amygdala

Happiness involves doing, not being lectured at - and it is an emerging science, not a cult.
Thus Australian taxpayers should be utterly miserable that the Federal Government spent more than $950,000 (about the monthly wages bill of a decent-sized hospital emergency ward) paying a small army of US self-styled happiness gurus to tell public servants and teachers how to be happy as part of the Rudd Government's education revolution and workplace reforms.

It emerges that as a species we are all very similar in terms of the things that make us feel good. The literature on the topic is strikingly convergent and straight-forward. Social and brain scientists have now identified with a large degree of accuracy the things that make us happy. Using brain imaging sensors they are able to weed out the grumps from the happy people.

Dr Richard Davidson from the University of Wisconsin has identified an index for the brain's set point for moods. The images show that when we are distressed, the most active parts of the brain are the amygdala and the right prefrontal cortex. When we are in positive moods those brain areas are quiet and there is increased activity in the left prefrontal cortex.
A person's normal mood range can be ascertained by noting the baseline level of activity in right and left prefrontal areas. The further the ratio tilts to the left, the happier we are.

The Buddhists monks who for centuries have been preaching the art of happiness have got it down pat. When their brains were imaged, their baseline points were most to the left.
But if you're not impressed enough to get a one-way to ticket to Tibet, read on. Wide-ranging studies of thousands of people across many countries have allowed happiness experts to develop a roadmap to happiness.