How does your soul react to Happiness?

Happiness is an emotion that arises through physical sensations (hedonia) and through the joy of reason (eudaimonia) from connections, gratitude, savouring. 

Happiness or joy is an instinctive universal human emotion, one of seven core emotions, triggered through our physical senses or feeling connected in our mind or soul. 

Happiness or joy, a universal instinctive emotion, can arise through the beliefs in your soul, that which is unique to you, whether it be cultural or religious. Scientific research has shown that feeling a greater connection and gratitude brings the feeling of happiness in physiological, mental and spiritual ways. 

Generally, happiness is one of the more pleasurable emotions and a great focus is placed on attaining this state of being in many of the world’s societies and religions.

The World Happiness report, published by the United Nations, sponsored by Oxford University amongst many has now been published for 10 years. As a result of all the studies and interest, the definitions of happiness have now come to include wider lifestyle factors whereas the term ‘joy’ may be more apt for the instinctive emotion you feel in the complex interplay of body, mind and soul. Before Darwin looked at emotion from an evolutionary physical survival perspective, religion has focused on happiness in the soul through a wider force or higher being through thought and rituals. As society has evolved from the Darwin evolution to emotional evolution, research has shown that our brains do not distinguish between social in our minds or physical happiness in our bodies, the physiological reaction is the same. 

Some souls are more sensitive to emotion than others?

Like all instinctive emotions that are universal to all humans, some feel the emotion more strongly than others. Some souls are more sensitive that others to feeling emotion, simply from their character, genetic make-up and experiences. A book by Lyubomirsky (2007) looking at happiness revealed that genes and circumstances do not matter as much as we think, 40 % of her happiness model is under the control of actions and thoughts, to which your soul could be added. Given that all universal instinctive emotions, in physiological  terms only last a short while, training your being through belief systems to increase joy and happiness can be possible. 

Your soul can react to hedonic pleasures

Enjoying the pleasurable activities through the senses in your body, such as the sound of music, the rhythm of dance, the smell of incense to ‘elevate’ your soul through the worship of a higher being or the sense of eudomic happiness (joy through purpose or connection) is a way of harnessing hedonic pleasures for your soul. 

Your soul may help you avoid physical addiction to hedonic pleasure

Some hedonic pleasures, such as alcohol, drugs, possibly food, can become addictive as the chemical pathways in your brain develop tolerance to the hormone ‘dopamine’, which is released when experiencing pleasure. This is a serious physical problem which requires professional support. The belief systems in your soul and the connections developed within a community around beliefs can help you experience joy whilst avoiding the dangers of addiction. 

Eudaimonia – happiness in your soul

Generally, it is agreed in the scientific and philosophy communities that physical pleasure is not the sole contributor to feelings of happiness. Before science adopted the study of feelings, philosophers over the centuries, such Aristotle, Plato or Kant, have addressed the ‘eudemonic’ perspective of happiness whereby the feeling is achieved by having meaning and purpose in life which is achieved through your mind and soul. The belief system that is unique to your soul, be it religious or cultural values is how you can find meaning, purpose and connections in life. The US psychologist Abraham Maslow coined the name ‘metaneeds which are directed towards ‘metavalues’ such as truth, beauty, perfection, justice. 

The connections in your soul contribute to the feeling of happiness 

Studies have proved that having social connections makes you healthier (Myers, 2000) and happier (Diener & Seligman, 2000). In Diener & Seligman’s study, those with close friends, strong family and romantic ties were happier. Close friends and strong family ties ranked higher than romantic relationships in the study. Connections with people you don’t know, even if you think you don’t want them, contribute to happiness.  Communities clustered around human belief systems, such as religion are an easy way to find human connections and a greater human meaning.

Your soul can prolong happiness 

Scientific studies have shown that your mind adapts to feelings of joy or happiness, whatever the feeling is related to, from money to love. For example, in the case of marriage, after a few years, you adapt to the situation and happiness levels return to what they were before (Lucas et al, 2003,). Even in extreme cases of winning the lottery (Brickman et al. 1978), you get used to having more money and the joy of the event fades. Studies also show that if you are placed in situations of comparison, your mind affects your feelings of happiness. Again, in the case of the lottery, people who live next door to lottery winners are more likely to buy a new car (Kuhn et al. 2011, Dutch postcode). The belief systems in your soul, particularly ones that encourage gratitude, doing good for others, keeping connections in a community can help prolong your feelings of happiness. 

Some belief systems in your soul help increase feelings of happiness

Science says that it is possible to train your mind’s thinking into happy feelings. A book by Lyubomirsky (2007) looking at happiness revealed that genes and circumstances do not matter as much as we think, 40 % of her happiness model is under the control of actions and thoughts. Through your soul, where your unique experiences and belief systems lie, you can help your feelings of happiness. Dr Laurie Santos in the Yale course on the ‘Science off Well Being’, identifies several ways, with examples of positive proof from scientific papers, to train the mind towards happiness. Many of these practices have been included in different religions over centuries, such as:

 ‘savouring’: is often used in religious practices, whether it be through the sense of smell (incense) or taste (honey during celebration of Torah) or simply encouraging you ‘to count your blessings’

‘gratitude’: teaching gratitude through prayer or thankfulness to a higher being are practices than run through almost all of the religions across the world. 

 ‘make this day your last’: imagining that you will not experience something again makes you feel happier. Many moral rules, for example in the case of marriage or honesty, help reinforce this thinking. 

Instinctive emotions are like the weather, beyond your conscious control. For a balanced life, the first step is to understand human instinctive emotions, how they work and practical steps to take in order to avoid situations that are destructive to emotional wellbeing. Not every instinctive emotion that is acted on has positive consequences and it is the belief systems in your soul that can help filter your feelings and decision to act or not. Sometimes, it may be best to take shelter from the storm. Joy or happiness is an instinctive universal emotion but happiness has come to include wider lifestyle definitions, a state of being which lasts longer than an instinctive emotion. Like all emotions, happiness comes and goes like the weather. Science has proved that you can train your mind to happier thoughts which contribute to well-being but it is also human to have other instinctive emotions that cannot be ignored, such as sadness.