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#REDIRECT [[Happiness]]
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Parrish2_contentment.jpg|right|frame]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century 15th Century]
==Definitions==
*1: [[feeling]] or showing [[satisfaction]] with one's [[possessions]], [[status]], or situation <a contented [[smile]]>
<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Contentment''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Contentment '''''this link'''''].</center>
==Description==
'''Contentment''' is the acknowledgement and [[satisfaction]] of reaching [[capacity]]. The level of capacity reached may be sought after, [[expected]], [[desired]], or simply predetermined as the level in which provides contentment.
Many [[religions]] have some form of eternal [[bliss]] or [[heaven]] as their apparent [[goal]] often [[contrasted]] with eternal torment or dissatisfaction. The source of all mentally created dissatisfaction appears to stem from the [[ability]] to [[compare]] and contrast [[experiences]] and find [[reality]] as one is living it to be less than [[ideal]]. Many religions believe this was caused by man eating of the forbidden [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_the_knowledge_of_good_and_evil Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil]. Man's eyes were "opened" to know the [[distinction]] between [[good]] and [[evil]] ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_genesis#Chapter_.3 Genesis 3:5]). The solution is to seek out ways to either make experienced reality [[conform]] to the [[ideal]] and/or to lower [[expectations]] to the level of the experienced. When one can live in the [[moment]] with expectations in [[harmony]] with experiences one has achieved the greatest mental contentment possible. Variants of this pursuit are found in many religions and [[manifest]] in forms of [[meditation]] and prayerful devotions.
The American philosopher, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bruce_Raup Robert Bruce Raup] wrote a book ''Complacency:The Foundation of Human Behavior'' (1925) in which he claimed that the human need for complacency (i.e. inner tranquility) was the hidden spring of human [[behavior]]. Dr. Raup made this the basis of his [[pedagogical]] theory, which he later used in his severe [[criticisms]] of the American Education system of the 1930s.
In many ways, ''contentment'', which can be defined as the state of being [[satisfied]], can be closely associated with the concept of [[happiness]]. In Positive Psychology social scientists study what might contribute to living a [[good]] life, or what would lead to people having increased [[positive]] [[mood]] and overall [[satisfaction]] with their [[life]]. [[Happiness]], in Positive Psychology, is defined in a twofold manner, which in totality is referred to as [[Subjective]] Well-Being. How much positive [[emotion]] (Positive Affect) as opposed to [[negative]] emotion (Negative Affect) does a person have, and how does one view one's life overall (global satisfaction) are the questions asked in Positive Psychology to determine Happiness. Maybe Contentment could be more associated or closely related to a person's level of [[satisfaction]] with his/her life (global satisfaction), but nevertheless the idea of Contentment is certainly intertwined in the concept of what makes people [[happy]]. Positive Psychology finds it very important to [[study]] what contributes to people being [[happy]] and to people flourishing, and finds it just as important to [[focus]] on the constructive ways in which people function and [[adapt]], as opposed to the general field of psychology which focuses more on what goes wrong or is [[pathological]] with [[human being]]s.
==See also==
*'''''[[Happiness]]'''''
==Quote==
[[Dissecting]] the word ''contentment'', [[focus]] upon the fragment "[[content]]", it [[illustrates]] the nature of contentment, for when one feels empty, one [[hungers]]. When one has content one is content. It is [[good]] either way, to be [[hungry]] and to seek, to strive to know, and it is equally beneficial to have content and to be content. As you apply yourself you will continually [[oscillate]] through these two [[phases]]: hunger, the [[desire]] to [[receive]]; and contentment, having been filled and satiated.- [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=2001-02-04-Blessing#Contentment Elyon]
[[Category: Psychology]]
[[Category: Religion]]