“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” ― Aristotle (384 BCE–322 BCE) Education and intelligence underpin happiness, but an interesting observation is that people attribute the same meaning to the words education and intelligence in daily conversation. Is education the same as intelligence? A general assumption is that an...
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“We frequently pass so near to happiness without seeing, without regarding it, or if we do see and regard it, yet without recognizing it.” ― Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) Observing the journey of life, with its undulating state of “happy” moments overshadowed by “unhappy” moments led Marjorie and me to conclude that there are complex dimensions...
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“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself” — Henry Ward Beecher (1813 ―1887). The world has witnessed many different political systems of leadership (from dictatorship to democracy), and many types of leaders (from autocratic to democratic) but what factors constitute great nations, great Leaders, and great...
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“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.” ― Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) Can happiness exist in an environment of conflict? We begin with “conflict avoidance” because it is...
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What inspired the writing of Discovering Your Optimum Happiness Index (OHI) was our earnest desire to share our inquiries and insights into our “search for happiness” and the great benefits (spiritual and material) that we have experienced on our “happiness journey.” Foremost, happiness is a birthright (Spiritual, Inherent, and Constitutional). We have discovered that...
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“This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” ― Isaac Newton (1643–1727) The principal lesson that humanity can learn that will engender “happiness” and “joy” is the need for spirituality in our lives. The apparent decline in the display...
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“The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease” ― Voltaire (1694 – 1778). Healthcare is synonymous with happiness. People cannot be healthy without being happy. Conversely, people cannot be happy without being healthy. However, being healthy is only one factor in the complex, multilayered human conditions that engender “true...
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We often think of life as a journey along many pathways, and mostly it is. We travel along multiple paths to multiple destinations in the material world. We have discovered that at some point along life’s journey, there is a need to find the most illuminating paths that lead to the highest fulfillment of...
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“At bottom, every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time” ― Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844–1900). Some individuals consider self-image, self-worth, and...
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PREAMBLE: This ‘Position Paper’ sets forth that ‘happiness’ can ensure the survival of humankind, but ‘unhappiness’ threatens human survival as a viable species. ‘Unhappiness’ manifests all forms of disruptive behaviors by the humankind, underpinned by nationalism, politics, religion, race, color, culture, social, and economic bifurcation. The paper states further that happiness can transform —positively,...
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