Future Vision Eco-Village, Brazil

Does one have to unlearn (culturally) that money brings happiness? Societies like U.S/west do.

Marketing - art of getting you to buy what you don't need, with money you don't have to impress people you don't like. Since it is science these people have penetrated the psychology.Vermont has a law that prohibits billboards for many years.

Happiness 101 - you think you know what makes you happy, but you don't. We are deluded to think that money makes us happy. We have short memories/faulty memories and that is the myth, that is also what makes us think that that is what makes us happy.

What really makes us happy? Scientists have established there are "Set points" for Happiness; we have it for everything like weight for instance someone will think if I lose 20 pounds I would feel better/happier etc. Scientists say 50 percent of our happiness composition is made up from"set points"and this is genetic. So they have come up with a formula based on scientific research on what determines happiness : genes, external circumstances of our lives and intentional activities. And this is where GNH comes in.

So the external circumstances can also be reference to anxiety, not to get things but to get status. We want to be the alpha males and alpha females and this is what drives us and this drives us into self defeating contests. Where we look at societies that do not have these income differences and have no drive for competition in wealth then more happy society like Sweden.

One of the most important components to happiness is LOVE and this is where intentional Activities 

Transforming our biochemistry - Molecules of emotion - Candice Pert biopsychology says glands mobilize our emotions the health of our glands affect our growth.

Biochemistry of Happiness - lowered levels of the stress hormone called cortisol.

 Hyper secretion of cortisol is also responsible for creating stress and depression, so its not only serotonin levels that affect our moods/happiness. Drug companies have tried to produce chemical intervention to cortisol but couldn't pass through FDA because it only does so much like Xoloft for depression etc. We/they recommend natural ways to reduce cortisol. Yoga and massage are natural ways

Neurology of happiness shows that our prefrontal lobes are new and that back part of brain is old. The front is what controls the old side of the brain. Left side associated with positive emotions, and right with negative. Hemispheric frontal side is important to happiness. Research has come from University of Wisconsin that meditation can help us control our prefrontal through meditation. The power of the mind - last neurological research finds that mind training the monks can switch/re-circuit their brains. This can be done not only by monks but also by us in 2 months through training/meditation.

Meditation helps reduce cortisol, anxiety, depression etc.

Bio-psychology for children- in eco village in Brazil we have children from poor sections of society. These children are severely abused but simple techniques of massage and meditation helps heal them. Simple exercise of visualization, yoga, songs, stories etc. which helps bring them into an introverted state. Diff religious background so we use universal approach.