The Joy of Now, an article in the November/December issue of Psychology Today, pg. 64 advocated six happiness practices:
1. To improve your performance, stop thinking about it (unselfconsciousness).
2. To avoid worrying about the future, focus on the present (savoring).
3. If you want a future with your significant other, inhabit the present (breathe).
To make the most of time, lose track of it (flow).
If something is bothering you, move toward it rather than away from it (acceptance).
Know that you dont know (engagement).
I wouldnt normally consider Psychology Today for meaningful advice but I showed a friend the article and he said it helped (he was undergoing a stressful experience
he still is, so perhaps the article itself didnt really help) but it really just illustrates a form of Buddhism or Taoism without mentioning religion. Mindfulness is the only intentional activity that is not about trying to improve or get anywhere else. The article did bring up an interesting approach: If you notice your mind wandering, bring yourself back by saying to yourself, “Now. Now. Now.” (Great idea Im already writing an experimental film on it)
The how of happiness can be simplified: most negative thoughts concern the past or the future; if you could savor any experience in the now it alleviates potential for depression and anxiety. Perhaps the only thing one can do at times is focus on breathing, not in an automatic sense of function, but as a series of deep breaths to break the bonds with anxiety and simplify to the moment of now. In many cases, negative feelings and situations cannot be avoided (and resisting them increases the discomfort), so simply being able to see these emotions pulling on you for attention and accept that the experience of loss is natural, attachments can produce disturbances and thoughts are just thoughts may help you accept the experience rather than involve yourself in a mental struggle. It is possible after hearing out disturbing emotions and thoughts to disbelieve them and refuse their pronouncements about what to do in the situation. The most important thing missing from the article is the concept of life itself and where undeniable strain originates
but youd need to understand the power of love as a lifelong approach of practice.
***Update***
The Happiness Effect. How emotions and even behaviors can spread like an epidemic is an article that appeared in Time magazine, December 22, 2008, pg. 40. The article isnt of much value, and claims that a 20-year study showed that emotions can pass among a network of people up to three degrees of separation away, so your joy
may be determined by how cheerful your friends friends friends are, even if some of the people in this chain are total strangers to you. (Im going to add that to the experimental film, although it may not be a strong link, it poses an interesting concept about a how a person fits into a larger social network) From a practical standpoint, identifying happiness levels are irrelevant, since the concept or experience of happiness is ephemeral and without suffering and stress, there cannot be the same sense of strong relief.
