Secrets of Spiritual Happiness
The Science of Happiness
By Sharon Janis
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Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life,
the whole aim and end of human existence.
--Aristotle
In medical circles, the experience of being happy can be ascribed to having a proper abundance of the chemical neurotransmitter serotonin in your brain. When the levels of serotonin in your brain are too low, you can be expected to also experience a decrease in a particular sense of subjective well-being that is generally described by the word "happiness". Many common anti-depressant medications work either by increasing the amount of serotonin in your brain, or by increasing your brain's receptivity to serotonin. However, having too much serotonin in your brain can also create feelings of sadness and unhappiness. Therefore, seeking refuge in "chemical happiness" alone can be quite a challenging balancing act in the long-term.
Other scientists have theorized that human beings have actually evolved to be dissatisfied, suggesting that early humans who were dissatisfied were apt to try a little harder to acquire the necessities and comforts of life. Perhaps this trait of dissatisfaction would inspire them to hunt a little better, to stash away more food, or to find a way to keep a bit warmer -- practices that would have increased the likelihood of a longer life. With this longer life, came more opportunities for passing on their "dissatisfaction gene" for generations to come - and here we are.
Just think, the root of your present feelings of dissatisfaction may stem from the genetic DNA patterns of your "great, great, great, great, etc." grandpa, who wasn't content with having mere berries to eat, and was thus inspired by his dissatisfaction to take a course on Hunting Buffalos 101 , or to figure out how to irrigate the fields, or to plant a greater variety of food sources.
With this "hereditary dissatisfaction" theory in mind, I'd like to suggest that even if you do feel dissatisfaction with certain elements in your life, this does not mean that you have to consider yourself to be "unhappy".
This is important to contemplate, because our experience of happiness is generally dependent on how we interpret things. Basically, if we think we're unhappy, we are unhappy, and if we think we're happy, we're happy.
If you experience certain dissatisfactions and interpret them to mean that you must be unhappy, then you are unhappy. An alternative approach would be to assume that your feelings of dissatisfaction might be a helpful and positive signal that you are meant to improve your life. With this perspective, you can be happy, even amidst your dissatisfactions. With a positive frame of mind, you can also work more effectively to alleviate the sources of your dissatisfactions, whether those sources are outer circumstances, or your own inner habits.
In fact, many seekers begin their spiritual search because they have experienced some dissatisfaction with their lives, and want to feel more satisfied, complete, positive, whole, and happy. Therefore, rather than interpreting a sense of dissatisfaction as a sign of unavoidable unhappiness, you can choose to view it in a positive light - perhaps as a sign that you are growing and being prodded to create an outer world that better reflects and nourishes your evolving soul.
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