Dr. Weil On Opening Yourself To Spontaneous Happiness

The premise of spontaneous happiness is based on the principle that if you can support and promote the health of your body through diet, exercise and healthy lifestyle choices, the body’s innate healing mechanisms can “spontaneously” activate to bring balance and health to our physical systems. By applying these principles of eating well, getting regular exercise, and focusing on healthy lifestyle choices, the same can be true for our emotional well-being: support the health of your body, mind and spirit, and emotional balance will, on its own, arise within you.

Learn more about Dr. Weil’s take on spontaneous happiness and emotional sea level in this exclusive video!

Video Transcript:

Dr. Weil On Opening Yourself To Spontaneous Happiness

You know, the word depression literally means to push down, to be pushed down, so what do you push down from? What is emotional sea level? That would be the neutral point. I’m not so sure that is happiness, and I don’t think the goal of life is necessarily happiness. I would say that emotional sea level is more the zone of contentment – contentment, balance, serenity, comfort… I think these are things you want to strive for in life and you want to spend more time in that vicinity.

I think its worth trying to open yourself to the possibility of spontaneous happiness, to enjoy positive moods when you have them, but I don’t think its normal either to be elated all the time or to be extremely depressed all the time. Nor do I think its normal not to experience periods of sadness from time to time. I think our emotional life is supposed to vary, it’s supposed to go somewhat above and somewhat below emotional sea level, but to avoid the extremes. And again I think that that emotional neutral level is the zone of contentment, comfort, serenity and balance.