Bridge To Bhutan

For a long time, Bhutan didn’t want to measure happiness. Simply ask one question- Are you happy in Bhutan? and you have the answer… Since the world is increasingly obsessed with numbers, the Center for Bhutan Studies in Bhutan along with the international academia & development practitioners, came up with a formula after several international conferences on GNH. The first conference was held in 2004 in Thimphu, Bhutan and in 2010, it will be held in Brazil.

Happiness formula: Jealousy, sexual misconduct, or apathy toward reciting prayers – Bhutan is now ready with a set of mathematical formulae to measure these personal feelings and collect it all to calculate the country’s happiness.

Happiness formula uses 72 indicators, from reciting prayers to buying second-hand clothes.

For all those GNH skeptics who said happiness can never be measured, the Centre for Bhutan Studies is ready with the tools. (more…)

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Inspired by BHUTAN’S overarching development policy called “Gross National Happiness” (GNH), Michael J Fox was in Bhutan recently for his new documentary. GNH is a concept coined by the fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in the 1970′s. GNH is a more holistic approach to development than Gross National Product (GNP). GNH is based on the Buddhist philosophy of the “Middle path.” While conventional development models stress production and economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH is based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other.

Source:www.abc.go.com “Michael J Fox travels across the globe to explore the enduring strength of hope. He talks to both famous and everyday people, venturing everywhere from the Far East to President Barack Obama’s inspiring inauguration — all for a one-hour special, Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, airing THURSDAY, MAY 7 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

The whole world, shaken by economic woes, is taking a closer look at optimism. Imagine a country which measures its success with a figure for “Gross National Happiness” instead of Gross National Product. Fox visits the secluded Himalayan nation of Bhutan, a modern day Shangri La that stresses the importance of joy in everything it does. Can happiness actually be legislated? Fox is fascinated by this nation’s commitment to the positive well-being of its citizens.”

Michael J Fox in BHUTAN: Canadian-American actor, Michael J Fox, is currently in the country shooting a documentary entitled, ‘Michael J Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist’. The documentary follows Fox as he travels the world in search of happiness and the reasons that make people happy.  (more…)

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The Divine Madman- 

By Samuel Jay Keyser: The “Takin” is Bhutan’s national animal. The mythology around its origin involves the “Divine Madman,” Lama Drukpa Kuenley. In the 15th century when he visited Bhutan, the people wanted to see him perform a miracle. He called for a cow and a goat for lunch. When he was finished, he placed the goat’s head on the cow’s body and commanded the amalgam to rise up and graze.

From an evolutionary point of view this makes the takin the newest creature on the face of the earth. Apparently, taxonomists are unable to relate the takin to any other creature and have given it its own classification, budorus taxicolor.

I think the Bhutanese have made the takin its national animal instead of, say, the yak or the barking deer, for the same reason that the New Zealanders made the kiwi its national bird. Both species are absolutely unique. These nations are saying, we are sui generis. (more…)

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Chasing arrows recycling symbol

- By Tobin Hack- (www.plentymag.com)

Q. I’ve raised my daughter to look carefully at recycling symbols and sort trash accordingly, but the other day she looked a little bit closer than I had expected and asked me who invented the three-arrow recycling symbol. I couldn’t answer her! Do you know?  – Tim, AZ

A. Trivia! As reliable an information source as Wikipedia is, we went to the American Forest and Paper Association to answer your question. Turns out, the person you’re looking for is a guy named Gary Anderson. Here’s how it all went down: In 1970, the Container Corporation of America (CCA), the largest paper recycler at the time, was using recycled content to make its paperboard, and really wanted to brag about it… I mean, let consumers know. (more…)

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