Some of us may be quite aware of the pie chart on the front of Sonja Lyubomirsky's book, the How of Happiness, which shows that genetics control most of our happiness.  However, genetics are not destiny and this article, by Emiliya Zhivotovskaya,  is a nice concise explanation of how our genetics and our experiences interact to produce our "happiness".

How does happiness work in the body? Here is where the mystery starts: if DNA is the powerhouse of the cell, then is it true that your happiness is set at birth?  Not exactly. Yes, the genes in your DNA have a role. For example, there are genetic differences among people that affect the production and transportation of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that modulates anger, aggression, and mood. Thus you may be more genetically prone to depression and experiencing less happiness than some other people because of the genes that control your serotonin system. But believing this is the whole story is a recipe for learned helplessness. Truly believing you are doomed by genetics may prevent you from ever taking steps to make positive changes in your life. Happiness and life-satisfaction levels are only partially pre-programmed. Making yourself happier is not as futile as trying to make yourself taller.

Gregor and Masa Zvelc from the Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy and Counseling presented on the power of Mindful Processing at the 4th European Conference of Positive Psychology.  Their presentation was entitled: “The Power of the present moment – Mindful Processing in psychotherapy and counseling.”  As defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally.”  Zvelc commented that the cornerstone of mindfulness is a non-judgmental and accepting awareness of the present.  During the presentation, the Zvelc couple cited Segal, Williams, and Teasdale’s paper from 2002, which compared “doing” mode and “being” mode.  Doing mode stresses solving problems.  In contrast, being mode focuses on accepting and allowing without pressure to change the present.

During the workshop the Zvelcs taught a method of counseling called “Mindful Processing.”  Mindful Processing “invites the client to become aware of the moment” and to experience the present with acceptance.  The counselor is also in a state of mindfulness with the client.  With both therapist and client tuned into the present moment, the therapist asks the client to describe his/her present bodily sensations, feelings, and emotions.  The client is not to judge the sensations, only to describe and experience them fully.  The result is “deep experiencing.” 

The Zvelcs showed a video of Mindful Processing between a client and therapist.  In the video, the client first explained the situation that was causing him trouble.  He next expressed his bodily sensations becoming very aware of them.  With an awareness of the body, came an awareness of his emotions.  He deeply experienced the emotions that this situation had brought out.  The therapist helped to guide the client and to extract the meaning from the emotional experience.  With a better understanding of the emotions in this mindful state, a transformation of the emotions became possible.  New awareness arose along with insight into the initial situation.

The Zvelcs summed the protocol one should follow for Mindful Processing into a seven step process:

Step 1: Description of Mindful Processing to the client

Step 2: Description of the original situation – What issue would you like to discover more about?

Step 3: Finding body sensation connected to the whole problem – How do you feel it in your body?  Where?

Step 4: Focusing on body sensation related to the whole problem – Close eyes and focus.  Just observe what is happening within your body.

Step 5: Description of the Inner Experience – Slowly open your eyes and tell me what occurred.

Step 6: Intrapsychic Contact and Mindfulness – Stay with that feeling, emotion, sensation, thought.  Focus on it.  Just be aware.  Just observe.

            (Repeats steps 5 and 6 as many times as desired.)

Step 7: End of Processing – When considering the original issue, what comes?

Mindful Processing can be a very powerful way to gain new insight in an objective manner on any issue or problem.  It is without a doubt a slow and meditative process; however, with time and patience it can be quite effective.

At the 4^th European Conference for Positive Psychology, Kim Rose-Inza from the Korea Counseling Center and the Deh-In Positive Psychology Educational Foundation in Seoul, Korea presented on Reality Therapy. Reality Therapy is a method of counseling, which focuses on the client’s current behavior and whether or not it will help the client attain what he or she wants. Reality Therapy centers on helping the individual to re-connect with others in his/her life. Dr. William Glasser first developed Reality Therapy in 1965 incorporating Choice Theory, which suggests that living creatures behave and all behaviors attempt to satisfy one of the five basic needs.

Total behavior has four aspects: Thinking, Acting, Feeling, and Physiology. Dealing with feelings as in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy takes too long Rose-Inza suggests. She believes that the action aspect of behavior should be central. If one concentrates on the action, the feelings and physiology will follow. Reality Therapy stresses the importance of one’s present actions in order to alter the future. Glasser recommends leaving the past behind and concentrating on the present.

Rose-Inza offered a concrete example from her own practice: A couple she was counseling wanted to divorce after 20 years of marriage. The main, specific grievance cited was a dirty bath brush. The husband never hung it on a hook after showering making it become old and moldy quickly. The wife was terribly upset over the $5 bath brush. Rose-Inza had them both list their wants: hers – to have a clean bath brush; his – to not have to hang it up after showering. She recommended simply replacing the bath brush regularly. For a small price the conflict was solved by altering the actions just slightly and the marriage was saved. The plan of action for any couple must be simple, attainable, measurable, immediate, consistent, and client-centered. This method is known as Samic Planning. In addition, she recommends detailed, careful, and active listening as well as using I-messages in all relationship disputes.

Many people at the conference questioned that the problems between the couple may run much deeper than the simple conflict over the brush. However, Rose-Inza suggested to take one conflict at a time. Reality Therapy systematically questions if the wants of the client are being met by his or her actions. If not, the actions are changed through the Samic Plan.

In the Thriving Through Inner Conflict Workshop at the 4^th European Conference on Positive Psychology, Dina Nir and Avraham N. Kluger from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Isreal presented on Negotiational Self Theory.

Dina Nir said that whenever we need to make a decision about an Inner Conflict, we negotiate inside ourselves. These negotiations often lead to either a distributive or integrated outcome.

In 1990 Herman published his Dialogic-Self Theory. He writes that many I-positions talk to each other within us, which is good and healthy. The I-positions of our multifaceted and dynamic selves ask questions, criticize, ridicule, and disagree with each other. Many different voices are ok; inconsistency is normal. However, a pathological situation develops when one I-position takes over the entire identity. Alternative versions of reality are no longer able to have a voice.

Negotiational Self Theory believes that most often, in an inner conflict, one I-position dominates the weaker I-positions. Therefore, one side of us wins, while the other side completely looses. There is no compromise. The more submissive voice is completely unfulfilled and unsatisfied. The goal of using the Negotiational Self Theory and Method is to create win-win solutions where all inner voices are heard and no part of the self is marginalized. Negotiotional Self Method transforms the internal negotiation into all win-win outcomes.

Nir presented a four-stage method as outlined below:

Stage 1: Framing the Inner Conflict

• Recall an unresolved inner conflict that you are experiencing.
• Freely describe the nature and background of the conflict.
• Identity the two most polarizing sides in terms of “for” and “against.”

Stage 2: Eliciting and mapping different self-aspects

• Completely elicit and list all the “for” voices within yourself.
• Then, completely elicit and list all the “against” voices within yourself.
• Reconsider if anything has been left out. Add those voices under the appropriate category.

Stage 3: Revealing underlying interests and needs

• Uncover the deep and underlying interests and needs of each voice. Ask such questions as Why this? or What will that achieve?

Stage 4:

• Construct a win-win solution.

On her handout, Nir writes: “Construct a solution that simultaneously satisfies all the different voices, aspects and interests at both ends of the conflict. The criterion for evaluating the integrative level of the decision is objective as opposed to normative or subjective. That is, each voice that has been mapped should be acknowledged, attend to and satisfied in the constructed decision.”

Nir believes that using this method will make inner conflict a positive rather than a negative experience. Moreover, each conflict is an opportunity for change and it works in both serious as well as trivial matters. During the workshop many people raised the question of whether or not it was possible in all situations. Nir truly believes that it is. Others questioned what happened if the person was not healthy as in the case of addictions. She suggested that in the case of pathology, the inner dialogue is not rich and involves only a few voices. An addiction situation involves only false voices. She also encouraged those attending the workshop to try the method with a partner, as that may make the process easier.

Psychology Today has a brief article on one of the most obvious yet least acted upon methods to improve our happiness.  Getting more sunlight.

Patients in recovery rooms full of natural light take less pain medication, and, days after surgery, they report lower stress levels. Their hastened healing may be due to sunlight's ability to stimulate serotonin production, which helps regulate mood, sleep, and sex drive.

Scientists have pinpointed seasonal changes in brain chemistry which may cause some people to get the winter blues.

Residents in Powys explain why the county is the happiest place in the UK to live. "Powys has some of the lowest crimes rates in the UK and that gives us peace of mind." Mrs Dunsford, 62, said: "Everybody knows each other and it's such a friendly place. A five-minute trip to the shops can turn into 20 minutes when you stop and chat."

"Emotional intelligence is often mistakenly thought of as gut instinct. But emotional intelligence may actually be a skill you can learn.

 To see whether EI is intuitive or learnable, Daus asked 102 students to take Mayer and Salovey's EI survey and to take a computer test in which they had to define a word shown on screen. All students in the study, presented at a meeting of the American Psychological Association, were asked whether they had used intuition to determine their answers. The more subjects reported using their intuition, the worse they performed on the EI tests. "Emotional intelligence is inversely related with use of intuition," writes Daus."

"Watching tragedy on the news has a psychological impact undreamed of by media executives. The video image is processed directly by the right hemisphere of the brain, bypassing language, reason, and logic. Unable to cope with the barrage of elemental emotions that get aroused, we emotionally turn off, numbing ourselves to pain and death."

The author does a nice job reconciling seemingly diverse findings about happiness trends and identifying the underlying reasons for differing conclusions.

Over the past decade or so there have been many Positive Psychology articles exploring the relationship between money and happiness. Myers (2000), Diener and Oishi (2000), Blanchflower and Oswald (2004), and Layard (2005) amongst others have presented research which suggests that increasing wealth does not buy happiness (this graph illustrates this point for the USA).Happiness is on the up… The good news is that according to a new study by Inglehart, Foa, Peterson and Welzel (2008), happiness is actually increasing: in this longitudinal study between 1981 and 2007, happiness levels went up in 45 out of 52 countries. And contrary to what you might conclude from Myers’ graph (mentioned above) the US is one of those countries which shows an upward trend in happiness (p276). So how do we explain the apparent inconsistency between Myers and Inglehart et al?