Vulnerability: The Key to Emotional Intimacy
She may not be a household name just yet, but when you refer to "the woman who talks about vulnerability," the seven million viewers of her TEDTalks videos know you mean Brene Brown. A research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, Brown has been studying shame, fear, and vulnerability for 12 years. She has presented her findings in three books, on national televi... posted on Dec 20 2012, 55,617 reads

Short On Time? Try Something Awe-Inspiring
"Always plugged in and constantly juggling tasks at work and at home, many of us feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to do all the things we need to do. But wouldn't it be awesome to feel like you had more time? In fact, a new study suggests that experiencing awe -- which psychologists define as the feeling we get when we come across something so strikingly vast in number, scope, or com... posted on Dec 03 2012, 14,507 reads

Your Health Is Bigger Than Your Body
"Talking with Dr. Ted Schettler is probably unlike any conversation you have had with your physician. Raise the topic of diabetes or dementia, and Schettler starts talking about income disparities, industrial farming, and campaign finance reform. The Harvard-educated physician, frustrated by the limitations of science in combating disease, believes that finding answers to the most persistent medic... posted on Nov 15 2012, 13,492 reads

Don't Worry Be Healthy
"The adage, "Don't worry, be happy," suddenly has a lot more weight behind it, thanks to the latest medical research. In the first-ever systematic review of happiness and heart health, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston have found that a positive outlook on life can actually protect your heart from cardiovascular disease."... posted on Nov 11 2012, 8,738 reads

The Healing Power of Poetry
""I never could connect with poetry," Jan said. "I'm a math teacher!" She was sitting on my living room couch surrounded by piles of poetry books. On the coffee table was a stack of cards, each with a different poem on it. Even some of the art on the wall had hand-calligraphed verses among the colors....Jan's glance fell on a stack of Mary Oliver's books, and tears came to her eyes. "A few years a... posted on Nov 05 2012, 10,024 reads

The Science of Compassion
"As human beings, we will inevitably encounter suffering at some point in our lives. However, we also have evolved very specific social mechanisms to relieve that pain: altruism and compassion. It is not just receiving compassion that relieves our pain...The act of experiencing compassion and helping others actually leads to tremendous mental and physical well-being for us as well. It is our abili... posted on Oct 23 2012, 35,699 reads

9 Simple Steps to Improve Your Health
"Ask a centenarian the secret ingredients to a long and healthy life and you aren't likely to hear "doctors, drugs, and fad diets." We all know that there's more to our overall well-being than treating symptoms or the occasional replacement of a part. The good news is that scientists in various fields are discovering ever more ways we can keep ourselves healthy without expensive medication and com... posted on Oct 05 2012, 78,408 reads

In Praise of Melancholy
"Eighty-four percent of Americans claim to be happy, a statistic that Wake Forest University English professor Eric G. Wilson finds "strange at best, troubling at worst." With a litany of self-help books, pills and plastic surgery to feed an addiction to happiness, he says, "It's now easier than ever before to live a trouble-free life, to smooth out the rough edges, to hide the darkness." In his r... posted on Oct 03 2012, 6,852 reads

The Practice of Gratitude
"There are really three medicines that you should put in your medicine bundle every day, which are the power of genuine acknowledgment and gratitude, genuine apology, and the spirit of laughter and joy." So begins a heartwarming interview with Angeles Arrien, a teacher, author, and cultural anthropologist, who is affectionately called the "Gratitude Lady". Here, Arrien speaks to Sounds True about ... posted on Sep 17 2012, 30,631 reads

The Hidden Power of Character
A child's success can't be measured in IQ scores, standardized tests or vocabulary quizzes, says author Paul Tough. Success, he argues, is about how young people build character. Tough explores this idea in his new book, 'How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character.' This NPR piece shares more.... posted on Sep 16 2012, 9,175 reads