Happ-E-Newsletter for September 1, 2007

Welcome My Dear Friend!

Jack Canfield has said: "In order to get what you want, you must first decide what you want. Most people really foul up at this crucial first step because they simply can't see how it's possible to get what they want - so they don't even let themselves want it."

I would like to announce the opening of the new Seniors Happiness Club in Norwalk, Ct. Kelsang Shenden, Ph.D., a Buddhist Kadampa Nun will teach from the book: Eight Steps To Happiness, a series based on showing how we can transform our mind of dissatisfaction and suffering into the perfect Wisdom - Compassion and Happiness of a Buddha. This is a free weekly meeting, see information in this newsletter.

David is planning to start a regular happiness meeting in Calgary, Canada which will be similar to our happiness club meetings. David is calling it a Happiness Community. At this stage he has reserved a room at a nearby Community Centre to start on Monday, September 17th. David's plan is to promote the first meeting by getting support from local newspapers, radio stations, and hopefully some TV. If you live in the area make sure to attend the meetings.

Happiness Completes You!

Do you ever feel that you are incomplete? This is a feeling we have all experienced in our lives. Many people cannot recall ever feeling complete. We seem to internalize bad things that happen to us as a refection of our not being enough. We feel that we are not rich enough, not trim enough, don't have enough. Most of us don't feel that we are enough even if we do not have enough. One of the ways we come to this conclusion, is that we interpret aspects of our life as our inner incompleteness.

We have not been told that we can feel complete. We have not heard that we are enough, even when we feel we do not have enough. One of my favorite lines in the bible is the Lilies of the Field found in Matthew 6:27-29, "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." That line tells us that no matter what you have, or don't have, you are complete!
My definition of happiness is the following: Happiness is an inner state of well-being that enables you to profit from your highest thoughts, intelligence, wisdom, awareness, common sense, emotions, health, and spiritual values.

It has occurred to me that being happy has allowed me to feel more complete. I no longer evaluate my feeling of completeness by what I do not have. It would be nice to have certain things that I may not have, but they are rather meaningless to me, in comparison to my feeling of being complete and being enough. My thoughts of the things I do want, but don't have, are greatly diminished since I have become a happy person.

Happiness has enabled me to experience a part of life that is separate from what I have, or what I want, or even what I am doing. Those things are important, but only when I feel happy and complete can I seem to make a positive difference in all those exterior things. Feeling complete gives me a sense of fulfillment and a feeling of being whole. This is a wonderful feeling that leaves me undivided in my thoughts. I feel a total connection to everyone else as a result of the feeling of completeness that expresses itself in my life.

The feeling of completeness is available to every one of us. We can all have a feeling of completeness by not letting outer circumstances diminish our inner feelings. I know that bringing up the thought that we are perfect is very controversial. I will bring it up anyway! When I have talked about realizing our inner perfection, a few people become agitated. Some people have even cried because they don't think they are perfect. They realize that they judge themselves pretty harshly about what they think their faults are. Unfortunately, this does nothing to change their behavior.

A really interesting factor is, judging others produces some rather negative experiences within ourselves. This lesson has been with us for ages, but it seems to be a difficult lesson to learn. Once again, the bible has something to say about judging. Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment that you pronounce, you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Matthew 7:1-5

It seems that what we judge in someone else is something that may also be true for us. Bad things happen and people do not always do the right thing in this world. This is all very true, but I am bringing this up for a different reason. If you want to free yourself and experience completeness, it is necessary to reduce your need to judge other people. The practice of non-judgement detaches you from feeling upset every time you hear about the crazy things that one human being does to another. Judging others, even if you are right diminishes your feeling of completeness. Judgments affect your deepest inner feelings of well-being.

Another aspect of not judging another people is that your acceptance of the way they are seem so change the way other people relate and respond to you. It is as if other people know when you are finding fault with them even when you don't say anything. By feeling more complete with who you are you are free to accept other people for the way they are. You begin to notice that people are treating you better as a result of the way you are choosing to treat them. You are beginning to experience true freedom by feeling complete and embracing others.

Albert Einstein had said, "A human being is part of the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

What can you do to feel complete? There is nothing you can do. It is a matter of being who you are and accepting it. When you feel complete, you feel happy and loving. You have become whole again and as a result you can give love because you feel happy and complete.

BE HAPPY ZONE by Lionel Ketchian. Published in the Fairfield Citizen-News on August 22, 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-Mail :) I greatly appreciated your beautiful email. I'm so glad that you couldn't put my book down and that you loved it. The skill of upgrading our self-talk is a skill that every human being on the planet needs to learn and as we do we will all be happier, kinder, calmer, and be a part of creating a wonderful world. Zelig

(from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin)

Happ-E-Quote :) "Just to be is a blessing, just to live is holy." Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) Philosopher and theologian

Happ-E-Poem :) This poem sent us from our friend David Lazar.

My Needs and Probably Yours.
To give and receive love
To contribute to life
To celebrate and to play
To give and receive respect and support
To connect with my soul.

Happ-E-Quote :) "Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility." - Oprah Winfrey

Happ-E-Mail :) Hello, From My Heart, Nice greeting isn't it? Would you believe that when millions of people greet each other with a smile and these words violent crime is greatly reduced and sometimes even eliminated? It's true. We have proven it over 4 separate years. What started in Tampa Bay, Florida now has participants in 30 nations and 40 of the United States. A new paradigm has been born. This is your invitation to join us as we create peace. Currently, our estimates show that we will reach between 10 and 11 million people. Our goal is to exceed 100 million and with your help we'll be even closer. "Hello, From My Heart" Days are September 11th thru the 21st.

Happ-E-Quote :) "We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it." - Abraham Lincoln

Happ-E-News :) Recent happiness articles and items of interest!

CLUB HAPPINESS, E-CLUB :) Everybody should join this club, try it, you'll love it!!!

Time: Monday, September 24th from 7:00 - 8:00 PM, EST in the USA.
Phone number: (712) 775-7000
Your Access Code is: 122856#.
The Virtual Happiness Club is free, just your normal long distance charges apply. The first 90 callers may participate. The Virtual Happiness Club meets one Monday each month.

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT HAPPINESS CLUB :)

Date :) Thursday, September 27, 2007
Time :) 6:30 - 8:00 P.M.
Place :) The Westport Senior Center, 21 Imperial Ave. Westport CT 06880.

Admission is free and the meetings are for people single and over 50 years old. Meet some wonderful people using happiness in their lives. Stay happy and healthy - get well connected. Stacy Enyeart is the group facilitator. Future meetings Thursday, September 27, Thursday, October 25, 2007

NEW!!! NORWALK, CONNECTICUT SENIORS HAPPINESS CLUB :)
Kelsang Shenden, Ph.D. is a Buddhist Kadampa Nun. Kelsang will teach from the book: Eight Steps To Happiness, a series based on showing how we can transform our mind of dissatisfaction and suffering into the perfect Wisdom - Compassion and Happiness of a Buddha. This course is designed for everyone including beginners with emphasis on the cessation of painful limitation and the development with freedom and confidence of a vital relationship within ourselves and with others.
Date :) Thursday, September 13, 2007
Time :) 10:30 AM - 12:00 P.M.
Place :) The Norwalk Senior Center
Address :) 11 Allen Road, Norwalk, CT 06851.
Kelsang Shenden, Ph.D., a Buddhist Nun is the group facilitator. Admission is free, to make your reservation please call Debbie Cole at 203 847-3115 Ext: 104. Meetings are held every Thursday each week from 10:30 AM - 12:00 P.M.

MADISON CONNECTICUT HAPPINESS CLUB :)
Our next meeting presentation is: JOYFULNESS AS A WAY OF BEING by Zsuzsa Simandy, LMSW. Zsuzsa is an author, a holistic therapist and a columnist for the Guilford Courier. She will give you an opportunity to tap into your own source and inexhaustible supply of harmony and joy!

STAMFORD CONNECTICUT TEEN HAPPY CLUB :) Meetings begin again in September!

Open to all high school students. Meetings are held twice a month on Saturdays from 11:00 - 12:30 P.M. At the Daniel and Grace Tully & Family Health Center, 32 Strawberry Hill Court, Stamford, Connecticut 06902.

Event Description: Positive Emotions - why use them? how can we most effectively use them?! Also a brief review of Positive Thinking. You're guaranteed to interact with at least five new people each time!" Hosted in association with the Creativity and Personal Mastery program at Columbia Business School, as taught by Professor Rao. No dues, no registration and open to everyone!

Date :) Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Time :) 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Place :) At Columbia Business School - Warren Hall Room 416 (4th floor) corner of Amsterdam and 115 th street, Columbia University campus New York, NY 10027

Date :) Friday, August 24, 2007

Time :) 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Place :) The Connection Internet Cafe (910) 793-1940, (Next to Fat Tony's). 250-1 Racine Drive Racine Commons Shopping Center Wilmington NC 28403

MENTORS HAPPINESS CLUB :) Meeting: Not till September. We will be meeting on our conference phone line that will be open to all Happiness Club facilitators everywhere. More information to come.

Virtual Happiness Club - For more information:

New - Happiness Club WWW Chapter - For more information:

Mentors Happiness Club - No meetings scheduled at this time.

Happ-E-Quote :) "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

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!

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"May the good lord be with you, Down every road you roam, And may sunshine and happiness, Surround you when you're far from home." - Words from the song Forever Young by Rod Stewart

"Unhappiness is a form of suffering." Eckhart Tolle. "Do or do not. There is no try." Yoda

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!