Happ-E-Newsletter for September 1, 2006

Welcome My Dear Friend!

I don't know if you have seen the commercial about doing kind deeds for others. It is an animated musical creation. It has a guy running around doing acts of kindness and being very happy. Then this song comes on: Give A Little Love And It All Comes Back To You! - The commercial is by Coke

"Laugh and your life will be lengthened for this is the great secret of long life." - Og Mandino

Be Aware and Awake!

Aristotle said: "The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival."

I looked up the word awareness and found that one of its meanings is the word awake. This is what the dictionary says about the word: AWAKE…implies that one has become alive to something and is on the alert. It gives the following statement as an example: A country always awake to the threat of invasion.

Aware and awake have the same meaning. Awareness is one of the most important things you can use to direct your life. Awareness means that you need to be attentive to everything in and around you. It often happens that when you are not conscious of things, you will experience problems that you might have been able to avoid if you had been aware.

Awareness is the ability to focus on what is happening within you and around you. The more aware you are of yourself and your surroundings, the better off you are and the safer you will be. I received information about a course that was given to police and military personnel. It was about how to avoid being the victim of violent crimes. One of the first lessons was that a lack of awareness was the number one reason people were attacked. It indicated that you MUST know where you are and what's going on around you. Nancy Simon, a sixth degree black belt instructor and owner of Villari's Self Defense Center in Fairfield, CT, said that this is the biggest lesson for women learning self defense. As the dictionary suggests, being aware implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences.

People are attacked because they send out a signal to others that they are not in control of themselves or their surroundings. I am not going to go into all the things you can do to protect yourself in this article. The important thing for you to know is that when you act like you are aware of what is going on around you, then you will be much safer. You will enjoy your life more, and be much better off.

Awareness gives you an appreciation for what is going on in your life. You're more in touch with what is happening and your relationship to it when you are aware. Awareness is a form of being more perceptive to the things in your life. If you're not aware of something, you will have trouble noticing it. You will also have a greatly limited capacity to appreciate things. Awareness is appreciation that gives special meaning and beauty in our lives.

At times, I may drop something out of my hand. When I am aware, I find myself catching it before it hits the floor. Sometimes I knock something over on my desk and catch it as it rolls off the desk. I have found that I do it without thinking about doing it. If I have to think about it, the object is already on the floor. I have analyzed this and found that thinking I can catch it interferes with just catching it without thinking. It is using awareness instead of thought.

Oh, no! I don't want that to fall and break! Thinking about what you don't want will never get you what you do want; it just gets in your way! A good lesson to learn is that you don't get what you want, by not wanting it. Most people go through life expressing what they don't want in their life. You need to express what you do want. In this way you develop more awareness of yourself and your needs.

When you stop blaming others for things, you become responsible for your life and everything in it. It may not always be your fault that things are happening, but it is your responsibility. When you become accountable for yourself, a wonderful thing happens - less bad stuff happens to you and more good things begin to happen.

When you are focused on the moment, without distraction, you will find that your awareness of things is greatly improved. By being aware, your perception of things is enhanced. Awareness is your ability to focus in the moment. It is your ability to concentrate. Awareness is like using a magnifying glass to focus your attention.You see things more clearly and in greater detail.

Mindfulness is another form of awareness. People meditate for the very purpose of sharpening their awareness. When you are unaware, you are compelled to be unconscious. In that state of mind it is no wonder that people can be insensitive and unfeeling. When you concentrate and focus on the moment you are taking charge of yourself and your life.

Wake up and see the roses, smell the coffee, hear the birds singing. Be more aware, awake, alert and alive. If you're not aware in this present moment than you're "out of it!" You're not present; you're not here, right now! You're missing out on the greatest gift of all: Your present!

BE HAPPY ZONE by Lionel Ketchian

Published in the Fairfield Citizen-News - August 23, 2006

Life is complicated, happiness is simple! LIVE RICHLY...PRACTICE HAPPINESS!

Everything we do in life is for the purpose of obtaining happiness!

Happiness Empowerment to You! Reminding you to make the "Happiness Decision."

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

Sharing Love, Peace and Happiness with you,
Lionel Ketchian

Happ-E-Radio-Show:)

I just did this radio show with Lorraine, check it out:

Happ-E-Quote :)

"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time." - Og Mandino

Happ-E-Quote :)

"Choice determines direction...Decision determines destiny...." - Doug Firebaugh

Happ-E-Mail :)

International documentary photographer Daryl Hawk will present a slide show entitled: "Distant Journeys," on Tuesday, September 19, at 7:00 in the Rotary Room of the Fairfield Public Library. This special presentation is a retrospective of various expeditions and trips Mr. Hawk has taken starting in the Canadian Arctic, through all of North, Central and South America, Antarctica, New Zealand, and ending high in the Himalayas in Bhutan, the nation that brought you: Gross National Happiness. Join us in this armchair adventure that will make you feel like you explored and traveled the world.

"People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be." - Harvey

Happ-E-Quote :)

"Have confidence in your decisions. Make them expeditiously, and stay with them as long as you believe you are correct no matter what others say. However, when you conclude you were in error, do not hesitate to announce the error publicly and change course." - Edward J. Kock

Happ-E-Mail :)

Happ-E-Quote :)

"The key that unlocks energy is desire. It's also the key to a long and interesting life. If we expect to create any drive, any real force within ourselves, we have to get excited." - Earl Nightingale

Happ-E-Poem :)

The Gift of Words
To heal and uplift
To empower and create
To love and be loved
To identify and to resolve
To separate and to reconnect
To understand and to be understood
To forgive and to heal.

This wonderful poem sent us from our friend David Lazar

Happ-E-Quote :)

Be in general virtuous, and you will be happy. - Benjamin Franklin

Happ-E-Book:)

Discouragement comes from one thing, and one thing only: thinking discouraging thoughts. Changing the content of one’s thoughts changes the entire picture! Discouragement often comes from one’s limited self-image.

When you view yourself in a positive light and see what you’ve done as valuable and important, even though things didn’t work out the way you were hoping, you still feel positive about the effort you put into doing something worthwhile. You know that effort is up to you; results are up to the Almighty. You realize that your own value and worth are constant, and then think about your new wisest course of action for now.

If you ever feel discouraged, you can say to yourself, "Right now I am feeling discouraged because of the thoughts that I am thinking. What are some wiser thoughts that I can think right now?"

From Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s new book: "Building Your Self-image and the Self-image of Others" (Artscroll) Rabbi Pliskin is The Self-image Builder and Happiness Teacher

Happ-E-Quote :)
"Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach." - Anthony

The Happiness Show on TV:)
"The Happiness Show," is on every Monday night, from 9:30 - 10:00 PM. Your co-hosts are Lionel Ketchian and George Ortega. Cablevision of Connecticut broadcasts the TV show on channel 77. Airs in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Milford, Orange, Stratford & Woodbridge.

Happ-E-Quote :)
"I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them." - John Stuart Mill

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT HAPPINESS CLUB :)

The Healing Power of Happiness, by Dr. Paul Epstein

The Healing Power of Happiness...Follow your Bliss. A new paradigm and approach to health and healing. Understanding and using the mind-body connection. Exploring how biography becomes biology and illness as opportunity. "When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change." Cultivating healing attitudes and qualities of being.

Date :) Thursday, September 21, 2006

Time :) 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Place :) At the Fairfield Public Library, in the Rotary Room

Address :) 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824

Everyone is welcome; admission is free. Meet some wonderful people using happiness in their lives. Future meetings at the Fairfield Library will be: Thursday, October 12, Thursday, November 16, 2006.

Directions to Fairfield Public Library: (movie theatre is diagonally across the street)

From the west (Westport) on Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) Take Exit 22 (Round Hill Road) Take a right at the bottom of the ramp.Go straight, under the railroad tracks. Take a right at the light onto Post Road (Rt. 1). Take a left at the first through street. Library is on your left at the corner of Post Road and Old Post Road.
From the east (Bridgeport) on Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) Take Exit 22 (North Benson Road) Take a left at the bottom of the ramp. Go straight under thruway and railroad tracks. Take a right at the light onto the Post Road. Take a left at the second through street. The Library is on your left at the corner of the Post Road and the Old Post Road.

WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT SMILING SINGLE SENIORS HAPPINESS CLUB :)

Rev. Dr. David Harper will present a talk called: "Finding Happiness!" Dr. Harper will use some contributions of modern cartoonists like Charles Schulz. Ample time for discussions will follow. The meeting will be held Thursday, August 31, 6:30 - 8:30 PM at the Westport Senior Center, 21 Imperial Ave., Westport CT 06880. Admission is free and you can meet some wonderful people using happiness in their lives. Stay happy and healthy - get well connected. Stacy Enyeart is the group facilitator. For further information, www.happinessclub.com or call Lionel Ketchian at 203 258-7777.

Future meetings: Thursday, September 28, Thursday, October 19 2006.

SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING :)

DIABLO VALLEY HAPPINESS CLUB MEETING :)

WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA HAPPINESS CLUB :)

CANADIAN AMBASSADOR OF HAPPINESS :)

"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

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!

Happiness is an inner state of well being. A state that enables you to profit from your highest thoughts, intelligence, wisdom, awareness, common sense, emotions, health, and spiritual values.

Happiness is one of the most important things in your life.

Don't give away your power by being unhappy! Practice "Premeditated Happiness," because happiness is an issue of power. We give our power to others for many reasons. We mistakenly think that doing this will make us happy. The truth is that we have given others power over ourselves. We can now consciously reclaim our power and experience happiness. Happiness does wonders for your soul. Now is the time to learn to use happiness for dealing with challenges and difficult people so you can empower your life.

FREE Newsletter

REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS:

If you no longer wish to receive this Happ-E-Newsletter, reply with "Remove" in the subject line.

"Unhappiness is a form of suffering." Eckhart Tolle

If you're not happy by now, it's time to have a talk with yourself. Make the Happiness Decision Now! THAT'S ALL FOLKS...NOW BE HAPPY!

© Copyright 2006, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.