The Skills of Authentic Happiness

(Available as a personalized retreat theme or as a series of individual sessions)

There’s no magic pill and it’s not an elusive mystery:
You can learn skills to be more happy!

The keys to happiness

1. Experiencing pleasure and gratitude
2. Being in the flow/in the zone– fully present and immersed, while having a sense of mastery
3. Engaging our strengths + values in ways that give us a sense of significance + purpose
4. Practicing Mindful Self-compassion

Common blocks to happiness

• Habitually engaging in negative thought patterns will keep us stuck in resentment, dread, hopelessness, anxiety, numbness, or immobility. We may be harsh towards ourselves or neglectful of our pain. We can actually become addicted to brain and body chemicals that are triggered from negative thinking. In this state, pleasure and gratitude are not accessible.
• We need the self-support skills of calming and enlivening through emotion and nervous system regulation. Without self-regulation, the presence and flow-states that awaken happiness are impossible.
• If we do not live out our strengths, we feel weak. If we do not express our values, we do not feel valuable. Our personal strengths and values are at the core of what makes us happy.

During your Authentic Happiness sessions, I will help you learn to:

• Identify your unique combination of strengths and values, and enjoy how you feel when you claim them. You will explore ways that you can express your strengths and values in everyday life.
• Listen to the messages of your nervous system and emotions. I will teach you some specific skills to be present with and regulate your emotions and nervous system.
• Recognize how your thoughts affect how you feel. Most people cannot control their thoughts, but you can kindly take responsibility and realign through self-compassion.
• Make gratitude and savouring a part of how you regularly engage with life.

Benefit of these Authentic Happiness skills

Challenge and pain are inevitable components of life on earth.
And, they do not have to rob you of all happiness.
You can be proactive in being more happy.
At first, you have to remain diligent in noticing when you’ve slipped into old reaction patterns.
But eventually, the noticing comes quicker, and happiness becomes a general way of being. You have a foundation to stand on, even when difficult things come your way.

Resources
authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu
greatergood.berkeley.edu
self-compassion.org

*Many people suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress.
Trauma disrupts our sense of safety and connection
with ourselves, others, and life.
Happiness and forward momentum feel impossible.
Trauma recovery often involves a complex healing process.
I have extensive training and experience in trauma recovery,
and am also available to support you in that journey…