The Pleasure Cure

Pleasure Seekers Will Find Happiness

There is an ongoing debate on whether or not pleasure is the same as happiness. Most say that it is not. People argue that happiness is a long-term affair while pleasure is a fleeting experience. Because of the belief that pleasure doesn’t last, it is not considered to be a true form of happiness.

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What Can Pleasure Do For You?

Researchers have determined that pleasurable activities account for 40% of our happiness. An increase in pleasurable activities will result in an increase in happiness. Consequently, the benefits derived from happiness are the same as those for pleasure. Following is a shortened version of the benefits we get from being happy. Read the book for many more…

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HOW TO SURVIVE A RECESSION

Check out the post I wrote for lifeoptimizer: HOW TO SURVIVE A RECESSION

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THE REWARDS OF UNHAPPINESS

What do you do if there is an area in your life that doesn’t make you happy and is not very pleasurable?

I’ve thought and investigated unhappiness quite a bit and have come to a momentary flash of insight. The first thing you must do when feeling unhappy is to identify the beliefs that are involved in creating this unhappy and unpleasurable situation.

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Dance Yourself Happy!

Psychology Today reports on a German study which found that tango dancers had lower levels of stress hormornes, higher levels of testosterone, and felt sexier and more relazed. Similarly a study at the University of New England found that participants engaging in tango had significant lower levels of depression than a control group who took no classes. Not big news to you who dance regularly, but an encouragement to those who do not!

Desperate? Reach For Your Playlist

This year has been really really rough for me. I’ve had to come up with endless ways to keep my mood up. When I’m feeling especially discouraged, I reach for my special playlist. It contains pump-me-up music that will make any doubt and sense of defeat into an unnerving drive not to give up. I know that to do what I want to do things will be difficult and I will want to quite time and time again. The playlist has been life changing. If you don’t have one, I would urge you to create one.

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Another Life Changing Habit

I’ve been running on and off for most of my life. Am I a marathon runner? No. I don’t even run longer or harder than I did when I first started. Today I got to thinking why I’ve stayed the same. Some of you will say, “what is so bad about staying the same?” I don’t think there is anything bad with it, but is there something better? I could stay the same, but can I feel better? Can I maximize the high I get from running. I think the answer is “Yes!”

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How To Be Happy

STOP WAITING TO BE HAPPY!

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Lifestyle Design For Mothers

The big thing right now is to sell all your stuff, pack some gear, and travel around the world. The idea is a great one because it motivates those who work hard to reevaluate their lives and to simplify. However, most of the people who advocate for this kind of lifestyle design are young men. What about those of us who can’t just pack and leave? Are we not entitled to a new lifestyle? I think we are. I am a mother who has redesigned her life.

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Interview At Lewis and Clark University

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Happy People Live Longer?

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How To Handle Obstacles When Changing Your Life

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A PLEASURE SHOT OF INNOVATION

Many pleasurable activities are categorized as sensation seeking (varied, novel and intense sensations and experiences). These activities are also somewhat risky such as:

• Parachuting
• Snowboarding
• White water rafting
• Hang-gliding
• Bungee jumping
• Rock climbing
• Motorcycling
• SCUBA diving
• Racecar driving

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100 Ways To A New Life

I don’t remember where I got this exercise from (if you wrote it, please let me know so I can give you credit). It relates to increasing pleasure in life because it addresses things that you would like to do in an ideal new life.

HOW TO DO MINDFULNESS

Check out this blog post. It explains mindfulness in a simple and straightforward manner. It talks about formal and informal mindfulness and explains the 8 characteristics of mindfulness such as nonjudgment, acknowledgment, nonstriving, equanimity, letting be, self reliance, etc. As I have written in previous posts, mindfulness is essential in being able to find pleasure in life. Read the post and try it out.

How To Format A Kindle Book

I don’t tend to write on the technical aspect of blogging or publishing, but this was such a royal pain in the… When formatting your book for Kindle this is what you have to do:

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SIMPLE PLEASURES AND HAPPINESS

Scholars have noted that having no pleasure in life leads to particular emotional and mental states. Depression, schizophrenia, addiction, anxiety, obesity have been reported to be indicative of a “missing ability to experience pleasure.”

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ARE YOU DEPRESSED? CAN PLEASURE GET RID OF IT?

I’ve been depressed over that last week or so. According to the criteria listed below, I didn’t have a full blown depressive episode, but I was feeling depressed. There was no way someone or some list was going to tell me I wasn’t! When you are feeling depressed, it is difficult to gain any perspective.

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Change Your Life Forever: The Most Important Question To Ask Yourself

If you haven’t answered the question, “What is my purpose in life?”, you should give it a go. A purpose gives you a reason for living and guides your decisions in life. It is different from a goal. Goals are drafted in order to keep true to one’s purpose. A purpose is different because it will provide you with meaning. People are generally happier when they engage in more meaningful activities — meaningful in regards to your purpose in life, not meaningful in regards to what others think is meaningful. A purpose will also help you overcome obstacles in life and motivate you when you are feeling down.

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EMBRACE THE LEPRECHAUN: The Bad being Good

The Leprechaun likes mischief and today I am feeling particularly mischievous. The thought of being bad makes me exited. My happy cells are dancing in my body. As I am happy thinking of the prospect of being bad, I ask myself whether being bad is pleasurable. Do humans actually enjoy being bad? Therapists are often attempting to embrace the good and positive in people, but rarely do we embrace the badness in the same. What makes the good better than the bad? Researchers say that both “good” and “bad” actions stimulate the reward center of the brain. In other words, being bad can be as pleasurable as being good! I can feel the truth of that today; I can feel how being bad is so tremendously pleasurable. If the bad and the good can make us feel equally satisfied, why do we shun the bad? I suppose it is because we feel it is harmful to others. But I am not convinced that this is true. Truly benevolent people, thoughts, and actions create the strongest emotional, physical and intellectual prisons. For example, it is hurtful to be forced into particular practices and ways of being by someone who is good to a fault. One cannot express or act in any other way than what is delineated by the “truly” benevolent. In the end, good and bad labels have been created to control our behaviors. Language binds us to particular ways of thinking and behaving. If we were to abolish the words “bad” and “good” we may find that we can embrace so many more aspects of ourselves and others. Hence, for today I am embracing the leprechaun in me!

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