The Pursuit of Happiness
Welcome to the happiness frenzy, now peaking at a Barnes & Noble near you: In 2008 4,000 books were published on happiness, while a mere 50 books on the topic were released in 2000. The most popular class at Harvard University is about positive psychology , and at least 100 other universities offer similar courses. Happiness workshops for the post-collegiate set abound, and each day "life coaches" promising bliss to potential clients hang out their shingles. In the late 1990s, psychologist Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania exhorted colleagues to scrutinize optimal moods with the same intensity with which they had for so long studied pathologies: We'd never learn about full human functioning unless we knew as much about mental wellness as we do about mental illness. It wasn't enough that an array of academic strands came together, sparking a slew of insights into the sunny side of life. But all is not necessarily well. Happiness is not about smiling all of the time.
100 Exquisite Adjectives
By Mark Nichol Adjectives — descriptive words that modify nouns — often come under fire for their cluttering quality, but often it’s quality, not quantity, that is the issue. Plenty of tired adjectives are available to spoil a good sentence, but when you find just the right word for the job, enrichment ensues. Practice precision when you select words. Here’s a list of adjectives: Subscribe to Receive our Articles and Exercises via Email You will improve your English in only 5 minutes per day, guaranteed! 21 Responses to “100 Exquisite Adjectives” Rebecca Fantastic list!
The Secrets of Happiness
Forget about money. Don't fret about youth. Acting happy is likely to make you happy. There are happy people. What makes for a happy disposition? I: Self-esteem : Happy People Like Themselves During the 1980s, no topic in psychology was more researched than the self. This will come as no surprise to anyone attuned to the pop psychology of our age. Actually, most of us have a good reputation with ourselves. Moreover, one of the most provocative yet firmly established conclusions of social psychology concerns the potency of "self-serving bias ." On nearly any subjective or socially desirable dimension, most people actually see themselves as better than average. A healthy self-esteem, then, is both positive and realistic. II: Optimism : Happy People Are Hope-Filled Those who agree that "with enough faith , you can do almost anything" and that "when I undertake something new, I expect to succeed" may be a bit bubble-headed. Optimists are also healthier. Optimists also enjoy greater success.
Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein
[Note: This list of Einstein quotes was being forwarded around the Internet in e-mail, so I decided to put it on my web page. I'm afraid I can't vouch for its authenticity, tell you where it came from, who compiled the list, who Kevin Harris is, or anything like that. Still, the quotes are interesting and enlightening.] "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Copyright: Kevin Harris 1995 (may be freely distributed with this acknowledgement)
50 Life Hacks to Simplify your World
Life hacks are little ways to make our lives easier. These low-budget tips and trick can help you organize and de-clutter space; prolong and preserve your products; or teach you something (e.g., tie a full Windsor) that you simply did not know before. Most of these came from a great post on tumblr. There is also a great subreddit ‘r/lifehacks‘ with some fantastic tips as well. 20. Separate egg yolks like a boss 40. Sources – muxedo task: 99 Life Hacks to make your life easier! If you enjoyed this post, the Sifter highly recommends:
8 Books For a Higher Existence
Books are magical inventions. By carrying meaning, they gives us glimpses of experience and knowledge from a different world. Phonetic language, being cut-off from time and place, the Now, helps both to encapsulate the ego more, but also to offer guidance to make it poriferous, letting Eros free. Without books we would lose this guidance. And in these times of dire ecological and cultural crisis, we need new ways to respond to the ecosystem that we simultaneous are and are imbedded in. If you’re done reading this list and want to level up more – check out part two! Thus Spoke Zarathustra – Friedrich Nietzsche Thus Spoke Zarathustra is Nietzsche’s most prophetic book in which he offers his teachings through the words of Zarathustra, based on the Persian prophet Zoroaster, who, after spending ten years on a mountain in meditation only accompanied by his Eagle and Serpent, comes down to offer his wisdom to the world. Becoming Animal – David Abram The Story of B – Daniel Quinn
The biology of dreaming
o one would normally consider David Maurice, Ph.D., professor of ocular physiology in the Department of Ophthalmology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, a revolutionary. Nevertheless, he has reignited a decades-long controversy that could spark a revolutionary re-evaluation of an entire field of behavioral research. Dr. Maurice has developed a startling new line of scientific inquiry that, when added to other findings, could change our understanding of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and the nature of dreams. What Maurice has done is to suggest an alternative explanation for the phenomenon known as REM sleep, the stage in which the eyes rapidly move and most dreams occur. Dr. "Without REM," Maurice told 21stC, "our corneas would starve and suffocate while we are asleep with our eyes closed." Maurice's interest in REM began a few years ago. "What is at stake here is a theory of dreams that is scientifically valid," Dr. Interpretation vs. observation Drs. No final answer in sight 1.
Etymologically Speaking...
From the old Arabic word "hashshshin," which meant, "someone who is addicted to hash," that is, marijuana. Originally refered to a group of warriors who would smoke up before battle. Aaron White adds: You may want to explore the fact that the hashshshins were somewhat of a voodoo-ized grand conspiracy scapegoat cult (the very fact of their existence is impossible to confirm). They supposedly were a secret society (a la the FreeMasons) which was influential in every middle eastern court from Persia to Bangladesh. Paul Graham adds: The assassins were a sect of warriors who controlled a number of fortified towns in Persia for about 200 years. From "thaler" -- a nickname for the silver coins that were minted from the ore found in Joachimsthal ("Saint Joachim's Valley" in German), Bohemia (part of the current Czech Republic) -- which gained "currency" (pun not intended) shortly after the lode's discovery in 1516. R.
An Essay by Einstein -- The World As I See It
"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving... "I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. "My political ideal is democracy.
