The Science of Happiness

Mindful walking isn’t just a stroll—it’s a science-backed way to reduce, improve concentration, and soak in the beauty of your surroundings at the same time.***The Science of Happiness is committed to sharing stories and research that inspire resilience, compassion, and connection. As we reflect on the past few years, these values feel more essential than ever. Help us continue to provide this free resource and expand its reach.Through December 31, your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Visit GGSC.Berkeley.edu/donate to support the show and make an even bigger impact.***Episode Summary: We explore walking meditation, a powerful practice for feeling more centered and grounded. Dan Harris, host of the award-winning 10% Happier podcast, shares how walking meditation helps him manage the residual stress and anxiety from years of war reporting and high-pressure TV anchoring. Then, Dr. Paul Kelly from the University of Edinburgh dives into the science, explaining how walking meditation can reduce stress, sharpen focus, and improve overall well-being.Practice: Acknowledge the presence of your body.  Acknowledge the thoughts and attitudes your mind is naturally thinking about. Acknowledge the nature around you.  Repeat steps 1-3 in intervals.  Link to transcript to come.Walking Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/29dnmndpToday’s guests:DAN HARRIS is a NYT best selling author with his book 10% Happier, and hosts a podcast by the same name. Listen to The 10% Happier Podcast: https://happierapp.com/podcast Follow Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danharris DR. PAUL KELLY is a professor from the University of Edinburgh studying mindfulness. Learn more about Dr. Kelly: https://tinyurl.com/zv7x9xxh More episodes like this one:The Healing Effects of Experiencing Wildlife: https://tinyurl.com/yh238ekpHow To Unwind Doing Mindful Yard Work: https://tinyurl.com/4p7druskMore Happiness Break like this one:Walk Your Way to Calm, with Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/mp5cptanExperience Nature Wherever You Are, with Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/mrutudehFind Calm When You Can’t Clear Your Mind, With Lama Rod Owens: https://tinyurl.com/4ce353nuTell us about your experiences and struggles with achieving mindfulness. Email us at [email protected] or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapTranscript: https://tinyurl.com/mrx26dsc

Psychologist Dacher Keltner guides you through a practice to help you see the good things in your life that you might otherwise overlook.How to Do This Practice:1. Sit or lay down somewhere comfortable. You may close your eyes if you wish, and take a slow, deep breath in to ground into the present moment. Then, scan your body from head to toe, noticing how you’re feeling in this moment. Let worries and plans clear from your mind.2. Start by thinking about all the things that make your life comfortable: Clean water on tap, light at the flip of a switch, a roof over your head to protect you from the weather, warmth, and comfort when it gets windy, rainy, or cold.3. Let your mind wander to all the millions of people who have worked hard to make your life more comfortable: Those who plant and harvest the food you eat, who bring it to markets, people who ensure the water we drink is clean, delivery drivers, teachers, all the people who create art and music and books and films and all the things that can bring us so much meaning, and so on.4. Think about the acquaintances who bring richness to your life, like a colleague, neighbor, or someone you often see at the gym or a coffee shop.5. Take a moment to think about what you’re really grateful for today, right now.6. Notice how you’re feeling now, compared to when you started, and then start to bring movement back to your body, wiggling fingers and toes, maybe slowly standing up.7. If you have the time, spend a few minutes journaling about what you thought about.Today’s Happiness Break host:Dacher Keltner is the host ofThe Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.This practice was created by Dr. Kathy Kemper, who’s the director of the Center for Integrative Health and Wellness at the Ohio State University. Learn more about some of her work here: https://mind-bodyhealth.osu.edu/More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:Try GGSC’s online Gratitude Journal, Thnx4: https://tinyurl.com/2s4e4bx6Take our Gratitude Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yhbz6cwvFour Great Gratitude Strategies: https://tinyurl.com/2muyff64Is Gratitude Good for You?: https://tinyurl.com/ycknm2ruThree Surprising Ways Gratitude Works at Work: https://tinyurl.com/yc2c8y4nWe love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience with practicing gratitude. Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapHelp us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapTranscript: https://tinyurl.com/r6pkw2xx 

One way to feel more thankful for things is to imagine life without them. We explore a practice shown to help you see the bright side, even when you feel down.We know gratitude is good for us, but what if we’re struggling to feel it? This week’s guest, author and podcast producer Stephanie Foo, finds herself missing her close-knit “chosen family” in California since moving to New York. Foo tries a practice called mental subtraction, where she imagines her life without New York. Later, gratitude researcher Ernst Bohlmeijer  shares how gratitude practices can reshape our emotions and possibly our whole outlook, and how the Mental Subtraction of Positive Events practice can be antidote to taking things for granted.Practice: Take a moment to think about a positive event in your life. It could be a career or educational achievement or a special trip you took. Imagine yourself back in the time of this event. Think about the circumstances that made it possible.  Ponder on the ways in which this event may never have happened. For example, if you hadn’t learned about a certain job opening at the right moment.  Write down all of the possible events and decisions - large and small - that could have gone differently and prevented this positive event from occurring.  Imagine what your life would be like now if you had not experienced this positive event and all the fruits that came from it.  Remind yourself that this positive event did happen and reflect upon the benefits it has brought you. Allow yourself to feel grateful that things happened as they did.  Find the full Mental Subtraction of Positive Events practice at our Greater Good in Action website: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mental_subtraction_positive_eventsToday’s guests:Stephanie Foo is a radio producer and author of the book What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma.Learn more about Stephanie and her book: https://www.stephaniefoo.me/Follow Stephanie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/imontheradioFollow Stephanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foofoofoo/Follow Stephanie on Facebook:https://tinyurl.com/yx6pwdnfErnst Bohlmeijer is a psychology professor who studies gratitude at the University of Twente in The Netherlands.Learn more about Ernst and his work: https://tinyurl.com/2p92p6vnScience of Happiness Episodes like this one: Four Great Gratitude Strategies: https://tinyurl.com/2p9buvkd Tips for Keeping a Gratitude Journal: https://tinyurl.com/3jdbe52u Five Science-Backed Strategies for More Happiness: https://tinyurl.com/bd4ussjt Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/4r84778r

Indigenous scholar Dr. Yuria Celidwen guides us in a reflection on our interconnection with water, encouraging us to see it as more than just a vital resource, but as kin. How to Do This Practice:Last week we explored the scientifically backed healing qualities of water, focusing on how connecting with water through sound, sight, and touch can support our well being. This week, indigenous scholar Dr. Yuria Celidwen guides us in a reflection on our interconnection with water, encouraging us to see it as more than just a vital resource, but as kin.   Find a quiet space where you can engage with water— a nearby river, ocean, or even the faucet at home. Focus on the sound of water. Whether it’s the gentle drip from a faucet or the sound of waves, listen deeply to how water calls to you. Contemplate how water transforms between solid, liquid, and gas. Let this remind you of your own potential for transformation. Imagine the water flow, guiding you to feel its presence within and around you, awakening memories, imagination, and a sense of belonging in this shared world. Take a few moments to reflect on how different manifestations of water connect with you.  Today’s Happiness Break Host:DR. YURIA CELIDWEN is an indigenous scholar of contemplative studies, and author of the new book, Flourishing Kin: Indigenous Foundations For Collective Well-Being.Read more on Yuria: https://www.yuriacelidwen.com/#aboutFollow Yuria on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuriacelidwen/Read Yuria’s work on kin relationality: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.994508/fullIf You Enjoyed This Happiness Break, You Might Also Like: Experience Nature Wherever You Are, with Dacher How to Ground Yourself in Nature, With Yuria Celidwen  Check Out These Episodes of The Science of Happiness:  The Healing Effects of Experiencing Wildlife  How to Do Good for the Environment (And Yourself)  How to Use Your Body to Relax Your Mind (The Science of Happiness) We’d love to hear how this practice goes for you! Let us know how you connect with water in your life.Email us at [email protected] Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzusHelp us share Happiness Break! Rate us and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzusTranscript: https://tinyurl.com/59mmr7jc