Today on my birthday my horoscope in part advised: “open up your ideas about what happiness means.”A British medical study has documented several kinds of positive physical changes which occur in people when they experience feelings of happiness or contentment. These include lowered levels of both the stress hormone, cortisol and of two protein markers of inflammation in the body. Excerpts from the article:
“But if happier people are healthier people, the more difficult question remains: How do you become happier?” . . .
"We need to help people to recognize the things that make them feel good and truly satisfied with their lives, so that they spend more time doing these things."
Read the entire article here (Happiness May be Good for Your Health):
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has spent many years studying the psychology of happiness. He has found that certain types of activities promote a state which includes both immersion and awareness which he calls “flow.” The flow state is also known colloquially as being “in the zone” or “in the groove,” and is often described by high-performance athletes, artists, craftspeople or skilled musicians. This morning I found no less than four of his books on my shelf; the first and a classic is:
“Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.”
Above: one of my many happy moments of interaction with Beau Dandy, a horse I am getting to know and ride in my Centered Riding lessons with Jami Wallace.
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