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Lauren Prince

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What is happiness?

What is happiness - a feeling? and emotion? a state of mind? an illusion? a comping mechanism?

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  • Charles Curt

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    Mar 5 2013: none of those, it's the same joy we got from not dying or getting food or having sex in the wild as apes and chimps and even before we were those, now days it is probably just as simple as it was but out of perspective we have convoluted it to a some super complex idea happiness is the feeling of chemicals into your brain as a way of telling your conscious mind good job for doing something good out of perspective to yourself

  • Alex Velazquez

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    Mar 5 2013: I think happiness is a choice, is like when it rains; you can choose to run and hide or you can choose to dance under the rain.
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    Dorian Knus

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    Mar 4 2013: It is a moment that many times we recognize afterwards

  • greg dahlen 20+

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    Feb 7 2013: Well, it might be different things at different times. When you feel happy in a friend's presence it's because you like the person, you feel accepted by them, you feel stimulated by them. When you're alone and feel happy, it might be cause you like yourself, like something you did or the way you handled yourself.
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    Feyisayo Anjorin 50+

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    Feb 7 2013: Happiness is a state of mind. It is not a permanent state. It can be attained when one is grateful for all the good that is in life and one is hopeful that life could be more beautiful.
    These two aforementioned state of being are hard to attain; but nothing good comes easy. Happiness is born of gratitude and hope.
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    Fritzie Reisner 100+

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    Host
    Feb 6 2013: My favorite of TED's 48 talks tagged 'happiness' are:

    Dan Gilbert: The surprising science of happiness
    Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience versus memory
    Martin Seligman: The new era of positive psychology

    Seligman has changed his research focus, I believe, from considering "happiness," which he considers, as I remember, a bit too ephemeral and superficial for such deliberate attention, to well-being, which signifies a deeper running phenomenon.

    Cikzentmihalyi's talk and work on flow perhaps points to the distinction in another way. Flow is a sense of intense and positive involvement that offers a deep elation rather than putting a grin on your face. Wellbeing can coexist well with occasion sadness and is a good state to support a person who determinedly seeks to change things that demand improvement.
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    Ken brown 30+

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    Feb 6 2013: Laurren. This is the third time isn't it?

    Refer to Alan Russels post.
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    Alan Russell

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    Feb 6 2013: Charles Schulz put it best when he said, "Happiness is a warm puppy."
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    W. Ying 10+

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    Feb 6 2013: .
    VALID happiness is the short-time feeling of things being a-step-better for keeping our DNA alive.
    Otherwise, there is no humankind in the world.


    (See the 1st article, points 1-3, at https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=D24D89AE8B1E2E0D&id=D24D89AE8B1E2E0D%21283&sc=documents.)
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    Gail . 50+

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    Feb 6 2013: I don't like thee word "happiness" for exactly the reason your question implies. (Same with the word "love"). It has no commonly understood meaning. What makes you emote happiness is not necessarily shared by me in my experience.

    Happiness, as I understand it, is not my ideal. It rests far below my ideal as compared to the "feeling" of satisfaction.

    I think that happiness is an emotion, but it is not a feeling. Emotions are body-oriented, whereas feelings are not. Emotions are rather short-lived whereas satisfaction is enduring. Emotions are reactive whereas feelings, a universal language, are proactive.

    I see all emotions as existing as a result of conflicts in the belief system - thus they rest on fear.

    Still, happiness can be a way of employing denial for one's own purposes, or it can be a tool that directs you to satisfaction. In this way, I see happiness as a coping mechanism. But, because happiness is ultimately fear-based, it is also an illusion - because there is nothing to fear.
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      Pabitra Mukhopadhyay 30+

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      Feb 7 2013: Would you kindly explain the fear basis of happiness?
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        Gail . 50+

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        Feb 7 2013: I will try, but I think what I have to say can only be understood within the context of my worldview - which is different than most.

        I believe that I am the creator of my own reality - literally. What I want comes to me through application of specific techniques and principles.

        When I take my coffee onto the front porch in the morning, where I greet the day, I look around and recognize all that I see as part of who and what I am. I mean this literally as well.

        The sense of power as my being is profound. When I have a thing or am faced with a situation that is wonderful, I appreciate my own power that brought it to me. How different this is from one who either thanks God or luck or serendipity. The one who credits someone other than self for that which happens in a life cAN
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        Gail . 50+

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        Feb 7 2013: i will try, but I think that what I have to say can only be understood within the context of my worldview - which is different than most.

        I believe that I am the creator of my own reality - literally. What I want comes to me through application of specific techniques and principles.

        When I take my coffee onto the front porch in the morning, where I greet the day, I look around and recognize all that I see as part of who and what I am. I mean this literally as well.

        The sense of power as the essence of my being is profound. When I have a thing, or am faced with a situation that is wonderful, I appreciate my own power that manifested it. I have done this long enough to have confidence in my ability to manifest what I intend because I have cleared out most of the inconsistencies in my belief-set. How different this is from one who thanks God or credits luck or serendipity - where self is helpless.

        The one who credits someone or some thing other than self for that which happens in a life can be happy in the moment, but the momentary happiness is rooted in a belief that self is not powerful, self is not wonderful, self is not perfect, self is not deserving of all things good and wonderful, self has limits, self has reason to fear lack or loss. Happiness is a reaction to these errors in the belief-set.

        That's why I experience profound satisfaction as I make my way through life - with all of its little ups and downs. But my ups and downs are not taken personally, as an indication of my worth. My "downs" are seen as an invitation - to correct a situation, which most generally comes from remembering who and what I am, which makes the situation either evaporate or come under my control.
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