Holiday Happiness

The economy is in the cellar and stress is at peak levels! Is it possible to experience, fun, happiness, and joy this season?

Lighten up, Loosen Up and Happiness shows UP!

Consider thinking of “Happiness” in terms of Psychological Wealth; a phrase coined by Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener in their book Happiness. This book puts the “How To” of achieving Happiness in easy, understandable terms backed up by evidenced-based research. Did you think happiness was all about having lots of money and no worries! Forget about it! Having lots of money and no worries will make you happy is a great big myth! Discover the truth about happiness.

Happiness Truths:

1. Happiness is the name we put on how we think and feel about our life.
2. Happiness is a process and not a place.
3. People who are truly happy do not just experience joy and other passing pleasant feelings, they also experience an abundance of positive emotions such as love, commitment, and gratitude that connect them to others.
4. Happiness is a balance between life satisfaction (personal fulfillment), life meaning and purpose (spirituality), positive attitudes, positive relationships, health, money, and engaging activities.   How do you feel about each one of these domains?
5. Happiness is beneficial to effective functioning. That means when we experience positive emotions, we become more creative, more alert, more productive, and more focused on healthy self-care habits.

If you want to increase your positive emotions, feel connected to others, take action and engage in creative and fun activities this holiday season. My first suggestion is to play the games described in my very soon to be published E-Book “Cancer and the Healing Power of Play…A Prescription for Living with Presence, Acceptance, and Trust co-authored by Izzy Gesell.  This is a book that will provide a process for you to experience positive emotions, connect to friends and family, laugh, and help you enjoy play for the sake of play.  Your immune system will love you! Click on the book cover on the right for more information.

My second suggestion is to take a look at books Authored by Rebekha Delgado and illustrator Joy Delgado. Their bilingual story books are unique and bring a new concept to learning. Their newest book “Zooprise Party” teaches the reader interesting facts about some unique animals.  Learn more about “Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa” and get lots of free activities at:

http://www.laughing-zebra-children-books.com where we go beyond reading.

Read about the ‘V Zoo’, book reviews and world zoo news with Zebee the laughing zebra at: http://zooprisepartyfiestazoorpresa.blogspot.com/

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[Roz Trieber]

First Lessons Learned When Living With A Terminal Disease
Meditation
Following Your Breath
Guided Visualization

Don’t sit around waiting to die. That’s what I seem to be doing. Sometimes it takes a while to realize you still have the ability to experience important and positive moments giving meaning to your life. Experiences that bring joy to you and others still exist. How do you make this happen you may ask? You have to be deliberate about putting your energy into these efforts, Here is my story, accepting the situation and how I am bringing joy, happiness, and calmness into my life while I have the opportunity,

I’m diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It seemed to move fast in the beginning and then it slowed down. I’ve had many blessings during this journey. I’ve had the opportunity to learn mindfulness meditation. However, I need to participate more in the act of meditation. Meditation means the way in which we take control of our minds and stop our thoughts from wandering. The basis for meditation is to concentrate the mind on one single idea or object.

This is the way to begin a meditation, to get started and realize you can bring calmness for yourself. Beginners can begin by sitting comfortably in a chair if they don’t like sitting on the floor. Close your eyes. Visualize the air around you filled with particles of happiness and joy. Slowly inhale a full breath filling your space with happiness and joy. As you breathe out, slowly breathe out troubles and worries. Follow your breath and relax with your eyes closed. Breathe in joy; breathe out worries and negative thoughts. This helps keep your mind concentrating on calmness and relaxation.
You can also extend this exercise to what is known as a guided visualization. This creates a wonderful world of calmness and relaxation. Very slowly follow your breath as you visualize yourself going to your favorite place sensing every sense such as taste, sound, feel, and touch. There is no rush, take your time. When you finish experiencing this calmness and complete sensing, you may open your eyes return to your physical presence and notice the difference in your approach to the next moment or activity for the day.

Personally when I practice the combination of meditation and guided visualization, I am able to function better.

Here are pathways you need refocus your mind.

First always begin with the deep breathing and access your energy.