Post by Admin on Apr 20, 2017 14:33:40 GMT -5
The New York Times has a regular column under the heading of "Well", many of which deal with mindfulness, meditation, wellness, holistic/Integrative medicine. This column offers nice practical applications of the latest in research in these areas and often are very relevant to our interests here on Mindfulvets.net
So I came across this one recently, which seems to really fit here on our website, even if the word 'mindfulness' is not prominent. It does a nice job of providing practical tips based on hard-data science on how we can actually learn optimism. Yes, optimism and happiness are skills which can be learned, at least according to Dr. Richie Davidson -- whom I have dubbed (lovingly) elsewhere on this site, "Dr Happiness". He is a key neuroscience researcher running the Center for Healthy Minds(University of Wisconsin-Madison) and together with Dr Barbara Frederickson (Psychologist, University of North Carolina) they have been scientifically studying healthy minds (happy minds). Their research is cited in this New York Times piece of April 3, 2017, titled Turning Negative Thinkers Into Positive Ones , which starts like this:
Most mornings as I leave the Y after my swim and shower, I cross paths with a coterie of toddlers entering with their caregivers for a kid-oriented activity. I can’t resist saying hello, requesting a high-five, and wishing them a fun time. I leave the Y grinning from ear to ear, uplifted not just by my own workout but even more so by my interaction with these darling representatives of the next generation.
What a great way to start the day!
When I told a fellow swimmer about this experience and mentioned that I was writing a column on the health benefits of positive emotions, she asked, “What do you do about people who are always negative?” She was referring to her parents, whose chronic negativity seems to drag everyone down and make family visits extremely unpleasant.
I lived for half a century with a man who suffered from periodic bouts of depression, so I understand how challenging negativism can be. I wish I had known years ago about the work Barbara Fredrickson, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina, has done on fostering positive emotions, in particular her theory that accumulating “micro-moments of positivity,” like my daily interaction with children, can, over time, result in greater overall well-being.... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE...
So I came across this one recently, which seems to really fit here on our website, even if the word 'mindfulness' is not prominent. It does a nice job of providing practical tips based on hard-data science on how we can actually learn optimism. Yes, optimism and happiness are skills which can be learned, at least according to Dr. Richie Davidson -- whom I have dubbed (lovingly) elsewhere on this site, "Dr Happiness". He is a key neuroscience researcher running the Center for Healthy Minds(University of Wisconsin-Madison) and together with Dr Barbara Frederickson (Psychologist, University of North Carolina) they have been scientifically studying healthy minds (happy minds). Their research is cited in this New York Times piece of April 3, 2017, titled Turning Negative Thinkers Into Positive Ones , which starts like this:
Most mornings as I leave the Y after my swim and shower, I cross paths with a coterie of toddlers entering with their caregivers for a kid-oriented activity. I can’t resist saying hello, requesting a high-five, and wishing them a fun time. I leave the Y grinning from ear to ear, uplifted not just by my own workout but even more so by my interaction with these darling representatives of the next generation.
What a great way to start the day!
When I told a fellow swimmer about this experience and mentioned that I was writing a column on the health benefits of positive emotions, she asked, “What do you do about people who are always negative?” She was referring to her parents, whose chronic negativity seems to drag everyone down and make family visits extremely unpleasant.
I lived for half a century with a man who suffered from periodic bouts of depression, so I understand how challenging negativism can be. I wish I had known years ago about the work Barbara Fredrickson, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina, has done on fostering positive emotions, in particular her theory that accumulating “micro-moments of positivity,” like my daily interaction with children, can, over time, result in greater overall well-being.... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE...