Skills & Practices

Pathways to Happiness builds on the work of Dr. Martin Seligman and other researchers in the new field of positive psychology, the rigorous study of what makes people happy, resilient, and strong.  Researchers find that happiness involves skills that can actually be learned. Coaches Dr. Nancy Montagna (a clinical psychologist) and Robin Carnes, MBA (a former corporate consultant) were trained by Dr. Seligman to teach the art of happiness.

"We have a choice about seeing the glass [as] half full rather than half empty," writes Susan Vaughan, M.D., author of Half Empty Half Full. "Our brain circuits seem to be wired early in life, predisposing us to view the world with pessimism or optimism." The good news, however, is that "these pathways can be reworked later in life."

Pathways to Happiness is especially designed to help participants re-wire negative circuits in more positive directions.  Neuroscience is demonstrating that neurons that fire together, wire together.  So re-wiring is litteral reality as our brains are continually recreated through the choices we make!

"Happiness is a continuous creative activity," says Baba Amte, one of India's most revered social and moral leaders. Pathways to Happiness will support you as you undertake the most creative activity of all: transforming your life into a joyful adventure.

Some of the skills you will be introduced to include:

• How to identify the core negative beliefs which block your way in love and work  and transform them into habits which lead to more harmonious relationship with yourself and others.
• How to recognize your innate character strengths and start using them to create more joy, passion and purpose in your life.
• How to develop attitudes of gratitude and forgiveness that transform old hurts and bring new joy and serenity.
• How to savor and string the small moments of beauty, connection, and pleasure into a lifetime of pearls.
• How to respond to any event in your life positive or negative with confidence and resilience, rather than confusion and anxiety.
• How to notice and act on opportunities to offer kindness and generosity to loved ones as well as strangers.

"There is only one moment for us to live, and that is the present moment. We have an appointment with life, and that appointment takes place in the present moment. If we miss the present moment, we miss our appointment with life, which is serious."

Thich Nhat Hanh

To learn these skills, we will provide you with time-tested practices that can be incorporated into your everyday life. With each new practice, you will be laying down your own Pathway to Happiness.

Some of the weekly practices include:

• Drawing on character strengths (rather than old habits) in order to solve problems or get through challenging situations.
• Actively disputing your core negative beliefs, thereby disabling them and clearing the way for more positive beliefs that naturally lead to more positive outcomes.
• Transforming routine tasks such as washing dishes or walking to the Metro into opportunities for mindfulness, which connect you with the simple joys of the present moment.
• Making time to notice and record things for which you are grateful each and every day. These can be as simple as a mug of hot chocolate, a surprise call from a friend, or the fact that you did not have a sinus headache today!
• Changing the ratio of negative to positive comments you make each day, in order to enhance your own happiness and that of others.
• Learning a variety of meditation practices, including Yoga Nidra, a 4,000-year- old guided relaxation technique that heals the nervous system and dissolves tension in the psyche.
• Forgiving those who have hurt you, and thus releasing the constriction and anger in your own heart. This is one of the most difficult practices to undertake, but it is also one of the most powerful.

To get a taste of a Pathways to Happiness Inspiration Class, call in for a free introductory class to be scheduled for September, 2006.  You may also be ablt to meet Robin and Nancy at one of the sample classes they are offer.

The next Pathways to Happiness Level I: Maximizing Joy  begins Sept 20 or Oct. 18, 2006. Prepare to embark on a wonderous journey toward happiness! See our Registration page or for more information, call 301-587-1835 or email: info@pathwaystohappiness.com.