"The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public." These are the powerful words of Robert F. Kennedy. Now more than ever we seem to be living in a world where the abuse of power has become headline news every single day!

"We have, I fear, confused power with greatness," said Stewart L. Udall in his commencement address to Dartmouth College graduates on June 13, 1965. Yes, and what an important difference! The tenth edition of Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines the word POWER: as ability to act or produce an effect. We want power, we fear power, but we really do not understand power.

We have all heard the quote: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," by historian Lord Acton who lived from 1834 to 1902. He issued epic warnings that political power is the most serious threat to liberty. Consider this one: "The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse," words uttered by Edmund Burke in 1771. But do we understand what real power is? Maybe we must call real power - "authentic power." Authentic power is the power that comes from Being Happy. Being happy means realizing that you cannot be happy unless you are in control of yourself.

This power allows you to experience being stronger, smarter, freer, more comfortable and fully yourself. It allows you to take action. It is the power TO DO IT! It is A CAN DO attitude even if you think you can't. It lets you decide what is good for you. It means doing what you can, when you can, rather than waiting for someone or something to change on it's own. It is a method of taking charge of your life and being responsible for yourself. It means finding the solutions to a problem, and making the best choice now.

Authentic power means never volunteering to make yourself a victim. It means that you do not try to control other people. It means that you do not allow yourself to be forced into acting the way that others think you should act. It allows you to feel like you can change the world because you are taking control of yourself. It allows you to deal with difficult people and anger when it arises. It gives you the ability to cope with fear and anxiety, forgive people and stop labeling them. Free yourself from self-doubt and despair, stop feeling guilty, and let go of the past so you don't react to the moment from your past conditioning. It means you become proactive to allow your wisdom and common sense to make the change you want to see in the next moment.

Authentic power is a mechanism to access new habits to self-empowerment. This power must always include wisdom because without wisdom power is unwieldy and hard to handle. Wisdom is nothing more than having the discipline to do the right thing at the right time. "We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom," said Stephen Vincent Benet in 1935. His words are just as true today; people seek power without seeking wisdom. "What is strength without a double share of wisdom?" said Milton in 1671. If you could have wisdom you could gain all the power you could ever require.

Charles Caleb Colton said in 1825, "No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power." This is reason enough to develop power within yourself and not give it to everyone who says they know more than you do. When you choose unhappiness you give people and circumstances power to exert control over you. When you are unhappy you're giving your power away. You are allowing situations to be more important than the power of control you have within yourself. Being happy is a method of reassuring yourself that you have the wisdom to think clearly about what has happened. You must learn to trust yourself and make choices that will get you where you want to be.

Authentic power means finding value and meaning in your life, and this allows you to live the life you choose to live. Happiness is power for those who practice it. It is a power that requires discipline. Power without discipline, is like a car without brakes. Power is energy and discipline is the control of that energy. Robert Louis Stevenson said, "There is no duty so much underrated as the duty of being happy." Make it your duty to practice being happy so you can make this power work for you.

"The sole advantage of power is that you can do more good." Baltasar Gracian wrote these words in 1647 in The Art of Worldly Wisdom, a magnificent book. Happy people are good people, and they are also powerful individuals. They know what they want and they know how to get what they need.

As Goethe wrote: "As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live." Happiness gives you the ability to use the power within you. Real power is not power over someone else; it is power within yourself. "An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens," these are powerful words our past President, Thomas Jefferson.

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be on Thursday, July 21, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The presentation will be "Happiness Is Power!" The meeting will be held at the Sullivan Independence Hall, Fairfield. Looking forward to seeing you. Admission is free; everyone is welcome. Come on down, meet some great people and share the joy!

Published in the Fairfield Citizen-News June 22, 2005

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

Life is complicated, happiness is simple!

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, The Happiness 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 beginning of this newsletter you can read the latest article called: Authentic Power.

"I need not wait for I have the power to choose my own destiny." - Og Mandino

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

At our last Happiness Club Meeting, Barry Shainbaum gave us a talk, a slide show and sang songs on his guitar. He was wonderful and we thank him for coming from Toronto to give us an outstanding presentation. Barry is helping to change the world for the better!

International documentary photographer Daryl Hawk will present a slide show and lecture entitled "High Adventure: Journey Through the Thunder Dragon Kingdom" to the Happiness Club on Thursday, September 15th at 7 P.M. at the Fairfield Public Library in Fairfield, CT.

This past November Daryl Hawk spent a month alone traversing from west to east thought the mythical and medieval kingdom of Bhutan, which is hidden, high away in the Himalayas. He was hired to shoot a film documentary and given extraordinary access by the royal family.
Mr. Hawk will share his nonstop, day-to-day adventures, experiences, discoveries, and valuable lessons he learned on this incredibly spiritual journey through this last Shangri-la, in which the national motto is "gross national happiness." Photographs of dramatic and rarely seen before landscapes, stunning Buddhist monasteries and fortresses, ancient secret religious ceremonies and festivals, the King’s birthday celebration and the lifestyles of the people who inhabit this kingdom will all be highlighted in this presentation. You won't want to miss this one either!

Very good meeting last night. Here is the quote I read at the Happiness Club meeting:

"Terrible or not, difficult or not, the only thing that is beautiful, noble, religious and mystical is to be happy." This quote is by Arnaud Desjardine.

Regards, Dr. Richard Ellis

Happ-E-Quote :)

"I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become." - Carl Jung

Excellent newsletter! Here’s a quote for you: "Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but gets you nowhere." My mother, Bernice Martyniuk used to say it to her five children.

After a certain number of years, our faces become our biographies. - Cynthia Ozick

I was so happy to read your article about worrying... it is such a barrier to happiness and summarizes my thoughts exactly. My show has been negotiated to a production company in Montreal, they are pitching it to the networks in Canada.

We will see...I love you!! Aymee Coget

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies within us while we live." - Norman Cousins

Some really great Happy News. The Happy Times is growing as of July 1 we will go from publishing 90,000 hard copies to 95,000 hard copies of the paper. The other day I had the opportunity to personally distribute 1,800 copies of the paper to local businesses. It was really good to be able to spread happy feeling to those I came in contact with.

As for The Happiness Zone Column, I am awaiting the available space needed to go forward with the column. Keep up the great work of spreading happiness to others. As the saying goes "Smiles are Contagious."

Jonathan Lederman
Production Coordinator
Happy Times/ Happy Herald Monthly Newspaper
Reaching over 1/4 of a Million Readers in 17 Municipalities
561-394-7466

The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside. - Dag Hammarskjold

Thank you for being in my life and for all the wonderful things you've brought into my life - love, encouragement, happiness and smiles! Lisa

"People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success."

- Norman Vincent Peale

Another great newsletter. I love your opening thoughts on worry, how it does nothing for us and how we can overcome it. Lightening up is great as is humor and laughter together. Being able to maintain a humorous perspective about everything is the secret. Once we begin to do this, one can see that everything really is funny. Not a laughing at funny but a laughing with funny. Ah, there is the fabled cosmic joke, we are all in this together.

Anyway, great work, Lionel, you inspire us all. - Bob Nozik, M.D.

"Find something to laugh about." - Maya Angelou, writer

Hi Lionel, It's great hearing from you.
Thank you for your invitation to speak at the Happiness Club Meeting.

I am excited about it. I look forward towards it very, very much.
It'll be wonderful to see you and everyone else on Thursday, August 25 at 7:00 PM.
Wishing you everything great.
Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

Grow From Your Mistakes

It is easy to feel frustrated and miserable when you make mistakes. But you can always learn from your mistakes and failures. If you use them as learning experiences, you can view them as positive. Although you would rather not have made those mistakes, you can now view them as stepping stones to growth.

Today, think of one time in your life where you came out better in the end after having made a mistake. Then appreciate the growth you experienced.

From Rabbi Zelig Pliskin's Gateway to Happiness, page 61.

Good morning from Costa Rica..All unpacked. Thanks for the good news about Happiness.

I know happiness is here for real and we are devoted to making Paradise Earth for all.

Take care and love and be happy now and forever,

Julian Kalmar is doing a great deal to bring happiness into this world.

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

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be a presentation called:

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be on Thursday, July 21, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The presentation will be "Happiness Is Power!" The meeting will be held at the Sullivan Independence Hall, Fairfield. Looking forward to seeing you. Admission is free; everyone is welcome. Come on down, meet some great people and share the joy!

Date :) Thursday, July 21, 2005

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

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

We look forward to seeing you. Come on down, share the joy and meet some great people!

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

Thursday, August 25, 2005 - will be at the Fairfield Library

Thursday, September 15, 2005 - will be at the Fairfield Library

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.

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.

- Anne Frank

Jane Bradley is President and conducts the meetings.

No meetings for July & August.
Meetings are held at: The Normandy Resource Centre (The Legion),

111, Church Street,

St. Catharines, Ontario.

The time: 700 - 8:30 PM.

This facility is fully accessible. ADMISSION: A smile and always free.

Cheers! Jane

Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.

- James M. Barrie

Our Happiness Club meets

When: One Sunday each month.

Time: 3:00 - 5:00 PM.

Where: 333 First Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

(b/t Folsom and Harrison) on the third floor in the activity room.

The building is about a fifteen minute walk from BART.

Our topic is 'Being happy living with an unhappy whomever (spouse, mother, sibling, friend, boss, coworker, in-law, etc.)

Please RSVP because it helps Aymee & Bob prepare. Meetings are free, hope to see you!

"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

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.