created by J. Belsher
5 Steps. 5 Minutes.
Daily Practice to Create, Sustain & Enjoy Happiness (CSE).
You can do the 5 Steps by yourself or by asking a partner the 5 Steps.
You can write down your responses, think to yourself or say them out loud.
You can do this once a day or as many times as you like.
5 Deep, Slow, Calm Cleansing Breaths.
Can incorporate a meditation.
5 Qualities about Yourself.
State positive talents, abilities, ideas, skills, character traits, emotions, appearance.
5 Things you Did or Will Do Today that are Positive.
State things as simple as balancing the checkbook or as grand as making a big decision.
5 Things you Can/Plan to do in the future that are Positive.
Can be goals, acts of kindness, health-related, personal, or global.
5 Things that Make or Made you Happy and/or Laugh.
State things in general, specific, past, present or future. Times that caused you to belly laugh are especially good to recall. Remember to smile while you state these.
Be sure to close your process with gratitude and appreciation for your well-being. You can do this with a simple one line statement: i.e. "I am grateful for the gift of life and appreciate that happiness is a continual process," or "I thank the divine spirit for giving me the ability to create well-being," or choose something that you prefer.
SOME THINGS YOU CAN CONSIDER TO EXPAND AND FOSTER YOUR HAPPINESS
*hug someone *listen to music *meditate *read uplifting books *have coffee with a friend *read an uplifting quote or passage *do random acts of kindness *volunteer *watch a comedy show or movie *take a bath *play a sport *sing *write poetry *journal your thoughts *listen to motivational speakers *eat healthy *exercise *be creative *call a relative *organize *donate *bake *travel *light a candle *get a massage *spend time in nature *hike *walk *smile *practice daily happiness.
It is now scientifically proven that actively processing positive thoughts, on a regular basis, can program your brain to experience more happiness in your life. This explains why meditation and prayer work.
**If you would like to share your experience of using the daily 5 Steps to Create, Sustain and Enjoy happiness (CSE), in an upcoming book on Happeness: The Art of Making Happiness Happen,
please email a brief (one-two page) account of your experience. Please include whether or not it is ok to use your name or if you prefer to remain anonymous. Email to: info@happeness.net. Please indicate how long you've practiced the steps at the time of your writing and any other pertinent details. Many thanks for your participation. Keep smiling.
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We can take positive steps toward our emotional well-being. This is not to mean we will not have down days or difficult events to endure. CSE (Create, Sustain, Enjoy Happiness) 5 Steps is a daily affirmation of emotional wellness that can help encourage your brain to respond positively.
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http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/
Dr. Richard Davidson, director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience University of Wisconsin says: "Our findings show that characteristics like happiness and the capacity to focus attention are not fixed."
"They can be improved through training. You can change your mind by changing your brain and your thoughts. You can intentionally cultivate positive emotions and transform how you react to events in your life."
In other words, scientists now believe happiness is a skill that can be learned, just like skiing or playing a musical instrument: With daily practice, you get ever better.
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http://brainimaging.waisman.wisc.edu/press/denver_post_6-4-06.html
Inspired by the Dalai Lama, a Boulder think tank founded by researcher Adam Engle is discovering new links between how we think and how it affects our lives and bodies. It seems like you think about it every day, that pesky problem that won't leave you in peace, making you anxious or depressed or irritable. You wonder if you'll ever feel different about it. Or are you just stuck in a funk forever?
"The previous paradigm for the brain was that no additional brain cells could form, so there was relatively fixed real estate in the brain," says Adam Engle, chairman and cofounder of the Mind and Life Institute of Boulder, which is pioneering a new field known as contemplative neuroscience that examines how meditation affects the brain.
"People are now realizing you can change your brain," he says, "and they want to know what factors or mental events cause these changes."
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http://lyubomirsky.socialpsychology.org/
Sonja Lyubomirsky has written: "The How of Happiness" where she argues that getting happy can be a matter of science.
Sonja Lyubomirsky's "happiness strategies" introduce readers to the concept of intentional activities, mindful actions that they can use to achieve a happier life. These include exercises in practicing optimism when imagining the future, instruction in how best to savor life's pleasures in the here and now, and a thoroughgoing explanation of the importance of staying active to being happy. Helping readers find the right fit between the goals they set and the activities she suggests, Lyubomirsky also helps readers understand the many obstacles to happiness as well as how to harness individual strengths to overcome them. Always emphasizing how much of our happiness is within our control, Lyubomirsky addresses the "scientific how" of her happiness research, demystifying the many myths that unnecessarily complicate its pursuit. Unlike those of many self-help books, all her recommendations are supported by scientific research.
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More links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU
http://harvardmagazine.com/2007/01/the-science-of-happiness.html
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/happiness/
http://www.purifymind.com/FindingHappiness.htm
http://self-development-meditation.blogspot.com/2007/07/brain-exercise-in-
meditation-for-self.html
Quotes:
LEO BUSCAGLIA:
What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.
MARK TWAIN:
Whoever is happy will make others happy, too.
ANNE FRANK:
We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.
HELEN KELLER:
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
HH THE DALAI LAMA:
When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
GEORGE BURNS:
Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.
CYNTHIA NELMSY:
Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.
BERKE BREATHE:
It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
JOHNNY CARSON:
Happiness is your dentist telling you it won't hurt and then having him catch his hand in the drill.
MARCEL PROUST:
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
ROBERT FROST:
Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.
JODY BELSHER:
Happeness is the art of making happiness happen. It is scientifically proven that actively processing positive thoughts, on a regular basis, can program your brain to experience more happiness in your life.
MORE LINKS:
http://www.happeness.net/laughter.html
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J. Belsher makes no claims of clinical proven results on using the CSE Steps and is not responsible for any individual's mental health, emotional well-being or any other responses or results. Although J. Belsher feels confident in suggesting the CSE Steps, as they are based on gathered supportive data, they are to be used as a suggestion only. J. Belsher makes no claims for ensured happiness or any other state of being. JBelsher.com