Happiness is

a state of mind.

So often i have thought, i would be happy if this or if that. it is true that having my human needs met frees me to access deeper truths, however, ultimately, i find happiness is a state of consciousness, and dis-satisfaction is a state of consciousness. of course, very often these states are the result of caffeine, alcohol, sugar, etc. (drugs are way too powerful for me).
leaving those aside, the question becomes, how can i live in the state of consiousness that has happiness as one of it's attributes.

In Aldous Huxley's Perennial Philosophy (it's a great book) there is a saying that joy is the surest sign of the presence of god. is that ultimately the key to human happiness, an ongoing mystical experience of the presence of god, living with the presence of god? (god also meaning spirit, goddess, or whatever you want to call it, they're just different names for the same thing).

yes.