An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.  “It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.  It can be very difficult to live with these two wolves, both trying to dominate our spirits.”

The grandson looked intently at his grandfather and asked, “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.”

Are your choices leading you towards
happiness and peace or towards suffering?

We are making choices all the time, whether we realize it or not.  These choices determine the way we experience our lives - which wolf will win the battle.

In this course, you will have the opportunity to explore the way you are making choices.  You will examine the habits of your mind and see how these habits may be sabotaging your happiness.  Through learning ways to identify your unhealthy mind habits, and to change them, you can begin to choose differently - to choose to be happier.

The course content is divided into weekly themes,
packaged in a downloadable e-book.

Each theme will provide you with materials and exercises that build on each other to invite and strengthen an awareness of your mind and habits.  You will begin to identify for yourself the stories your mind tells you that both keep you stuck and prevent you from experiencing true happiness.
Each week's theme contains:

                   -  an essay explanation of the week's theme  (mp3 and written versions)
                   -  journal prompts with questions and exercises based on the theme
                   -  experiential activities to enhance understanding and practice of the theme
                   -  an mp3 guided visualization / meditation related to the theme
Week One.  What is Happy?
We begin by asking ourselves some fundamental questions.  What does it mean to be happy?  If it’s something we all want, and even strive for, does it have the same meaning for each of us?   Is it something we can attain?  From there, we look at the difference between happiness and pleasure as well as our desire to control our experiences to avoid pain.
Week Two.  Thoughts on Thoughts.
Who is in your head?  Is that voice your friend or your enemy?  Does it seem to always be telling you what you could have done, should do, need to do?  Is this chatter helpful?  Are you even aware of it, or has it become so much a habit that you take that voice to be “you?”  This week's theme invites us to get to know that voice and recognize when it has taken over our minds.
Week Three.  Emotions in Motion  (Our Emotional Landscape).
Emotions are an inexorable and wonderful part of the human condition. Not only are they manifestations of our responses to sensory experience, they are expressions of our reactions to the thoughts and stories we have about whatever we are experiencing at any given moment.  However, we are often swept away by our emotions and robbed of our chance to experience true happiness.  How can we be with what we are feeling without being overcome?
Week Four.  Practice Practice.
This week gives you time to integrate the ideas and practices that have already been presented, to catch up on meditations, journal prompts, or activities that you’ve wanted to try but haven’t had time to.  It’s extra time to live what you are learning and to experience any shifts that may be occurring in yourself.
Week Five.  Choosing.
Our minds use our thoughts, emotions, and sensations to protect us from the uncertainty of life.  Yet, trying to control our lives, our experiences, or others will never lead to security, ease, or happiness. There will always be struggle in this.  So, how do we choose happy?

Over the course, you will uncover for yourself
a way to choose happy.

Think of CHOOSING HAPPY as an experiment — what will it be like to give yourself some time every day in which to truly observe yourself and your mind?  What benefits will you discover?  How will it affect the rest of your day?  Or your life?  How can it lead you in making different choices?

Newly redesigned e-course available May 2021.

In e-book format, with links to audio.
$30

Testimonials

"Life changing."

- Linda N.

"Full of helpful ideas.  Some phrases have become mantras."

-  Ben S.

"Simple to use techniques that are so effective!"

- Stephen P.

"To change our behaviors and mental mindsets takes work and practice.  This course offers the opportunity to do this work and create an ongoing practice.  Well done."

- Elizabeth K.

"I have incorporated the meditations into my own practice and I'll go back to the journal exercises and activities many, many times."

- Melissa P.

Newly redesigned e-course is coming soon!