The 4-Level Happiness Pyramid

Happiness is a very interesting and popular topic. Many people are searching for it, researching on it, assessing it, discussing it, sharing it…… Some resources could even list out over 30 types of happiness. Some teach people diverse tips of getting happiness. Some focus on work, some focus on finance, some focus on relationship, some focus on spirituality……But few of these resources clarify the depth of happiness and help people how to comprehensively and organically access higher levels of true happiness.

Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert introduced the concept of Synthetic Happiness vs. Natural Happiness, and proved that Synthetic Happiness is real as well. This concept or terminology may confuse some people that they may discriminate some forms of happiness from being natural. Actually all the different forms of real happiness are natural, no matter if it’s generated automatically from getting what we want, or synthesized/manufactured from our thinking, or transcended from both automatic and synthetic processing. These forms of happiness are just at different levels of Natural Happiness.

With over 17 years of personal experience, studying and reflection on different statuses and levels of happiness, I found that natural happiness touches our life at the depth of four levels. A Happiness Pyramid could help illuminate the depth and levels.

At the bottom of the Happiness Pyramid is the Level Four happiness: Biological Happiness. Up from the bottom is the Level Three: Happiness in Wisdom. The Level Two is: Happiness in Love. At the top of the pyramid is the Level One: Happiness in Wise Love.

Level One: Happiness in Wise Love

Unconditional and giving love guided by wisdom. Generated by our powerful thinking wisdom and magic emotional wisdom.

Level Two: Happiness in Love

Romantic love. Generated by our magic emotional wisdom.

Level Three: Happiness in Wisdom

Inner peace and joy. Generated by our powerful thinking wisdom.

Level Four: Biological Happiness

Pleasure. Automatically generated by our brain when we get what we want.

Level Four the Biological Happiness is a fundamental type of happiness. The happiness we get in most of our life time is at this level. And most people most time are at this level. When our desires get satisfied, our brain generates certain chemicals, and we experience natural pleasure. But if we are only satisfied at this bottom level, or our consciousness only stays at this level, pleasure stays short with us, and we may be driven by materials including money and positions to satisfy our desires. Sometimes in this process we could become unconscious, which means that we may not feel the specialty and preciousness of happiness, and we may experience difficult to access the other three deeper levels of happiness.

Level Three Happiness in Wisdom is a breakthrough and sustaining level. Without Level Three, Level Two Happiness in Love could not last for long time. Without wisdom guidance, love could become blind and suffering in long run. Happiness based on generic love to the public and to the world belongs to Level Two. Inner peace and joy are typical description for this level of happiness. Level Three is most close to what psychologist Dan Gilbert called Synthetic Happiness, which means our brain and thinking could generate this level of happiness, no matter how stuck we may be. This level is also the most creative type of happiness as it proves how much powerful our wisdom thinking could turn things around.

Level Two Happiness in Love is a fortunate and romantic type of happiness. This is the most desiring type of happiness in most people’s hearts. And it’s popular especially in young people as they are romantic! In this kind of love, one forgets oneself and gives oneself fully to another one. This happiness is most described or praised by authors, poets, play writers, journalists, etc. When people are in Happiness in Love, they may find it difficult to stay calm or even peaceful, as they are extremely excited, passionate and full of imagination, being so happy while also nervous. Happiness in Love could also be narrow, as one may only think about another one while forget about the whole world!:).

Level One Happiness in Wise Love is the supreme level of happiness which is born from the marriage of love and wisdom, and from the unity of wise thinking and pure emotions. This is the rarest type of happiness and most blessed one. Only romantic and unconditional love guided by wisdom could lead people into the highest level of human’s happiness. In this kind of transcended love, one forgets oneself and gives oneself fully to another one, the world and the universe. Level One Happiness in Wise Love is also the most complex type of happiness, because it involves the harmonious dance of thinking and emotions. Unlike Level Three Happiness in Wisdom where most emotions are under our thinking power’s control and may not get enough freedom, and unlike Level Two Happiness in Love where emotions are beyond our wisdom’s guidance and could become extreme and blind, level One Happiness in Wise Love invites both thinking wisdom and emotional wisdom to collaborate together and generate a magic mixture.

It’s important for us to be first conscious about the depth of happiness, and be aware which level we are currently at, before we could understand what happiness we really desire, only by then could we learn and discover how to access the higher levels of happiness.

In my future serials of articles, I would further discuss how to reveal the powerful thinking wisdom and the magic emotional wisdom. If you are interested in discovering your own wisdom and accessing higher levels of happiness as early as possible in your life, please feel free to contact me and start a magical discovering journey right now.