“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”  Aristotle

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how happy would you say you usually are?

And city dwellers and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness.  (Jeremiah 31:24, NLT)

I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that I’m coming back to the happiness theme.  No, I’m not going to expound more on the “30 Happiness Tips” (DG 1/4/08) that I referred to so often last month…I actually have a new resource that I’ll be drawing from for the next several Daily Grams.  I just started reading Happy for No Reason: 7  Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out by Marci Shimoff (Free Press, 2008) and have been fascinated by some of what she’s written.  You’ve perhaps heard of Marci as she wrote Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul as well as five more Chicken Soup for the Soul books that have sold over 13 million copies.  I’ve not read enough of her latest book to fully recommend it yet, but as I said, I’ve found some of it to be fascinating.

The book highlights a lot of recent research that has shown that “happiness isn’t an abstract emotion; [rather] it’s a physiological state that can be measured…characterized by distinct brain activity, heart rhythms, and body chemistry.”  What Aristotle called  the goal of all goals has been validated to show that “happy people live longer, are healthier, and have better relationships…[and have] more success in every area of…life.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that everyone is entitled to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  But I learned from Marci’s book that when Jefferson penned that famous statement, the word “pursuit” meant “to practice” rather than “to chase after.”  Dispelling the common notion that  happiness is something to pursue emerges as one of the major themes of the book.  Rather than pursue that which we can never quite catch, Marci makes the point that we can learn new habits in our daily living that will produce happiness, allowing us to practice it as originally advocated by our good friend, Tom.

Another fascinating gem from the book is the discovery that “scientists have found that we each have a ‘happiness set-point,’ the genetic and learned tendency to remain at a certain level of happiness, similar to a thermostat setting on a furnace.”  The good news emerging from this finding is that due to the recently discovered neuroplasticity of the brain (DG 2/6/08), we now understand that we can change that happiness set-point.  (Hallelujah!!!  Some of us sure need to act on that little tip!)  You see, while half of our set-point is genetic and half is learned, “it appears that only 10 percent of our [learned] happiness set-point is determined by circumstances such as our level of wealth, marital status, and job.  The other 40 percent is determined by our habitual thoughts, feelings, words, and actions.”  Hmmmm…where have I heard those ideas before.  Kinda reminds me of Philippians 4:8.  Don’t you agree?

Today’s link is the Amazon link for Marci’s book.  Again, it’s premature for me to make a wholehearted endorsement for the book yet, but if what I have written about it so far peaks your curiosity, have at it.  But as with all books, be prepared to “eat the meat and spit out the bones.”

Prayer Power
Lord, I keep coming back to the thought of being “fearfully and wonderfully made.”  And now to see the all too often unbelieving science community verifying that truth with their latest “revolutionary” discoveries is great fun to watch.  I pray that discoveries like these will open the door for more and more to become believers.

Link of the Day
Happy for No Reason

Blessings on you as you “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”