The Action for Happiness
was founded in Britain and has developed a course to help people discover how
to live a happier and kinder life. The Action
for Happiness has over 60,000 members in 170 countries and is science-based and
opened to people of all backgrounds.
Their vision is “a happier world, with fewer people suffering with
mental health problems and more people feeling good, functioning well and
helping others”(www.actionforhappiness.org). The Dalai Lama has supported The Action
for Happiness courses. He believes that
first you teach individuals to be happy, then family, then community, then
nation. Happiness is contagious; one
happy person influences another, who influences another and so forth.
We will be sharing the
Ten Keys to Happier Living in our next series of yoga classes. For those of you who will not be able to come
to yoga class you can learn more at the actionforhappiness website or you can
order the book Ten Keys to Happier Living by Vanessa King.
Giving
One of the keys to
happier living as mentioned in the Happier Living Guidebook is giving, doing
things for others. According to author
Rhonda Byrne’s “the greatest joy in life is giving, because unless you give,
you will always be struggling to survive….give your love because it is the
magnet to all the riches of life.” (R. Byrne.
The Power. 2010. New York.) When
we give to others, we are really helping ourselves. It makes us happy inside when we know we have
made a difference in someone’s life. “When
you are feeling enthusiastic, happy, and cheerful, those good feelings affect
everyone you come into contact with.
Even if you connect with a person just briefly in a store, on a bus, or
in an elevator, when your good feelings make a difference to any person you
connect with, the affect of that one instance on your life is almost incomprehensible
(R. Byrne. The Power. 2010. New York).
The Action for Happiness
recommends doing acts of kindness every day.
Perhaps you offer to help someone, pay someone a compliment or make
someone smile. No matter how big or
small your act of kindness is know that your kindness has a ripple effect and
influences others to also give. In turn,
everyone feels happiness when giving and receiving. So start your day being happy, by giving a
smile, complement, and or hug. It will
make your day and someone else’s day too!!
“While the
desire to do good is the highest motive power we have, we must remember that it
is a privilege to help others.” By
Master Vivekananda, Pathways to Joy
Sharing our happiness,
Betsy and Jesse
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