Awareness in Action
“Now we mostly have monks and other religious figures preaching about these ideas [compassion training]. It's quite another thing to have a hard-nosed neuroscientist like me suggest that such training may have beneficial consequences for how we act toward others as well as promoting health. Most people accept the idea ...that regular physical exercise is something they should do for the remainder of their lives. Imagine how different things might be if we accepted the notion that the regular practice of mental exercises to strengthen compassion is something to incorporate into everyday life…I've been talking about happiness not as a trait but as a skill, like tennis. If you want to be a good tennis player, you can't just pick up a racket—you have to practice."
~ Richard Davidson, from “This Is Your Brain on Happiness,” by Penelope Green, O, The Oprah Magazine (March 1, 2008)
Awareness in Action Thirty years research shows that: In rich countries, a smaller gap between rich and poor means a happier, healthier, and more successful population - with no relation between income per head and social well-being in rich countries. This evidence predicts that if we halved inequality: Murder rates would halve. Mental i...llness would reduce by two thirds. Obesity would halve. Imprisonment would reduce by 80%. Teen births would reduce by 80%. Levels of trust would increase by 85%.
www.equalitytrust.org.uk
This PowerPoint file contains 36 of the more important graphs shown on this web site and/or published in The Spirit Level. We hope you will use themin talks, lectures or discussion groups to help increase people's understanding of the effects of inequality.
Awareness in Action You’re Wrong About What Will Make You Happy and You’re Wrong About What Made You Happy
eduarticles.com
http://www.contextualpsychology.org/the_pursuit_of_happinesscontextualpsychology.orgby Carlin FloraPsychology Today Magazine, Jan/Feb 2009
Awareness in Action American culture venerates choice, but choice may not be the key to happiness and health, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. People can become paralyzed by unlimited choice, and find less satisfaction with their decisions. Choice can also foster a lack of empathy, the authors found, because i...t can focus people on their own preferences and on themselves at the expense of the preferences of others and of society as a whole
www.sciencedaily.com
ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2010) American culture venerates choice, but choice may not be the key to happiness and health, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
Awareness in Action Thanks to http://twitter.com/davidrock101 for this...
www.sciencedaily.com
ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2010) Before patting yourself on the back for resisting that cookie or kicking yourself for giving in to temptation, look around. A new University of Georgia study has revealed that self-control -- or the lack thereof -- is contagious.
www.nytimes.com
One thing that can make a lasting difference to your contentment is to work with others on a cause larger than yourself.
www.npr.org
-- The State Department's DipNote blog writes that "for those interesting in helping immediately, simply text 'HAITI' to '90999' and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill. ...
Awareness in Action Times: School teaches boys to meditate to reduce stress
The project — the first to introduce meditation skills as a regular subject on the curriculum — has been designed specifically for adolescents and comes after the success of a pilot study at the school last year. The “mindfulness” course for Year 10 ... More on Posterous
Matthew Rochford
Hello good people, I am teaching some new tai chi and qigong classes in london this week, all welcome:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tai-Chi-Na
Paula J This is definitely my cup of tea. :-)
kindness.yahoo.com
Join Yahoo! in creating a ripple of good around the world this holiday season. Update your status to share your random act of kindness, then inspire others to join you by asking, “You In?”
Awareness in Action THIS EMOTIONAL LIFE | Stress / Mental Well-being | PBS
Is all stress bad for us? How can we learn to manage it? From THIS EMOTIONAL LIFE (Jan. 4-6, 2010), neuroscientist Dr. Robert Sapolsky explains that sometimes "the right stress" can make us feel stimulated and he explains how stress affects our physical and mental selves.
Awareness in Action PBS - This emotional life - Can meditation really help with stress from the economy
Can meditation really help with stress from the economy, upcoming holidays, work stress, and more? From THIS EMOTIONAL LIFE (January 4-6, 2010), Dr. Michael Baime talks about how meditation and mindfulness helps students, teachers, doctors, people with cancer, and others.
