PATH OF HAPPINESS
When I first started the research about Happiness, I had a hypothesis, which I wanted to test. I wanted to see whether people who have a more creative, entrepreneurial career are happier than those people who like me, work in a more typical corporate, office type of job. The reason I started the research in the first place, was that no matter what company I worked at, I was surrounded by many people who like me, were mostly dissatisfied, stressed out and hopeless, despite being paid high Silicon Valley salaries, and recognized in their respective careers.
I conducted so far nearly 30 in-depth interviews, and countless other smaller interviews in California, New York, Italy, Netherlands, England, France, Scotland, Turkey, and Romania. I was looking for answers to big questions like... What's the *secret* of happiness? Is there such thing? Are there people who are truly happier? Are people happy in the same way? What's the difference between what happy people know, feel, or do, compared to others who rate themselves as less happy? These are some of the questions that I've been seeking to answer with the Happiness Research project that I started back in October 2015.
After the first few interviews, I realized not only that my initial hypothesis was in fact true, but that there are a lot more pieces to the happiness puzzle than I initially thought. For instance, I learned that people who rated themselves as very happy tended to have a higher degree of risk taking, self discipline, and a high degree of self understanding which created the foundation for self confidence and wisdom. There was also an element of healthy living, as was some form of spirituality, compassion toward self and others, and gratefulness.
This led me to read about positive psychology. I read books about the science of mindfulness, empathy, and gratitude, written by Happiness researchers such as Daniel Gilbert and Tal Ben-Shahar (both Harvard psychologists), and Emma Seppala (Stanford). I learned that there is something called "Science of Happiness", and I took a class on this at Berkeley.
The more I read, the more I understood a bit more about people's habits, and our brain functions that support the emotions of happiness. And yet, practically speaking, I was still not clear on what to do to increase my own level of happiness.
This lead me back to inquiring into ancient wisdom. I got myself a bit more acquainted with Christianity and Buddhism, and that lead to a desire to better understand the history and archetypes of wisdom. This desire guided me to learn more about Philosophy masters like Aristotle, and to more "recent" masters like Descartes, whose work seems still so fresh, despite the heavy writing of the 1500's.
Most recently I felt like I finally found what I was looking for. I had heard about the concept of Hero's Journey made famous by the anthropologist Joseph Campbell, back in the 70s. If you haven't heard of him or haven't read some of his books, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I love "Reflections on the art of living - a Joseph Campbell companion". It provided me with so much happiness - when I pick it up and read a little passage in the morning, I feel my mind and heart expanding. Check it out when you want to dig into some seriously beautiful and inspiring writing.
Along this happiness inquiry journey, I began to draw up a little visual "map" I call the PATH OF HAPPINESS - with life span on one axis, and internal growth on the other. I began assembling the pieces I uncovered through my readings, and kept adding until there was no more to add.
I invite you to come to the upcoming Path of Happiness Workshop - together we'll explore the steps, the "ingredients" of Happiness, and you'll reflect on your own Path. For me, this framework has been helpful in keeping me more centered. It helped me say no to well paying jobs that didn't align to the life vision I created. It helped me keep the Wise cap on during challenging times at home as a mom to my beloved pre-teen and teen girls. It helped me carve out time exercise, to sleep, and to cook better. It helped prioritize time for my close friends, family, and community. It helped me create rituals for my family such as reviewing the top 3 things that went well in our day.
If you're in the Bay Area and can carve out time on OCTOBER 21 @ 10:30-1, come by! Bring your notebook and yoga mat/pillow to sit on, and most importantly, bring your positive energy! You might just shed a bright light on the energies pouring through you.
Tickets are nearly free - pay as much as you wish. Space is limited, sign up today for one of the 16 spots available.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/path-of-happiness-workshop-tic…
