
The Science of Happiness
Learn research-tested strategies for a happier, more meaningful life, drawing on the science of compassion, gratitude, mindfulness, and awe. Hosted by award-winning psychologist Dacher Keltner. Co-produced by PRX and UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. Follow us on Instagram @HappinessPod.
Latest episodes

Mar 2, 2023 • 16min
Why We Need Friends with Shared Interests
She's the world's leading animal behaviorist and an Autism advocacy leader. Guest Temple Grandin shares what kind of support systems led her to success, and we hear about how community, and lack thereof, affects our health and ability to succeed.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3k88vaph
Episode summary:
Having strong relationships is vital to our well-being. We tend to be happier and healthier when we’re involved with community. Today’s guest is the world-famous scientist Temple Grandin. She was born with autism, which led her to be socially isolated from her peers. Join us on this episode of The Science of Happiness to hear about how Grandin credits her support networks for her success and making her into the person she is today. We’ll also look at the science behind the health repercussions of not having strong social networks.
Today’s guests:
Temple Grandin is a leading animal behaviorist, prominent author and speaker on autism and animal behaviors. Today, she teaches courses at Colorado State University. Her latest book is Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions.
Temple’s Website: https://www.templegrandin.com
Follow Temple on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drtemplegrandin?lang=en
Check out Temple’s Latest Book: https://tinyurl.com/3tftxpck
Tegan Cruwyis is a clinical psychologist at The National Australian University who studies social connection and how loneliness and chronic isolation are literally toxic.
Learn more about Cruwyis and her work: https://tinyurl.com/3etuvket
Follow Cruwyis on Google Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/yc5ujhaj
Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
Four Ways Social Support Makes You More Resilient https://tinyurl.com/34ntce8u
What is Social Connection? https://tinyurl.com/nk8crbbz
Is Social Connection the Best Path to Happiness? https://tinyurl.com/4wxc66tn
Why are We so Wired to Connect? https://tinyurl.com/uttppd3p
More Resources for Improving Social Connections
Emotional Wellness Checklist https://tinyurl.com/4wxc66tn
How to Strengthen Social Relationships https://tinyurl.com/5fdv8ra9
The Science of Social Connection https://tinyurl.com/3tftxpck
Tell us about your experiences with building social connections. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Help us share The Science of Happiness!
Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Feb 23, 2023 • 11min
Happiness Break: Being Present from Head to Toe, with Spring Washam
Try this body-scan meditation to ground your mind in the present moment and in your body, guided by Spring Washam.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3ahsvry6
How to do this practice:
Find a comfortable seat where you can relax your body.
Beginning with the top of your head, relax any sense of tension, one body part at a time.
Slowly scan down to your face, neck, upper arms, hands, feeling their presence.
You might want to place your hands on your belly to feel your breath and let go.
End by placing your hand on your heart and offer your body some kindness.
Today’s Happiness Break Host:
Spring Washam has been a devoted Buddhist practitioner in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism for more than 25 years. She is a founding teacher of The East Bay Meditation Center and has spent more than a decade studying Shamanic indigenous healing practices. She is also the author of the forthcoming book, The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground.
Learn more about Spring and her book: https://www.springwasham.com/
Follow Spring on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/springwasham/
Check out Spring’s YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/22njyd29
More Resources from the Greater Good Science Center:
Six Minutes to Connect with Your Body: https://tinyurl.com/2337f85e
How a Body Scan Can Help with Strong Emotions: https://tinyurl.com/58wfsvnd
Krista Tippett on Being Grounded in Your Body: https://tinyurl.com/59pkp324
Turning Into Your Body Can Make You More Resilient: https://tinyurl.com/5av68v62
Your Anxiety Might Be Coming From Your Body: https://tinyurl.com/dwb9vvue
What Self-Compassion Feels Like in Your Body: https://tinyurl.com/2p9rdepk
Seven Ways to Have a Healthier Relationship with Stress: https://tinyurl.com/m6mbv2np
We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of embodiment meditation. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
We’re living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That’s where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Feb 16, 2023 • 15min
Why We Need Reminders of Connectedness
How can we feel more connected to our loved ones, even when they're not around? Our guest tries a practice shown to make us feel less lonely and more socially connected.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2h2h7ccn
Episode summary:
Mónica Guzmán describes herself as a raging extrovert, but she still feels less connected to others than she’d like to. Working from home, she often finds herself alone, or worse — feeling alone because she’s still in work mode when her family is around. She tried a Reminders of Connectedness practice by making subtle changes to the interior of her home – like decorating with more family photos and rearranging the living room – and found that these seemingly small changes made a big difference in how she felt throughout her day. We also hear from clinical psychologist Tegan Cruwys about the powerful influence our sense of connectedness can have on our mental health.
Practice: Reminders of Connectedness
Look around your home, office, or classroom and notice what things around you remind you of being connected to others – words, photographs, memorabilia.
As you move through your day, keep an eye out for things that evoke a feeling of connection. See where you can use them to add more reminders of connection to your space by adding them in or replacing existing objects.
Finally, consider how the furniture is arranged. Are chairs facing toward or away from each other? Find any changes you can make to common spaces so that they’re more conducive to spontaneous interactions.
Learn more about this practice at Greater Good In Action:
https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/reminders_of_connectedness
Today’s guests:
Mónica Guzmán is Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, a nonprofit working to depolarize America, founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, an organization working to build a more curious world. She’s also the author of I Never Thought Of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.
You can check out the book here: https://boook.link/I-Never-Thought-of-It-That-Way
Visit Mónica’s website:https://www.moniguzman.com/
Follow Mónica on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moniguzman/?hl=en
Follow Mónica on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/3k4pn4c4
Follow Mónica on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moniguzman
Tegan Cruwys is a professor and clinical psychologist at Australian National University.
Learn more about Tegan and her work: https://tinyurl.com/ykepk5r4
Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
11 Things to Do When You Feel Lonely: https://tinyurl.com/b8m86fhy
What the Longest Happiness Study Reveals About Finding Fulfillment: https://tinyurl.com/2s3b59fn
What Psychedelics Can Teach Us About Human Connection: https://tinyurl.com/5buyydw7
Skills You Need for Happier Relationships with Family: https://tinyurl.com/weeusepn
More Resources
The Atlantic - What Makes Us Happy: https://tinyurl.com/2nxpbhsd
NYT - I Love You But I Don’t Want To Sleep With You: https://tinyurl.com/tjnxbdtt
Scientific American - Why We Are Wired To Connect: https://tinyurl.com/59u4ffua
Tell us about your experiences of connectedness. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Help us share The Science of Happiness!
Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Feb 9, 2023 • 9min
Happiness Break: A Meditation for When Others are Suffering, with Anushka Fernandopulle
Seeing others suffering is painful. Learn to practice both compassion and self-soothing in this guided meditation led by Anushka Fernandopulle.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/mwxee3uw
How to Do This Practice:
Find somewhere peaceful, sit down and get comfortable. Once you’re ready, gently close your eyes.
Start taking deep breaths and relax your body. Part by part, release tension in different areas of your body.
Think of someone or a group of people you know or have heard of who may be having a hard time. Bring to mind an image of them.
Connect with whatever it is they are struggling with. Mentally, make some wishes of compassion for them. For example, “May you be free from pain.” Or, “I am here with you.”
You can also use this practice to focus on your own pain. To do this, call to mind your struggles and give yourself the same compassion you gave others.
Today’s Happiness Break host:
Anushka Fernandopulle is a meditation teacher who trained in Buddhist meditation for over 30 years. After studying Buddhism at Harvard, she spent four years in full-time meditation training in the U.S., India, and Sri Lanka
Check out Anushka’s upcoming meditation retreats https://www.anushkaf.org
Follow Anushka on Instagram https://tinyurl.com/ytn3vvhz
Follow Anushka on Twitter https://tinyurl.com/485vj8xn
Check out Anushka’s Dharma Talks https://tinyurl.com/ydacvamn
Find another version of the Compassion Meditation practice at our Greater Good in Action website:
https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/compassion_meditation
More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
What is compassion? https://tinyurl.com/2s3ztcpt
Take Our Self-Compassion Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yysrf663
Try Dr. Neff’s Fierce Self-Compassion Break: https://tinyurl.com/yk9yzh9u
How to Bring Self-Compassion to Work with You: https://tinyurl.com/45zkrkam
The Five Myths of Self-Compassion: https://tinyurl.com/2p88vass
Read Dr. Neff’s interview about Self-Compassion: https://tinyurl.com/286njtje
How Self-Compassion Can Help You Through a Breakup: https://tinyurl.com/222scejz
Can Self-Compassion Overcome Procrastination? https://tinyurl.com/mrfmvyj
We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of compassion meditation. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Feb 2, 2023 • 20min
How Music Evokes Awe
Why do some songs send chills down your spine or give you goosebumps? We explore the science of how music induces awe — and how that affects our well-being.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/4rzsbsb2
Episode summary:
In the last episode of our awe series, Dacher explores the mysteries of how music inspires awe and can transport us to another space and time with sound alchemist Laura Inserra. Later, we hear from the scientist who showed how awe-inspiring songs change the way we think and feel.
This is the last episode in our special series The Science of Awe. Check out the last four releases in our feed for Happiness Breaks that will help guide you to experience more awe in your life, and episodes of The Science of Happiness about the other profound ways that awe affects — and more places to find it.
Our host, Dacher Keltner, has a new book out about awe. It’s called Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/3uzk8m5r
Today’s guests:
Laura Inserra is an instrumentalist, composer, producer, and a teacher who works with music to help people tap into a sense of awe.
Follow Laura on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura_inserra/
Follow Laura on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/laurainserra
Check out Laura’s website: https://www.laurainserra.com
Qihao Ji is an assistant professor of Communication at Marist College
Learn more about Ji and his work: https://www.marist.edu/communication-arts/faculty/qihao-ji
Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
How Music Bonds us Together: https://tinyurl.com/5x5xxnmz
Where Music and Empathy Converge in the Brain https://tinyurl.com/84sep62v
How Many Emotions Can Music Make You Feel: https://tinyurl.com/8pxud5bt
More Resources About Awe and Music
Bluefield Daily Telegraph - Music: A sense of Awe and Admiration: https://tinyurl.com/5eyc4ehw
NYT - How a Bit of Awe Can Improve Your Health: https://tinyurl.com/4zdzcusk
Yamaha Music - The Science of Awe (And Why It Matters): https://tinyurl.com/4njv9mpb
Tell us about your experiences with music awe. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Help us share The Science of Happiness!
Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Jan 26, 2023 • 7min
Happiness Break: Feeling the Awe of Nature from Anywhere, with Dacher Keltner
Host Dacher Keltner leads us through an exercise in feeling the serenity and wonder that nature brings us, no matter where we are.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc6dwdnp
How to Do This Practice:
Find a spot where you can sit and rest comfortably. Once you’re ready, close your eyes.
Begin breathing slowly and deeply. Focus on your breath and unclench your muscles from head to toe.
Think of a place in nature that is sacred or significant to you. What do you hear? What do you see? Try to create as clear of an image as you can in your mind.
Notice what feelings arise as you think of this place; what feelings do you associate with it?
Contemplate how this place has become a part of who you are; how it lives in your mind and how you can conjure up the feeling of it within yourself.
Today’s Happiness Break host:
Dacher Keltner is the host of the Greater Good Science Center’s award-winning podcast, The Science of Happiness and is a co-instructor of the GGSC’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
His new book is Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.
More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
Secrets of the Vagus Nerve: https://tinyurl.com/yzuxtuzp
Why We Should Look Up at the Sky (Podcast): https://tinyurl.com/fn3bttw6
What’s the Most Common Sense of Awe? https://tinyurl.com/2p842t8r
Happiness Break: How to Ground Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/289ph9cz
Happiness Break: Experience Nature Wherever You Are: https://tinyurl.com/yv46xrr4
Why You Should Snap Pictures of Nature: https://tinyurl.com/5fp7bhk6
Could Your Life Be More Awesome? Take our Awe Quiz https://tinyurl.com/2p8mz57f
We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of awe in nature. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Jan 19, 2023 • 17min
Why We Should Look Up at the Sky
When did you last take a moment to really look up at the sky? Shifting our gaze upward is linked to more creativity, capacity to focus—and it's a gateway to awe.Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3dbvxvybEpisode summary:Natalie didn’t spend much time finding shapes in the clouds as a small kid. And when she got older, looking up was even worse for her. Natalie spent time in jail, where she spent most of her days indoors under harsh lights. Today, she’s a student at a prestigious university. She tried a practice in looking up for our show. When we look up, our brain gets better at being playful, creative, and thinking critically. We also tend to see vast and beautiful things above our heads, like a canopy of leaves, branches and singing birds, or a starry night sky. Often, looking up is all we need to do to find moments of awe in our day-to-day lives. And that’s a wonderful thing, because feeling awe changes how our brains work in a way that’s really good for us.This is the second episode of The Science of Happiness in a three-part series called The Science of Awe. If you’d like to learn more about awe, our host, Dacher Keltner, has a new book out about it. It’s called Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/3uzk8m5rThis episode is made possible through the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation.Practice: Look Up
Over the course of a week or so, make it a point to look up in several different locations and at different times of the day and night. Be sure everywhere you choose is a safe place to do so, and of course, never look into the sun.
Each time before you look up, take a moment first to notice how you feel, and then take a few deep, intentional breaths to help you get grounded into the present moment.
Look up and let your eyes wander, noticing what inspires awe. If nothing does, that’s ok! This practice might help you cultivate awe more often, but it’s best to go into it each time with no expectations. Spend at least a few minutes looking up if it’s comfortable to do so, or as long as you like.
When you’re done, take another moment to notice how you feel now.
Today’s guests:Natalie is a student at UC Berkeley and also works with the UC Berkeley's Underground Scholars Program, which creates pathways for formerly incarcerated people to study at universities. We're not sharing Natalie's last name to protect her privacy.Michiel van Elk is a professor at Leiden University in The Netherlands.Learn more about van Elk and his work: https://tinyurl.com/4kc5tyccResources from The Greater Good Science Center:How Nature Can Make You Kinder, Happier, and More Creative: https://tinyurl.com/yepuxd27Six Ways to Incorporate Awe Into Your Daily Life: https://tinyurl.com/3emucdezTell us about your experiences of awe. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Help us share The Science of Happiness!Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Jan 12, 2023 • 9min
Happiness Break: Awe for Others, with Dacher Keltner
The communities we create are one of the most awe-inspiring parts of our lives. Host Dacher Keltner guides us in a meditation on awe and togetherness in this week’s Happiness Break.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3783rkmj
How to Do This Practice:
Find a comfortable, safe, place where you can close your eyes and relax. Notice your breathing and begin to take deep, intentional breaths.
Think about a community you are a part of – work, recreation, spiritual, any group you’re a part of. Cultivate a sense in your mind of being with that community.
Reflect for a few minutes on the faces of the people in this community; bring them into your mind’s eye and notice the details of their eyes, smiles, perhaps even their tones of voice or the sounds of their laughter.
Think about this remarkable quality of communities: That all of these separate individuals create one hole.
Think about how each person contributes to this community to create that whole.
Contemplate how everyone in this community is connected, and how they’re mutually influencing each other.
Think about what value unites all these people share, what they have in common.
Imagine yourself within this network of connected individuals. Cultivate a sense of what connects you with them, think of them as threads of mutual influence. It doesn’t all have to be good; tension is a part of being a community, too.
Today’s Happiness Break host:
Dacher Keltner is the host of the Greater Good Science Center’s award-winning podcast, The Science of Happiness and is a co-instructor of the GGSC’s popular online course of the same name. He's also the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
His new book is Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.
More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
Why Do We Feel Awe? https://tinyurl.com/3xms3dm2
How Awe Brings People Together: https://tinyurl.com/2p8m2tyk
Eight Reasons Why Awe Makes Your Life Better: https://tinyurl.com/2p8ccav2
Six Ways to Incorporate Awe Into Your Daily Life: https://tinyurl.com/3emucdez
How Music Bonds Us Together: https://tinyurl.com/329scmf6
Can a Sense of Awe Improve Our Arguments? https://tinyurl.com/pb2eh8c6
We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience contemplating your communities. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Jan 5, 2023 • 20min
How Awe Brings Us Together
Feeling awe changes your brain. In our first episode in a series about the science awe, we explore how awe can make you a better friend, partner, and community member.
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/ytph8dnc
Episode summary:
When Mirna Valerio tried out hiking for the first time as a young kid, she discovered something she didn’t expect: Being outdoors seemed to bring strangers closer to one another. It was like it somehow fastracked forming meaningful relationships. Today we know that the feeling of awe nature often inspires has something to do with this. Awe is the feeling you get when in the presence of something vast and incomprehensible. When we feel it, our sense of self shrinks – in a good way – and we get better at connecting with others. Today on The Science of Happiness, we explore what it’s like when awe helps us create communities, and the science behind how it works.
This episode is part of special series we’re doing on Awe. In the weeks ahead, we’ll share Happiness Breaks to help you contemplate what’s awe-inspiring in your life and explore more dimensions of awe in the stories and science we share on this podcast.
Our host, Dacher Keltner, has a new book out about awe. It’s called Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/3uzk8m5r
Practice: Awe Narrative
Think back to a time when you felt a sense of awe; when you were around something vast and incomprehensible. It could be something physically vast, like a mountain range or beautiful valley, or psychological, like a brilliant idea or inspiring person.
Describe the experience in writing in as much detail as possible. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, just get down as much about the experience as you can.
Learn more about this practice at Greater Good In Action:
https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/awe_narrative
Today’s guests:
Mirna Valerio is an ultra-marathon athlete and author known for her body-positive presence on social media.
Follow Mirna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themirnavator/?hl=en
Follow Mirna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMirnavator
Follow Mirna on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMirnavator/
Yang Bai is a professor at Peking University in China.
Learn more about Bai and her work: https://en.gsm.pku.edu.cn/faculty/ybai/
Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
Six Ways to Incorporate Awe Into Your Daily Life: https://tinyurl.com/3emucdez
How the Science of Awe Shaped Pixar’s “Soul:” https://tinyurl.com/37z43vrz
How a Sense of Awe Can Inspire Us to Confront Threats to Humanity: https://tinyurl.com/3k6xprau
More Resources About Awe
The Atlantic - The Quiet Profundity of Everyday Awe: https://tinyurl.com/yz623mff
NYT - How a Bit of Awe Can Improve Your Health: https://tinyurl.com/4zdzcusk
Sierra Club - The Science of Awe: https://tinyurl.com/3pfn23t7
Tell us about your experiences of awe. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Help us share The Science of Happiness!
Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Dec 29, 2022 • 9min
Happiness Break: An Affirmation Practice for the New Year, with Chris Murchison
This New Year, affirm the wonderful qualities you already possess with this meditative writing practice called "I Am."
Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/mswzp9jz
How to Do This Practice:
Take a moment to sit still and take a few deep breaths, and notice how you’re feeling right now.
Open your eyes, and on a sheet of paper, write “I am ____,” and then fill in that blank.
Set a timer for 1 minute, and repeat step 2 until the time is up.
Take a moment to observe what you’ve written. Where did you begin? Where did you end? What can you glean about how you’re showing up today, from what you’ve written? Look for patterns.
Take a few more mindful breaths. Consider how what you’ve just written might influence what you’ve just written and the rest of your day.
Today’s Happiness Break host:
Chris Murchison is an artist and meditation teacher.
Check out Chris’s website: https://chrismurchison.com/
Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrismarcellmurchison/
Follow Chris on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.m.murchison
More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
How to Be a Remarkable Boss During Lockdown (by Chris Murchison): https://tinyurl.com/yypps3aw
Can Self-Awareness Help You Be More Empathic? https://tinyurl.com/eefds36s
Do You Have a True Self? https://tinyurl.com/3xasurwp
Ten Habits of Highly Creative People https://tinyurl.com/yt83udz6
Make Self-Compassion One of Your New Year’s Resolutions https://tinyurl.com/ymn6m5pp
The Dark Side of Self-Help: https://tinyurl.com/4jajdfum
We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experiences with self-insight or self-affirmations. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.