{"id":6343,"date":"2017-05-04T11:12:01","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T01:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mbsfestival.com.au\/?p=6343"},"modified":"2017-05-04T11:12:01","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T01:12:01","slug":"in-pursuit-of-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbsfestival.com.au\/brisbane\/blog\/in-pursuit-of-happiness","title":{"rendered":"In pursuit of happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Searching for happiness is, according to Aristotle, \u2018the meaning and the purpose of life; the whole aim and end of human existence\u2019. It is the most human of goals \u2013 but one that few achieve \u2013 simply because most people don\u2019t really know what it is they are looking for. So how exactly are we supposed to live a happy life?<\/p>\n<h4>We usually link the heart to happiness \u2013 \u2018my heart is going to burst\u2019 \u2013 yet the real source is not our heart but our brain. If we take a neuroscienti\ufb01c approach, we can explore what really happens when we feel contentment; these \u2018happy\u2019 chemicals are released by the brain and affect us physically:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Dopamine plays a role in pleasure and reward behaviour.<\/li>\n<li>Serotonin acts as a mood stabiliser and prevents depression.<\/li>\n<li>Endorphins possess morphine-like e\ufb00ects and block pain.<\/li>\n<li>Oxytocin provides feelings of love and trust.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Simple daily activities \u2013 practised regularly \u2013 stimulate our brains to release more of these happy chemicals. This means we can essentially re-wire our brains to be happy, by practising techniques like these:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Gratitude: being thankful can reduce toxic emotions, such as envy, frustration and regret.<\/li>\n<li>Positive thinking: this not only a\ufb00ects our current view of the world, but can also lead to increased happy thoughts as the brain releases more of its supply.<\/li>\n<li>Physical exercise: get moving! Physical activity, especially outdoors, stimulates the brain to release endorphins, improving our mood. Plus, an added Vitamin D boost!<\/li>\n<li>Mindfulness exercises: practising mindfulness helps us cope with the difficult thoughts that can cause stress and anxiety.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Happiness may be in\ufb02uenced by external circumstances and genetics but is mainly dependent on us, our actions and our thoughts. The more we understand the brain, the more able we are to take charge of our own happiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Searching for happiness is, according to Aristotle, \u2018the meaning and the purpose of life; the whole aim and end of human existence\u2019. It is the most human of goals \u2013 but one that few achieve \u2013 simply because most people don\u2019t really know what it is they are looking for. So how exactly are we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[158,103,14],"tags":[156,157,97],"class_list":["post-6343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-other","category-personaldevelopment","tag-gratitude","tag-happiness","tag-mindfulness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>In pursuit of happiness - MindBodySpirit Festival Brisbane<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Searching for happiness is, according to Aristotle, \u2018the meaning and the purpose of life; the whole aim and end of human existence\u2019.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mbsfestival.com.au\/brisbane\/blog\/in-pursuit-of-happiness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In pursuit of happiness - MindBodySpirit Festival Brisbane\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Searching for happiness is, according to Aristotle, \u2018the meaning and the purpose of life; 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