SAVOY ESTATE – Chabad’s Jewish Learning Institute is calling on community members to examine their happiness through a course combining psychology with Jewish wisdom.

The six-session course, entitled ‘How Happiness Thinks: Jewish Perspectives on Positive Psychology’, will explore the question of what makes people happy; so often a central issue in 21st century life.

While most people innately understand that happiness and a positive attitude can greatly impact their work and personal life, many do not know how that happiness is created. This course draws not only on the increasingly popular science behind positive psychology, but on centuries of Jewish wisdom and mysticism, which addresses questions of what it means to be truly happy, when it is appropriate to be happy, and happiness in times of great difficulty. Combining Jewish thought with the latest research in the fast-growing field of positive psychology, How Happiness Thinks promises to offer a fresh perspective on this universally relevant and life-changing subject.

“This course is based on the premise that to be happy, you can either change the world, or you can change your way of thinking,” said Rabbi Ari Kievman, director of the Jewish Learning Institute in Johannesburg.

“‘How Happiness Thinks’ contrasts 3 000 years of Jewish wisdom on happiness with the latest observations and discoveries in positive psychology.”

Like all programmes offered by the Jewish Learning Institute, ‘How Happiness Thinks’ is designed to appeal at all levels of Jewish knowledge, and even those without prior experience or background in Jewish learning are welcome.

Details: Chabad House, 27 Aintree Ave, Savoy; Monday 7.15pm to 9pm; Tuesday 9.45pm to 11.15am; 011 440 6600; www.JLI.org.za

Source: North Eastern Tribune