Happ-E-Newsletter for January 1, 2007

Welcome My Dear Friend! A VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

Osho said: "The happiness that we feel because life is going our way is always fleeting. Joy is the art of being happy."

Here is an excerpt from the book called: JOY: The Happiness that Comes from Within, written by Osho.

Happiness is unbelievable. It seems that man cannot be happy. If you talk about your depression, sadness, misery, everybody believes it; it seems natural. If you talk about your happiness nobody believes you – it seems unnatural. I say this to you on my own authority: Human beings can be happy, more happy than the birds, more happy than the trees, more happy than the stars – because human beings have something which no tree, no bird, no star, has. They have consciousness. But when you have consciousness, two alternatives are possible: either you can become happy or you can become unhappy. Then it is your choice. Human beings can be tremendously happy and tremendously unhappy – and they are free to choose.

Being Happy All The Time

Sixteen years ago, I decided to be happy. On December 24, 1990 at about 5:00 PM I realized I was happy and felt great. I didn't think that this feeling could last, so I started looking out for things that could take away the happiness that I had realized. I found many things that life presented to me that could absolutely take away my happiness if I let them. My decision to be happy, allowed me to make happiness a significant part of my life strategy.

I found that being happy, in spite of people or problems, not only allowed me to face my problems, but to select the best possible choices available to me in that moment. This became very fulfilling for me and was the beginning of my learning to become emotionally competent. I was able to exercise more intelligent choices, rather than just permitting problems to take control of my thinking and make me unhappy.

Many people do not understand how someone can be happy all the time. People feel that anyone who is happy all the time is not facing their problems. Some people think that happy people are denying their full range of emotions. When something happens that many people consider to be sad, people think that it is normal to become sad and express that emotion. The truth is, people experience the same sad situation in a variety of different ways and it all depends on their state of mind. You may become very sad if you are in an unfavorable state of mind to begin with. You may react with sadness to even a minor event, because that has been you're past conditioning and thus, your primary reaction to contrary events.

Your mind may magnify the situation as being worse than it is. Situations can be worse than they are or they can be better than they are. Happiness allows you to respond to a situation rather than react to it from a past conditional stimulus response mechanistic habit. Happiness can enable you to create new habits that are more powerful in order to respond to events with a better frame of reference for yourself. Sad emotions can dictatorially take over your reasoning and make you feel like a prisoner being held captive.

When you allow people or problems to make you unhappy, you start to feel helpless, hopeless and depressed. You feel like you have become a victim. This happens because you give your power away to people and problems. Mankind thinks it has to control people and problems. The truth is that you need to learn to control yourself, so you can discover the most practical choices and turn them into your advantage.

How you observe a problem is more important than the problem itself. Happiness allows you to perceive the problem more objectively. You might even reframe the negative situation, using happiness in order to diminish the sad feelings. When you are able to separate yourself from your reaction to the problem, you can connect with the best possible choices accessible to you at that moment. If you are unhappy about a problem, you have created two problems where you only had one. Unhappiness sustains the suffering you experience when you think about how bad the problem is, and how much you wish you did not have the problem.

Choosing happiness allows you to be more accepting of a situation because it helps you comprehend that the situation has already happened and that in actuality there is nothing you can do to change the fact that it has already occurred. The only power you have is what you will do about it. You have the power to take control of yourself. Happiness allows you to deal with any situation with much greater power by using your greater intelligence, increased emotional competence and heightened decision-making abilities. The characteristics I have just mentioned can become your strengths in life and will to work for your benefit.

Martin Seligman, Ph.D. wrote the book, Authentic Happiness. This book is a very important achievement because it is a breakthrough for the field of psychology to explore the subject of happiness, using the term "positive psychology." Dr. Seligman does an excellent job of helping us understand the usefulness of happiness. Dr. Seligman is a trailblazer in happiness research that is now sweeping the press. He has helped us to notice our "Signature strengths," as he refers to them. You are much better off learning what your strengths are and using them then you are by trying to understand your weaknesses and being used by them.

These teens will be starting off the New Year by learning the powerful skill of happiness. Do all you can to learn to become a happy human being and you will have the greatest New Year ever!

These teens will be starting off the New Year by learning the powerful skill of happiness. Do all you can to learn to become a happy human being and you will have the greatest New Year ever!

A VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

BE HAPPY ZONE by Lionel Ketchian

Published in the Fairfield Citizen-News on December 29, 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-Mail :) I don't know if it was reading your newsletters or if I just had enough with being unhappy. I didn't put up a Christmas Tree in at least 15 years, this year was the first. I can't tell you how different life is now that I have allowed myself to be happy. Everything is brighter. I couldn't even listen to a Christmas carol without becoming anxious and depressed. Something happened this year, my husband says it's a miracle. I feel as if I have a new lease on life. Thank you so much. Reading about your experience made me realize that I too could be happy. You should be called the Doctor of Happiness, because I believe you have added years to my life and happy ones at that. Best Regards for a Very Happy Holiday. Janet

Happ-E-Quote :) "Every decision we make is either a miracle or a grievance." From a Course on Miracles.

Happ-E-Mail :) I just wonder if you are familiar with the book "The Conquest of Happiness" by Bertrand Russell. He wrote the book about 1931, but it's very much up to date. "Time" magazine called it the modern day Bible....and so do I. Follow what he writes and you can't go wrong! I recently read about the Happiness Club in the Bottom Line magazine. James Beatty

Happ-E-Reply :) Dear James, Yes, I have read the book The Conquest Of Happiness by Bertrand Russell and love it. I have it on my recommended reading list on the Happiness Club web site. I really appreciate people like you who read these wonderful books and are interested in learning all they can about life and themselves. Good for you!

Happ-E-Quote :) "Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life." - Sandra Carey

Happ-E-News :) Lorraine Cohen and Lionel Ketchian present a special 3-part series on Happiness.

A special 3-part radio series on Happiness You won't want to miss this!

Part One: Happiness and Business - December 14 Lionel Ketchian

Part Two: Happiness and Relationships - December 21 Lionel Ketchian

Part Three: Gateway to Happiness - December 28 Lionel Ketchian

Happ-E-Mail :) I cut and pasted your past article, the Keys to Happiness and emailed it to a good portion of my address book. I have sent it to a family member who has a family newsletter that has many members and I know he will use it as part of the newsletter. Will be fun to see who responds. I have heard from some of the people that I sent it to, in a very positive manner. I thought they would all enjoy seeing it. Thanks from me to you and from all of those that will read it. I thought it was a great way to really pay attention and close out this year and start the new year in a happier way. Thanks again. Happiness Is Each of Us. Mary

Happ-E-Quote :) "Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happ-E-Mail :) CHECK OUT P 48 OF THE US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT DEC 28. MERRY CHRISTMAS. FRANK Z

Happ-E-Quote :) "An act of goodness is of itself an act of happiness. No reward coming after the event can compare with the sweet reward that went with it." - Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) Writer

Happ-E-Quote :) "If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." - Booker T. Washington

Happ-E-Quote :) "When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude." - Elie Wiesel

Happ-E-Quote :) "There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first...when you learn to live for others, they will live for you." - Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952)

Happ-E-Quote :) "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Happ-E-Quote :) "Unshared joy is an unlighted candle." - Spanish Proverb

Our next Happiness Club meeting will have the presentation called: Overcoming Problems With Happiness, by Lionel Ketchian.

Date :) Thursday, January 18, 200

Time :) 7:00 - 10:00 P.M.
Place :) At the Fairfield Public Library, in the Memorial Room

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

WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT SMILING SINGLE SENIORS HAPPINESS CLUB :)

Our next Happiness Club meeting

Date :) Thursday, January 25, 2007

Time :) 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.

Place :) At the Westport Senior Center, 21 Imperial Ave., Westport CT 06880.

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 will be held on Thursday, Thursday, February 22, Thursday, March 29, 2007.

NEW! - MADISON CONNECTICUT HAPPINESS CLUB :)

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, January 31, 2006

Time :) 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Place :) At the E.C. Scranton Memorial Library

Address :) 801 Boston Post Road, Madison, Ct. 06443

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. 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!

REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS: No longer wish to receive the 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 2007, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.