The Night I Died
In this beautifully written piece, a writer describes an experience in which she moved between two realities. When attacked and almost choked to death, she tuned into a presence that utterly transformed the experience and arguably saved her life. She begins her description of the event: "I read a story about how no animals were found among the dead after a tsunami; sensing the infinitesimal vibrat... posted on Jun 21 2013, 83,735 reads

Humor As Spiritual Practice
"I was going through airport security the other month, participating in the grind of pulling out my laptop and my Ziploc baggie full of plastic bottles, and removing my belt and my shoes and my watch and my jacket and trying to fit them all into the plastic bin in such a way that nothing would fall out as it went through its screening. On the other side, I quickly gathered my belongings so they ... posted on Jun 14 2013, 24,259 reads

Debunking the Myths of Happiness
Psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky is an expert on the subject of our most common happiness myths. One pervasive myth is that a desired change in lifestyle such as getting married or striking it rich will make us irrevocably happy. Research has shown that while these events may cause happiness in the short term, their positive effects are unlikely to last as long as we might hope. A second myt... posted on Jun 12 2013, 27,341 reads

Living in the Age of Distraction
"The evidence is plentiful these days that distracted people cause harm to themselves and to others. We read reports of fatal train accidents caused by the engineer texting and of commercial flights crashing because pilots were chatting. Pedestrians and drivers are killed because they're on the phone. We need look no further than ourselves to observe distraction. How long can you focus on any acti... posted on Jun 07 2013, 68,510 reads

An Interview with the World's Happiest Man
Matthieu Ricard, an author with a PhD in cell genetics, is also a Buddhist monk who serves as the Dalai Lama's French interpreter. In this interview, Matthieu speaks to us about his book, "Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill." He explores how individuals tend to spend considerable time and energy pursuing external circumstances in the hopes of attaining happiness, but expl... posted on May 14 2013, 55,993 reads

7 Tips to Transform Boredom
"One of the patron saints of my Happier at Home project, Samuel Johnson, wrote, "It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible." One "little thing" that can be a source of unhappiness is boredom. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for the subway. Doing the dishes. Waiting in a doctor's office. Listening to your thirteen year old ... posted on Apr 17 2013, 35,042 reads

Roger Ebert Goes Gently Into That Good Night
Celebrated film critic Roger Ebert passed away yesterday from cancer. In 2009, he'd shared a beautiful reflection on his own mortality, called 'Go Gently Into That Good Night:' "I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born... posted on Apr 05 2013, 40,284 reads

Why Mind-Wandering Robs You of Happiness
""The main thing is to get what little happiness there is out of life in this war-torn world," Clare Boothe Luce advised her young daughter, "because 'these are the good old days' now." And yet most of us are conditioned to escape into the past, into the future, into our to-do lists -- to wander off away from the present, even as we chronicle the moment in real-time on various lifestreaming platfo... posted on Apr 04 2013, 28,032 reads

Why Sleeping May Be More Important Than Studying
"Getting enough sleep is an under-valued but crucial part of learning. Contrary to students' belief that staying up all night to cram for an exam will lead to higher scores, truth is, the need for a good night's rest is even more important than finishing homework or studying for a test. A recent study in the journal Child Development showed that sacrificing sleep in order to study will actually ba... posted on Apr 03 2013, 10,278 reads

Aikido: The Art of Turning Conflict on its Head
"Growing up in a tough neighborhood of Kansas City, Andrew LeBar learned from an early age to hold his own. When someone pushed him, he pushed back."I had hard eyes," recalls LeBar, who still carries the stance of a bulldog and has the square jaw to match...Heading back to school at the University of Kansas in his 30s, LeBar decided to try aikido, a Japanese martial art, thinking he might pick up ... posted on Apr 01 2013, 16,461 reads