The number of comments that followed her article were overwhelming, to say the least; there were the grateful, the curious, the enthusiastic; those who shared Dana’s sentiments and those who didn’t.

As a result, we decided to select five questions from the comment list for Dana to answer that will hopefully shine a light on the story behind her personal wisdom.

Q1: This is a good list, and so true! The one thing I couldn’t wrap my head around is “Give Up Attachment”. Could you elaborate a bit more on that?

Dana: Love and attachment are two different things. Love is a feeling and an act that is selfless, kind and pure, whereas attachment comes from a place of fear. In love, you have to accept the reality of having to let go eventually. It’s a preparation that takes time and practice (as everything else on my list), but it is the awareness that is important.

Love should not stop just because you have to say goodbye, when it is unrequited, or when things are no longer working out. Never regret having loved! If you let go of attachment you do not let go of love – love is not something you let go of, but rather, you let go of the fear of losing that something or someone you’re attached to. Because nothing in this life is eternal, you see.

Q2. You could have added more things. The only way to be happy is through meditation!

Dana: Yes, I do believe in the power of meditation. I meditate too, but the list focuses on what to give up for happiness. Meditation is a great tool to help us find balance and peace of mind; most importantly, it helps us connect with our real selves.

I’d like to believe that what I shared through my article is something that anyone, anywhere (regardless of their choices, preferences or lifestyle), are hopefully able to apply into their lives.

Q3. Could you advise us on how to let go of the things on your list rather than just what to do?

Dana: We all have our own different paths to walk with our own unique experiences in the journey of letting go. What I do know for sure is that release comes the moment you decide to let go of your need for approval and your need to impress others. That’s when your whole life will start to change.

For me, it happened when I realized that the only person I needed to get approval from was myself! When you start to prioritize your own approval for your actions, that’s when you are able to move on to the other steps listed, and have power over your life.

I’m still in the process of giving up these 15 things as well, although I have fully accepted their truth and impact. There is no end to personal growth, and time should not be a factor when it comes to achieving happiness. We should all remember that life is a journey not a destination.

4. I like your list but wanted to know how you have experienced this? What have you given up to be happy?

Dana: I have experienced many things that led me to realize – in one way or another – that letting go of these things will make me happy. But my job is not done yet; I believe this is something you need to work on your entire life.

You will still find yourself looking for approval and feeling the need to control things. Family members you seek approval from; your boss, whom you want to see what you’re really capable of; people around you whom you want to like you, or whose behaviors and future you want to control. But you know what? It can’t be done, so you decide that it’s time to take a closer look at how you’re living your life and realize that sometimes letting go is the greatest thing you can do for yourself and others.

Letting go takes a lot of courage, and I have found the courage to do so many times in my life so far. By letting go, I felt like I stopped living my life on autopilot. I realized that I am in control, no one else. Of course, it takes time and a lot of work, but I enjoy being happy, so I don’t really mind the effort.

Q5. “Do you think you are right by giving all these 15 points what one should do to be happy? Happiness is so relative a notion. Some of these points are arguable to say the least. I wonder who authorized you to speak so authoritatively.”

Dana: Over the years, I have learned to always keep an open mind and be willing to try new things.

If this list doesn’t resonate with you, that is okay because happiness means different things for different people. But what I have learned from observing human behavior and studying the works of great teachers like Abraham Maslow, Wayne Dyer, Buddha, Carl Jung, Tony Robbins, and others, is the recurring theme that if you let go of these things, happiness will follow.

I cannot explain how or why my article was shared by so many readers but I do believe more people are becoming aware of the fact that we are powerful and limitless beings who are here to enjoy life and contribute to humanity’s evolution. We can only start doing so by becoming aware of who we really are. Letting go of even one of the things I shared, is a good starting point.

If you find yourself (or remember yourself) breaking into a cold sweat as you inch closer towards the big three-o, well, rekindle that motivation you had as a teen when you counted down the years to getting older (well, old enough to drink alcohol anyways – admit it), because a survey has revealed that the 30s are indeed the new 20s…. with 33 peaking as the happiest age to be.

Although you may hear plenty of sighs from friends and family as they “remember back to college days” or “wish to be a kid again!” Britain’s Friends United, a social-networking website, recently put forth a survey to people aged above 40 and it returned with 70% of them claiming that they weren’t truly happy until they turned 33.

Personality and behavior psychologist, Donna Dawson reasoned it perfectly: “The age of 33 is enough time to have shaken off childhood naivety and the wild scheming of teen-aged years without losing the energy and enthusiasm of youth.”

Innocence may have withered away completely by this age, but our better grasp of reality, “can do” attitude and improved perception of “hope” result in a healthier belief of our own talents and capabilities. “We have yet to develop the cynicism and world-weariness that comes with later years,” added Donna.

At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment. – Benjamin Franklin

The survey also found that many respondents found happiness at 33 to come from fulfillment in career and having a support system of family and friends. Yet 33 was also a fun age – probably because they could afford adventures or experiences that they couldn’t as they first branched out as an adult.

This little social revelation definitely puts a new spin to the famous myth of 30 being the sexual peak for women. Christine Possemato, a 35-year-old from New Jersey, USA has her own special view on the survey. “It’s the sex, definitely,” she told the New York Daily News. “You’re hitting your stride. You’re a lot more confident and you can attract younger guys.”

After 30, a body has a mind of its own. – Bette Midler

But whether the “33 theory” is accurate or not (it would be interesting to see what results would be drawn from surveying 40-somethings in the U.S. or other countries though!), we feel that Matt Bushby, the head of Friends Reunited, concludes the findings best: “It’s also important to remember that it’s the big life experiences and the momentous events that we go through that make us who we are.”

Do you share the same views as the survey? If you had to pick an age when you were happiest, would it be 33, or another year? And if you’re one of our younger readers, where do you see yourself at the age of 33?

If you are among the throngs of people who have had to deal with self-absorbed individuals who take the “world’s a stage” phrase a little bit too far, you may do well by taking a few notes here.

A study has given people who like to talk about themselves a scientific reason to continue talking about themselves. You see, technically – their brains love every bit of it.

Harvard University researchers (led by Diana I. Tamir and Jason P. Mitchell at their psychology department) recently conducted a series of experiments to assess how much people loved talking about themselves and why.

According to the study, there’s a reason why people spend almost 40% of their conversations talking about “Me, Myself and I”. When doing so, the brain scans of the participants in the experiments showed activity in the reward areas of the brain – ones that get all excited when faced with rewards like food and sex.

Would it then be correct to denote that a self-gratifying Twitter or Facebook post is comparable to sex? Oh dear.

It used to be that people shared information about themselves to establish intimacy, a friendship or a bond with others. But this research resets the game; the truth is, it just feels so good!

“For the most part people are not curious except about themselves.”
― John Steinbeck

Then again, the study certainly does not endorse the habit of talking about oneself excessively; despite the “positive” chemistry, it can leave a negative impact on others by creating an uncomfortable and awkward environment. As such it is up to us to find the perfect balance!

Does talking about yourself make you feel better? How have you dealt with people who constantly talk about themselves? Share it with us – thanks to this study, now we know you want to! ;)

Well, the founders of the international learning center The Hendricks Institute, Gay and Katie have the answer for us!

At Awesomeness Fest 2011 in Hawaii last year, Gay and Katie shared a lesson that they’ve explored over their 30 years of being married, something they call “kitchen and bedroom tested” – learning the act of really loving another person and receiving love in return.

Through The Hendricks Institute, Gay and Katie have assisted people in opening to “more creativity, love and vitality through the power of conscious relationship and whole-person learning” for the past three decades.

In this video, the charming, humorous and experienced couple share some amazing yet simple ways for you to rekindle your romance “over and over again” with your partner, with yourself and with other people, a lesson designed and discovered by them to help you give and receive more love.

Have you experienced or are you experiencing the act of loving another wholeheartedly, and receiving the same kind of love in return? How has this video help you realize your fullest potential in love?

But something else is moving just as fast – the landfill sites and the threat of waste pollution to mankind and the planet.

Here are just some of the grave concerns:

• Every year, 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are released into US waters.
• The famous pacific wasteland in the Pacific Ocean is a vortex trapping and accumulating millions of tons of trash, killing over a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals yearly.

In the investigative and thought-provoking documentary Trashed, Academy Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons takes us on a journey that analyzes the risks waste pollution has had to our environment, revealing the truths about its immediate and permanent dangers on our well-being and the health on the planet.

The trailer video of Trashed below provides some interesting visual imagery of what waste is really doing to our world and why in some parts of the ocean, there is more trash than sea-life.

The trailer sends the message that it’s high time we drop the “out of sight, out of mind” approach to our actions, before earth does the same to us.

So check out the trailer and tell us – what are you doing to reduce garbage production in your home and your workplace? Are you excited to see the full documentary?

Living a life of “no regrets” can be more beneficial than you think – for both young and old.

Whether it is regretting something you have done or haven’t done, holding on to this regret can affect the way you react and handle situations. According to Healthland, new research has revealed that while it’s normal to dwell on feelings of regret in our youth and allow them to factor in future decision making, as we grow older, “the likelihood of second chances diminishes, and feeling regretful doesn’t do as much good”.

As part of the research, the brains of 21 healthy young people, 20 healthy adults (past their middle age) and 20 depressed adults above the age of 55 were scanned and imaged while they took part in a simple video game involving money and risk. Primarily, it was a game of chance and not skill, but as it involved risk, it paved way for possible regret among the participants.

It was found that the young and the depressed tended to take more risks as they went along the trials, particularly if they failed to win the maximum amounts of money. The healthy adult participants however were quick to not let regret affect their decision-making at the next level of the game.

This was apparent in the brain responses. While all three groups displayed a reduced activity in the ventral striatum, a brain region associated with reward; this happened for the young and the depressed when they missed an opportunity to make more money, while for the healthy, it only happened when they actually lost money.

Further, when the healthy adults missed a chance to win more money, what showed was an activity increase in the anterior cingulate, a region associated with emotional control. This brain activity was not shared by depressed adults who perhaps chose to blame themselves instead.

The verdict? Here’s what the authors have the to say: “Disengagement from regret experiences at a point of life where the opportunities to undo regrettable behavior are limited may be a protective strategy to maintain emotional well-being”.

Having regrets and things, it just takes your time away.
Leif Garrett

In our opinion, although the study does not draw direct evidence to explain why healthy older adults are better at dealing with regret, it is fairly clear that depressed older adults are more vulnerable to it, and are unable to distinguish between actions they should account for and factors that they cannot control.

What does this mean? If you can disengage from experiencing feelings of regret you can help maintain your emotional well being and make choices that are not tainted by you regret. After all you cannot control or change everything so why beat yourself up over it?

What are your views about regret? How are they good or bad? How do you think you react to regret now, compared to when you were younger?

It doesn’t take an expert to tell us what counting our blessings can do to our emotional and psychological states of being, and most importantly – to make us happier. The “gratitude attitude” is a habit that has been instilled in most of us since childhood, a universal gesture that enables anyone to appreciate their days, their lives and those around them much better.

And the simple act of writing things down may just be the best way to keep gratitude in perspective. Keeping a gratitude journals take just five minutes of your day, and is as simple as creating a checklist!

“Every night, list five things that happened this day, in days to come that you are grateful for. What it will begin to do is to change your perspective of your day and your life.” – Oprah Winfrey

The oracle has spoken.

Robert A. Emmons, the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology, reassures us with another tip: “There is no one right way to do it,” said Robert. “You don’t need to buy a fancy personal journal to record your entries in, or worry about spelling or grammar.”

The Greater Good Science Center also suggests that you make the most out of your new habit by being fully aware of those around you and making the conscious decision to become more grateful throughout the day, remembering to focus on people to whom you are grateful for in your life.

Gratitude, according to the NY Times, also triggers physical benefits like better health and sounder sleep, and can even turn us into nicer people as it has been known to cause less anxiety and incite “higher long-term satisfaction with life, and kinder behavior toward others”. If you weren’t convinced before, this has got to be the bonus gift you’ve been waiting for!

For the more technologically-dependent of us who prefer to express gratitude through our keyboards, fortunately, there are journals available online. Happy Rambles, for instance, has adopted Oprah’s “five things” code with their private and personal online journal – it’s a great way to jot down your five pointers as they happen.

Keeping tab of your blessings publicly will also serve as infectious gratitude energy. Mindvalley’s own Gratitude Log, dubbed “The Happiest Place on the Internet”, has formed a community for spreading gratitude and appreciation, gathering individuals, businesses and organizations worldwide by helping them to share their appreciation for each other better. Sharing gratitude during lunch breaks and meetings has never been so easy!

Whether you choose to keep your gratitude list to yourself or announce it to the world, gratitude is life’s way to remind you of where you are, why you are and ultimately – who you are.

And if takes just five minutes of your day to greatly affect your life, we don’t see why you shouldn’t list down five things that they’re already thankful for today, right now!

So… what would your list for today be? Would you be keen on setting up your own grateful community online? Share your thoughts with us below!

Did you know that a staggering 13 billion pounds of paper towels are used by Americans every year – that’s around 130 million trees (on the basis that one paper pulp tree provides 100 pounds of paper)?

Paper towels are dispensed by the hundreds (or thousands) every day in restrooms and kitchens across America and worldwide. And it’s no wonder that we’re ploughing through the paper with the average person grabbing 3 or 4 sheets at a time (yes we have all been guilty of this).

But let’s be honest – are our hands really that wet after a wash? Who are we – Aquaman? Edward Ladle-hands? No!

In this quick but informative video Joe Smith, former chair of the Oregon Democratic Party in the USA, provides a simple and effective way for all of us to reduce paper towel usage by around 571 million pounds per annum – that’s about 5.7 million trees saved!

How? Well it involves ONE paper towel, 12 “shakes” and a couple of “folds”… it will all become clear once you watch this 4-minute TED talk. Saving the planet never got so easy.

Has this video made you aware of your paper towel consumption and will it cause you to think twice about grabbing one too many towels? Let us know below.

Obama, a unicorn and rainbow lasers - a playful artwork found on feastoffun.com

Unless you have been snoozing last week, you would have heard that President Barack Obama announced on ABC News that “it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

Until this moment, only six State Governments (New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire) have given the thumbs up to same-sex marriage in the USA, while 30 other states have passed bans on the practice. But perhaps Obama’s evolutionary view will pave the way to greater change for the country and live up to the anthem “land of the free and the home of the brave”.

His affirmation of marriage equality has caused quite a stir amongst senators, politicians, celebrities, regular folks and even our very own Vishen Lakhiani who commented on his Facebook page that:

“It’s a big thing for a leader of a diverse nation to take a stance that isolates a large chunk of his voting public. This is bold. And should be applauded.”

We have read the blogs, heard the news and checked the tweets but we want to know what is your view on same sex marriage?

For centuries, the relationship between drugs and creativity has always been a recurring (tragic) love affair, a juicy taboo that questions inspiration and credibility behind artwork, literature, music and even politics. For instance, the 19^th century witnessed the heydays of opium among history’s finest authors, and the 1960s… well, things got pretty heated up in that decade, with the rise of psychedelic drugs and marijuana use among celebrities, writers and well… people in general, really.

The truth remains that some of the most respected legends and creators of all time were known or suspected to have dropped a substance or two (if not addicted) for a little “inspiration enhancement”. Here are five examples that got us totally intrigued.

And remember – don’t try this at home.

1. Charles Dickens

So apparently the celebrated novelist of Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver didn’t ask for more porridge, he asked for more opium. Usage of the drug was famous among Victorian-era novelists and poets, some of which include Mary Shelley, John Keats and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It was said that opium dens were easily found in the areas Charles frequented which made it easy for him to take a few hits and “nod off”. Did the poppy substance directly inspire his literary works? No one knows for sure, but it’s worth a thought or two.

2. The Beatles

It’s no secret that The Beatles experimented with many kinds of drugs in their primetime; some of their best songs had clever, if not obvious, implications of the substances they’ve used, which included Benzedrine, Amphetamines, Cannabis and LSD. According to The Beatles Bible, LSD had a “profound effect” on the band’s songwriting and recording, namely ‘Day Tripper’, ‘Revolver’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’.

But the song most associated with LSD in their discography is John Lennon’s ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’. Despite earlier claims by the group that it was inspired by a drawing by John’s son Julian, Paul McCartney later confessed in a 2004 interview that it was, indeed, about the greater heights (ahem) of an LSD trip. Nonetheless, the influence of drugs on The Beatles is often an overestimation; these guys were (and are) talented geniuses, you know.

3. Vincent Van Gogh

The Dutch painter produced some of the most valuable works of art but unfortunately didn’t live to see his own success; in fact Vincent perfectly manifested the phrase “struggling artist”, spending most of his adult life as a depressed and mentally ill man. According to the Van Gogh Gallery, an addiction to absinthe and a prescribed drug Digitalis (used to ease his epilepsy) may have been one of the reasons why the color yellow is such a prominent presence in his paintings – take the paintings The Yellow House and Starry Night, for instance. Chemicals in absinthe and Digitalis can cause one to see in yellow or see yellow spots.

4. Jack Nicholson

Here’s an interesting “how did you two meet?” tale: Jack didn’t experiment with LSD by choice or peer pressure, but he was the experiment itself. In the 1950s, he participated in a series of LSD tests conducted by psychiatrist Dr. Oscar Janiger, which involved taking a dose of LSD (together with 70 other artists) and drawing native American dolls (you read that right). It leads us to wonder whether this was linked to his screenplay of the 1967 cult film, The Trip, which starred Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. Also worthy of a note, Jack’s role in the Academy Award-winning One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is based on Ken Kesey – an author who was also known to take LSD in real life.

5. Steve Jobs & Bill Gates

Yes, the man whose apple is more famous than that of Adam in the Garden of Eden confessed to using LSD (wow, acid seems to reign high on this list, eh?). In an interview with John Markoff for the 2005 book What the Doormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer, Steve described using LSD in the 70s as “one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life.” Did the experience help to inspire some of Apple’s designs? We’re not sure, but considering that Microsoft giant Bill Gates has also admitted to somewhat of an ‘errant youth’ (and in Playboy no less) perhaps these two whiz-kids had something in common.

So…. What do you think about the usage of drugs for creativity?

Here is perhaps a glimpse of what Van Gogh saw (or as we’d like to imagine) as he completed Starry Night, if the relation between his art and his prescription drug were true!