About

Mission Statement Question: 

What can we do to support each other in exploring and expanding personal and collective happiness?

Overview.

The Happiness Institute is a collaborative environment designed to make it easy and fun for people to explore, experiment, and healthfully push creative boundaries in the areas of personal interest.

We do this by sharing some of the common elements of people creating; as well as removing some unnecessary hurdles.

  • A physical space to host classes, events, workshops, presentations, discussions
  • A community of people supporting each other along parallel explorations or in similar interests
  • Access not limited by $$
  • The permission to be a beginner, to try new things, succeed, fail, learn, and iterate
  • Helpful stuff like art supplies, projectors, dishes, seating, white boards, etc.

 ”I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.”" – Henry David Thoreau

 

Values.


I am important, my interests are worthy, my contributions are valuable.

I honor my personal truth first and foremost, trusting that whatever serves me will serve the whole. No matter how big, small, normal, or wacky, my instincts, my vision, my passions are worthy of my pursuit and attention. And because I live in a closed system in which we’re all connected, the pursuit of my happiness will never be at the expense of others right to do the same. No one’s happiness deserves to be sacrificed for anyone eles’s, including my own. So! if i ever feel i’m sacrificing my own happiness for some “greater” purpose, i’ll cut it out.

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

 

I'm All about Creativity & Connection.

I like to make things happen for my own personal satisfaction or for the joy and helping of others. I like to create, see what happens, learn, repeat. And while sometimes solitude is perfection, i also like to create in community where i can…

  • inspire, and be inspired
  • find and rejoice in the magic of serendipity
  • discover contributions i didn’t know i had, and receive support i didn’t know i needed.
  • merge socializing with creative output, making the former more meaningful and the latter more fun.

 

 

I like to be helpful.

I want to contribute to the systems that support me and that i value. If i’m spending time in a community or space,  it’s part of the joy of the experience to be a contributing member. Without compromising my personal passions, pausing to support those around me gives me happiness too.  It helps deepen my sense of belonging, and magically, pitching in to help out, opens me up to receive more as well. How cool is that?

“Happy people make others happy too.” – Anne Frank

 

I experiment. I try. I'm flexible. Sometimes i succeed. Sometimes I fail. Either way, I learn.

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Let's Keep It Light.

Ultimately, I honor the full spectrum of human experience, including happiness, grief, peace, doubt, contentedness, sleepiness, anger, contemplation, tranquility, joy, bliss, love. AND, I’m on board with the idea that the allowance, pursuit and fostering  of authentic and sustainable personal happiness results in a moment by moment improved experience of life as well as more long term peace and happiness for myself and those whose lives I touch. So while always pausing to honor the truth, (however dark!), i also proactively emphasize the my pursuit of happiness, joy, light, meaning, beauty, play, fun, and love.

“If i can’t dance to it, it’s not my revolution” – Emma Goldman