AS we struggle with New Year resolutions and the winter blues, Happiness will be the focus of the first Salon North of 2015 at the Masonic Hall, Harrogate, on Thursday, January 29.
Brought from London to North Yorkshire by Harrogate International Festivals, Salon North is billed as a revolutionary movement for the heart and mind, where the Salon events consist of a night of the most stimulating ideas in art, science and psychology designed to change your life for the better.
The format consists of an evening of three speakers, each given 30 minutes to engage the audience with their subject, interspersed with intervals, allowing time for a well-crafted gin and tonic.
The final Salon in the Health, Wealth and Happiness Salon North series will bring together Robin Choudhury, former University of York psychology student Tanya Byron and Adam Geileskey, who will mull over the key to happiness.
While we may believe our state of mind can have a huge effect on our physical being, but are there facts to back this up? Step forward Robin Choudhury, Professor of Cardiovascular medicine at Oxford University, who will show why happiness is extremely good news for our hearts, as he undertakes a visual bio-medical tour of our most precious organ.
Happiness is often spoken of as a desirable state of mind, so why is it so hard to be happy? Tanya Byron, professor in the public understanding of science, leading child psychologist and author of The Skeleton Cupboard, will reveal why childhood is such an important time to lay down the grounds of happiness.
Based on her experience as a clinical psychologist, she will present a picture of why happiness is almost impossible to attain when you are young and what can happen when you do not acquire what you need to be happy.
What about chocolate as a route to happiness? Strong evidence suggests it is impossible to experience unhappiness with chocolate in your mouth, but is this actually true and if so, why? Adam Geileskey , food scientist and head of development at Hotel Chocolat, is the self-confessed chocolate geek with all the research and explanations.
What's more, Salon North selflessly will explore the links between chocolate and happiness via the medium of tasting, giving you the gift of happiness even if just for one melting moment at Thursday's 7.30pm event.
Tickets can be booked online at harrogateinternationalfestivals.com
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