Tag Archive for FREE

How to Tame your Invisible Happiness Dragon

Would you like to know how to tame your invisible Happiness Dragon?

Or, to put it another way, would you like to have more control over your own happiness and sense of well-being?

If so, and you live in the Manchester area, you might like to come along to this FREE event tonight, in Chorlton.

The Chorlton Civic Society meet tonight, in the function room at the back of Chorlton Library (on Manchester Road, next to the Sedge Lynn Wetherspoons pub).  And tonight, their guest speaker is me, giving a short talk entitled:

How to tame your invisible happiness dragon

The event is free to attend and we will be considering why happiness is
important, and I will be sharing some simple things we can all do to improve our sense of well-being and to help us to feel happier and be more successful in life.

All welcome – hope to see you there!

 

Meditation and Happiness

Can meditation make you happier?

Yes. 🙂

People who practice meditation regularly report feeling less stressed and more emotionally balanced.  Researchers have even seen changes in the physical structure of the brain after regular meditation.

Numerous scientific studies have shown meditation reduces anxiety as well as stress – people who meditate tend to worry less about the problems they are facing in life, and are therefore happier as a result.

Here are some of the benefits that you may get from meditation:

Physiological benefits:

– Leads to deeper levels of physical relaxation
– Decreases muscle tension, aches and pains
– Enhances the immune system and lowers blood pressure
– Helps with pain control in chronic diseases
– Reduces headaches & migraines
– Produces lasting beneficial changes in brain biochemistry

Psychological benefits:

– Increases serotonin level, positively influencing mood and behaviour
– Helps us take control of our thoughts
– Helps with focus & concentration, learning ability and memory
– Increases emotional stability
– Reduces feelings of aggression and anger
– Reduces anxiety and tendency to worry
– Gives composure to act in considered & constructive ways

‘Spiritual’ benefits:

– Provides peace of mind, happiness
– Helps you discover your purpose
– Increases your compassion and wisdom
– Leads to deeper understanding of yourself and others
– Increases one’s acceptance of oneself
– Helps learn forgiveness

– and you might even reach spiritual enlightenment! 🙂

People report a whole range of benefits from meditation, and many of them are backed up by scientific research.

If you would like to try meditation, in the comfort of your own home, for free, then I would highly recommend the website below:

http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/

All you do is register, for free, then you get ten days of guided meditation (just ten minutes a day) for free.  Andy does of course offer paid-for meditation packages on his site, but they don’t pressure you to sign up for them or anything.

I should say that I don’t know Andy Puddicome, but I have tried the 10-day freebie and found it really good.

There are of course plenty of other internet sites and books where you can read about meditation, but I think Get Some Headspace is a good place to start.

Good luck!

And, tell me what you think – share your thoughts on meditation and happiness, and how you have got on with meditating – what difference has it made?  – it’s great to hear your experiences, and I feature some of them in my newsletters.

Leave a comment here, or email me: Mary@Coach-me-Happy.co.uk

Do you pass the Happiness Test?

What if there were a happiness test, to measure how happy you are?  And to highlight the parts of your life that might be worth improving, to help you to feel happier.

Numerous tests and quotients have been developed by scientists to measure people’s happiness, and there has been general agreement on the key factors that affect happiness.  And, by the way, most of these factors are under our own control.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you right now?  Well, see what your answers to the following Happiness Test questions tell you about yourself, and your happiness level: answer simply YES or NO to each question.

– Happiness Test

  1. Do you feel safe in your everyday life?
  2. Do you feel you have enough of what you need to be happy?
  3. Do you have moments when you take stock and look at the whole of your life, instead of the events of the day?
  4. Do you often find a quiet place to enjoy a moment of self-reflection?
  5. Are you satisfied with your finances, relationships, and career?
  6. Are you optimistic about your life?
  7. Are you grateful for the way that your life is unfolding?
  8. Do you often experience peace of mind?
  9. Would you rate your health an well-being (physical and mental) as being above average for your age?
  10. Do you often find yourself feeling content and comfortable with where you are at this moment in life?

These Happiness Test questions were developed by the clinical psychologist W. Doyle Gentry. The more of them that you can truthfully answer YES to, then the happier you probably are.

How many times did you answer YES?  That is your score out of ten.

If you want to think of it as a percentage, 5 out of ten would be 50% happy, 6 out of ten would be 60% happy, and so on.

Looking at the questions you answered NO to, what life changes could you make to turn your answer into a YES?

These questions highlight some of the areas that my clients often work on with me – and they tell me they get huge benefits from making changes, with my help, in these parts of their lives.

Several of the articles that I have already posted in this blog also focus on these areas – for example, the last entry was about one aspect of gratitude (question 7).  So, if you would welcome some ideas,  read back through my previous entries.

– How will you increase your score in the happiness test?  How can you make changes, to improve your happiness level?

Good luck!

And, tell me what you think – share what you have done differently, as a result of reading this article, to put more happiness into your life – how did you feel afterwards?  – it’s great to hear your experiences, and I feature some of them in my newsletters.

Leave a comment here, or email me: Mary@Coach-me-Happy.co.uk

 

Happiness Workshop – How to feel happier

People living in the Manchester, UK area might be interested in this Happiness Workshop next Tuesday:

Do you feel Happy?  Successful?  Fulfilled?

 Would you like to feel Happier?

 Spring-Clean Your Future – the Happiness Workshop

 Tuesday 12th June, Chorlton Library

Doors open 7.15pm       Workshop starts 7.30pm

 BOOK your FREE place at:

http://www.Happiness-Workshop.co.uk

 

  • What happiness means to you
  • How you can take control of your own happiness and well-being
  • 9 steps to a happier life; things we can all do to feel better
  • 2 things which, done daily, can help  increase your happiness
  • How to set a fulfilling personal goal, and how to achieve it

Workshop Limited to 50 people –  

RESERVE YOUR PLACE TODAY!

Workshop facilitated by

Chorlton’s own Happiness Coach,  Mary R. Perkins

on behalf of Manchester City Council