The Happiness Class Topics

Week 1 Morning 10:30am - 12:00pm

Introduction

course objective & approach
the 7 week schedule
the happiness menu
questions

Monogynic Love

the emotion men feel when they fall in love
who men can and cannot fall in love with
how long it takes for a man to fall in love
what is and is not required for a man to fall in love
how men behave while in love
when men fall out love
the positive emotion that continues after monogynic love
how men's behavior changes after they fall out of love
men's reaction to learning of the limited duration of love

Week 1 Afternoon 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Infatuation

the emotion women feel when they fall in love
why the romantic emotions of the two genders differ as much as their genitalia
who women can and cannot become infatuated with
how long it takes for a woman to become infatuated
what is and is not required for a woman to become infatuated
how women behave while infatuated
when women stop being infatuated
the positive emotion that continues after infatuation
how women's behavior changes after infatuation stops
the large gap that exists between the genders
the best strategy for finding romance
the best time to make a marriage decision
the relative stability of straight, gay and lesbian relationships

Week 2 Morning 10:30am - 12:00pm

Jealousy

the emotion men feel when women cheat
the unusual structure of jealousy
when men can and cannot feel jealousy
what starts men feeling jealousy
what makes men feel the strongest jealousy
what stops men feeling jealousy
how jealousy differs from envy

Heartbreak

women feel heartbreak when their man cheats
when women can and cannot feel heartbreak
what makes women feel heartbreak
what makes women feel the strongest heartbreak
what stops a woman feeling heartbreak
when women also feel revenge

Week 2 Afternoon 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Male Sexual Pleasure

the three types of sexual pleasure that men feel
what does and does not make men feel visual/audible pleasure
the single feature that makes men feel the strongest visual pleasure
how the visual pleasure a woman makes a man feel changes over time
what must be added to penile pleasure to reach orgasm

Female Sexual Pleasure

the three types of sexual pleasure that women feel
the two types of sexual pleasure women don't feel
how female sexual pleasure is connected to infatuation
how sexual pleasures are combined to reach orgasm

Lust	the negative sensation men start feeling when they have not had sex how lust operates like hunger what stops lust why women don't feel lust

Repugnance

the negative sensation men feel when looking at female kin
the specific combination of sensations that trigger repugnance
which men surprisingly do not feel repugnance
why women don't feel repugnance
what does not trigger repugnance

Week 3 Morning 10:30am - 12:00pm

Parental Love

who feels parental love
who does not feel parental love
the misinterpretation of cute
what makes parents feel parental love
what makes parents feel the strongest parental love
when parental love stops
the positive emotion that continues after parental love
how parents change after parental love stops

Cute	what makes people feel cute how long people feel cute who mistakenly believes cute is love

Grief

who feels grief when somebody dies
who does not grief
what people who don't feel grief do feel
what makes people feel the strongest grief
the expression grief causes

Week 3 Afternoon 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Affection

the emotion people usually feel when they say love somebody
the emotion that remains after people fall out of love
who can make you feel affection
who makes you feel the strongest affection
which features on others make you feel affection
which features on others make you feel the strongest affection
what others do that makes you feel affection
what others do that does not make you feel affection
what you can do to make the affection you feel stronger
alternative sources of affection
importance of affection to happiness, health, popularity, longevity
the best way to ensure you feel strong, ongoing affection
the links between affection and smiling, music and dancing
who does not make you feel affection

Loneliness

the emotion you feel when you don't feel affection
what makes you start to feel loneliness
how loneliness operates like hunger
what stops you feeling loneliness
why most people feel ongoing moderate loneliness
how best to manage loneliness

Crying

what makes you cry
what does not make you cry
why you cry when your happy
how to use crying to manage affection and diagnose loneliness
why you can use crying to monitor for emotional of any type

Week 4 Morning 10:30am - 12:00pm

Pride

the emotion you feel when your rank increases
the numerous situations that make you feel pride
which situations make you feel the strongest pride
which situations do not make you feel pride
the temporary nature of pride
how pride is central to the happiest life plan
how pride causes most people to have a mid-life crisis
the career and purchases mistakes that pride causes
why people mistakenly think they can share their pride
how pride explains why money can't buy happiness
how pride causes self-improvement, like dieting, to fail
how best to compliment others
the expression that pride makes you express involuntarily

Humiliation

the emotion you feel when your rank falls
the numerous situations that make you feel humiliation
which situations make you feel the strongest humiliation
which situations do not make you feel humiliation
the temporary nature of humiliation
how humiliation is central to the unhappiest life plan
how humiliation causes most people to continue after a mid-life crisis
the mistakes that humiliation causes
how humiliation makes it difficult for people to apologize or say sorry
why saying please and thank-you stops others feeling humiliation
why humiliation makes you uncomfortable when being served by others
how pride explains why the poor are not unhappy
how humiliation prevents people from learning from feedback
how humiliation can make self-improvement, like dieting, succeed
the expression that humiliation makes you express involuntarily

Week 4 Afternoon 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Humour

the emotion you feel when another person's rank falls
separating mental effect of humour and expression of laughter
why you are rewarded with humour
the surprising range of situations that make you feel humour
the situations that do not make you feel humour
how humour makes you gossip
how humour makes you criticize others
what makes you feel the strongest humour
the four requirements of humour
why using your gut to evaluate humour leads to mistakes
developing the habit of making others feel humour
making others feel the strongest humour
using humour to diagnose your greatest fears
using humour to diagnose others' greatest fears
developing the habit of not criticizing or gossiping
developing the habit of not reacting to criticism or gossip

Laughter

the expression that follows humour
is laughter voluntary or involuntary?
why we use the expression of laughter
can you use laughter to tell if others feel humour?

Envy

you feel envy when another person's rank increases
who can make you feel envy
who cannot make you feel envy
what makes you feel the strongest envy
how envy is permanent - unlike other rank emotions
the surprising number of people who envy somebody
why envy is often dismissed as childish or immature
why it's best to acknowledge envy as normal
how to handle people you envy
how to handle people who envy you
how to avoid making others feel envy towards others
why avoiding envy is the best reason to be top-ranked, not pride
how envy differs from jealousy

Week 5 Morning 10:30am - 12:00pm

Revenge

the emotion you feel when somebody pisses you off
separating mental effect of revenge and expression of anger
the unusual structure of revenge
what starts you feeling revenge
what does not start you feeling revenge
what makes you feel the strongest revenge
what stops you feeling revenge
why expressing anger is just one way of stopping anger
why revenge is the source for eye-for-an-eye justice
what happens when revenge is stopped
what does not stop you feeling revenge
what happens when revenge is not stopped
why unstopped revenge is a big problem
why unstopped revenge explains employees who go postal
why unstopped revenge explains bullies, trolls, haters, abusers of wives, children and pets
why revenge is a good example of a group emotion
the big benefit that road ragers provide the rest of us
why you should view revenge as malware that can cause you serious harm
why you don't have a problem if you routinely lose it or blow your top
why being better at controlling revenge can make a big difference in all areas of life
the four steps you can take to minimize the harm revenge can cause you
why you should worry about others feeling revenge towards you
what to do when others feel revenge towards you
the awesome power of apologizing
the creative idea of letting others harm you to stop their revenge
how the justice system relies on revenge

Anger

the expression that follows revenge
is anger voluntary or involuntary?
why we express anger
why revenge and anger need to managed separately
how best to manage anger
why swearing is like a dog baring its teeth

Criminal Guilt

the emotion you feel when you do something bad to somebody
what makes you feel criminal guilt
what does not make you feel criminal guilt
what makes you feel the strongest criminal guilt
why being forgiven by your victim does not stop your criminal guilt
why apologizing or saying sorry to a victim does not stop your guilt
why criminal guilt can cause lifelong discomfort like chronic back pain
why criminal guilt evolved before revenge

Compassion

the emotion you feel when you feel sorry for somebody
the unusual structure of compassion
what starts you feeling compassion
what does not start you feeling compassion
what makes you feel the strongest compassion
what stops you feeling compassion
how a negative emotion coerces you to do positive acts
what happens if your compassion is stopped by your actions
what happens if your compassion is stopped by another's actions
what happens if your compassion is not stopped
how compassion is another source for our morality - specifically our sense of what is the right thing to do when others are in trouble
why you should view compassion as malware that can cause you serious harm
the four steps you can take to minimize the harm compassion can cause you
how insurance companies have replaced compassion
why animals can also make you feel compassion

Selfish Guilt

the emotion you feel when you don't help somebody
what makes you feel selfish guilt
what does not make you feel selfish guilt
what makes you feel the strongest selfish guilt
the problem with compassion that selfish guilt solves
how selfish guilt can become a ongoing problem like chronic back pain
why selfish guilt is also malware that harms you
how to minimize the harm that selfish guilt can cause you
how selfish guilt and criminal guilt differ

Week 5 Afternoon 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Pleasing Scenery

the positive sensation you feel when you see lush scenery
the narrowed definition of pleasing scenery
the evidence that pleasing scenery is universal
how to mentally isolate pleasing scenery
the purpose of pleasing scenery
the many advantages to this source of happiness

Excitement

the positive sensation you feel when you see novel scenery
the narrowed definition of excitement
the evidence that excitement is universal
how excitement and pleasing scenery differ
how excitement and pleasing scenery can combine
how you can mentally isolate excitement
the purpose of excitement
the real estate and vacation mistakes that excitement causes

Boredom

the sensation you feel when you don't feel excitement
the narrowed definition of boredom
how boredom operates like hunger
the evidence that boredom is universal
how to mentally isolate boredom
the purpose of boredom
how to pro-actively manage excitement to avoid boredom

Pleasing Taste

the positive sensation you feel when you taste sweet, fatty, salt or umami
the effect is in your head, not your tongue, like emotions
why pleasing taste should be viewed as a source of happiness
why pleasing taste is the easiest and most reliable way to be happy
how its ease and reliability has led to its overuse as a source of happiness
how the belief that were supposed to be happy has contributed
why obesity is a happiness problem, not an eating problem
how reducing food variety can help reduce overeating

Hunger

the negative sensation you feel when you don't eat enough
the effect is in your head, not your stomach
why hunger should be on the happiness menu
why eating to stop hunger is different than eating to enjoy pleasing taste
how hunger can add to revenge to cause you more harm
why dieting reduces happiness in two different ways
how hunger, loneliness, lust, boredom and SAD are similar

Disgust

the negative sensation you feel when you detect a toxin
the effect is in your head, not in your nose or mouth
why disgust is similar to pain, bitter, sour
the expression disgust makes express involuntarily
why you do not feel disgust for any other reason
why "being disgusted" by other peoples action or views is really an attempt to make others feel humiliation
why disgust is not significant to happiness

Startle

the reaction you have when you're surprised
startle's mental effect and how differs from other emotions
startle's involuntary physical effects
why startle is usually followed by fear
why startle is not significant to happiness

Fear

the emotion you feel when feel threatened
fear's mental effect and how it differs from other emotion
fear's involuntary physical effects, like increased heart rate
why fear and startle are the only emotions with significant physical effects
what else, surprisingly, makes you feel fear
how you can use increased heart rate to monitor your emotions
why worry is not a variation of fear
why fear is not significant to happiness

Week 6 Morning 10:30am - 12:00pm

Managing Happiness - Overview

change of class focus and format
switching from the happiness menu to the happiness checklist
how emotions are grouped together
the prioritization of each group and it's key diagnostic question
approach is the same for your happiness and those around you

Managing Happiness - Social Emotions

the social emotions are affection, loneliness, crying
why they are the first priority for happiness management
your goal for the social emotions: maximize affection
the five ways you can increase affection
how to analyze the affection you receive
the importance of long term sources of affection
who makes the best long term source of affection
understanding the social emotions of those around you

Managing Happiness - Primary Rank Emotions

the primary rank emotions are pride and humiliation
why they are the second priority
the importance of your rank direction to both
the best time frame to analyze your rank direction
extending your analysis backwards and forwards
the nine possible combinations of rank direction
the sequence of emotions in each of the nine combinations
the best way to manage your happiness in each combination
understanding the primary rank emotions of those around you

Week 6 Afternoon 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Managing Happiness - Romance Emotions

the romance emotions are primarily monogynic love and infatuation
why they are the third priority
the four stages of romance: full fireworks (0-8mo), half fireworks (8-46mo), just friends (>46mo), truly single (split)
for each stage,the emotions and sensations each gender feels
for each stage, how each gender can best manage their happiness
applying the same analysis to others around you

Week 7 Morning 11:00am - 12:30pm

Managing Happiness - Parental Emotions

the parental emotions are maternal love and grandmaternal love
why parental emotions are the fourth priority - the last of the major emotions
driven by presence and age of children/grandchildren
emotions felt by mothers/grandmothers while child is 0-33 months
emotions felt by mothers/grandmothers while child is older than 33 months
emotions felt by fathers/grandfathers/siblings
how mothers/grandmothers can best manage their happiness
how those around mothers/grandmothers can best interact with them

Managing Happiness - Humor

the only single emotion category - humour
why humour is an underused source of happiness
maximizing the humour you feel while still pursing primary emotions
the goal of at least 4 hours a week as starting point
ways to reach the goal of 4 hours of humour a week
ensuring you feel the strongest humour

Managing Happiness - Scenic Sensations

the scenic sensations are: pleasing scenery, excitement and boredom
why the scenic sensations are an underused source of happiness
separating management of pleasing scenery from excitement/boredom
how best to manage pleasing scenery
how best to manage excitement/boredom

Managing Happiness - Sexual Sensations

the sexual sensations are male and female sexual pleasure, lust and repugnance
separating the management of sexual pleasure, lust and repugnance
the undue emphasis placed on sexual pleasure as a source of happiness
women - remembering how men's sexual sensations differ from women's
men - remembering how women's sexual sensations differ from men's
monitoring for problems that repugnance surprisingly doesn't stop

Managing Happiness - Eating Sensations

the eating sensations are pleasing taste and hunger
separating management of pleasing taste and hunger
why pleasing taste is an overused source of happiness
how eating to avoid hunger differs from eating to enjoy pleasing taste
reducing weight by replacing pleasing taste and offsetting hunger
reducing weight by reducing food variety
preventing hunger from adding to revenge

Managing Happiness - Hazards

there are three hazards: revenge, compassion/selfish guilt and envy
negative emotions that cause you to harm yourself - malware
goal is minimize how much you feel hazards
minimizing hazards often biggest opportunity to improve happiness
diagnosing if you need to make changes
do you get angry frequently?
do frequently feel sorry for others?
do you frequently feel guilt for not helping others?
do you frequently feel angry because somebody has more than you?
the easiest and smartest way to avoid hazards
the best way to handle hazards if you cannot avoid them
why the minor hazards - fear, startle, disgust - are not significant

Week 7 Afternoon 12:30pm - 4:00pm

Questions & Answer session