is happiness more than just a state of mind?

Yes, happiness is one of the states of mind, the other being unhappiness. There is no third state of neutrality between happiness and unhappiness, because happiness is defined as the calm and perfect balance of mind.

Even though it in its purest sense is just that perfectly balanced state of mind, it is so conceptual that it can occur only in timelessness..... the reason being the fact that time dimension is defined by change and happiness is a static balance.

We are however capable of minimising unhappiness by reducing whatever creates the perpetual imbalances in our mind ... in that sense it is more than a mere state of mind... it is conscious strife to reduce the imbalances that our mind suffers from.

The state of the Soul.

When someone feels happy as the result of the state of the mind, they usually know what made them happy.

If someone feels happy and could not quite define why, it may be their state of the Soul.

A Soul feels happy, and the person perceives the feeling of happiness, when the person consciously or unconsciously tapped into someting that is important to their path and their fulfillment. Like for exapmle, reaching a realization, fulfulling an important action (which in conventional terms may possibly seem even unattractive, or arduous) etc.

The happiness that is the result of the state of the Soul is more profound and lasts longer than the happiness that is the result of the state of the mind.

This is also because our mind has limitations to comprehending the importance of attainments to us, on the objective plane, whereas the happiness coming from the Soul, will have been facilitated by the omniscient Divine consciousness the Judgment of which is infallible.

This is much more of a discussion than a simple answer, but I'm sure you were aware of that when you asked. Happiness first would need to be defined. You will agree with me, when I say my happiness is most likely something completely different than yours.

Secondly, you're assuming happiness is a state-of-mind. You would need to validate that. Some may lobby that happiness is nothing more than Pizza Hut and a 12-pack. Not, to reiterate, but this discussion really would focus on what happiness is, and how it is defined. Then we could talk about whether or not it is a state of mind. And after all of that, we could try to address your question.

Honestly, chances are you really don't have a clue what your asked, and wanted to post that question because this entire idea, (Yahoo Answers) seems silly to you. And that would be your opinion. Regardless, you were probably safer asking, "What is the meaning of life?" Opposed to asking a question, that to some, would appear like you put half a thought into it. Nice try though.

Yes, because some happiness could be that person having a false sense of well being.

Happiness is an achievement

Happier life may be one step away

Skeptics say each person has a basic level of happiness, but new research suggests methods to bring on more smiling faces.

By Malcolm Ritter

The Associated Press

DenverPost.com

Article Last Updated:11/26/2006 10:15:51 PM MST

New York - As a motivational speaker and executive coach, Caroline Adams Miller knows a few things about using mental exercises to achieve goals. But last year, one exercise she was asked to try took her by surprise.

Every night, she was to think of three good things that happened that day and analyze why they occurred. That was supposed to increase her overall happiness.

"I thought it was too simple to be effective," said Miller, 44, of Bethesda, Md. "I went to Harvard. I'm used to things being complicated."

Miller was assigned the task as homework in a master's degree program. But as a chronic worrier, she knew she could use the kind of boost the exercise was supposed to deliver.

She got it.

"The quality of my dreams has changed, I never have trouble falling asleep, and I do feel happier," she says.

Results may vary, as they say in the weight-loss ads. But that exercise is one of several that have shown preliminary promise in recent research into how people can make themselves happier - not just for a day or two, but long-term. It's part of a larger body of work that challenges a long-standing skepticism about whether that's even possible.

There's no shortage of advice in how to become a happier person, as a visit to any bookstore will demonstrate. In fact, Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues have collected more than 100 specific recommendations, ranging from those of the Buddha through the self-improvement industry of the 1990s.

The problem is, most of the books on store shelves aren't backed up by rigorous research, says Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside, who's conducting such studies now (and writing her own book).

In fact, she says, there has been very little research in how people become happier.

Why? The big reason, she says, is that many researchers have considered that quest to be futile.

For decades, a widely accepted view has been that people are stuck with a basic setting on their happiness thermostat. It says the effects of good or bad life events like marriage, a raise, divorce or disability will simply fade with time.

But recent long-term studies have revealed that the happiness thermostat is more malleable.

One new study showing change in happiness levels followed thousands of Germans for 17 years. It found that about a quarter changed significantly over that time in their basic level of satisfaction with life. Nearly a tenth of the German participants changed by three points or more on a 10-point scale.

Other studies show an effect of specific life events, though of course the results are averages and can't predict what will happen to particular individuals. Results show long-lasting shadows associated with events like serious disability, divorce, widowhood and a layoff.

The boost from getting married, on the other hand, seems to dissipate after about two years, says psychologist Richard E. Lucas of Michigan State University.

What about the joys of having children? Parents recall those years with fondness, but studies show child rearing takes a toll on marital satisfaction, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert notes in his book "Stumbling on Happiness." Parents gain in satisfaction as their kids leave home, he says.

Gilbert says people are awful at predicting what will make them happy. Yet, Lucas says, "most people are happy most of the time." In a group of people who have reasonably good health and income, most will probably rate a 7.5 or so on a happiness scale of zero to 10, he says.

Still, many people want to be happier. What can they do? That's where research comes in.

The think-of-three-good-things exercise that Miller, the motivational speaker, found so simplistic at first is among those being tested by Seligman's group at the University of Pennsylvania.

People keep doing it on their own because it's immediately rewarding, says Seligman colleague Acacia Parks. It makes people focus more on good things that happen, which might otherwise be forgotten because of daily disappointments, she says.

A second approach that has shown promise in Seligman's group has people discover their personal strengths through a specialized questionnaire and choose the five most prominent ones. Then, every day for a week, they are to apply one or more of their strengths in a new way - things like the ability to find humor or summon enthusiasm, appreciation of beauty, curiosity and love of learning. The exercise may be a good way to get engaged in satisfying activities.

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