Source: Improvement Lab

In the video, Andrew Huberman discusses the importance of dopamine in goal pursuit, achievement, and ultimately your happiness. He explains that dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in motivation, reward, and learning. When we achieve a goal, our brains release dopamine, which gives us a sense of satisfaction and motivation to continue pursuing our goals. However, if we are constantly chasing short-term rewards, such as food or drugs, our brains can become desensitized to dopamine, making it more difficult to feel motivated and achieve our long-term goals.

Huberman says that it is important to find ways to increase our baseline level of dopamine so that we can be more motivated and successful in achieving our goals. He recommends the following strategies for doing this:

1. Getting enough sleep
2. Practicing non-sleep deep rest (NSDR)
3. Eating a healthy diet that includes foods high in tyrosine, an amino acid that is necessary for the production of dopamine
4. Exercising regularly
5. Spending time in nature
6. Practicing mindfulness meditation

Huberman also emphasizes the importance of setting realistic goals and breaking them down into smaller, more manageable steps. He argues that this will help us to stay motivated and on track as we work towards our goals.

Overall, Huberman’s video provides valuable insights into the role of dopamine in goal pursuit and achievement. His recommendations for increasing our baseline level of dopamine and setting realistic goals can be helpful for anyone who is looking to improve their motivation and success in life.

Here are some additional details about the strategies that Huberman recommends:

• Getting enough sleep. Sleep is essential for the production of dopamine. When we don’t get enough sleep, our levels of dopamine can drop, which can lead to problems with motivation, focus, and decision-making. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
• Practicing non-sleep deep rest (NSDR). NSDR is a type of relaxation technique that has been shown to increase levels of dopamine. It involves lying down in a comfortable position and focusing on your breath. You can find guided NSDR recordings online or in apps.
• Eating a healthy diet. A healthy diet that includes foods high in tyrosine, such as meat, fish, eggs, and dairy, can help to boost your levels of dopamine. You should also avoid foods that are high in sugar or processed foods, as these can can lead to spikes and crashes in your blood sugar levels, which can impact your dopamine levels.
• Exercising regularly. Exercise has been shown to increase levels of dopamine. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week.
• Spending time in nature. Spending time in nature has been shown to increase levels of dopamine. Go for a walk in the park, hike in the woods, or simply sit in your backyard and enjoy the fresh air.
• Practicing mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation can help to increase your focus and attention, which can be helpful for goal pursuit. There are many different types of mindfulness meditation, so find one that works for you and practice it regularly.

  By following these strategies, you can increase your baseline level of dopamine and improve your motivation and success in achieving your goals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrvlgE17sQI

Source: Awaken

Comedian Jim Breuer goes on a hilarious rant about the absurdity of the COVID-19 mania.

By Jill Suttie | Greater Good Magazine

We are spending more time indoors and online. But recent studies suggest that nature can help our brains and bodies to stay healthy.

I’ve been an avid hiker my whole life. From the time I first strapped on a backpack and headed into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I was hooked on the experience, loving the way being in nature cleared my mind and helped me to feel more grounded and peaceful.

But, even though I’ve always believed that hiking in nature had many psychological benefits, I’ve never had much science to back me up…until now, that is. Scientists are beginning to find evidence that being in nature has a profound impact on our brains and our behavior, helping us to reduce anxiety, brooding and stress, and increase our attention capacity, creativity, and our ability to connect with other people.

Related Article: The Frequency of Life: Getting Back to Nature For Good Health

“People have been discussing their profound experiences in nature for the last several 100 years—from Thoreau to John Muir to many other writers,” says researcher David Strayer, of the University of Utah. “Now we are seeing changes in the brain and changes in the body that suggest we are physically and mentally more healthy when we are interacting with nature.”

While he and other scientists may believe nature benefits our well-being, we live in a society where people spend more and more time indoors and online—especially children. Findings on how nature improves our brains bring added legitimacy to the call for preserving natural spaces—both urban and wild—and for spending more time in nature in order to lead healthier, happier, and more creative lives.

Here are some of the ways that science is showing how being in nature affects our brains and bodies.

1. Being in nature decreases stress

It’s clear that hiking—and any physical activity—can reduce stress and anxiety. But, there’s something about being in nature that may augment those impacts.

In one recent experiment conducted in Japan, participants were assigned to walk either in a forest or in an urban center (taking walks of equal length and difficulty) while having their heart rate variability, heart rate, and blood pressure measured. The participants also filled out questionnaires about their moods, stress levels, and other psychological measures.

Results showed that those who walked in forests had significantly lower heart rates and higher heart rate variability (indicating more relaxation and less stress), and reported better moods and less anxiety, than those who walked in urban settings. The researchers concluded that there’s something about being in nature that had a beneficial effect on stress reduction, above and beyond what exercise alone might have produced.

In another study, researchers in Finland found that urban dwellers who strolled for as little as 20 minutes through an urban park or woodland reported significantly more stress relief than those who strolled in a city center.

The reasons for this effect are unclear, but scientists believe that we evolved to be more relaxed in natural spaces. In a now-classic laboratory experiment by Roger Ulrich of Texas A&M University and colleagues, participants who first viewed a stress-inducing movie, and were then exposed to color/sound videotapes depicting natural scenes, showed much quicker, more complete recovery from stress than those who’d been exposed to videos of urban settings.

These studies and others provide evidence that being in natural spaces— or even just looking out of a window onto a natural scene—somehow soothes us and relieves stress.

2. Nature makes you happier and less brooding

I’ve always found that hiking in nature makes me feel happier, and of course, decreased stress may be a big part of the reason why. But, Gregory Bratman, of Stanford University, has found evidence that nature may impact our mood in other ways, too.

In one 2015 study, he and his colleagues randomly assigned 60 participants to a 50-minute walk in either a natural setting (oak woodlands) or an urban setting (along a four-lane road). Before and after the walk, the participants were assessed on their emotional state and on cognitive measures, such as how well they could perform tasks requiring short-term memory. Results showed that those who walked in nature experienced less anxiety, rumination (focused attention on negative aspects of oneself), and negative affect, as well as more positive emotions, in comparison to the urban walkers. They also improved their performance on memory tasks.

In another study, he and his colleagues extended these findings by zeroing in on how walking in nature affects rumination—which has been associated with the onset of depression and anxiety—while also using fMRI technology to look at brain activity. Participants who took a 90-minute walk in either a natural setting or an urban setting had their brains scanned before and after their walks and were surveyed on self-reported rumination levels (as well as other psychological markers). The researchers controlled for many potential factors that might influence rumination or brain activity—for example, physical exertion levels as measured by heart rates and pulmonary functions.

Even so, participants who walked in a natural setting versus an urban setting reported decreased rumination after the walk, and they showed increased activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain whose deactivation is affiliated with depression and anxiety—a finding that suggests nature may have important impacts on mood.

Bratman believes results like these need to reach city planners and others whose policies impact our natural spaces. “Ecosystem services are being incorporated into decision making at all levels of public policy, land use planning, and urban design, and it’s very important to be sure to incorporate empirical findings from psychology into these decisions,” he says.

3. Nature relieves attention fatigue and increases creativity.

Today, we live with ubiquitous technology designed to constantly pull for our attention. But many scientists believe our brains were not made for this kind of information bombardment, and that it can lead to mental fatigue, overwhelm, and burnout, requiring “attention restoration” to get back to a normal, healthy state.

Strayer is one of those researchers. He believes that being in nature restores depleted attention circuits, which can then help us be more open to creativity and problem-solving.

“When you use your cell phone to talk, text, shoot photos, or whatever else you can do with your cell phone, you’re tapping the prefrontal cortex and causing reductions in cognitive resources,” he says.

In a 2012 study, he and his colleagues showed that hikers on a four-day backpacking trip could solve significantly more puzzles requiring creativity when compared to a control group of people waiting to take the same hike—in fact, 47 percent more. Although other factors may account for his results—for example, the exercise or the camaraderie of being out together—prior studies have suggested that nature itself may play an important role. One in Psychological Science found that the impact of nature on attention restoration is what accounted for improved scores on cognitive tests for the study participants.

This phenomenon may be due to differences in brain activation when viewing natural scenes versus more built-up scenes—even for those who normally live in an urban environment. In a recent study conducted by Peter Aspinall at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and colleagues, participants who had their brains monitored continuously using mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) while they walked through an urban green space had brain EEG readings indicating lower frustration, engagement, and arousal, and higher meditation levels while in the green area, and higher engagement levels when moving out of the green area. This lower engagement and arousal may be what allows for attention restoration, encouraging a more open, meditative mindset.

It’s this kind of brain activity—sometimes referred to as “the brain default network”—that is tied to creative thinking, says Strayer. He is currently repeating his earlier 2012 study with a new group of hikers and recording their EEG activity and salivary cortisol levels before, during, and after a three-day hike. Early analyses of EEG readings support the theory that hiking in nature seems to rest people’s attention networks and to engage their default networks.

Strayer and colleagues are also specifically looking at the effects of technology by monitoring people’s EEG readings while they walk in an arboretum, either while talking on their cell phone or not. So far, they’ve found that participants with cell phones appear to have EEG readings consistent with attention overload, and can recall only half as many details of the arboretum they just passed through, compared to those who were not on a cell phone.

Though Strayer’s findings are preliminary, they are consistent with other people’s findings on the importance of nature to attention restoration and creativity.

“If you’ve been using your brain to multitask—as most of us do most of the day—and then you set that aside and go on a walk, without all of the gadgets, you’ve let the prefrontal cortex recover,” says Strayer. “And that’s when we see these bursts in creativity, problem-solving, and feelings of well-being.”

4. Nature may help you to be kind and generous

Whenever I go to places like Yosemite or the Big Sur Coast of California, I seem to return to my home life ready to be more kind and generous to those around me—just ask my husband and kids! Now some new studies may shed light on why that is.

In a series of experiments published in 2014, Juyoung Lee, GGSC director Dacher Keltner, and other researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, studied the potential impact of nature on the willingness to be generous, trusting, and helpful toward others, while considering what factors might influence that relationship.

As part of their study, the researchers exposed participants to more or less subjectively beautiful nature scenes (whose beauty levels were rated independently) and then observed how participants behaved playing two economics games—the Dictator Game and the Trust Game—that measure generosity and trust, respectively. After being exposed to the more beautiful nature scenes, participants acted more generously and more trusting in the games than those who saw less beautiful scenes, and the effects appeared to be due to corresponding increases in positive emotion.

In another part of the study, the researchers asked people to fill out a survey about their emotions while sitting at a table where more or less beautiful plants were placed. Afterward, the participants were told that the experiment was over and they could leave, but that if they wanted to they could volunteer to make paper cranes for a relief effort program in Japan. The number of cranes they made (or didn’t make) was used as a measure of their “prosociality” or willingness to help.

Related Article: Creating Connection: Finding Balance Between Nature and Man.

Results showed that the presence of more beautiful plants significantly increased the number of cranes made by participants and that this increase was, again, mediated by positive emotion elicited by natural beauty. The researchers concluded that experiencing the beauty of nature increases positive emotion—perhaps by inspiring awe, a feeling akin to wonder, with the sense of being part of something bigger than oneself—which then leads to prosocial behaviors.

Support for this theory comes from an experiment conducted by Paul Piff of the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues, in which participants staring up a grove of very tall trees for as little as one minute experienced measurable increases in awe, and demonstrated more helpful behavior and approached moral dilemmas more ethically, than participants who spent the same amount of time looking up at a high building.

5. Nature makes you “feel more alive”

With all of these benefits to being out in nature, it’s probably no surprise that something about nature makes us feel more alive and vital. Being outdoors gives us energy, makes us happier, helps us to relieve the everyday stresses of our overscheduled lives, opens the door to creativity, and helps us to be kind to others.

No one knows if there is an ideal amount of nature exposure, though Strayer says that longtime backpackers suggest a minimum of three days to really unplug from our everyday lives. Nor can anyone say for sure how nature compares to other forms of stress relief or attention restoration, such as sleep or meditation. Both Strayer and Bratman say we need a lot more careful research to tease out these effects before we come to any definitive conclusions.

Still, the research does suggest there’s something about nature that keeps us psychologically healthy, and that’s good to know…especially since nature is a resource that’s free and that many of us can access by just walking outside our door. Results like these should encourage us as a society to consider more carefully how we preserve our wilderness spaces and our urban parks.

And while the research may not be conclusive, Strayer is optimistic that science will eventually catch up to what people like me have intuited all along—that there’s something about nature that renews us, allowing us to feel better, to think better, and to deepen our understanding of ourselves and others.

“You can’t have centuries of people writing about this and not have something going on,” says Strayer. “If you are constantly on a device or in front of a screen, you’re missing out on something that’s pretty spectacular: the real world.”

Image sources: Peter Morgan, Auyuittuq National Park

We tend to find it easier to smile when things seem to be “going right” in our lives. We may have found the prefect mate, landed our dream job, have a supportive and loving family, and find that overall things are pretty smooth sailing. But what about when that perfect mate cheats? Or we get fired? Or that loving family rejects something about you dear to your heart? What does that do to us on a soul level and why is our reaction to it vital in the level of growth we take from it?

Believe it or not, we are not mere victims of circumstance. Yes, environmental factors play a huge role in our overall development, and how we are treated and what we are taught about ourselves and the world around us as children is pretty much what we take into adulthood. However, it doesn’t have to stay that way. We are always free to choose our next step, our next reaction and our next goal.

So, how do we react when life gives us a swift kick where the sun doesn’t shine? Do we get pissed off and curse the Universe or God? Do we take it out on those around us whose lives still seem to be going pretty well? Do we go into hermit mode and recluse ourselves into a month long pity party? Or do we step back and try to see if there’s anything to learn from the situation…anything good that could come of it…any reason the Universe may have “made it all go to shit” perhaps to make way for something even BETTER!?

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon

I’ve come to learn that life really is a matter of personal perspective. You can live 90 years with each day incredible and purpose-driven; full of creative ambition. Or you can live the same day over and over for 90 years. It’s really up to you, no matter where you come from, who your parents were, what gender or race you are, or nationality you are born under. Yes, these factors have their own undeniable struggles, but those too are calling to be looked at in an entirely new way. When one sees “short-comings” not as obstacles, but as catalysts for motivation, the world opens up with new possibilities.

If the greatest leaders, peace-makers, speakers, loving-hearts of our time had let themselves be mere victims of circumstance, imagine how the world might feel a little less full without their voices ever being heard; without their presence being known to the world; without the differences they made, ever being made at all. My point is we ALL have that ability within us, to do such incredibly wonderful, great things. The only difference between “us” and “them” is how we choose to see ourselves against the rest of the world.

And with great vision, often comes great growth which can bring one to endure great pain. Why so? Well consider the caterpillar’s journey through metamorphosis. If its vision only stretched as far as becoming the best caterpillar it could be, it would be denying itself of its true purpose, which is to become the spectacular butterfly. The caterpillar must be open to the belief that he is so much more than what he can physically see now and that in time he will naturally grow into his magnificence. He doesn’t need to plan for it, or hope for it, or wish it. But he will go through a complete and utter destruction of his current self and what he knows himself to be in this moment as a caterpillar. And that can be terrifying and is guaranteed to be quite painful.

“How does one become a butterfly? They have to want to learn to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.” – Trina Paulus

And as humans grow, whether intellectually, mentally, spiritually or all of the above, we are not that different from the caterpillar. We often get torn apart, hearts melted, broken and beaten down into an unrecognizable pulp, but in the end we endure as a stronger, wiser version of our former selves. We have become the proverbial butterfly. Only as humans, we get to do this continually throughout our lives as we go through our life lessons and experience what we would perceive as those “painful” times in our lives. Those times that we look back on and whose memory can still make us cry, bring forth anger or sadness, or even guilt and regret.

These experiences stretch us, and can hurt in terrible ways, but if we look at the pain as a measure of strength, we often realize that we are so much more capable of handling life’s trials than we ever imagined. And with this comes an unexpected respect for the pain as you begin to realize that without it, you would not be the person you are today, for it is the pain that pushed you to face your greatness and to pursue your perpetual purpose. It is in the pain that we find appreciation for the little things we take for granted every day. And we are gifted the knowing that without a bit of struggle, we’d never learn how to fully break free of the self-defeating limitations placed upon us by society. Pain challenges us, and it can be our greatest motivator for change; a catalyst for new beginnings and for me personally, perhaps the greatest mentor I’ve ever had.

Tamara Rant is a Co-Editor of CLN as well as a Licensed Reiki Master, heart-centered Graphic Designer and a progressive voice in social media activism & awareness. Connect with Tamara on Facebook by visiting Prana Paws/Healing Hearts Reiki or go to RantDesignMedia.com

In the last month alone I’ve had to find a new place to live 5 states away, finish a book proposal, pack up my entire apartment, and complete about a million other tasks that typically go along with long-distance relocating.

Moving is hard and so is trying to get a book published at the same time! 🙂 And when life throws a million tasks at us all at once, it’s easy to feel like we’re going to lose it, or that we should give up on certain things and focus more on others due to “lack of time”.  The thing is… we have time for the things we make time for; that’s how it works!

I often felt on certain days that there was no way I would ever get my book proposal completed on time. I wasn’t happy with some things and kept doing some last-minute revisions, but ultimately what helped me was walking away from it altogether for a couple of days. Oftentimes we can become so immersed in one thing, in one project or hobby that we can’t see that we are blocking our own creative flow.

On days I started feeling doubt creep in and other low-vibrational energies where my ego wanted to beat up on me, I just stepped away from it for a bit. I remembered why I was doing it (because I freaking LOVE to write and have a message to share with the world!) and suddenly I could feel my heart reopen wide again. Being in your heart-space is vital to being able to not only function in but also proactively navigate through chaotic situations in your life.

I also suggest avoiding worry! I know, easier said than done, right? But think for a moment what the act of worrying actually is doing. You are putting energy into imagining horrible, negative scenarios in your mind of what COULD possibly happen. You are putting creative, intentional energy into it whether you mean to or not simply because you are giving it so much attention and have so emotion behind it. If you are familiar with manifesting, you know these two elements are keys to successfully manifesting.

Instead, shift your focus and energy to what you DO want to happen. Or if your thoughts are on another person, perhaps a loved one you cannot stop thinking about, envision what you DO want for them. Don’t keep yourself up at night creating all of these horrible nightmare stories in your mind of realities that NEVER even existed until YOU created them in your mind! Realize that right away, stop putting energy into it and shift your perception onto what you DO wish to happen instead. THINK POSITIVE!

If you can, try and be around more uplifted people as well during times of chaos and change. These types of people will tend to be more understanding and supportive to what you are going through and will more than likely be there for you if you need anything. If you tend to hang out with people who never call you but only to complain about things they never even attempt to try changing, then these types of people will obviously only add to the chaos you are already experiencing.

Remember to not stress over that which you cannot control and to do the best you can to manage those things that you can. When we get caught up in “running the show”, we often feel like we are failing ourselves or our families if we cannot get every little thing done all by ourselves. And oftentimes we may be too proud to ask for help. In these situations, it’s best to remember that families are also teams and work best together when all people are actively contributing their gifts in the ways they can that best supports the group as a whole.

In the words of Bruce Lee “Be water, my friend.” Never forget that when life gets stressful and things get a little crazy, to just go with the flow. There is a quaint peace in surrendering and trusting in the Universe. I’m one of the most stubborn people on the planet, and when I finally took a leap of faith and let go, it was the most rewarding experience of my entire life. Everything you could ever want truly is on the other side of fear. We just need to remember that there is nothing to fear and then it’s funny, but life never quite seems as chaotic anymore after that.

Tamara Rant is a Co-Editor/Writer for CLN as well as a Licensed Reiki Master, heart-centered Graphic Designer and a progressive voice in social media activism & awareness. She is an avid lover of all things Quantum Physics and Spirituality. Connect with Tamara by visiting Prana Paws/Healing Hearts Reiki or go to RantDesignMedia.com

Follow Tamara on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

By Jonathan Haidt | greatergood.berkeley.edu

Ever feel a thrill when you see someone act with courage or compassion? Psychologist Jonathan Haidt calls that feeling “elevation,” and his studies of it may provide a key to understanding what inspires people to do good.

Here’s a puzzle: why do we care when a stranger does a good deed for another stranger? Most theories in the social sciences say that people’s actions and feelings are motivated by self-interest. So why are we sometimes moved to tears by the good deeds or heroic actions of others?

I believe we cannot have a full under­standing of human morality until we can explain why and how human beings are so powerfully affected by the sight of a stranger helping another stranger. For the past several years I have studied this feeling, which I call “elevation.” I have defined elevation as a warm, uplifting feeling that people experience when they see unexpected acts of human good­ness, kindness, courage, or compassion. It makes a person want to help others and to become a better person himself or herself.

Elevation is widely known across cultures and historical eras. You prob­ably recognize it yourself. But for some reason no psychologist has studied it empirically. Instead, psychologists have focused most of their energies on the negative moral emotions, especially guilt and anger. Psychologists have thought about morality primarily as a system of rules that prevents people from hurting each other and taking their possessions.

But I believe that morality is much richer and more balanced. Most people don’t want to rape, steal, and kill. What they really want is to live in a moral community where people treat each other well, and in which they can satisfy their needs for love, productive work, and a sense of belonging to groups of which they are proud. We get a visceral sense that we do not live in such a moral world when we see people behave in petty, cruel, or selfish ways. But when we see a stranger perform a simple act of kindness for another stranger, it gives us a thrilling sense that maybe we do live in such a world. The fact that we can be so responsive to the good deeds of others—even when we do not benefit directly—is a very important facet of human nature. Yes, people can be terribly cruel, and we must continue our study of racism, violence, and other social ills. But there is a brighter side to human nature, too, and psychol­ogy ought to look more closely at it.

Beyond disgust

I started examining elevation only after years of studying its opposite: disgust. It makes good evolutionary sense that human beings should have an emotion that makes us feel repulsion toward rotten food, excrement, dead bodies, and other physical objects that are full of danger­ous bacteria and parasites. It also makes sense that disgust should make us hyper­sensitive to contagion—that is, we feel disgust toward anything that touched something that we find disgusting.

But when my colleagues and I actually asked people in several countries to list the things they thought were disgusting, we repeatedly found that most people men­tioned social offenses, such as hypocrisy, racism, cruelty, and betrayal. How on earth did a food-based and very corporeal emotion become a social and moral emotion? The short version of our attempt at an answer is that while disgust may motivate people to distance themselves from physical threats, it is well-suited for dealing with social threats as well. When we find social actions disgusting, they indicate to us that the person who commit­ted them is in some way morally defective. In this light, we seem to place human actions on a vertical dimension that runs from our conception of absolute good (God) above, to absolute evil (the Devil) below. This vertical dimension is found in many cultures—for example, in Hindu and Buddhist ideas that people are reincarnated at higher or lower levels depending on their moral behavior in this life.

Social disgust can then be understood as the emotional reaction people have to witness­ing others moving “down,” or exhibiting their lower, baser, less God-like nature. Human beings feel revolted by moral depravity, and this revulsion is akin to the revulsion they feel toward rotten food and cockroaches. In this way, dis­gust helps us form groups, reject devi­ants, and build a moral community.

I thought about the social nature of dis­gust in this way for years, and about what exactly it means when someone moves “down” on the vertical dimension from good to evil. But then, one day in 1997, I looked up. I had never thought about what emotion we feel when we see someone move higher on the vertical dimension, acting in an honorable or saintly way. But once I began to investigate, I saw a whole new emotional response triggered by virtu­ous, pure, or super-human behavior. I called this emotion “elevation” because seeing other people rise on the vertical dimension toward goodness seems to make people feel higher on it themselves. Once I began looking for elevation, I found it easily. I saw that most people recognize descrip­tions of it, and the popular press and Oprah Winfrey talk about it (as being touched, moved, or inspired). Yet research psycholo­gists had almost nothing to say about it.

I have now done several experiments on elevation, and here is what I have learned.

Studying elevation

First, my students and I asked people to write in detail about five kinds of situa­tions that we thought seemed likely to produce different kinds of positive emo­tions, including happiness and elevation. We then asked specific questions about their bodily changes, thoughts, actions, and motivations in these different situations. In the ques­tion that was supposed to prompt people to share their experiences of elevation, we asked participants to write about “a specific time when you saw a manifestation of humanity’s ‘higher’ or ‘better’ nature.” The stories told in response were often moving and beautiful.

The most commonly cited circum­stances that caused elevation involved seeing someone else give help or aid to a person who was poor or sick or stranded in a difficult situation. A par­ticularly powerful and detailed case captures the flavor of these situations:

Myself and three guys from my church were going home from vol­unteering our services at the Salva­tion Army that morning. It had been snowing since the night before, and the snow was a thick blanket on the ground. As we were driving through a neighborhood near where I lived, I saw an elderly woman with a shovel in her driveway. I did not think much of it when one of the guys in the back asked the driver to let him off here. The driver had not been paying much attention so he ended up circling back around towards the lady’s home. I had assumed that this guy just wanted to save the driver some effort and walk the short distance to his home (although I was clueless as to where he lived). But when I saw him jump out of the back seat and approach the lady, my mouth dropped in shock as I realized that he was offering to shovel her walk for her.

When participants saw unexpected acts of goodness like this one, they commonly described themselves as being surprised, stunned, and emotionally moved. Their descriptions imply that under the surface, they were changing their views about humanity in a more optimistic way and triggering higher goals for themselves. When asked, “Did the feeling give you any inclination toward doing something?” the most common response was to describe general desires to help others and to become a better person. Several par­ticipants described the kind of openness and urge to be playful that psychologist Barbara Fredrickson has ascribed to joy. The woman who wrote about the snow-shoveling episode above also wrote,

I felt like jumping out of the car and hugging this guy. I felt like singing and running, or skipping and laugh­ing. Just being active. I felt like saying nice things about people. Writing a beautiful poem or love song. Play­ing in the snow like a child. Tell­ing everybody about his deed.

A common theme in most of the narra­tives is a social focus—a desire to be with, love, and help other people. The effects of these feelings appear to have poten­tially life-altering effects. One participant described how moved he was when so many people came to visit and support his family while his grandfather was dying. He said he still had those feelings seven years later, and that those feelings helped inspire his decision to become a doctor. Feelings of elevation seem particularly capable of fostering love, admiration, and a desire for closer affiliation with the doer of the good deed. The woman in the snow-shoveling incident wrote,

My spirit was lifted even higher than it already was. I was joyous, happy, smiling, energized. I went home and gushed about it to my suite-mates, who clutched at their hearts. And, although I have never seen this guy as more than just a friend, I felt a hint of romantic feeling for him at this moment.

Love and a desire for affilia­tion appear to be a common human response to witnessing saints and saintly deeds, or even to hearing about them second hand. If disgust is a negative emotion that strengthens ego bound­aries and defenses against a morally reprehensible other, then elevation is its opposite—a desire to associate with those who are morally admirable.

A second study confirmed this gen­eral portrait of elevation. This second study induced elevation in a laboratory by showing one group of participants video clips from a documentary about Mother Teresa. Control groups saw other videos, including an emotion­ally neutral but interesting documen­tary, and a comedy sequence from the television show America’s Funniest Home Videos. Compared to participants who watched the control videos, partici­pants who watched the elevating video clip reported feeling more loving and inspired, they more strongly wanted to help and affiliate with others, and they were more likely to actually volunteer to work at a humanitarian charity organization afterwards.

In both studies, we found that participants in the elevation conditions reported different patterns of physical feelings and motivations when com­pared to participants in the control conditions. Elevated participants were more likely to report physical feelings in their chests—especially warm, pleas­ant, or “tingling” feelings—and they were more likely to report wanting to help others, become better people themselves, and affiliate with others. In both studies, reported feelings of happiness energized people to engage in private or self-interested pursuits, while feelings of elevation seemed to open people up and turn their atten­tion outwards, toward other people.

Based on this research, I believe elevation carries many benefits, includ­ing individual benefits like the energy and playfulness of the woman in the above example. However, elevation is particularly interesting because of its social benefits—its power to spread, which could improve entire communi­ties. If frequent bad deeds trigger social disgust, cynicism, and hostility toward one’s peers, then frequent good deeds may have a type of social undoing effect, raising the level of compassion, love, and harmony in an entire society. Efforts to promote and publicize altruism may therefore have widespread and cost-effective results. I am now looking into the possibility that elevation can be used in moral education programs, inspir­ing young people in ways that more traditional teaching techniques cannot.

Getting elevated

It is a surprising and very beautiful fact about our species that each of us can be moved to tears by the sight of a stranger helping another stranger. It is an even more beautiful fact that these feelings sometimes inspire us to change our own behavior, values, and goals. Narratives of the lives of Jesus, Buddha, Mother Teresa, and other inspiring figures are full of stories of people who, upon meeting the saintly figure, dropped their former materialistic pursuits and devoted themselves to advancing the mission of the one who elevated them.

Indeed, a hallmark of elevation is that, like disgust, it is contagious. When an elevation story is told well, it elevates those who hear it. Powerful moments of elevation, whether experienced first or second hand, sometimes seem to push a mental “reset” button, wiping out feelings of cynicism and replacing them with feelings of hope, love, optimism, and a sense of moral inspiration. This thought is for the moment an unsubstan­tiated speculation, but a clear descrip­tion of such a case was recently sent to me by a man named David Whitford.

Several years ago, David’s Unitarian church asked each of its members to write his own “spiritual autobiography,” an account of how he became a more spiritual person. While reflecting on his spiritual experiences, David grew puzzled over why he is so often moved to tears during the course of church services. He concluded that there are two kinds of tears. The first he called “tears of compassion,” such as those he shed during a sermon on Mother’s Day about children who were growing up abandoned or neglected. He wrote that these cases felt to him like “being pricked in the soul,” after which “love pours out” for those who are suffering.

But the second kind of tears was very different. He called them “tears of celebration,” but he could just as well have called them “tears of elevation.” I will end this article with his words, which give a more eloquent description of elevation than anything I could write.

A few weeks after Mother’s Day, we met here in the sanctuary after the service and considered whether to become a Welcoming Congrega­tion [a congregation that welcomes gay people]. When John stood in support of the resolution, and spoke of how, as far as he knew, he was the first gay man to come out at First Parish, in the early 1970s, I cried for his courage. Later, when all hands went up and the resolu­tion passed unanimously, I cried for the love expressed by our congrega­tion in that act. That was a tear of celebration, a tear of receptiveness to what is good in the world, a tear that says it’s okay, relax, let down your guard, there are good people in the world, there is good in peo­ple, love is real, it’s in our nature. That kind of tear is also like being pricked, only now the love pours in.

Article Source: greatergood.berkeley.edu

I’m going to make today’s blog short and sweet. Pretty nifty for a writer who’s so long-winded, right?

I hope I can convey this ‘new theory’ through the written word — I thought of videoing an interpretive dance for you but that would probably be more confusing. So here it goes…

I’ve discovered a new level to gratitude.

“I feel like this new ‘being grateful for no particular reason’ is a bold step in my conscious evolution. It’s the anticipation of great things to come instead of the worry about what might go wrong (which actually brings that into being).”

I’ve been practicing gratitude whenever I can and even in the most strange circumstances. Take for instance my recent loss of income streams from all different avenues — normally this would have freaked the old Cherie out completely but the new Cherie is simply loving it!

Okay, how can I love having money and security taken away from me?

Easy.

New Adventures, New Directions

I’ve assigned my life with new meaning. You know how life is meaningless (as in neutral until you assign it either positive or negative meaning)? Well, I’ve decided and really FELT like the Universe is redirecting me big time and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

I was actually getting quite bored with the Ground Hog day my life was becoming, so, this breath of fresh new adventurous air is a God send (he he…literally).

I won’t lie, I’m still in the throes of the transition but I’m injecting fricking gratitude into every moment. I can’t wait to see what’s coming and I can just feel it’s going to be awesome.

I am already starting to experience the new opportunities and contacts coming in and — from my vantage point — I’m super excited.

I feel like this new ‘being grateful for no particular reason’ is a bold step in my conscious evolution. It’s the anticipation of great things to come instead of the worry about what might go wrong (which actually brings that into being).

I’m starting a whole new way of thinking and using gratitude to boost it. I hope you join me on this journey. So, even when things look pretty shitty — try to see the Universe offering you something even better, more exciting and tailor-made to suit your soul.

Read related articles: GRATITUDE: A Vital Catalyst to Bring Positive Change into Your Life; How to Realign with Innate Gratitude and Are You Expecting Good Things to Happen? Why You Should…

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

As you may or may not know, the study of Quantum Mechanics is the branch of physics that focuses on “the very small”. Not necessarily what we would consider being “matter”, but rather the cosmically tiny common subjects such as atoms and quarks that bond & unite energetically to create matter and bring it into physical 3D existence. I use the quantum reference here as it applies to life because there are two very simple and very small, yet VERY significant things you can do to actually guarantee your own happiness…

No, this isn’t some scheme or trick, it’s physics; it’s Universal Law. Everything is energy and reacts to matter it comes across energetically. Magnets are not the only things that repel or attract, but perhaps you could say that we all are just like magnets in that we also repel or attract energetically.

How so? Your feelings, your thoughts, and the action you take (or don’t take) in your life all hold a frequency; they all communicate a certain type of energy and this is why you always hear the great Zen Masters and Gurus speaking about how to always be mindful of your thoughts.

How we feel about things could be considered the “charge” behind the energy. If we feel passionate about writing a book, there is a high, yet strongly grounded energy there which fuels the action to write often and from the heart. It is when we fear moving towards our own desires and dreams that this energy can “turn” on us.

That’s not to say it actually has an agenda against you, but rather it is the Universe’s way of answering the energy you’ve put out by refusing to face your fear and step into your greatness. It will reply, “Oh, you want to continue to live small? Here you go.” And to the person who is unaware of the power of their own thoughts, feelings and intentions can often see this as life being against them in some way and put themselves into a victim mode which only draws in more things to make you feel like a victim.

So, how do we stay in high vibration so we can finally lead a happy life?

Acceptance…

#1 – Accept what is without judgment or a need to change things to suit your perceptions/beliefs; be at peace with that which you cannot control or change. The moment you accept something in your heart, you re-form your Source connection to it, and immediately any low energy is released. Now, there can be movement again which is required for healing and growth. It is when we let our negative thoughts keep us in the feelings of fear, doubt, stress, etc. that there can be no movement and life can become stagnant. This is why while we should always take the time to sit with our feelings and find out what they are trying to tell you, we shouldn’t let them run the show or stay in their vibration for extended periods of time (worrying, etc.). We should also be cautious of letting our feelings and emotion put us into a reactive mode rather than allowing ourselves a moment of conscious response.

“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others’ approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.” ― Lao Tzu

Gratitude…

#2 – Get to a place where you can wake up each morning and find at least 1 thing in your life to be grateful for. Then each day for a week, add 1 more thing. At the end of the week, take a long, hard look at the list you’ve created and look at it again whenever you need a little reminder. Sometimes when we get caught up in those emotions and feelings, it can be hard to be grateful. But this in itself is a test of integrity, and if you can muster up the will each and every day to connect to your heart and for one breath feel nothing but gratitude for your life, those you love, those who’ve tested your patience, those who’ve broken your heart, those whom you’ve taught, etc., happiness will be your ultimate reward for you are giving yourself the freedom to be at peace with all that IS. Be grateful for one thing until you can be grateful for it ALL.

When you are actively practicing both acceptance and gratitude in your life, happiness is INEVITABLE! Why? Because you’ve cleaned off the filters of your “world-view lens” that were previously clouded by your core beliefs and perceptions of the world and those around you; as well as your place in the world and your purpose for even being here. With clear vision comes purposeful action…

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

– Eckhart Tolle

ACCEPTANCE  + GRATITUDE = HAPPINESS

Give it a try for even one week and see how much your life can change… xoxo

Tamara posts new original articles to CLN every Saturday.