Gaia: Co-Creating Reality ~ What Else is Possible? What the Bleep - Our Search for Happiness - Happiness is a Choice

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://ClarityQuest.gaia.com — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:25:50 GMT

& here's another 2 I got in my mailbox today from one of my favourite site, Higher Awareness. The site has recently undergone a major upgrading & is now a membership site offering hundreds of journaling and personal growth resources including the Smart Question Coaching themes along with its 18 programs which I highly recommend.

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." ~ Denis Waitley

"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere." ~ Agnes Repplier

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://ClarityQuest.gaia.com — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:46:18 GMT

You brought up a very good point, Gaiabreeze. This boils down to a lack of gratitude & appreciation doesn't it?

If you are reading this & can't think of anything to be grateful for... I urge you to read Benediction.

This thread seems to have ended with the idea that happiness is the mental habit of focusing our attention on 1) what we already have and 2) something outside ourselves that inspires our devotion, and 3) choosing to live in joy regardless of external or internal circumstances... ...

I came across some quotations by Dale Carnegie which supports these ideas.

"Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude."

"It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about."

"Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think."

"The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another's keeping ."

More importantly, Carnegie also suggested some ideas of how to apply his insights to increasing our level of happiness... ...

"Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours."

"Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy."

"If only the people who worry about their liabilities would think about the riches they do possess, they would stop worrying."

& most important of all... ... remember that "You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime."

Who is that someone around you who might be lonely or discouraged? Please go offer him/her a few words of sincere appreciation now!

P.S. There is one statement that I think is rather controversial though... as it seems to suggest that happiness and success are mutually exclusive!

"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get."

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://Girlwithsmiles.gaia.com — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 03:51:01 GMT

Yes, that's a very important point Crow and most of us get depressed at some stage in our lives which is probably part of growing. It is a horrible place to be, but a place where many people spend some time. I only hope that these people stay safe until thet find their window, however high it is, to climb through into the shared world where they can feel more in control again.

I'm having a moment now to reflect on the ones that are still finding or never found their window.

Blessings to us all.

Re: Why do some people choose to be unhappy?

http://Girlwithsmiles.gaia.com — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 03:38:41 GMT

I'll feel most unhappy when I feel impotence, when I am frustrated and feel that I cannot change something: or it is not the right thing to change something if I am to respect another, I feel impotent. This leads to a whole range of other emoions, including anger, for me.

The best way I have found to address the balance in this situation is creativity, by creating a drawing, painting, sculpture etc. that externalizes my feelings then they are no longer so intense and I become more in control and less impotent. More able to look at my problem constructively. It sounds unbelievably simple, but the creating of an artwork at an emotionally charged time is an amazing process which I would encourage everyone to try,

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://Girlwithsmiles.gaia.com — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 03:29:04 GMT

I guess that happiness can be as empty or as full as you feel it. I doubt that it is ever as superficial as a smile, and I certainly can imagine marketing campaigns that reflect your point of view. (Oh look we got a family 4WD and now suddenly we are all happy, despite the strain that the car loan and increased fuel costs are making on our income, we are all going to drive to the beach and smile a lot today!)

I see happiness as a totally different concept, even the seed of hope that everything will be OK after hours of mourning for loved friend can be happiness for me (and it does feel spiritual not superficial: a faith that life will continue to be, and that that is a good thing). People say I smile alot, I say I have two choices every morning, and I say the same when people say I always seem to be happy. (Sometimes I tell them, that sometimes I cry, the bottom line is that these people don't know me, my friends know I am complex and have a range of emotions.)

Don't worry I have had sad days, I have had days that I have cried so hard that I had to stop driving as I couldn't see what I was doing. I have days when I cried at work not being able to stop too. These are days that I remember with wariness not fondness and hope to never return to. But I see sadness as the opposite of happiness (semantics again) and unhappy the abscence of happiness.

Whether you believe that the terms exist or not is useful for you, however for the large amount of people that relate to happiness and sadness on a daily basis they certainly exist and will remain to.

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://Gaiabreeze.gaia.com — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:40:45 GMT

I've been browsing quotes about Happiness at The Quote Garden.
http://www.quotegarden.com/happiness.html

This one may be my favorite on the page...
We are seldom happy with what we now have, but would go to pieces if we lost any part of it. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Good will,
Gaiabreeze

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://ClarityQuest.gaia.com — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 10:38:14 GMT

Hi Linda,

Without doubt, shared love brings greater sense of happiness
than simply receiving it. But very often in life, we are not able to wait
until there is a full compliment of “shared love.” That is where/when I
believe “choosing to love” becomes critical to “enhanced happiness” at the very
least.

Very true and helpful :-)

Of course we do not have any major differences, we're just moving together toward Clarity ;-P

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://ClarityQuest.gaia.com — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 07:22:59 GMT

Reminds me of this quootation from William R. Inge.

"He who will live for others shall have great trouble,
but they shall seem to him small.
He who will live for himself shall have small troubles,
but they shall seem to him great."

& here's a comprehensive one by Dan Millman with a different angle.

"True happiness is the ability, developed over time and with practice, to radiate positive energy regardless of external or internal circumstances... Over time, I've found that beneath these emotions (anger, sadness) I still feel an undercurrent of happiness that cannot be diminished by whatever drama I'm going through at the personality level."

& more...

"To me there is in happiness an element of self-forgetfulness. You lose yourself in something outside yourself when you are happy; just as when you are desperately miserable you are intensely conscious of yourself, are a solid little lump of ego, weighing a ton." ~ Priestley, J.B.

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://Gaiabreeze.gaia.com — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:27:22 GMT

All those who suffer in the world do so
Because of their desire for their own happiness.
All those happy in the world are so
Because of their desire for the happiness of others.

- Santideva

Re: Happiness is a Choice

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 19:26:31 GMT

hi Jill, hi everybody hhem, i am not sure who is talking with whom nor whether order is needed, only wanted to clear, as poet who is inclined to playing with words like colors or sounds, the meaning and rhythm can vary, anyway, i feel like upgrading to the less compound and previous version which goes like:

'being happy is love that needs no explanation'

and a "Yes" to "Happiness is a Choice"

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://jillianne.gaia.com — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:48:13 GMT

hmmm. Interesting stuff.

I have to say that I do not believe that love has anything to do with happiness. I think that love is simply the source of all things. Our willingness to remember and allow ourselves to honor that love can also be one of the things that helps us perceive the world in a different way.... but a rejection of love doesn't deny the presence of love.

I do not believe I would even call love an emotion at all. It is a greater substance that a fleeting emotion and love is never transient the way in which feelings can be. I can hold my breath, but it doesn't make the air go away. Simply means that I am not partaking of that. To me, love exists whether I partake or not. Whether I alter my perceptions or not. Whether I choose or not. Love is.

Happiness, however.... that is an emotion. I was listening to Eckert Tolle yesterday and he was talking about suffering being an element of time. When we are held in yesterday or lost in tomorrow, we create tales that let us suffer. Our minds can invite suffering. Our minds can invite happiness.

Random thoughts for the day.

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://moonstar.gaia.com — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:17:55 GMT

Hmmmmm Alex, much to think about here. Without doubt, shared love brings greater sense of happiness than simply receiving it. But very often in life, we are not able to wait until there is a full compliment of "shared love." That is where/when I believe "choosing to love" becomes critical to "enhanced happiness" at the very least.

For example, in any long standing relationship, the giving and receiving of love is, at times, uneven. I may be going through a difficult time and not giving love as I know I should, yet my partner recognizes this and, rather than becoming more demanding, simply says "I choose to love you today regardless of your present attitude." Because the partner is able to choose to love first, we can both experience a sense of happiness knowing our relationship is secure regardless of temporary circumstances.

I don't know if I am expressing this correctly; hope it makes at least some sense. I think what I am trying to say is that we should not expect love to grow from happiness as a "by-product," but that it, too, is a choice that can bring peace to the soul---some might call that happiness. From your cited quotes, I don't think we have any great differance of opinion here; always enjoy your observations!

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://ClarityQuest.gaia.com — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 04:42:23 GMT

Hi Linda,

Yes, I agree that happiness could be a by product of love... but not neccessarily every kind/type of love. If there is attachment or expectation, happiness would be short-lived... It also appears to me that the happiness one experiences is highened when is it is the result of one sharing love rather then receiving it.

I'm also not sure if the choice to love must necessarily preceed any feeling of overall “happiness". This is surly a great way... ... but is it the only way?

"There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer, no disease that enough love will not heal; no door that enough love will not open; no gulf that enough love will not bridge; no wall that enough love will not throw down; no sin that enough love will not redeem...it makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble; how hopeless the outlook; how muddled the tangle; how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world." ~ Emmet Fox

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." ~ Albert Schweitzer

Re: Happiness is a Choice

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:06:40 GMT

being happy is love that needs nothing

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://moonstar.gaia.com — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:20:21 GMT

Dear Alex, your photo and quotation contain Truth (with a capital "T.) Now I would like to add the concept of choosing love to the mix, which perhaps may be a very large part of happiness. I believe we also must consciously choose to love, and not simply passively wait for it to "hit" us as though it were a runaway train. Further, I believe we may need to make that same choice over and over again. I am speaking here of every kind/type of love. But more to the point here, I wonder if perhaps the choice to love must necessarily preceed any feeling of overall "happiness."

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://ClarityQuest.gaia.com — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 16:36:16 GMT

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://Oceann.gaia.com — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:20:25 GMT

Yes! "Perserverance and compassion seem like better choices to me." -

True! Why? Because Compassion IS Happiness!
Compassion Creates Happiness!

We have the choice to make heaven on Earth, to make sure that our choices reflect our own souls, to be kind, merciful, and to create harmony by every act, thought, intent, and with every meal, to save lives, both of our own specie and of the others.

We create our moods by the foods we choose!
Compassion foods create joy. Death foods create depression.
Choose Joy!
Choose Peace with your food and you will Create Peace in the world and in yourself!

Go Vegan!
p.s.- let me know if you'd like links on how to Go Vegan!)

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://Oceann.gaia.com — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:15:50 GMT

Becoming happy is so easy!
Go Vegan!

Eating Compassionate food makes your mind clear, your body heal, and aligns you with the desire of your own soul, which wants Compassion for all beings!

Death foods cause depression. How? Eating dead bodies of fellow beings loads your body with toxins, with putrefication and harmful bacteria, causes slow digestion since our bodies were designed only to eat plant foods, and eating meat causes clogging in the entire system. The blood stream becomes filled with clogs, toxins the liver cannot assimilate, fat, and parasite eggs, plus parts of rotting flesh that cause holes in the lining of the intestines through which the contents leak out.

When you being to adopt good eating habits - eating Compassionately, going Vegan, eating only plant foods, fruit, veggies, nuts, and seeds and grains and beans, then your body begins to cleanse itself. For awhile, it will throw off the toxins stored in organs and muscles during the transition.
The mind will begin to clear, the body to feel lighter and more energetic, and life will renew itself! The mood will lift! Those old food addictions and the toxins that brought depression will subside and now the mind, body, and spirit will be as one!
Doing good causes good!
Being Compassionate causes Healing!
Happiness will grow!

Being Vegan Brings Happiness!

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://Oceann.gaia.com — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:41:25 GMT

I was just about to cite this great book!
My beautiful Aunt whom I adore gave this book to me when I was a little pre-teen filled with angst, trying to figure the world out.
It proves that we all DO have the choice to be happy!
Being authentic with his food was not the option for these people in concentration camps.
It is our choice now, though.
Being kind with our food is the best step we can do in service to all humans, and all other biengs, and all the planet.
See
http://www.EcoEat.com

Even CNN reported that it's better to green your diet than your car - it alone will help all the people in the world and save the environment!
And- your soul will rejoice in being Compassionate and your body will heal, youthen, and vibrantize!

Re: Happiness is a Choice

http://Oceann.gaia.com — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:37:37 GMT

Happiness is achieved when we're doing our best - that is, being Compassionate - that is our best nature - then we're helping to heal with every meal! - Living in service to the All is true happiness!