The Art Of Happiness - What Makes You Happy?

Happiness

Since there are so many members on this site that seem unhappy and generally feel a low, I wanted to run this simple exercise with you and hopefully give you a little boost and cheer. Although I accept that only a handful will participate I am hoping that at least one or two of you will see what I am doing here and that perhaps will brighten up your life a little.

To start with :

Write down what makes you happy

I mean, in those times that you are not feeling happy what cheers you up? what puts an instant smile on your face? responses could include sounds,smells,visions,dreams,words literally anything that makes you feel that little bit happier.

Then

Close your eyes and flood your 'mind' with the images of what you have written, hear the sounds in your mind, smell the smells in your mind, create your own bubble of happiness and begin to look within, imagine yourself being happy feel the smile on your face. (try not to drift off to sleep if you do then don't worry you clearly need the rest) after you have done this, write down how you feel? did anything out of the ordinary happen? if so what?

This exercise is something that I try and do at least 2-3 times a week, it takes me away from the doom and gloom that engulfs this planet and is dished out to us us on a daily basis and provides an outlet for positive energy to stream through in to the body and change the way I feel. It is both rewarding and encapsulating

Try it for yourself and share your thoughts and most importantly BE HAPPY.

Peace

My perfect Sunday..
Sorry I just recently watch Hot Fuzz and your thread brought that immediately to mind.
You have achieved your desired result. I immediately smiled and felt a little more happy.
Thank you.

For those that have not seen the movie I apologize for the seeming meaningless reference.

Thinking about how unbelievably amazing our earth/solar system/galaxy/universe is, makes me happy. The more and more I learn about everything and the more we as people discover about the unknown will always make my personal problems very insignificant. Life is pretty incredible, even though on our planet most people don't seem to care. They are far too self obsessed...

Sun shining, roads fairly clear and my bike running well. That makes me happy, even when everything else has gone wrong.

I don't know about you but sometimes I can get myself in a state of mind where I just can't seem to operate on a level of clear consciousness, what I mean by this is that it is hard to see past everyday life i.e eating, sleeping,drinking, working, socialising e.t.c. and quite quickly I can fall in to the trap of mindless thinking i.e not thinking for myself and letting the MSM guide me, In turn this leads to me glued to the radio listening for the news or scanning the internet searching for my next fix of doom and gloom. However, after doing the exercise in the thread it is not long before my mood changes and I am indeed in a better state of awareness and indeed in charge of my own thinking.

What makes me happy?

What makes me happy when I close my eyes is seeing myself in a field of corn, its a clear sky and the suns rays are shining down on me from above. I walk carelessly in the corn with both arms slightly outstretched by feeling the ears of the corn running though my fingers as I pass by. I can hear birds singing and the sound of the dry soil crunching beneath my feet as I walk.

This to me brings both a smile and positive energy to my being and sets me up for another day.

I already do this...usually on my way to work or during the long dreary winter months...especially after Christmas.

I picture myself down on a little pier I know of... down on the Pamlico Sound of North Carolina... along what we call the Inner Banks.

The sun is so warm...the sky is a light Carolina Blue with a haze to it. The sea gulls and birds are singing and the water ripples and pops as it hits the shoreline of tall sea grasses. Across the river and along the banks are tall pines drapped with spanish moss and their base is blinded by palmettoes and bayberry bushes.

In the air is a slightly salty and slightly fishy smell coming off the canals and marshes...but in a good way. Pungently sweet like a vidalia onion fresh sliced.

I have nothing on but my cut off khakis, some flip flops, and an old t-shirt... and the well- worn Farm Bureau cap I always wear when I go crabbing. An ice cold beer sits beside me and sweats in the shadows of the summer sun...

On my little radio is a classic old Carolina beach song..."I'm a Girl Watcher" from the Occassions... an old beach band from Rocky Mount, NC.... Although 48, I feel young and vibrant...almost college like in my fraternal youth.

In the water the oily film from my crab bait of chicken necks skims the dancing muddy blue green waters of the Sound. and all along the waterway are large styrafoam bobbers betraying the lurking crab pots below.

Yup...that is my happy place...and best of all, I am going there next week...again....

Yup...I be happy now.

Your thread reminds me of the times that I used to keep a gratitude journal. As clichè as what it sounds, I could never be unhappy and demotivated with my life whilst writing the daily entries and re-reading old entries.

Anyways - a visualization exercise such as the one you described appeals to me more. When the imagination is involved, the entire brain is more likely to be kicked into gear.

What makes me happiest? Walking around in a mountain nature reserve after a rainy spell. There is still a dusting of snow on the mountain tops. The "wet-ground" negatively-charged ionization smell reaches my nose. This smell is tinged with the sweet smells of wet eucalyptus and pine trees. The soil is soggy, the plants are unbelievably luminous and green. I can hear a river in the distance - it is gathering momentum as the recent rains and melting snow is adding to its cargo.

The little birds are cheerfully singing in the trees. Rainbow-filled droplets are hanging in strings from cobwebs. The beefwood trees are whispering as the wind whistles through their tops. That unearthy sound is enough to instantaneously place me in a state of euphoria and evokes in me an immediate sense of absolute and complete oneness.

Wow! I feel happier now!

Happiest place on earth is Denmark.

Do what the danes do, set yourself smaller goals which are ackomplishable.

Not blow hot air up everybodies rses and act big.

Working makes me happy. Not much of anything else, actually. I don't like "earning a living", but I love working. I remember that when I was younger, I'd find myself getting drinks for people at parties, or helping out with whatever needed to be done by the host. Now, whenever I go to a get-together, I bring a camera and give all the shots to the folks who hosted the affair for their post-event activities. Just fun party shots to keep me "working" throughout the event. It's pretty popular with all the people I know, since they all love the Facebook/Twitter stuff you can do with that sort of thing. If I'm not contributing to the event in some way, I'm pretty bored.

My favorite moments have always been breakthroughs. Even small ones. I can be knee-deep in sh*t, but if I'm cracking a really intractable problem, I'm pretty damn happy.

Having people who care about me makes me happy. But sometimes I must remember to remember it.

reply to post by franspeakfree


Hrmm, not much gets me happy at all. I have recently discovered that this life will end when I end and then it will repeat itself in reincarnation. I guess seeing my kids happy but that is for an instant for me. The feeling doesn't resonate with me all day. I have never been truly happy, and I don;t think it is possible for me to be truly happy. I used to look forward to things in life, but then as I got older I realized that the happiness is only short lived and then you have to go back to your everyday life, so I no longer look forward to anything. Sorry I am negative, trying to be positive, but not seeing positivity in much.

Flagged due to the subject matter, which is important, and certainly unique for us here.
I do group therapy for a specific population with a specific problem. At one point they all admitted they didn't know how to be happy.

They wanted happiness, but "didn't know how". So I found two of the happiest people I know, and had them come in and do a talk on how to be happy. It was a hit. Kinda. Of course, the really depressed people thought they were shallow and inane.

One thing however, is most of us have a "happiness level", that we achieve. For example if you have someone who is semi-happy, as in *not miserable*, that may be the extent of the happiness level he can accomplish. If he wins the lottery, he may become extremely happy for a while, but studies show that within 6 months to one year, the person returns to his normal state of semi-happiness. So, biology has quite a bit to do with it, although never discount one's attitude and thinking processes.

Happiness is a fascinating subject imo. For me personally, I don t think about it. It's not a goal. Being *not miserable* seems to be enough for me. When I have a bout of depression, I have exercises I do, and get super busy, which restores my *not miserable* state. Just contentment, I guess, is good enough for me.

I like the visual imaging, such as walking through the cornfield, and these can be very helpful in calming one, who is overwrought with anxiety.

Sorry if this is a little off topic, and not really what you asked for, but the subject title got my wheels turning as the coffee brews........

reply to post by Faery34majick


I am sorry to hear that you are not happy and that your own feeling of negativity is outweighing your positive attributes really I am. seeing as I wrote this thread it would be rude of me not to offer any words of encouragement. Therefore, all I would say is, if you really feel down and that your outlook is not looking too great at that moment may I suggest a break from ATS. As time has passed this site has become a haven for doom and gloomers looking, wishing, waiting for the end of the world, or some similar scenario.

Please do not believe everything you read on here and if you feel you must be searching on ATS try other forums, there is a plethora of great positive threads that get swept away by the doom and gloom ones its such a shame, try not to get swept away yourself as I assure you, everyone can find their own state of happiness, (not euphoria but general positive well being)

Good luck in whatever you choose. .

Peace