Yeah, that's a good book. I was refering to the
--getting up in the morning with a smile -- kind of
happy. It would be great, I think, if we could listen
to one another with the "flow" kind of total
absorbtion/attention - generating happiness on both
ends :)
--- Harvey Tjader <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> I read "Flow: The Psychology of Ultimate
> Experience," by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a while
> ago. It was based on a study that put beepers on
> hundreds of people from all walks of life. The
> beepers would go off at random times, eight times a
> day. When the beeper sounded, the participant would
> fill out a form telling what they were doing and how
> they felt.
>
> The result was that participants were happiest when
> they were fully engaged in an activity that totally
> consumed their attention and eliminated all self
> consciousness, that produced a feeling of flow. The
> activities were not always ones that you would call
> pleasurable. The ability to pursue and find such
> activities was not necessarily related to any level
> of wealth, health, fitness or education.
>
> This is not a How-to book, but valuable to think
> about and recognize those activities that you enjoy
> because of the flow.
>
> With regard to the rich media, I was just in a
> discussion this morning about how some people may
> still trust the media as the "Fifth Estate." The
> problem is that mass media is owned by the same
> conglomerates that advertise in the media
> (compromising the content of reporting) and the same
> conglomerates that control government (compromising
> again). It makes you wonder why politicians like
> the President and Jesse Ventura are so rough on the
> media. Is it just for show?
>
> >>> Nancy Sutton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 3/2/2001
> 2:27:25 PM >>>
> I have been coming to the conclusion for a long time
> that happiness is easy, as long as we are willing to
> change our various forms of additiction to
> unhappiness, which requires that we know ourselves
> to
> some degree. It's the old half full/empty choice
> and
> a lot of gratitude. It is laid out in many books,
> including the latest "How To Be Happy No Matter
> What"
> from the "Don't Sweat the Samll Stuff" author;
> "Santiy, Insanity and Commonsense" by Suarez (I
> think); "The Handbook to Higher Consciousness" by
> Keys
> (sp?) etc., etc.
> Nancy
> Western WA
> --- jeff owens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > In Pursuit of Happiness
> > (Better Living From Plato to Prozac)
> > Mark Kingwell
> >
> > If the history of western civilizations thoughts
> on
> > happiness
> > is of interest then this is the book to read. I
> > found a lot
> > of interesting background and a few new ideas.
> Here
> > are some
> > quotes and comments:
> >
> > we cannot judge happiness except on the scale
> > of an entire life.
> >
> > This is a useful concept to differentiate between
> > pleasure
> > and other short term feelings that are sometimes
> > called
> > happiness.
> >
> > At one point the book tried to define happiness by
> > what
> > it isn't. I found this "ZEN" like approach
> > complimented
> > the traditional definitions and provided useful
> > direction.
> >
> > Myth 1 - Happiness is easy.
> > Myth 2 - You can buy happiness.
> > Myth 3 - Happiness is simplicity itself.
> > Myth 4 - Happiness is immoral.
> > Myth 5 - Happiness is madness.
> > Myth 6 - Happiness is elsewhere.
> > Myth 7 - Happiness is your birthright.
> > Myth 8 - Happiness is fixed.
> >
> > Our culture seems to accept these myths at times
> > without
> > noticing the contradictions and flaws. We think
> > happiness is
> > related to achieving some goal (elsewhere) or that
> > having
> > more money is the answer. Of course, they may
> play
> > a role
> > but they are not happiness.
> >
> > Much of the book talks about our expectations and
> > how
> > that causes problems. For example, if our culture
> > defines a unrealistic state of happiness and then
> > encourages
> > everyone to chase it.. what happens? We have a
> lot
> > of
> > unhappy people thinking happiness is somewhere
> else.
> > That is exactly what we have today.
> >
> > In the end the author doesn't have any grand
> > conclusions
> > and leaves each of us to find our own answers. I
> > was
> > a little disappointed by this and felt we do know
> a
> > lot about happiness. Oh well, each book has a few
> > ideas
> > and we can harvest those and enjoy them.
> >
> > If we look at ecology we find it fits here nicely.
>
> > The
> > diversity and chaos is indicated by myth 8
> > (happiness
> > is fixed). The idea of conservation and limits
> > sneaks
> > in with myth 2 (you can buy happiness). The idea
> > that
> > happiness is elsewhere (myth 6) says we can run
> away
> > from
> > our problems and not connect to the land. In
> other
> > words,
> > we build happiness under our feet. The idea that
> > happiness
> > is easy, wicked, or simple all push us towards
> > irresponsible
> > actions. The responsible ecological lifestyle is
> > just
> > an awareness of how the world works and the limits
> > we all
> > face. It isn't hardship and is compatible with
> our
> > quest
> > for happiness. This is one viewpoint anyway.
> >
> > One of the chapters talked about solitude and how
> > most
> > of us are powerless in the face of large volumes
> of
> > information. This condition has appeared in the
> > last 100
> > years and requires that we guard our thoughts and
> > attitudes
> > about happiness. Unfortunately, the author did
> not
> > provide
> > and answers, he just described the problem.
> >
> > This same idea pops up in many of todays books and
> > i'm
> > now reading one with the title "Rich Media, Poor
> > Democracy).
> > A review is coming.
> >
> > Feel and be aware of this moment.
> >
> > jeff
> >
>
>
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