Handout for Chapter 4 of Prager

The Holy Happiness Project at Hope
Chapter 4. There is No Good Definition of Happiness
Website: http://holyhappinessproject.blogspot.com

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with Gladness; come before Him with Joyful Songs. Ps. 100

Quotes:
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. Matt 16:25

I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve. Albert Schweitzer.

…for they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they [meaning humans] are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls. The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis

Review of Last Week:
Gratitude Journal—any new thoughts?
Silence? Any experiences to relate?
Prayers for Happiness. Let us know any experiences?
The Mind is important.

Discussion This Week:
Prager seems to be saying that we know what happiness is without needing a definition. Do you agree? What are advantages and disadvantages of working without an agreed definition?

In The Lost Virtue of Happiness, J. P. Moreland, Christian philosopher, writes that part of the reason for so much modern unhappiness is in fact a change in what we think the definition of happiness is. It has changed from “A life well lived, a life of virtue and character, a life that manifests wisdom, kindness, and goodness” to “a feeling of pleasurable satisfaction.” To Jefferson, “The pursuit of happiness” meant pursuing a good, full, and virtuous life, NOT pursuing pleasurable satisfaction. Is it possible to pursue “a feeling of pleasurable satisfaction?” Why or why not?

In Healing the Culture, Robert J. Spitzer, PhD, gives a theory of happiness based on the general definition that “happiness” means “the fulfillment of desire.” He then goes on to detail four levels of happiness based on the work of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, and the Scriptures.
1. Sensory. Characteristics?
a. Examples
b. Duration: immediate and short
c. Crisis

2. Ego gratification. Characteristics?
a. Examples
b. Duration: short term
c. Crisis

3. Contributive, make a difference. Characteristics?
a. Examples
b. Duration: Longer term
c. Crisis

4. Desire for ultimate, perfection.
a. Examples
b. Duration: Eternal
c. Crisis?

Is there anything bad or wrong with feelings of pleasurable satisfaction, sensory pleasure, or ego gratification?

How do these alternative thoughts about defining happiness alter your thoughts about the first question?

Assignment:
1. Gratitude Journal, Quiet in life (continue). Continue to pray for awareness.
2. Start increasing your physical activity. Walk, swim, dance, stretch!
3. Read Chapter 5 of Prager.

Christian Happiness blog posting

Found this while preparing for class. Some good insights.

How's the gratitude journal coming? Feeling any resistance to doing it?

Here's a cool song -- Happiness is the Lord!

Quote of the Day

John 15:11. I have told you this [love one another] so that my joy may be complete in you and that your joy may be complete. NIV.

First Day of Class

We met at Hope this morning for the first class. First bible verses to be added:

Isaiah 61:3 ...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair...

Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever!

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.

Start your Gratitude Journal today. Write at least five things you are grateful for each day. The more sincere you can be the better. If you need to keep it private because you feel weird or "corny" doing this exercise, then keep it private.
Some links:
Ehow's How to Keep a Gratitude Journal
A report on a large study that showed that simply keeping a gratitude journal improved health, happiness, energy, love.
A Psychology Today article with hints on gratitude journals, lists, letters

My first entries:
My wife, for helping with the class, encouraging me, her smile.
The smoked pork we prepared on the front porch (yum. Not at all Kosher though!)
Church and the enthusiastic class we are starting
A beautiful Colorado day
Life
Health
Strength and vigor
My home
My daughters

Yep. I feel better already.

NEXT WEEK: Happiness is a moral obligation. Chapter 1 of Prager book.

Video on Happiness

Here is a short, five minute video on "Happiness is a Moral Obligation". I commend it to you.

The Four Levels of Happiness

Robert J. Spitzer, PhD (in philosophy and physics no less) has formulated a theory of happiness that I have found quite useful. He explicates it thoroughly in his excellent book, "Healing the Culture." His group also has a website.

The four levels:
I. Sensory gratification. Ice cream, sex, comfort, Rich Corinthian Leather, etc. Short lived, intense, immediate, unambiguous, self-centered. A good PART of a complete human. Has a crisis if this is where you live all the time: intense feelings of emptiness.

II. Ego happiness. Also predominantly about self, self advancement, winning, gaining advantage. Provides energy to do better, to "run the race well", but is short term, does not last. Crisis if you stay here: bitterness, jealousy, contempt, isolation, paranoia. Note that level II is our natural set-point, the place we settle on if we do not actively manage ourselves.

III. Good beyond your self. Justice, love, community, service to others, greater good. Longer term than I or II, requires some effort and training to come to realize the depth of joy attainable here. But there is even a crisis here! Doing good, justice is wonderful but it will always fall short of perfection. Your capacity to do these acts of service also inevitably falls away with age or sickness.

IV. Ultimate, perfect good. We are born and wired with a desire for perfection in love, goodness, justice. That is not reachable on earth. For believers, faith in God provides level IV happiness, seeking Him.

Read the article!

The Holy Happiness Project

Welcome! I'm a Christian, physician, father and I believe that most people want to be happier. To that end, I'm starting this Blog to bring various ideas up that you might find useful. We will also be blogging along with a class at Hope Fellowship Church in south Denver to see what we find along the way this year. Our textbooks will be, of course, the Bible and an interesting work by a religious Jew named Dennis Prager entitled "Happiness is a Serious Problem."

A quote from the book, to show just how important this issue is:
"Unhappy, let alone angry, religious people provide more persuasive arguments for atheism and secularism than do all the arguments of atheists."

So, we're off! Don't worry, be happy!