Greetings!
Welcome to the inaugural issue of HAPPINESS HEADLINES, the monthly newsletter for the documentary, currently in production, H-Factor...Where is Your Heart? In coming issues. We'll keep you posted on the film's progress, on what's happening in the world of happiness experts, conferences, research, art and more! We'll explore happiness in all its forms, even its flip side, unhappiness! Help us sow the seeds of happiness with your feedback and participation!
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 Lisa conceived and launched this documentary project, H-Factor...Where is Your Heart?, as the thesis for her Master's degree in Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica. The 30-minute version she produced, along with loads of other hard work, earned her her master's degree in August, but the project had taken on a life of its own. The little doc that could has inspired Lisa and her many supporters to expand the idea into a feature-length film for national broadcast, film festival and international distribution, and use in educational settings.
So, that's where we are at present--scheduling and shooting interviews and happiness happenings that we orchestrate or stumble upon. What makes H-Factor a unique film is how it integrates insights from everyday people with the experts who've researched the science behind your smile. In our next issue, we'll give you a taste of the colorful characters and renown happiness experts who appear in H-Factor. We aim to wrap production by December and hunker down for intense editing throughout the winter months. |
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 Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca shares his heartprint in H-Factor. Sheriff Baca, a strong believer in the positive impact of mentoring, has provided leadership, management and direction to thousands of deputy sheriffs and police officers throughout his career.
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Sheriff Lee Baca made it possible for H-Factor to enter L.A. County prison to interview inmates about their perspective on happiness, even behind bars. In June, shortly after completing this interview, we received a very special letter from one of them which we wish to share with you, as is, no edits:
July, 13, 2007.
Hello Lisa.
Thank you for the gift!Its appreciated, I just started it, and I'm enjoying it. So thank a lot to all H-Factor Staff Once again...I'll keep my happiness alive at all times it was more of a pleasure to haved meet you guys, Special. Such a wonderful carein' person like you! I would like to know of the interview? How did it come out to be? I know it wasn't the best, but with in time of life I'll get better. Hopefuly everything has come out just great "Your Project". Wish you the best and hope to hear of you sometime again...Thank you - Thank you! You made my day, it felt so wonderful to haved received a gift.
God Bless You.
Sincerly,Edgar G. |
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This month we showcase H-Art Prints created by young students at the Children's Education Center at Cal Tech in Pasadena. Lisa and her two children, Kayla and Aryel, facilitated a unique happiness happening at this after-school enrichment center when they handed out paper and markers to the students and asked them to draw their own idea of happiness for the H-Factor documentary. We captured it all on film and proudly showcase their endearing H-Art Prints in this and upcoming issues.
If you'd like to submit your artistic expression of happiness...
please email it as an attachment to heartprint@whatisyourhappiness.com,
including an explanation, if you like.
We'll gladly feature your H-Art print in an upcoming issue .
Ashley Rogers
7 years old
"My Family"
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We attended the 2007 Gallup International Positive Psychology Summit in Washington, D.C., Oct. 4-6 and will feature highlights from this adventure in our next newsletter. Until then, keep in mind this tip from Mark Twain:
"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."
With heart,
Lisa & Kayla Kamen & the staff of
H-Factor...Where is Your Heart? |
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 Our uniquely talented
Director of Photography
offers her take
on happiness:
When my mom first roped me in to work with her on this film project, I was really excited because I got more time to be with her all by myself, I got to work a brand new, fancy video camera all by myself, and some days I even got to take off school to go on shoots in other cities. We even went to film heartprints of people in Canada and Mexico. Now after a year, I'm getting a little bored with it, but I still really like spending time with my mom, just me and her, and taking school days off to travel. Later this month, we're going to San Francisco to film the Grandmothers. My mom says they are wise elders from native tribes all over the world, so I guess I'd like to meet them. That won't be boring. If you want to know what makes me happy, right now, since I just turned ten, it is definitely shopping and chocolate! What makes you happy? Kayla |
Click the image above
for a sneak peek! |
Third International Conference on Gross National Happiness (GNH)
GNH challenges development models dominated by GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and offers creative platforms for exchange, networking and policy development aimed at individual, community, national and
international transformation.
November 22-28, 2007 in
Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.gnh-movement.org/
Happiness & Its Causes 2008
Keynote presentation and workshop by Positive Psychology founder,
Professor Martin Seligman,
and Daniel Gilbert, author of
Stumbling on Happiness.
May8-9, 2008 in Sydney, Australia
http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au |
· Josh Ballinger, one of H-Factor's incredible camera people and editors, is currently at sea on the ScholarShip, a university program aboard a transformed passenger ship hosting students on semester-long voyages around the world. In addition to his workshops for the voyaging students on digital film editing, Josh will continue capturing heartprints in the many ports-o-call the ship is scheduled to visit. Josh writes about happiness ups and downs on the high seas in his blog. His latest entry details his experience hearing the Dalai Lama speak in Lisbon, Portugal.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=428951
· Documentary producer Lissa Pellicer, a dear friend of Lisa's, contributed to the filming of H-Factor by recording heartprint interviews during her January 2007 sojourn in India with her daughter, Samara. Pellicer shares her adventures in happiness through her India blog. http://hfactorindiablog.blogspot.com/ |
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