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Though it often gets a bad rap (think self-indulgence or moral decay), we prefer to look at it in a more positive sense. Something luxurious or plentiful or an extraordinary feeling we get from consuming or experiencing something, well, extraordinary. Like...... A ride in an extraordinary automobile: A bottle of uniquely delicious wine: A sampling of chocolate truffles: A plate of Poutine from Canada: A fine bottle of rare spirits: Conquering that seemingly unconquer-able obstacle: Tell us about some decadently amazing experiences that you've had. #mteverest #chocolate #wine #sex #bugatti #divo #car #slodown #food #liquor #crownroyal #xr #whiskey #poutine #canada #truffles

.....sinking that putt..... ....going over that fence..... ....making that play...... ....taking that wicket..... .....scoring that goal..... .....slamming that dunk...... ....making that winning play..... We want to hear what makes you celebrate like this! #caddyshack #tigerwoods #golf #baseball #football #soccer #basketball #blakegriffen #hockey #sports #cricket #happy #happiness

Well, sort of, but not in the way you might think. Today, in our ongoing search for happiness, we share an interesting Ted Talk by Michael Norton, a social science researcher with the Harvard Business School in which he discusses how money might actually be able to equate to happiness... https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness #happiness #harvard #tedtalk #science #money #harvardbusinessschool

......To Really Go Up..... But whether you're high is up or down, we want to hear about it.

For those of you familiar with that statement, it's coiner needs no introduction. For those of you who might not be aware, it was made famous by Jospeh Campbell and the dictum that has come to encapsulate Campbell’s philosophy on life: “Follow your bliss.” Campbell was a professor, author, the foremost authority on world mythology and arguably, one of the last century's wisest men. His seminal work on world mythology, The Hero With A Thousand Faces, was published in 1949 and his work has influenced academics and artists - George Lucas credits Campbell's work as playing a major influence on his Star Wars saga - but Campbell came to international prominence when a six-part series of conversations between himself and legendary interviewer, Bill Moyers (The Power Of Myth), was aired in 1987, a part of which was filmed at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in California. The complete transcript of the tv series was published under the same name and has been described, rightly so, as nothing short of secular scripture — a trove of wisdom on the human experience in the canon of such rare masterworks as Thoreau’s "Journals", Simone Weil’s "Notebooks", Rilke’s "Letters To A Young Poet", and Annie Dillard’s "Pilgrim At Tinker Creek". (We highly recommend it!) This is a bit of a long introduction into saying that, continuing the search for happiness from last weeks' blog post, we were curious what Joseph Campbell had to say about 'happiness'. Campbell felt that a person should pursue what makes them happy, without fear, and don’t let it go. "The way to find out about happiness", Campbell said, "is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy - not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what is called following your bliss". Most of us are familiar with the bliss experience. A rush of joy, a loss of time, then suddenly it ends. We’re snapped back into the reality of our daily lives. Of course, we can't live in a state of sheer bliss all the time. Our brain chemistry has finite supplies of dopamine, so yes, bliss is temporary. But the experiences of bliss are truly beautiful because they are temporary. So, the secret to happiness and finding our bliss, we might conclude from Campbell's work, lies in an exercise simultaneously simple and complex: the simple act of paying attention to the moment. #josephcampbell #billmoyers #bliss #happiness #myth #powerofmyth #georgelucas #starwars #lucasranch #philosophy

Wikipedia defines happiness as "a mental or emotional state, including positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy". Hap is the Old Norse and Old English root of happiness, and it just means luck or chance, same as the Old French heur, from which we derive bonheur, good fortune or happiness. German gives us the word Gluck, which still means both happiness and chance. Hindi gives us Khushee, which translates to pleasure, enjoyment, luxury, delight and ease. There is a theory that suggests happiness can be described as three distinct elements, which are more measurable and definitive than "happiness": 1) Positive Emotion meaning what we feel - pleasure, rapture, ecstasy, warmth, comfort. When we go on a holiday, spend time with friends, win the lottery we're experiencing that sense of positive emotion. 2) Engagement which is about being in flow with creative pursuits, sports, writing, painting, playing an instrument - pursuits where one loses sense of time and self. In this state the person becomes a part of the action and cannot separate the element from themselves. This is the zone of individual creativity. 3) Meaning which is always in relation to someone or something else, a purpose bigger than oneself. Because happiness is specific to each individual person, there cannot be one thing that makes every single person on earth happy. Indeed, each person experiences happiness in their own way which leads them down a road detailing their own joy. After all this, you might be asking how we define happiness. For us it is simply when reality winds up exceeding expectations. We can't wait to hear your "ahhhh" moments. Your stories of reality exceeding your expectations. #happymoments #happy #happiness #enjoy

In the moment you get lost...... ....you can find yourself.... That's what excess is all about.

This week we thought we'd send out a quote from one of our favorite people who truly lived life to the fullest and wasn't afraid to try new things, things that sent him on high's and always brought new meaning to everything he did - Anthony Bourdain. "Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund." #AnthonyBourdain Words we live by!

In our ongoing search for experiences that take us to that next level - that level where we find ourselves suddenly stopped in our tracks and saying "Ahhhh" - we think it's important to always take a moment and look at things in a different way. It's this looking at things differently that gives us the chance to have an experience that's completely unique. Photo by Jack Gisel We don't necessarily have to climb Mount Everest or win a triathlon or go diving with sharks to achieve moments that are exhilarating and that will stay with us forever. Sometimes is as simple as standing on a table top or doing a handstand to get a completely new perspective on the world and our place in it. Photo by Elsa Gonzalez To paraphrase one of our favorite teachers, John Keating (aka Robin Williams), let's always take a moment to look at things from a different perspective and "make our lives extraordinary". Photo by Jean-Philippe Delberghe #RobinWilliams #Spiderman #handstand #ahhh #perspective

Today, we're giving a salute to one of our favorite stops on our journey - California. A place where everything can seem possible. Someone wise once said: "California is made up of people who don't know what it is they are not supposed to do." We think that that pretty much sums up everyone who's participating with us in this site. And in this amazing journey we're all on. Let's hope that palm tree lined street goes on forever! California Cruising photo by Roberto Nickson. Huntington Beach Pier courtesy of californiabeaches.com #california #huntingtonbeach #beach #palmtrees

This week we're giving a shout out to one of our favorite artists and one of our favorite tipples - Vincent Van Gogh & Absinthe. In doing so, we're covering two AnyHigh catagories in one, shall we say, blow - the #Arts & #Beverages. Van Gogh was, of course, a major contributor to the former and a major consumer of the latter. The beauty of gazing into a Van Gogh painting is that it can take you to another place, a place where the mind can run free and where we might experience varying degrees of emotion that we weren't even aware of before. And the beauty of Absinthe is that, given enough of it and given enough time, we've found that it too can have the same effect. Van Gogh painted over 900 paintings and drawings. Considering that he actually painted for only 10 years before his death at just 37, that works out to a new work of art every 36 hours! A truly impressive output. Made possible, perhaps, by the Absinthe that helped grease his paint brush? One can only speculate. For many years, real Absinthe was banned in the United States but, much to our relief, it was made legal again in 2007. The only difference being that today's Absinthe contains a lower concentration of thujone, one of the major components of wormwood. There are many different types and brands of Absinthe on the market, but our particular favorite is "Absente", bottled by Distilleries et Domaines de Provence (pictured here). We find it to be the smoothest and most flavorful. It just goes down soooooo easy. We look forward to hearing which is your favorite when searching for the "Green Fairy". Salute! #VanGogh #Absinthe #Absente #Greenfairy #paintings #cocktails

Today we're tipping our hat, flicking our cigar and breaking out the ice for a truly insightful observation from one of the UK's most famous citizens - Winston Churchill. "The Gin & Tonic has saved more Englishman's lives and minds, than all the doctors of the empire". We'll drink to that! #WinstonChurchill #Gin #Tonic #Cheers