“The Path to Greatness is Paved with Patience, Persistence and Purpose”
When kindness becomes a habit, it improves our health: Whether it’s volunteering at a local school or taking soup to a sick neighbor, improving the welfare of others can also improve our own physical and mental health, a sizable body of research shows.
Researchers have followed over 700 people since 1938 to find the keys to happiness. Here’s what they discovered: The secret to happiness is more in our control than we think.
Tech billionaire’s 5-word piece of advice for a successful future: Billionaire Nandan Nilekani says soft skills will make professionals more successful in the age of AI. Here are a few you should prioritize.
Fighting snow leopards clinch top spot in the prestigious Nature Photographer of the Year 2024 competition Migrating wildebeest, a pet tiger and the vibrant colors of an octopus all win prizes in this year’s Nature Photographer of the Year. Results are in for the Nature Photographer of the Year 2024 competition, presented by Nature Talks. This year’s overall winner is Paolo Della Rocca from Italy, with his dramatic shot entitled ‘Games Between Siblings’.
7 of our best science-based tips for mental and cognitive health: Learn how mindfulness, sleep and other simple changes can improve your mental and cognitive well-being.
As we glide into the final days of 2024, I’m keen to remind us that meditation isn’t another task to check off our list, but a devotion to the art of being.
Like our Pacific ocean’s tides – ebbing and flowing day in and day out – our practice trains us to return, again and again, to being rooted, to rising, and to relaxing into experience. We sit not to become better, but to remember that we are already whole.
Each breath, each moment, is an invitation to waking up to reality – to meet life as it is, with open hearts and open minds. In 2025, I invoke for us all to keep our practice steady, like the sun rising each morning.
It is this gentle devotion that beckons the deepest truth and nurtures a peace within us. With warmth and presence,
Eric
Thanks this week go to Eric K for reminding us why we practice, and to all of you who share the soul food spirit of love and purpose every day.
Please pay it forward and happy holidays everyone!
As night stretches here, day contracts elsewhere. And in their night, we are bathed in light. In all nights there is light, in long days there can be ache too. For you, we call the sun to stand still a while, and the moon too, and stars, and the waters and the heavens. Hells as well — just for a second, just for a breath. May that breath rest you. And may each breath rest you, as it has until now, and now and now. This one, after that one, after that one after that.
A simple exercise from Yale’s Happiness Lab will help you make decisions that lead to long-term happiness: The creator of Yale’s popular class discusses how to transform your self-talk, change how you experience stress, and create space for serendipity.
13 marvelous images from the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards: A polar bear sits seemingly unbothered by a heavy snowstorm pummeling down. Photographer Daniel Valverde Fernandez captured the moment (seen above) the bear gave a vigorous shake to send the powder flying into the swirling winds.
If you can answer ‘yes’ to 6 questions, you’re more successful than you think
5 science-backed habits that will actually make you happier
Tai chi isn’t just for seniors. The workout boosts strength, flexibility, and longevity, no matter what your age
Plus, some Pure Fun
If you can answer ‘yes’ to 6 questions, you’re more successful than you think Scott Mautz, a former senior executive, has spent 30 years studying what makes people mentally strong and successful. Here’s a mini-assessment.
Tai chi isn’t just for seniors. The workout boosts strength, flexibility, and longevity, no matter what your age Plus, getting started is easy. Here’s how.
Doing Good is Good for You, Research Shows: Altruism, such as volunteering and donating, has been shown to improve happiness and well-being, and may be fundamental to being human.
Hope Can Be More Powerful Than Mindfulness: In difficult times, a forward-looking mindset may be especially helpful. In troubling times, how do we move forward? What mindsets help us bounce back from adversity?
14 Signs Your Dog Loves You: How Do Dogs Show You Love? Canines thrive on human companionship and love, so chances are, your pup would hold your hand if he could. Here, nine signs your pup loves you and is super connected.
“What if economics didn’t start with money but with human wellbeing”?
Did you know that even the creators of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) felt it was an inadequate measure as it does not count intangible upsides like Taylor Swift’s IP or the value of Childcare, or on the other side of the ledger, the adverse consequences and downsides like climate change, deforestation, ocean apocalypse, extreme heat, etc.
We are putting together a San Diego Doughnut Portrait with CalDEC (California Doughnut Economics Coalition) to solve for this important but complex question- in partnership with academia, business, government, and the social sector (nonprofits and philanthropy)
If you are local, please join us for this San Diego Doughnut Portrait Session on December 5th from 4-5:30pm
RSVP at the Link below and we can send you more deets and see you there:
7 Ways to Think like a 21st Century Economist:
Do these 3 things to feel happier today—they take less than 10 minutes “Addressing something you’ve been ignoring lightens the load and allows you to accomplish something that’s been weighing you down,” one expert says.
How to enjoy the music and sounds of the world that surrounds us Breathwork for Beginners: What to Know and How to Get Started
The Tchaikovsky Cure for Worry
NCPC Volunteer Awards Celebration where ticket sales close Oct 25th
Join us at this annual celebration of philanthropists that invest their time not necessarily their money…
‘Ear-marvellous’: how to enjoy the music and sounds of the world that surrounds us A fuller appreciation of the sounds that surround us can transform your life.
Breathwork for Beginners: What to Know and How to Get Started Breathwork refers to various breathing exercises that involve intentionally changing your breathing pattern. Many people practice breathwork to support their mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.
The Tchaikovsky Cure for Worry If you have anxiety, or simply want a greater sense of well-being, getting creative is just about the best thing you can do. June 27, 2024, The 19th-century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—still popular today for such works as The Nutcracker and the 1812 Overture—was not a happy man. In his 5,365 extant letters to friends and family, we find constant references to his sadness and unremitting anxiety. Over and over, he wrote versions of the line: “I suffered incredibly from depression…
NCPC Volunteer Awards Celebration where ticket sales close Oct 25th so sign up NOW!
Join us at this annual celebration of philanthropists that invest their time not necessarily their money and change lives and communities in San Diego…
My first experience with volunteerism, at about 11 years old was feeding formula to undernourished kids in a slum in Bombay, now Mumbai, which less than a mile from where we lived, housed nearly a million people in a couple of square miles!
My peers thought I was nuts, but it shaped my world view and sparked a profound appreciation for how different life can be based on luck of the genetic draw, circumstances, and how each of us can do our part to make life a little better for those around us.
Decades later, I would never have imagined, that in one of the most prosperous nations on earth, kids in San Diego were going home hungry over the weekend.
I thought this was a developing world problem not a firstworld problem, but alas, this is a reality for way too many San Diegan kids and their families.
Indulge me in watching this 5-minute video and if you feel inspired, donate even $1 to help address food insufficiency in our community.
Thanks for your open heart, generous soul, and consideration!
But for the grace of God and winning the genetic lottery go I and perhaps you too…
The surprising truth about loneliness in America American men were said to be in a “friendship recession,” with a survey finding the number of men without any close friends increased fivefold since 1990.
Young people today are stressed, depressed and reshaping the happiness curve Young adults — ages 18 to 25 — report being unhappier now than people in their 40s and 50s. Here are some potential explanations and solutions.
Buy Experiences instead of Possessions to Build Social Connection Shared experiences, more than material things, bring people together Mind & Brain The human being is a “social animal,” as Aristotle suggested. We have a fundamental need to belong. Yet we are living in a time when the U.S. Surgeon General has warned about an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. A lack of social connection can have negative consequences for both our mental and physical health. How, then, might we encourage the feelings of connectedness that are so integral to our well-being?
Neuroscience Says Doing This For Just 1 Hour a Week Can Make Your Brain 5 Years Younger Research shows keeping your brain sharp as you age is easier than you probably imagine.
6 Expert-Endorsed Techniques to Help You Get to Sleep Fast (and Stay Asleep!) Here are some real tactics you can use next time you’re having trouble falling asleep
