Team Building Opportunity! Perfect for couples, families, teams and individuals looking to improve their ability to communicate, collaborate, bring cohesiveness and work within their trust parameters to become more than the sum of their parts. This will run from 9am to 5pm on Saturday, August 22nd. Discounts are available for groups of four or more.
Individually cost is $90 per person. Registration and payment is due no later than July 28th. 10% discount is given when payment is received on or before July 21st.
The more I learn about happiness the more I have found myself fully experiencing the here and now. Case in point, the other day I learned something from the water fountain in the building of my private practice. This water fountain is rather touchy. It makes a lot of noise when you press the button, alerting everyone on the second floor that someone is thirsty. I went up to refill my water bottle. Being in the moment, I appreciated each step I went up, my body’s remarkable ability to send the signals to my legs that allow me to ascend easily up the stairs. I found myself appreciating my legs and my coordination to carry out this simple, often mindless “task” of walking up the stairs. I appreciated my ability to do so, for tomorrow – who knows? I have taken on the philosophy that anything I would be upset for losing tomorrow, is something I can appreciate today. Reaching the fountain I depressed the button. True to form, it groaned its groan. I noticed that if I pressed the button down 3/4 of the way, the water stream came out smoothly, allowing me to easily fill my bottle. If, however, I pushed too hard, the water came out in jerky spurts, which made it nearly impossible to fill it. I smiled and gently let off the pressure drawing the comparrison to the therapeutic process. Though I may be anxious to help the client before me, pushing too hard too fast can lead to frustration and lack of fulfillment. The groaning fountain was an excellent reminder to allow things to happen in their own good time. The fountain was a good teacher. By being in the moment, I am becoming a better student.
The “Happy Hour”. This is a FREE class on Happiness, delivered via CONFERENCE CALL! Traditionally the “Happy Hour” is always right after work. So, “Happy Hour is at 5pm on Mondays. You could call in on your way home. 
Emotions. What ARE we to do with them? Are we in control? Yes and no. We have as much control over our emotions as we have control of the light that illuminates the room. Do we have control over that light? Yes and no. Were the light switch not there, we would have no direct control over the light. So, many people feel that they do not have control over their emotions because they don’t. Not only do they not have control over the emotions, they do not understand how they switch works that DOES control the emotions. It is exactly this issue we will discuss this week on the “Happy Hour” – the Happiness class brought to you by conference call every Monday at 5pm (MST). All are welcome. You can call 801-262-0317 to get details of how to join our call.
The first week of June I went to a festival in which I handed out 500 flyers about the “Happy Hour” and Happiness 101. I stood along side the sidewalk and when people passed by, I smiled and enthusiastically announced loud and proud “Happiness??” The reaction of the people were delightful to watch! Had I known it was going to be such an amazing experience, I probably would have set it up as a study. I believe how people reacted were a great indicator of where they were at at that moment and made me wonder if it were an indication of how happy they were in general. I decided not to offer the flyer to those engrossed in deep conversation. Some people wore dark clothes and a deep frown before receiving my offer. Most of the frowners smiled, even if they did not take a flyer. Many that declined the Happiness flyer (here forward referred to simply as Happiness), smiled broadly back, raised the hand of their loved one and said “No thanks! Got it right here!” If you have been listening to the “Happy Hour” classes (week one and week two are now available here on the blog), you know that even the most ideal of partners is merely a Happiness boost, not the “happily ever after”. Of course, I was not about to dis on their bliss. I SINCERELY hope they are happy and their partners ARE, indeed, happily ever after. Many did smile and said they were already truly happy. Wonderful! We need more of us out there! Some, at my surprisingly enthusiastic offer, giggled and simply walked away as if the whole thing were a joke or, perhaps, too good to be true. At times I felt a twinge of happiness, knowing that the simple flyer I held in my hand was more than a glossy piece of paper with a Happy Face on it, but a first step toward true happiness. This is the same sadness I feel as a therapist when I reach out a hand to a drowning person who steadfastly refuses help. I recite the Serenity Prayer quickly in my head and extend my hand to another and it is taken. Then another. Then another. This was another interesting pheomomenon, people accepted and refused Happiness in clumps. If the first person of, say, a dozen refused the flyer, often the other eleven would follow suit. But if the first or second person took the flyer, I handed one to the majority of people in the group. I always enjoyed it when one person in such a group would break rank and be the lone person to accept Happiness. I had great hope for these mavericks. Finally, there were those that flatly refused happiness, “No thanks”. I was left to wonder: do they truly not want Happiness or do they not believe the “product” works or…. have they lost hope. These individuals I worry about the most. Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can, or you can’t – you’re right”. If that logic is sound, if these people believed they were incapable of being Happy, their belief becomes their reality. If you are such a person, I ask you not to believe that you can be Happy, but at least that you can be HappiER. PLEASE, listen to the class. You CAN be happier!
Last weekend I had the opportunity to watch a true Happiness expert in action. I was handing out flyers to the “Happy Hour” when she came running at my full speed, jumped, landed firmly on both feet right in front of me and said “HA! HA!”. It was as if in the sea of people, she recognized a kindred spirit, one that appreciates life on that same plane. I bent down deeply and responded with the same battle cry of Happiness, ”HA! HA!”. Being an adult and she all of maybe four years old, I tried to engage her in conversation. “So, what did you have to eat today?” She giggled and responded with gushing enthusiasm “I don’t know!” This was said as if it were a silly question – as if her tone said, “Silly man. It does not matter what I’ve had to eat – it’s in the PAST and is no longer of interest”. Her mother was now before me. She had a camera in hand. I secretly hoped she had caught some of the interaction on film (though knowing that even the top-of-the-line camera could not capture the palpable feelings exchanged between teacher and student). I offered her a flyer and she took it with a smile then meandered to the next booth. Little Sage, as I have come to refer to her, wandered in that direction as well, but then paused. She was mesmerized by the site of people twirling wooden rifles. She stood in the middle of the sidewalk, fixated. Eyes wide. Body still. Then, for apparently no reason, she jumped into the air. Landing, she continued to watch the riflemen. Then another jump, then back into observation mode. After several seconds, she turned to catch up with her mother. I turned slightly to hand out another flyer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blond missle coming in at 4 o’clock! BAM!! I’d been hit! The four year old had ran full blast into my thigh, arms wide open, hugging me tightly before suddenly releasing me and running back without a word to rejoin her mother and be enveloped by the swarming crowd. 
