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How To Be Happy

 

 
Course Description

Watch a infant for a few moments . . . the mind at ease in its natural state. As toddlers we lose that sense of wonder and begin to find fault with our environment. When the ego develops, fault finding turns to unhappiness. The harder we try to fix things, the worse the unhappiness becomes. When we accept the present moment and quit finding fault, we find peace and serenity. Authentic happiness is a way of being and a skill to be cultivated. This class provides tools to let go of discontent. You will learn how to find new energy and concentration. Read lessons, participate in exercises, hold discussions with fellow students, plus receive personal coaching from the instructor. Runs for 6 weeks and is self-paced. Complete the lessons on your timetable. For more information visit www.gsinet.org. Be sure to include your email with registration.
 

Course Outline
Week One 
Tuesday, Lesson 1
What is Happiness ~ Happiness is a suspension of all worry, fear, and all negativity. A complete surrender to what is. This urge to be happy is not a particular trait of some people, but is common to all human beings in all times. It is, in fact, The Fundamental Desire, The Mother of all Desires ---- for it is that which gives birth to all desires motivations. You can learn to access the key to true happiness, within your mind.

Friday, Lesson 2
We Should be Very Happy ~ 21st Century Americans live in almost unbelievable vast prosperity, have incredible longevity, are fed to the point of obesity, and have plenty of loving relationships all around us. Yet, discontent, depression and stress are at epidemic proportions. What's up with that? 

 

Week Two
Tuesday, Lesson 3
What's Going Wrong? ~ A mood colors the way you see things, so it is important to be aware that you might need to make adjustments based on moods. When you're in a bad mood, everything in your life -- your family, your job, your home, your pet, your friends, everything -- is going to seem inadequate. This is not the time to make changes or solve problems.

Friday, Lesson 4
The Principle of Thought ~ We are the producers of our own thinking. Thought is not something that happens to us, but something that we do. It comes from inside of us, not from the outside. What we think determines what we see --- even though it often seems the other way around. Proper understanding of thought allows us to stop these everyday "thought attacks" before they beat us up.

 

Week Three
Tuesday, Lesson 5
Don't Believe Everything You Think ~ The human mind is totally unreliable. It is not able to be consistent, and its performance is sporadic as well as erratic. The mind has also been innocently and erroneously programmed by false fears, propaganda, religious and social dogmas, and continual distortions of facts, not to mention falsifications, errors, misjudgments, and misinformation. Starving negative thoughts of attention is the only effective way to deal with them and be happy.

Friday, Lesson 6
The Veils of the Ego ~ Allowed to run without supervision the mind can quickly become like a train speeding along without an engineer, nothing good is going to occur. Thought replacement is a simple cognitive therapy technique which can be used throughout the day to put the engineer back in control, so you can get some peace and quiet.

 

Week Four  
Tuesday, Lesson 7
The Principle of the Present Moment ~ Unhappiness and discontented thoughts are caused by living in past or worrying about the future. Happiness can only occur in the now. In this lesson we are going to teach you some elegant techniques to change the focus of your attention.

Friday, Lesson 8
Tweaking Paradise ~ Most people are so busy trying to get someplace other than they are that they don’t notice they’ve stepped out of joyful bliss. Wherever we are, something or someone could always be better. However, you already have everything you need in this moment and you can learn to quickly return to joyful bliss.

 

Week Five  
Tuesday, Lesson 9
Quit Attaching Conditions to Your Happiness ~ I'll be happy when, just a little more, if only's are just the beginning of the endless parade of hurdles we expect from ourselves, before we can allow happiness to occur.

Friday, Lesson 10
 Separate Realities is a Fact of Life ~ You cannot make others like you. Only they can control their thoughts. You have nothing to do with their thoughts. Quit living your life for others, it doesn't work; because they are too busy worrying about what you're thinking of them.

 

Week Six  
Tuesday, Lesson 11
Quieting the Mind ~ Self-talk, guilt and exaggeration have you running around doing things that are not only unnecessary, but taking you in exactly the opposite direction of where you want to go. It takes a quiet mind to know what is truly important.

Friday, Lesson 12
 Letting Go ~ We've spent eleven lessons examining the nooks and crannies of your life finding the excess baggage that is suffocating your happiness. Now we are going to learn how to kiss this stuff goodbye and get rid of the excess baggage.

 

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