Happy Soul Food Friday!
This week:
11 Benefits of Being Positive:
There is a lot of research on the positive effects of being positive and the negative effects of being negative. The research is clear. It really does pay to be positive and the benefits include enhanced health and longevity, happiness, career advancement, athletic performance, team building and financial success. Being positive is not just a nice way to live. It’s the way to live. In this spirit here are 11 benefits of being positive.
1. Positive People Live Longer – In a study of nuns, those that regularly expressed positive emotions lived on average 10 years longer. (The Nun Study)
2. Positive work environments outperform negative work environments. (Daniel Goleman)
3. Positive, optimistic sales people sell more than pessimistic sales people. (Martin Seligman)
4. Positive leaders are able to make better decisions under pressure. (Heartmath.org)
5. Marriages are much more likely to succeed when the couple experiences a 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative interactions whereas when the ratio approaches 1 to 1, marriages are more likely to end in divorce. (John Gottman)
6. Positive people who regularly express positive emotions are more resilient when facing stress, challenges and adversity. (Several Studies)
7. Positive people are able to maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture which helps them identify solutions whereas negative people maintain a narrower perspective and tend to focus on problems. (Barbara Fredrickson)
8. Positive thoughts and emotions counter the negative effects of stress. For example, you can’t be thankful and stressed at the same time. (Several Studies)
9. Positive emotions such as gratitude and appreciation help athletes perform at a higher level. (Heartmath.org)
10. Positive people have more friends which is a key factor of happiness and longevity. (Robert D. Putnam)
11. Positive and popular leaders are more likely to garner the support of others and receive pay raises and promotions and achieve greater success in the workplace. (Tim Sanders)
(Thanks Larry)
Some highlights from His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s (HHDL) First San Diego visit entitled “Compassion without Borders”:
HHDL was in San Diego for several days, speaking at all the major universities. I was privileged to attend his UCSD event as I serve on the UCSD Alumni Board. The topic was Climate Change but the discussion encapsulated so much more from a wise and humble soul…
Important global issues such as Climate Change require agreement that it is a problem, as well as collective agreement on the response. Unlike bloodshed and violence that are “visibly abhorrent”, climate change is a slow, silent killer and invisibly abhorrent; hence the lack of public awareness and support to address the critical issue.
A theme HHDL brought up was universal responsibility, and how global interests must take precedence over national interests. “Look at birds: Even they respect their nests because they know their survival depends on it,” he said. “This small blue planet is our only home. If we do not respect it, the entire planet and billions and billions of species will be affected. This is a question of life, a question of survival for the entire planet.”.
The Left Behind 2.7 Billion… Out of 7 billion people on this planet, 2.7 billion people have no access to fossil fuels. The resulting cost to their health, and planet’s health is disastrous, and If we don’t stem the tide in the next 5 to 10 years the prognosis gets progressively worse! This urgency is scientific not political or ideological as validated but the eminent scientists that were panelists with HHDL on the stage.
Sometimes human development requires a “Change of Spirit”. We work hard to cultivate sharper minds, and that is good because Mind creates Meaning. However, Spirit creates Understanding. Many of our most insidious challenges are the result of wrong identification of self. In other words we believe we are somehow different from our neighbor. But don’t believe everything you think! We need to open our eyes, and our hearts to the nature of our condition as a community, living together inter-dependently on this small blue planet we call our home.
His HHDL has cultivated such a genuine respect & admiration for the practice of science because in his words; Skepticism à Creates Questions àBring Research à Fosters Analysis à Generates Answers! And this is the very same process on the spiritual path…
Developing our minds makes us smarter. Developing our spirit, cultivates warm-heartedness, and this is an essential ingredient in a complete education. Note: Sounds like a pretty good case for Soul Food Fridays!
(Thanks UCSD)
Committed to Giving Your Kids a Complete Education? Turn your Family, Friends and Community on to Back Pack Free Friday May 4th:
Every day millions of children go to school tired, dehydrated, and many times also hungry. Back Pack Free Friday focuses public awareness on the very real burdens lack of appreciation for children’s foundational health, places on children and schools. Back Pack Free Friday is sponsored by an international consciousness movement called Parenting 2.0 (P20), the top ranked parenting group on LinkedIn with nearly 1,700 members in more than 40 countries. P20 advocates a more proactive educational process for non-academic Life Skills.
I am proud to be a member of Parenting 2.0, and invite you to join the group, participate in and spread the word about our Back Pack Free Friday campaign that launches May 4th.
For more information visit: http://parenting2pt0.org/media/
Here is additional information from another P20 member who blogged about this at: http://braininsights.blogspot.com/2012/04/lifting-burden-off-children-and-schools.html
(Thanks Marlaine)
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Mission Fed ArtWalk 2012:
Artwalk is a flagship event for Art in San Diego and Mission Fed is proud to be the title sponsor for the 5th year in a row. ArtReach (a non-profit)- but I prefer for benefit -brings art professionals into the classroom to unleash the artist in every one of us.
Art and Spirit are integral aspects of the human experience. Discernment requires not just looking but seeing! Our aesthetics are forged in spirit and ironically, vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity & change.
Seeing ourselves differently, this change of spirit can be sparked by art. It reaches a deeper part of ourselves, it touches our soul.
Your rational mind may or may not be able to explain the awe and wonder that manifests when you resonate with the artistic but it is there…
Explaining is fine, but when we start to explain AWAY; awe, wonder, mystery, the sacred, the magical we stifle a key aspect of the human experience and thwart the soul.
Think Different has become a maxim of modernity
Try SEE Different and watch as “shift happens”…
Come to Little Italy this weekend and experience the best of San Diego’s local art scene for yourself
(Thanks Mission Fed)
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Google Earth reconnects a lost child with his mother after 25 years!
An amazing story that speaks to an unintended consequence and power of the information age…
(Thanks Brian)
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A Real Tearjerker: One young person’s attitude in the face of adversity giving rise to greatness…
Korea’s Got Talent and this young man understands that “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” as Zig Ziglar likes to say…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThI7QT8znpc&feature=youtu.be
(Thanks Heidi)
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Soul Food Friday is never complete without some Animal Crackers:
Enjoy some pet humor…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q34z5dCmC4M
(Thanks Sarah M.)
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Stay Soulful, Artful and Inspired!
Pay it forward…
Love,
Neville
“Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.”
— Pablo Picasso
Happy Soul Food Friday! 