Happy or sad ? Emotional cues vary by culture

Culture is a huge factor in determining whether we look someone in the eye or the kisser to interpret facial expressions, according to a new study.

For instance, in Japan, people tend to look to the eyes for emotional cues, whereas Americans end to look to the mouth, says researcher Masaki Yuki, a behavioral scientist Japanese Guy at Hokkaido University in Japan.

"Their smiles looked strange to me," Yuki told LiveScience about American celebrities. "They opened their mouths too widely, and raised the corners of their mouths in an exaggerated way."

"Japanese people tend to shy away from overt displays of emotion, and rarely smile or frown with their mouths" - Yuki said

As Yuki predicted, the Japanese gave more weight to the emoticons’ eyes when gauging emotions, whereas Americans gave more weight to the mouth. For example, the American subjects rated smiling emoticons with sad-looking eyes as happier than the Japanese subjects did.

Interestingly, however, both the Americans and Japanese tended to rate faces with so-called "happy" eyes as neutral or sad.

Source / Read more at Happy or sad ? Emotional cues vary by culture

Do You Believe These 3 Misconceptions About Happiness?

The sad truth is that there are a lot of unhappy people in the world. The tragic truth is that many of those unhappy people could lead happier lives if only they gave up the misconceptions they have about happiness. Even those of us who consider themselves relatively happy still cling to some of these untruths. Why ? Probably because it is easier to blame someone else for our unhappiness when the simple fact is that no one else has power over our happiness. We give that power to others but that is our choice. Once we take control of our own happiness then we will be happier, but in order to take back that control over our happiness we need to rid ourselves of three popular misconceptions about happiness.

One of the greatest misconceptions related to happiness is that you need money to be happy. If you take some time out to study people around you then you will see just how little substance there is to this belief. Rich people are not automatically happy and poor people are not automatically unhappy. In fact, once you begin looking at individuals and families then you will no doubt spot a great many unhappy rich people and even more happy poor people.

The truth is that once your basic needs are taken care then money will not have a major impact on your happiness. In fact, making it dependent on the attainment of a certain amount of money is often a recipe for a very unhappy life. Pursuing money is a bad goal because so often people get caught up in a rat race they can never win. For people who consider money the ultimate measure of success there is never enough money so they will never be happy.

In fact, one reason many poor people are happy is that they realize that once their family is fed, clothed and housed then money isn't that important when you compare it to love, friendship, and laughter. Those things are important and can't be bought at any price.

Another big misconception about happiness is that you need someone else to be happy. Happiness comes from within yourself. You are the only one who controls your happiness. You do not need friends or significant others for it. You do not need children or grandchildren for it. You can be happy without the acclaim of others and without being famous. While having other people to care about is an important element of human contentment and therefore happiness, it can be a great mistake to place to great of an emphasis on the need for one specific relationship. If you have a loving family and friends then that is what is important not the fact that you lack a spouse. Having love in your life is what counts not the source of that love.

The third big misconception about happiness is that you need to be lucky to be happy. Happiness is not about luck but rather about opening yourself up to it, looking for it in unlikely places, and allowing yourself to be happy. Many of the people who subscribe to the luck theory of happiness are the same people who believe that they do not deserve to be happy. Everyone deserves to be happy and everyone has the capacity to be a happy person. Don't wait for happiness to come to you but rather open your life to it and you will find it.

You can be happy and you can lead a happier life if you just let go of these three misconceptions. You don't need money, other people, or luck to be happy. You have the power over your own happiness if you only open your heart and your life. So be happy!

Source : http://www.happylifefaq.com/do_you_believe_these_3_misconceptions_about_happiness_.php

10 Ways to Live a Happy Life

According to Barbara, Life is a Gift and Happiness is Our true nature, something we are. Happiness is the state of being itself. Life! Existence, something we did nothing for and which we simply are. But the only thing we can experience is our own thoughts – the thoughts in our minds – that is what our life is. So if we are not Happy now, if we are not experiencing the happiness which is our true nature, there is only one thing that can be preventing us from experiencing this happiness – and that is our thinking, i.e. the thoughts in our mind.

This is a pretty radical way of looking at life, since most of us believe that Our Happiness depends on a wide range of outer circumstances . According to Barbara, the list of outer circumstances and things that Our Happiness depends on is endless. “No wonder we are Unhappy. No wonder we feel that Happiness is so illusive!” she says. “We’ve got it all wrong – backwards – because we don’t understand the nature of mind. Nothing in the outer world can make us Happy or Unhappy because the only thing we can experience is our own THINKING. And this radical understanding is the key to living a Happy Life.”

Here is Barbara’s reminder list – 10 Ways to Live a Happy Life



No. 1:
Accept what is
The number 1 cause of suffering and unhappiness is wanting life to be something it’s not.

No. 2:
Want what you have
The number 2 cause of suffering and unhappiness is wanting what you don’t have.

No. 3:
Be Honest with Yourself
The number 3 cause of suffering and unhappiness is not communicating honestly with yourself.

No. 4:
Investigate YOUR Stories
The number 4 cause of suffering and unhappiness are the scary stories you tell yourself about life and the world.

No. 5:
Mind Your own business
The number 5 cause of suffering and unhappiness is minding other people’s business.

No. 6:
Follow Your passion and accept the consequences
The number 6 cause of suffering and Unhappiness is not doing what you want because you think people will disapprove.

No. 7:
Do the right thing and accept the consequences
The number 7 cause of suffering and unhappiness is not doing the right thing because you’re afraid of the consequences.

No. 8:
Deal with what is in front of you and forget the rest
The number 8 cause of suffering and Unhappiness is shadowboxing with illusions instead of dealing with the reality in front of you.

No. 9:
Know what is what
The number 9 cause of suffering and Unhappiness is wanting absolute satisfaction from relative experiences.

No. 10:
Learn to see beyond impermanence
The number 10 cause of suffering and Unhappiness is believing we become nothing.

Source : http://beamteam.com/en/tim/happy_article.html