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    1. #1
      Rotaredom Howie's Avatar
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      Define happy for me.

      What is happiness. I have seen some people that are always cheerful and great to be around. Sure everyone experiences some depression from time to time. But is true happiness a dream for some? Some having it and some don't?

      What is happiness in your eyes?
      What do you think the quality of life should be?

      If you are happy, what are you like. That is my question.

    2. #2
      FBI agent Ynot's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Howie View Post
      What is happiness








      oh, come on
      someone had to do it
      .
      (\_ _/)
      (='.'=)
      (")_(")

    3. #3
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      "Happiness is when people understand you." - famous Russian movie quote.


      Anywayz, I'm not sure if I understand your question properly... you mean like, how do happy people act?

    4. #4
      Rotaredom Howie's Avatar
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      seriously
      ok long term knot not a temporary fix.

    5. #5
      無駄だ~! GestaltAlteration's Avatar
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      Happiness isn't something that's far off and impossible to get, nor is it something that requires you to first achieve the American Dream. You don't always have to be content to be happy. I consider being content in a separate category. For example I'm discontent when I don't get the CD I want, but it doesn't make me unhappy. Happiness comes in degrees for me. It's strongest when I'm doing something I honestly enjoy doing. I feel exhilarated and joyful at times when I'm drawing a comic or designing something. Even in times where I'm not doing anything I enjoy I feel a peace, contentedness and joy. Thus, to me happiness is something you either have in some degree that keeps you going, or you don't.

      Happiness is strictly a mindset. Anxiety and stress over a situation or theoretical illness (Hypochondriac) can demolish happiness. I am convinced happiness is in each persons hands. After all, situations are only 5% what actually happens, and 95% how you perceive it.

    6. #6
      FBI agent Ynot's Avatar
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      happiness is purely chemical

      mainly the levels of dopamine and serotonin acting on the brain

      how you get there is up to you
      (\_ _/)
      (='.'=)
      (")_(")

    7. #7
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      Being Happy is not a dependant phenomenon

      Being in acceptance of what is

      Being without expectation

      Being unbound

      Being

    8. #8
      Drivel's Advocate Xaqaria's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by NonDualistic View Post
      Being Happy is not a dependant phenomenon

      Being in acceptance of what is

      Being without expectation

      Being unbound

      Being
      I would enjoy your posts a lot more if you'd just make the little bit of extra effort and phrase them all in the form of a haiku.

      But despite my poking fun, I do agree. A sustainable happiness is usually based on the ability to feel acceptance for everything you encounter. To realize that whatever is, just is, and to let the experience of life wash over you without resisting. Happiness is the path of least resistance in the most noble possible sense.
      Last edited by Xaqaria; 02-02-2008 at 06:12 AM.

      The ability to happily respond to any adversity is the divine.
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    9. #9
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      Quote Originally Posted by Xaqaria View Post
      I would enjoy your posts a lot more if you'd just make the little bit of extra effort and phrase them all in the form of a haiku.


      But even you just stated :

      Happiness is the path of least resistance
      Least resistance = least effort

      Seriously though, what was written is just as it came to me, without taking hold of any percieved need to alter it any.

    10. #10
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      One thing I've noticed in myself when I'm happy and in people I've known afflicted with chronic happiness: one's attention is turned outward. Happy people don't worry about their mood because they're too busy observing the present situation and the people around them for the opportunities or needs of the moment.
      If you have a sense of caring for others, you will manifest a kind of inner strength in spite of your own difficulties and problems. With this strength, your own problems will seem less significant and bothersome to you. By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm.Dalai Lama



    11. #11
      Rotaredom Howie's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Taosaur View Post
      One thing I've noticed in myself when I'm happy and in people I've known afflicted with chronic happiness: one's attention is turned outward. Happy people don't worry about their mood because they're too busy observing the present situation and the people around them for the opportunities or needs of the moment.
      Living in the moment!
      Heard so often but not a given trait it seems.

      thanks Taosaur

    12. #12
      pj
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      Happiness is a choice, Howie.

      Nothing more, nothing less. The moment you start adding to that, you become dependent on people and things - and that isn't going to bring you happiness.
      On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
      --Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

      The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.
      --Chinese Proverb

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    13. #13
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      If Happiness equals no resistance, then I'd rather be unhappy.
      If you accept everything without thinking about it or questioning it, you are no human, you're a sheep.
      Current projects:
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      -Test galatamine, huperzine and choline
      -Find smartwatch app for RC reminders at certain intervals
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    14. #14
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      Quote Originally Posted by Timothy Paradox View Post
      If Happiness equals no resistance, then I'd rather be unhappy.
      If you accept everything without thinking about it or questioning it, you are no human, you're a sheep.
      You dont understand the context of acceptance as it is being used.

    15. #15
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      ...Do you mean accepting it when something bad happens?
      Finding meaning in negative experiences?
      Quote Originally Posted by NonDualistic View Post
      You dont understand the context of acceptance as it is being used.
      The man is right
      Quote Originally Posted by Carôusoul View Post
      Listen to this man.
      Last edited by Howie; 02-06-2008 at 03:46 PM. Reason: merged
      Current projects:
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    16. #16
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      Anyone like math? Great!

      Here's a simple way to look at the notion of happiness. Imagine desire to be debt and satisfaction to be income. The more you desire, the more resources it is going to take to make you happy. Similarly, the less you desire, the less it is going to take for you to achieve an equal level of happiness.

      So, if its imperative for you to have a mansion, a sports car, a super model for a wife, fame and power for you to be happy in life...well, you are drowning in debt. But, if all you need to be happy is a roof over your head, food/water, and a car that can get you from point A to point B...it doesn't take much to be just as happy.

      Do you see what i mean?

      Happiness is the end product of a two part equation; the proper regulation of your desires and the proper regulation of your means to satisfy those desires. Most people don't even regulate their own desires, and instead just let their income be the limiting factor which, if you think about, can only really get you as far as contentment (and thats if you are lucky). Most people perpetually want more than they can give themselves, and end up being in this ever-renewing cycle of emotional debt that never goes away. Its like wanting 100 different things, but by the time you get 10 of them, you now have accumulated 100 additional things you want.

      The buddha had it nailed. Free yourself from as many worldly possessions/desires as you possibly can and make it easier on yourself to be happy. The moral of this story is that it really isn't about how much "stuff" you have accumulated in your life, nor how many 'things" you have accomplished in your life...its how all that stuff and all of those things measure up to the debt you have managed to get yourself in along the way. Try it right now! Do you currently want more than what you have? And if so, how great is the gap between what you want and what you have? You can bet that you level of happiness is directly proportional to the size of that gap.


      This is all just a rough analogy of course, but i think it gets the point across.

      And Timothy, happiness is relative. You may think that you "need" certain things to be happy, and you may think that settling for anything less than that is to sell yourself short...but thats only looking at one side of a two sided issue. But on that note, there does seem to be some sort of extra sense of happiness the comes from overcoming a struggle (as opposed to simply not creating unnecessary struggles for yourself in the first place), but that seems to be more of a temporary type of happiness, or a buzz if you will.
      Last edited by ethen; 02-06-2008 at 01:21 AM.

    17. #17
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      Why are you talking to ME in particular?

      I disagree with the Buddha. What he says is that you have to be poor before you can be happy. So if you are rich you can't be happy? What a bullshit.
      Money DOES make you happier, by the way. It grants you more freedom.

      PS: I like most of Buddha's ideas, except this one. Respect for Buddha!
      Current projects:
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    18. #18
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      Quote Originally Posted by Timothy Paradox View Post
      ...Do you mean accepting it when something bad happens?
      Finding meaning in negative experiences?
      Both Bad and/or Good

      Acceptance, in the context I see it, is beyond any judgement of good or bad, right or wrong.

      What is , Is. It is going to be what it Is, despite any judgement directed towards it.

      The existent psyche is what drives the need to assign meaning to all that is in its view. The kind of acceptance being spoken of transcends the existent psyche.

    19. #19
      Revd Sir Stephen, Ph.D StephenT's Avatar
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      First, for there to be happiness, there must be a comparison. There must be ups and downs. The ups are happiness, the downs are not. For some people, the ups dominate the downs resulting in a happiness that seems to never cease.

      As for defining happiness, that is impossible. Because of its abstract nature, language fails to accurately define what happiness truly means for each person. The closest one could get would be to give an experience where they find the most happiness, but this fails because it could be different for another person. When I say that I'm extremely happy when I snowboard, you might think of when you broke your arm while snowboarding. While I say it's being with a certain someone, you might be reminded of your loneliness or of past relationships that left you brokenhearted.

      When we try to use common words, they give the emotion of happiness as a hollow shell.

      With that said, it is impossible for one person to describe happiness unless we discover a form of telepathy.

      Basic outline. ^


      Everybody I know always tells me that I'm always happy, and always smiley even when bad things are happening. I'm generally far more happy than most people that I encounter or see, and it tends to wear off on other people that I hang out with whether we are just goofing off or discussing important things. (Don't think it rubs off AS well over the internet. )

      I really don't know why I am like this. For one, I have a great life, so that is probably a reason. I've had my share of experiences that most people don't have, which makes me wonder about my decisions a lot less, so I have less stress. There are parts that should improve, and I am on crutches for the third time in 3 years, that totals up to about a year of being on crutches. I'd just rather be happy with all the great things I have going for me than dwell on the small obstacles down my life's path. Like PJ said, happiness is a choice.

      I say, don't regret too much, but learn from your experiences; Don't worry about the future or over plan everything for perfection; Go with the flow. Sounds so stupid like something from a Disney movie that's been repeated by everybody trying to sounds profound, but it's true. There isn't any way to get to happiness except for deciding to be there.


      Disclaimer: I wrote this in an extremely sleep deprived state of mind, so it might be completely nonsensical and stupid. Sorry.

    20. #20
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      "Go with the flow"... oh boy.
      That kind of attitude is destroying our world.
      Don't worry about the future guys! Even though billions are gonna die because of our careless behavior, there is NOTHING to worry about! Be happyyyy!!!
      Tsss.

      Luckily for me, worrying about the future is what makes me happy.
      Current projects:
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    21. #21
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      Quote Originally Posted by Timothy Paradox View Post
      "Go with the flow"... oh boy.
      That kind of attitude is destroying our world.
      Don't worry about the future guys! Even though billions are gonna die because of our careless behavior, there is NOTHING to worry about! Be happyyyy!!!
      Tsss.

      Luckily for me, worrying about the future is what makes me happy.
      Go with the flow as you are describing is not what it is.

      One deals with what is and takes action to mold and shape what will be, but is not attached to the results of their actions.

      If what is, is not as the actions were intended to guide it, then one re- adjusts their actions accordingly and has at it again. Always dealing with the moment their is no attachment to ideas of what should be or what should have been. What will be is shaped in the moment by being here now in the moment in thought and action. Dwelling on what was or what will be gains little as the moment is where all action occurs.

      Maybe happiness is being mistaken for something else? Perhaps what is being thought of as happiness is really being at peace with whatever arises rather than feeling ups or downs, positive or negative towards things that occur.
      Sometimes the definitions of words and the use of language to convey feelings misses the intended mark.

    22. #22
      Rotaredom Howie's Avatar
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      You are right Stephent91. I should have not worded it that way. Can we ask, what is happiness?
      Not to a tee or directly pinpoint happiness, but couldn't we come to an educated response to what the state of happy is?
      ethen tries to put this into an equation. In that manner it ofcoarse seems simple. So does saying, don't wory... be happy.
      This is the confusion. There are the obvious ups and downs. They obviously differ greatly from one individual to the next. Our environments greatly differ from seemingly good to bad. But over top of all of that you can find happy and unhappy people in any given situation.
      So Putting a percentage on "happiness" is not it. I am looking for something more.
      ethen I think is on a tract to achieve a middle ground. A happy medium. Which seems paramount in most things.
      Don't you think Timothy Paradox is correct if his comment is pertaining to a utilitarian state of being? That being yourself. Once again needing a happy medium.

      So you can't say the general populous is 67% happy or Rich people people will be happy and poor sad etc.

      Can we define a quality of life or a satisfactory answer to what is happiness?

      How can happiness be a choice? Isn't it like a belief. I have read the same Bible under two different religions. That has not made be believe. I can't elude myself to a state that I am not, if I am aware of it.
      I want to believe and I want to be happy.

      I want to comment on something pj wrote in my abstract journal.

      Quote Originally Posted by pj
      Once you HAVE learned it, the academics become a straight jacket... unless you can forget it again. The music has to come from a different place. It isn't my head that the good stuff comes from - it is my gut. I don't know how else to explain it. But I have to go through my head to get to my gut. Like oration... one cannot orate effectively if you are all wrapped up in the details of grammar and composition. You have to "forget" those things. Is that really what it is though? Perhaps it is just learning it and then handing it off to deeper levels, freeing up your conscious to be creative in a new context.
      If you could partially apply this into the context of this thread.

      Thought. Is it something as similar to breathing, blinking, our heart? Does it just think? Why this why that why why why.
      Through the same process as you describe above may be a window into feeling happy.
      There are only a handful of things in this entire world that make me happy. I believe it is because while in the process I am totally engrossed in what I am doing. Like your music. Like my art. If you "forget" those things, for a brief period you are.. "from the gut"
      For me, if I am engrossed in an activity and I step out side of that, I find myself wrapped up. Analyzing everything asking why. To the point it is no longer fun, productive or even good material. I know this sounds pretty much like I am reiterating what you have just pointed out. I guess for the most part, I am.
      Now I struggle to go any further without why. Even that sentence begs for WHY!
      I have read about other cultures that can effectively lucid dream. They have been taught to think of it as normal practice from what I believe. So in turn lucid dreaming is not an obstacle as most of us oneironauts make it out to be. Meditation may very well be the same. They can reach a higher plain of this conscious state much faster and easier than most of us.

      What is my point?
      Upbringing maybe. When you are taught to believe something it is a very heavy attachment. It takes a conscious effort to rid yourself of something you had believed to not be.
      Like innocence, is our window lost after this process? We ca labor over techniques, new ideas and beliefs to try to gain something that could never be the same as it once could be. Once... if we had known from the start.
      Last edited by Howie; 02-06-2008 at 03:51 PM.

    23. #23
      Beyond the Poles Cyclic13's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by NonDualistic View Post
      Sometimes the definitions of words and the use of language to convey feelings misses the intended mark.
      Like Michael Bay did when he made Pearl Harbor...

      Hehe. Sorry, couldn't resist.


      BTW, hasn't this topic popped up enough times to not be made into new topics each time?
      ie. HERE and HERE
      Last edited by Cyclic13; 02-06-2008 at 03:58 PM.


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    24. #24
      Rotaredom Howie's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by SolSkye View Post
      BTW, hasn't this topic popped up enough times to not be made into new topics each time?
      ie. HERE and HERE
      All two of them?
      I think they each bring something to the table. It would be nice to merge it all together. But each goes in it's own direction.

    25. #25
      Beyond the Poles Cyclic13's Avatar
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      True, True. Although, the last one did happen to go into a couple pages of debating the definition of happiness.

      However, this topic doesn't mention true happiness so it could've been meant as each person's individual take.

      Don't mind me. Carry on.
      Last edited by Cyclic13; 02-06-2008 at 04:14 PM.


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      "These paradoxical perceptions of our holonic higher mind are but finite fleeting constructs of the infinite ties that bind." -ME

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