by Rachana Mirpuri

Main Entry: hap·pi·ness

Pronunciation: ˈha-pē-nəs

Function: noun

Date: 15th century

1] obsolete : good fortune : prosperity

2] a: a state of well-being and contentment : joy. b: a pleasurable or satisfying experience

3] felicity , aptness

With all the differences in age, race and personality, what is the one common thread between every human being in this world? We all want to be happy. ‘Happiness’ is mostly classified as an emotion: pleasurable feelings from nurturing relationships; partaking in activities we enjoy; feelings of contentment with our past & present and so on. However, in the olden ages philosophers and religious thinkers had often termed ‘happiness’ to describe one’s quality of life. Aristotle, a renowned philosopher, viewed ‘happiness’ as a result of living one’s life virtuously through activities rather than simply a ‘feeling’ – this was also used to translate the Greek term of ‘Eudaimonia’.

Whether it’s a state of being or a feeling, people the world over have been in pursuit of happiness since the beginning of time. Today there are Happiness clubs where members meet up on a regular basis and learn techniques to help them – its popularity have increased in the past several years, having been opened and maintained in cities from Los Angeles to Dubai. The very first Happiness Club, founded by Lionel Ketchian, was created in January 2000 in a small town called Fairfield in Connecticut after Lionel had given a class at a University focusing on acquired happiness skills. When the class graduated, they wanted to continue the meetings to keep up the effective practice of happiness skills and so the trend started.

The Fairfield club continued to meet once a month since that date, and the word spread across the USA and the world through social networking sites, news releases and so on. Currently there are 38 Happiness clubs around the world with six in countries outside of the States – they are started by ambassadors of happiness; people who are motivated and committed to connecting with others and helping them lead better, happier lives.

One such ambassador is BSM’s very own – Dina Sabnani, who just started the Happiness Club of Dubai.

Having grown up in Hong Kong, she was constantly surrounded by people as a part of a very close-knit Sindhi community. Her father, who passed away several years ago, was the local head speaker of a spiritual group called Nirankhar that met every week at her house, enveloping Dina in a positive cocoon she learned to thrive in.  After graduating from college in the States, she went on to work in the corporate world in New York, Hong Kong, and Dubai where she always felt something was missing… it wasn’t enough for her.

While surfing on Facebook one day, Dina randomly got in touch with Eva Gregory, a Law of Attraction coach in the States. Eva was part of a group of people who were working on making ‘International Happiness Day’ on July 10 an official day, and her mission just clicked with Dina. One thing led to another and soon enough, Dina quit her job as a marketing director, became a prosperity consultant, and found herself in front of a group of 40-50 people in Zen restaurant in Dubai, presiding over the new Happiness Club of the U.A.E.

BSM: What is the Happiness Club and how did you first hear of it?

DS: On the Happiness Club website, it describes itself as “an organization with the mission to promote the benefits of being happy through meetings, newsletters, and an informative web site – to the people in a community, and around the world.” I had heard about it on Facebook as I was connecting to different people.

BSM:  What inspired or enabled you to start the first ever Happiness Club in Dubai and become its ambassador?

DS: It’s quite an interesting story actually, about how the Universe works when you’re in alignment with your energy.  I connected to…

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