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The science and art of happiness “Happy” has been an international sensation this year for Pharrell Williams, the singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. The song went to the top of the charts in the US and in 22 other countries. In the Netherlands, it’s become the most successful song of all time. So far, the song has sold 6 million copies and the official music video has been watched 365 million times. Why has this song been so successful? It makes people—well, happy. It’s irresistibly catchy, and it’s hard not to start dancing and singing along with it. The video injects even more feel-good feeling. And who doesn’t want more of that? So what is happiness? And how do we get more of it? We all know happiness when we experience it. We feel good inside. This good feeling can range from quiet contentment to intense euphoria. It can be momentary or long-lasting—life-long, in rare cases. Happiness has been an object of study since ancient times. Modern scholars in the fields of psychology, biology, economics, philosophy, and religion have investigated it, seeking to define and measure it, and find ways of increasing it. But it’s all a bit like dissecting a butterfly to find out what makes it alive. As far as getting more happiness, there’s advice everywhere you look, based on the behaviors of happy people: actively pursue your most meaningful goals, live the life you want to live, focus on the present, do what you enjoy and are good at as often as possible, give to others, express gratitude for what you have, cultivate optimism, make good friends and nurture your relationships, be part of something larger than yourself, take care of your health, savor life’s small but constant joys, don’t take rejection personally, prefer acquiring experiences to acquiring things, and more. All good and valuable suggestions. But we’re tempted to ask: Do these behaviors create happiness? Or do they result from happiness? Let’s take a quick look at three things many people consider essential for happiness—money, success, and love. (1) Money Many people think they’d be happier if they had more money. Research studies find this is true—but only to a point. Most people don’t think they need to be millionaires. A Princeton study found that people’s emotional well-being increases as their income increases—but when they reach $75,000 a year, it levels off.1 The conclusion: once your income covers the basic necessities, you need to look elsewhere if you want more happiness. But if money brings us happiness, the reverse is also true. A number of recent studies, conducted in the US, Great Britain, and Australia, have found that happy people make more money than people who are less happy. One reason, according to the researchers, may be that happier people are more likely to get hired and promoted and to be more optimistic and less neurotic. (2) Success Similarly, we often believe we’ll be happier if we could be more successful in our work, in achieving our goals. Certainly work and success can give great satisfaction. But here again, research shows the converse is also true: Happier people enjoy greater success in their endeavors than those who are not so happy. (3) Love Pervasive in our culture today is the dream of finding ultimate happiness in a loving relationship, especially with a partner. Certainly, warm relationships form a powerful source of happiness. But what kind of people are most likely to have strong, fulfilling relationships, according to research? People who are happy and positive to begin with—in other words, people who don’t depend on others for their happiness but who bring happiness to the table. Happiness as the starting point rather than the end point This pattern was confirmed in a 2005 meta-study that looked at 225 research studies on happiness, involving a total of 275,000 subjects. The finding: happy people are more successful in whatever they undertake, whether relationships, work, and health. The study’s lead researcher, Sonja Lyubomirsky, of the University of California at Riverside, drew this conclusion: “Our review provides strong support that happiness, in many cases, leads to successful outcomes, rather than merely following from them, and happy individuals are more likely than their less happy peers to have fulfilling marriages and relationships, high incomes, superior work performance, community involvement, robust health, and even a long life.”2 The ocean of happiness within Most people, when they think about it, will agree that happiness does not ultimately depend on outer circumstances—it comes from within. In fact, there is an ocean of happiness within each of us. Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman emperor and philosopher, speaks for all the great traditions when he says, “Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.” The expansion of happiness In his classic book Science of Being and Art of Living, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi writes that the growth of happiness fulfills the very goal of life: Expansion of happiness is the purpose of life, and evolution is the process through which it is fulfilled. Life begins in a natural way, it evolves, and happiness expands. The expansion of happiness carries with it the expansion of intelligence, power, creativity, and everything that may be said to be of significance in life.3 The Transcendental Meditation technique allows attention to turn inward, without effort. Like an ocean becoming calm, mental activity settles down. The mind, normally a continuous flux of perceptions, thoughts, desires, and feelings, becomes still. But we remain wide awake inside. n this most inward of states, we experience our true, authentic nature, serene and unbounded. This is our ultimate Self—pure, crystal clear consciousness. Experiencing this brings a sense of calm, peace, and quiet fulfillment. As we repeat this transcending process, twice each day, day after day, this inner peace, freedom, and happiness becomes more and more a part of our daily experience even outside of meditation, the foundation and backdrop of all our experience. Scientific research finds improved health and happiness Over more than 40 years now, hundreds of studies have been conducted on the longer-term effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique. This research has brought to light the unparalleled benefits of regular transcending—reduced stress, anxiety, and tension, increased creativity and intelligence, increased happiness, and greater sense of physical and mental well-being. In light of the research on happiness we’ve just discussed, it’s not surprising that other research studies find TM participants are also healthier, have greater capacity for warm and fulfilling relationships, and are more successful in their lives. After all, they bring more happiness and positivity to the table. “A room without a roof” In his song “Happy,” Pharrell Williams sings: Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof “Like a room without a roof”—what a wonderful metaphor for how we can live our lives when we have developed our full potential through regular transcendence. A room without a roof has the usual four walls but is ever open to the infinite sky above. With our consciousness fully developed, we continue to live in the “room” of the world, with all of our usual responsibilities—but we are forever open to the sea of unbounded creative intelligence and imperturbable bliss deep within us. At this deepest level of life, happiness is indeed the truth. Now we have a way to bring that happiness out and spread it around. Clap along if you know what happiness is to you ----------------- REFERENCES --------------------- About the author:
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