Joy and Happiness - Some Interesting Science

In our universe of extremely strange reality, our perceptions are created by our minds, as they interpret electronic signals provided by our nervous system, which delivers this information to the brain and hence the mind.

The brain assimilated this information, which has originated as a result of light stimulating the photosensitive cells in the retina of the eye or sound waves titillating the eardrums or stimulus which the mind determines to be dangerous and induces pain sensations. These are but a few examples but what we make of them is truly phenomenal, to my mind at least.

Colour is simply the interpretations the mind puts on the different waves forms in the white light spectrum and does not exist outside of our minds, except in that there light waves have different characteristics.

In fact our minds determine far more about what we perceive as experiments have demonstrated that what we see is largely based on what we expect to see, judging very much on what we have seen before and are used to seeing.

Our perceptions of right and wrong, well-being and happiness, love and hate, are all dependent on what we have been taught, what we have decided in the past and what we choose in the present.

From a TED talk I experiences of late, I derived some ideas to ponder and realized more that ever that we choose joy and happiness. I have heard this idea many times before but thinking about it in this way changed my perception.

The speaker pointed out that while we normally seek happiness, we most often tend to overlook the importance, origin and impact of joy in our lives. She found that there are number of things which seem elicit joy in most everyone.

After much study of the subject she came to the conclusion that specific shapes, colours, degrees of light and elevation, along with specific patterns are definite triggers for joyous experience.

Implications are that we can seek joy through identifying specific physical and metaphysical factors and choosing to embrace them, surround ourselves with them and pay attention to them.

It seems that our society have designed our the man-made aspects of the world around us using methods which are good for cost-saving, mind controlling, advertising, calming and other effects they have on us the process of producing the man-made environment and profiting from the actual production process.

It has been determined by some designers that the environments which we live in are actually literally killing us by depriving us of the most important features of human existence. These individuals have set out to change this practice and designed new living environments which are set to satisfy the imperative need for the experience of joy in our lives.

While these ideas seem to be in their infancy in terms of producing the desired appeal, the application of the ideas is being explored by many designers who are embracing the ideas and results produced in schools, hospitals, public facilities and other environments are positive and encouraging.

The number of countries involved is increasing and the future of the concept is dependent on all of us as we choose to embrace and foster these ideas.

The idea that we should seek joy in our pursuit of happiness certainly seems to make sense to me and in a world of ever increasing mental illness, suicide, anger, violence and discord, this seems like a worthwhile focus point for our own benefit and that of our children and the world they will build.

TED Talk by Ingrid Fettel Lee

Images from Google images with re-usage rights