Having returned from two weeks of free time engaged in exploring the sights and history of St. Petersburg, Russia and deliberately keeping out of the drama going on in the usual sphere of my life, I noticed a remarkable stability as I wrote daily in my Happiness Journal. This reminded me of a theme in the writings of the Dalai Lama who talks about the stresses of cyclic existence, i.e., the daily and weekly drama that plays out externally in the world and internally in the way in which we engage with events. The stability, I reckon, is a measure of my 'natural' level of happiness. Research has indicated that this is one way to measure happiness. Since I had read about this idea of happiness, I can say that I 'knew' about it. I hadn't, however, experienced it since most of my days and weeks have various amplitudes of stress and some peaks of pleasantness. I now have a sense of my 'normal' happiness state which will be useful for me to notice as a reference point for the future fluctuations that will inevitably occur. I will be especially aware of the peaks of pleasantness and collect them and store them as a treasure chest of memories to trot out as a regular reinforcement to counteract the constant barrage of fear inducing chatter in my world. [Russell]