane Bradley is President and runs the meetings.

The next meeting of the Canada Happiness Club will be Thursday, March 17, 2005.

THE HAPPINESS CLUB OF NIAGARA IS DELIGHTED TO PRESENT: "HAPPINESS STRATEGIES" Presented by: JANE BRADLEY

LEARN AND SHARE METHODS OF MAINTAINING HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE!

The time if from 700 - 8:30 PM. It will be held at: The Normandy Resource Centre (The Legion), 111, Church Street, St. Catharines, Ontario. This facility is fully accessible. Admission is A smile and as always is free. Cheers! Jane

Come and celebrate our first birthday on April 14, 2005 (Yes there will be cake!)

" In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you." - Mortimer J. Adler

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian
February 23, 2005

I would like to introduce you to the most comprehensive book on happiness I have ever read. The book is called Gateway to Happiness and the author is Rabbi Zelig Pliskin. I never thought I would say that one book could be the best on the subject of happiness, but I can definitely emphasize this point. I have almost 400 books that I have read and that I recommend on happiness on my Happiness Club web site. There are many good books and great books that have been written on happiness. I want to tell you why this is the best book on the subject.

Rabbi Pliskin does a skillful job helping us to understand happiness with thoughts like this one, "The person with greater control over his thoughts will have greater control over his emotions. Anyone who claims that one does not have a large amount of control over one's emotions is merely saying that he does not have much control over what he thinks about and how he perceives events."

I am not Jewish and I bring up this fact because the book has many references to the Jewish religion and tradition and you can skip these parts if you choose. I think that this book does the most comprehensive job of explaining happiness of any work I have ever read. To begin with, the book is not like most books that are written to tell you about the author's experience. This is a book of happiness facts that are categorized in chapters that make it easy to look up any particular topic you want to focus on and learn more about. Gateway to Happiness is actually more like a reference book that you can work with.

Let's say you are not feeling particularly happy today, then just think about what it is exactly that you are not happy about, and let's say for example that someone insulted you. Than open the book and look up the chapter called, "Insults." and you will learn the basics of dealing with insults from the perspective of being a happy person.

Rabbi Pliskin has chapters dealing with everything you could imagine that could rob you of your happiness. He has chapters dealing with worry, sadness, friendship, living in the present, anger, guilt, suffering, preventing problems, envy, desires, grief, discouragement and many more.

In his chapter on "Approval Seeking," Rabbi Pliskin writes, "If you seek approval, ask yourself why you want approval in the first place. The answer is ultimately, you want to be happy and you feel that approval is pleasurable and will give you happiness. Realizing how much needless suffering your approval seeking causes you, will motivate you to strive to master an attitude that allows you to feel happy even when people fail to show you honor and approval. It is ironic that something you want for happiness causes you so much unhappiness. By giving up your demand for approval, you will ensure yourself greater happiness in life."

This chapter was of significant benefit to me. It taught me that I do not have to seek approval in order to be happy. Why should I put my happiness in the hands of others in order to gain their approval? Why should I allow other people to have control over my happiness?

The most incredible components of this book and the segments that make it great are the first four chapters. They are Chapter 1: Happiness is an obligation, Chapter 2: Appreciating what you have, Chapter 3: Happiness is dependent on your thoughts, and Chapter 4: Peace of mind. These four chapters include the best thinking and teaching explanations on happiness I have ever read.

As Rabbi Pliskin says, "Would you rather feel worse than you have to? Do you want to choose to feel happy? At the root of complaining is thinking that the situation could be better. At the root of satisfaction is being aware that the situation could be worse. In almost all instances things could be worse and they could be better. To master happiness a person needs to have a constant awareness that things are better than they could be."

The wisdom contained in Gateway to Happiness is essential for the individual seeking the happy life. As Rabbi Pliskin says, " Happiness is a skill that can be learned. The essential factor as to whether or not you will live a happy life is based on your attitudes toward life, toward yourself, toward other people, and toward events and situations."

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be on Thursday, March 10, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The presentation will be from the book "Gateway to Happiness." The meeting will be held at the Sullivan Independence Hall, Fairfield. Admission is free; everyone is welcome.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Come on down, meet some great people, get connected, and have a great year!

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club,

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

To be removed from this Happ-E-Newsletter reply with "Remove" in the subject line.

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

© Copyright 2005, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.