resources for the journey
May 7th, 2010 by Father Steve
Great article on new research into what supports happiness: What Happy People Don’t Do
Some other happiness resources:
Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: The 9 habits of maximum happiness by David Leonhardt
The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt
and my favorite:
The Situation Is Hopeless But Not Serious (The Pursuit of Unhappiness) by Paul Watzlawick
Apr 7th, 2010 by Father Steve
Sherwin Nuland on Hope He is more a humanist than a spiritual person. Still many wonderful insights.
Sherwin Nuland was a practicing surgeon for 30 years and treated more than 10,000 patients. Now he is an author and speaker on topics no smaller than life and death, our minds, our morality, aging and the human spirit. Continue Reading »
Feb 18th, 2010 by Father Steve
As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, a nice walk in a beautiful place, maybe even with a good friend can be a great way to manage your stress.
This article, Reduce Stress with Prayer Walks does a nice job of laying out the value of the practice.
Dec 8th, 2009 by Father Steve
Ninety percent of life is showing up. Exercising at gym, learning something unexpected at a meeting, and meeting a significant person all require first that I first show up.
thanks to Ron Hutcherson for this insight
Nov 29th, 2009 by Father Steve
The season that is now upon us can be busy with parties, shopping, gatherings with families, religious observation and more. It can also be challenging when we are in a time of transition and so much seems up in the air.
In the Christian tradition Advent has just begun. As a season Advent holds that there is a need to take time to prepare. The preparation in Advent is for the coming of Jesus. In a broader sense our preparation may need to focus on the anticipation of good news around the bend, a break in the action in the midst of a frenetic time or simply shifting to a longer view of this time of transition. Continue Reading »
Nov 25th, 2009 by Father Steve
It starts with something small. Maybe a little smile. Maybe a sigh. But those early moments in the life of a baby show us that along side of the built in need to sleep, eat and be comforted is a disposition to show pleasure and happiness.
Sure there are times to cry, And tough times make us want some way to release the anxiety, the stress, the fatigue. Research collected in Robert Emmons’ book Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) indicates that the best approach is to be an attitude of gratitude
Here are some key findings:
Gratitude Interventions and Psychological and Physical Well-Being
• In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
• A related benefit was observed in the realm of personal goal attainment: Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions.
• A daily gratitude intervention (self-guided exercises) with young adults resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to a focus on hassles or a downward social comparison (ways in which participants thought they were better off than others). There was no difference in levels of unpleasant emotions reported in the three groups.
• Participants in the daily gratitude condition were more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or having offered emotional support to another, relative to the hassles or social comparison condition.
• In a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, a 21-day gratitude intervention resulted in greater amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality, relative to a control group.
• Children who practice grateful thinking have more positive attitudes toward school and their families (Froh, Sefick, & Emmons, 2008).
So make Thanksgiving Day every day and see the positive results an attitude of gratitude can bring.
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/
Nov 6th, 2009 by Father Steve
Welcome! In the coming days, weeks and months this blog will include faith & spirituality resources for your journey to your next job.
Please stay tuned. AND if you have certain questions, suggestions, ideas or wonders; please share them
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