Happ-E-Newsletter for March 1, 2007

Welcome My Dear Friend!

This newsletter was started six years ago today on March 1, 2001.

We have many Happiness Clubs starting and we would like some feed back from you. If this newsletter or any Happiness Club meetings have been helpful to you. Won't you please send us an e-mail telling us about your positive experience. We are creating a book to show people how and why to start a Happiness Club. You would be benefiting others with your stories. Thank you so much!

You can call in by telephone from anywhere in the world and join Dr. Cynthia Barnett the facilitator.

The guests will be David Ambrose and Lionel Ketchian

Time: Monday, March 5th from 7:00 - 8:00 PM, EST in the USA.

The phone number is: (712) 775-7000

Your Access Code is: 122856#.

The Virtual Happiness Club is free, just your normal long distance charges apply. Available to the first 90 callers. The Virtual Happiness Club meets the first Monday of each month from 7:00 - 8:00. PM, EST in the USA.

"Every individual makes a difference. We cannot live through a single day without making an impact on the world around us. And we all have free choice--what sort of difference do we want to make? Do we want to make the world around us a better place? Or not?" - Jane Goodall, Wildlife researcher

A letter I just received read: Dear Mr. Ketchian,

I have been reading your happiness articles for about a year and a half now and find it very helpful. My life changed considerably four months ago, when my beloved wife of 54 years passed away. The words that you print have little relevance to my state of mind today. Have you done anything in the area of bereavement counseling? There are many people in my situation. Are you able to address them? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you for your consideration, sincerely, a friend.

Dear Friend,
Thank you your note. I am very sorry to learn about your wife's passing away. Spending a lifetime with a loved one and then losing them, is truly a cataclysmic occurrence.

Please understand that I offer you the following words to alleviate as much suffering as possible. If there is one thought that resonates within you and that you find helpful, that would be great. I do not offer these words to you as an answer for everything. Each of us must decide how we want to confront life with all of the uncertainties it sends our way.

If your wife were here with us now, would she want you to be happy? I know your answer is: "yes, absolutely my wife would want me to be happy." What our loved ones want for us is truly something to think about and reflect on. Allow me to ask you another question. If your wife was the one who was here and you were the one who had passed away, would you want her to be happy? You answered" "yes" to this question. This is the true meaning of love…to want our loved ones to be happy.

When I asked you this last question, you mentioned that your wife would have a very hard time dealing with your death. As I mentioned to you, the suffering you are going through is at least the suffering that your wife does not have to bear. In Man's Search For Meaning book by Viktor E. Frankl, M.D. Dr. Frankl asked the same question of a man who was having a very hard time with the grief he experienced, due to the loss of his wife. The man also said his wife would have had a very hard time dealing with her loss, had she been in his place. Dr. Frankl told him that the suffering he was experiencing was the suffering that his wife did not have to experience. Dr. Frankly gave this man's suffering special meaning to him. Hopefully, this ads some meaning and purpose to your experience and possibly lightens your load a little.

Please know that I care about you and the life you now have before you. Being happy, when you are ready, will not only be a gift to you my friend, but it will enrich everyone's life around you as well. You do not have to be unhappy to prove that you loved a person. If you allow yourself to become happy, even with the loss of a loved one, you do so much more good for yourself, your loved ones and everyone who comes into contact with you.

Your children and grandchildren will benefit from your happiness. I believe the very best thing we can do for our children and grandchildren is to teach them happiness by our example. It is in this way that children learn to deal with loss and the benefits of happiness as a life long skill.

It has been said that if you can't be happy for yourself, than do it for those you love. When you show others happiness, you give them your genuine love. I believe that showing our happiness and gratitude for what we do have is the best way to deal with what we no longer have in our lives. Life is short, we may as well be happy because it is over so soon.

When you're ready, happiness is ready for you my dear friend. Happiness always extends its hand to you with love and friendship. It may not erase the past, but it completely transforms your future. Hard times do not have to define us; they can reveal the strength that lies within us. Happiness is always here for us, just below the surface, waiting to be uncovered.

I remain you friend and happiness coach! Sharing Love, Peace and Happiness with you, Lionel

BE HAPPY ZONE by Lionel Ketchian. Published in the Fairfield Citizen-News on February 21, 2007

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-Quote :) "Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact." - William James (1842-1910) Psychologist and philosopher

Happ-E-Quote :) "The means to gain happiness is to throw out from oneself like a spider in all directions an adhesive web of love, and to catch in it all that comes." Leo Tolstoy

Note: Deborah Mandel was married to her late husband, Bruce M. Di Marsico who passed away in 1995. Deborah has just published The Option Method Workbook: Be Happier Now. This is your personal roadmap to a life of joy and happiness.

Happ-E-Reply:) My Dear Deborah,

Thank you for your beautiful and inspirational words. Happy people become very good friends and I value your friendship greatly. Bruce was a true pioneer in the work of bringing people to an understanding of themselves, their belief systems and happiness.

As you know, I have put Bruce's book, The Option Method, on my 20 best books on happiness on our website. This is what I said about it: This is truly on of the most incredible books on happiness ever written. Bruce was clearly happy and completely understood the meaning of happiness. Not only that but he actually can teach you how to be completely happy no matter what using the Option Method he created.

Deborah, you have done an outstanding job of creating a second edition of The Option Method. I think it is very important that you have made this book available. I want to also congratulate you on publishing the wonderful workbook: Be Happier Now: The Option Method Workbook. It is needed and further helps people understand the concepts that Bruce introduced. Although Bruce's questions were easy ones, it is very difficult for people to understand them without actually working them out for themselves. This is the reason the workbook is essential for people to understand and benefit from Bruce's work.

I also want to thank you dear Deborah for the work you have done and are continuing to do. Sharing Love, Peace and Happiness with you, Lionel

Happ-E-Quote :) "How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most." - Stephen Covey

Happ-E-Mail :) Thought that you would appreciate this article by Dennis Prager. - Dr. Richard Ellis

Happ-E-Quote :) "If I don't have wisdom, I can teach you only ignorance." - Leo F. Buscaqlia

Happ-E-Mail :) Just read the Happiness newsletter. It's my one connection to you and your Happiness Club and Thursday night meetings. Do I miss you! Congratulations on how many clubs there are - you began a wonderful opportunity for all of us to learn and to choose. Happiness is a choice - and I've made that choice. Love, Miriam

Happ-E-Quote :) "When someone does something well, applaud! You will make two people happy." - Samuel Goldwyn

Happ-E-Mail :) Just received your Feb. 15th newsletter. A reminder that we have choices, and choosing to be happy despite the negatives we encounter is not only a choice, but essential to our well being. It always lifts my spirits to know you are out there. Thanks again, Audrey

Happ-E-Quote :) "I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." - Arthur Rubenstein

Happ-E-Quote :) "He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast." - Proverbs 15:15

Happ-E-Poem :) This poem sent us from our friend David Lazar.
Words of Happiness
Seeing a higher purpose
Giving more to this world and to life
Sharing moments of love and joy
Peace, harmony and creativity.

Happ-E-Quote :) "Appreciate people. Nothing gives more joy than appreciation." - Ruth Smeltzer

Happ-E-Quote :) "One should sympathize with the joy, the beauty, the color of life--the less said about life's sores the better." - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Writer

Our next Happiness Club meeting is March 22, from 7:00-9:00 P.M. The presentation is "Understanding Happiness," with Dr. Leonard J. Waks. Dr. Waks and I will be discussing happiness and it's relationship to philosophy and psychology and how that relates to you. Dr. Waks has doctorates in both philosophy and psychology, and taught full time at Purdue, Stanford, Penn State, Carnegie Mellon and Temple universities from 1966 until his retirement in 2005. Dr. Waks maintains an active schedule of speaking and writing.

We also have another wonderful presentation called: "I Need A Face-Lift, Spiritually Speaking, by Kathleen J. Dolan. Kathleen is the author of the above named book. Kathleen will vitalize you with her thirty-one day, Magnify Your Inner Beauty, step-by-step Guide.

Date :) Thursday, March 22nd, 2007

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

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

WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT SMILING SINGLE SENIORS HAPPINESS CLUB :)

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be:

Date :) Thursday, March 29, 2007.

Time :) 6:30 - 8:00 P.M. - Please take note of time change!!!

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, April 26, Thursday, May 31, Thursday, June 28, Thursday, July 26, 2007.

Our next Happiness Club meeting will include a presentation by: Sharon Massoth, LSCW. The topic will be about Grace!She is a psychotherapist as well as an intuitive coach.

Date :) Wednesday, March 28, 2006

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

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

NEW! - STAMFORD,CONNECTICUT TEEN HAPPY CLUB :)

Open to all high school students. 25 teens attended the last meeting!

Every other Saturday from 11:00 - 12:30 P.M. At the Daniel and Grace Tully & Family Health Center, 32 Strawberry Hill Court, Stamford, Connecticut 06902.

NEW! - WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA HAPPINESS CLUB :)

Our next meeting will be on Friday, March 23, 2007 PM. This month's topic of discussion is "Can People Choose to Be Happy?" If so, under what circumstances? Be sure to bring an open mind to this discussion! It could change your life. Coffee, tea, water, and light snacks are provided.

We are meeting at the Happiness Institute, 6336 Oleander Drive Suite #4, Wilmington NC 28403.

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!