Tag Archives: happiness

How does Easter Relate to Longevity?

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Eastertulips3You can also read this post on my weekly syndicated blog, “Health Conscious” on MetroWest Daily News.

Easter weekend is a time of reflection, including both sorrow and joy for many Christians. But there’s a silver lining in the life story of Jesus. Easter can serve as a reminder not just of his death, but the health-giving, life-promising effect of practicing the scriptural truths he taught and lived.

Whether or not you’re a religious person, if you’re health-conscious, you probably already know the studies that show how forgiveness, charity, love, kindness, moderation, gratitude and joy have a positive effect on well-being. These are all qualities that are emphasized in scripture and other spiritual traditions.

According to a 2012 Pew Research report, 80% of Americans say they  practice some type of religion. So how do spirituality and religion impact health? Dr. Richard Besser, author of Tell Me the Truth, Doctor, says, “For many people, life-and-death decisions are Continue reading →

Are Happiness and Health Linked?

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Note to readers: You can also read this post on my weekly syndicated blog, “Health Conscious” on MetroWest Daily News.

IGrouphugn case you missed it, the United Nations just named the world’s first International Day of Happiness on Wednesday, March 20th. Some people celebrated in a big way. Like the free-hugs flash mob in Washington D.C. and Twitter followers who connected using the hashtag: #HappyDay.

Yet another “day” you say? The UN website explains, “When we contribute to the common good, we ourselves are enriched. Compassion promotes happiness and will help build the future we want.”

The future of health care is on everyone’s minds these days. Current recommendations say we need to pay attention to basic lifestyle choices to avoid costly treatments or diseases down the road. We need to eat right, exercise, avoid smoking and get a good night’s sleep. But choosing to stay happy could easily be added to the list for its health benefits. Continue reading →

A Fireside Chat About Your True Self

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Today’s guest blog is written by Kim Shippey, an avid reader and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He is a full-time writer and editor with the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly print and online publication.

Apart from my daily prayer practice, which includes studying the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, no book I’ve read in recent weeks has given me a stronger sense of spiritual and physical well-being–of identity, belonging, direction, and purpose–than Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self (Jossey-Bass, 2013)

Spending time with this founding director of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a bit like–forgive me!– being invited by a new friend to settle in front of a Rohring fire and share stories. Continue reading →

Make Gratitude a Daily Habit

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With friends and family coming together to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, it’s the perfect time to think more deeply about gratitude and how our daily practice of thankfulness impacts our own and others’ well being.

I’ve noticed my Facebook news feed is full of friends posting their gratitude thoughts. One quote caught my attention:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” — Melody Beattie

Robert Emmons, Ph.D., and professor at the University of California, Davis, is the author of a significant scientific study on gratitude, its causes, and impact on human health. In his Continue reading →

Life Lessons from Near Death Experiences

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The following guest blog is written by my friend Steve Graham. Much of his career as an editor has been centered on spiritual reporting. He writes from his home in Natick, MA.

For a long time, I’ve been interested in so-called near death experiences (NDEs). I’ve read Dr. Raymond Moody’s well-known book “Life After Life,” which reports the results of over 100 case studies on people who were revived after having been pronounced clinically dead.

The amazing consistency in what those people have told about their experiences–including a recognition of disembodiment, of

traveling through some sort of interim passage, of perceiving increasingly bright light, of emerging into a realm of unspeakable beauty, of meeting loved family and friends who had already died–has seemed to me quite remarkable.

The way in which these NDEs corroborate the existence of an omnipotent and eternal Supreme Being has only served to increase my faith that the teachings of the Bible and so many other sacred texts, and specifically my own Christian Science faith, are not contradicted but validated, not at odds but speaking in unison. Continue reading →

Today’s To-Do: #1 Be Happy

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Today’s News & Culture update:

1. Practicing forgiveness, gratitude, and daily prayer go a long way toward promoting your health, not to mention someone else’s well-being. Check out 8 Ways to Be Happier.

2. If you’re thinking about the young people in your life, gratitude among teens (surprise!) also translates into more happiness: Gratitude in Teens Linked with being Happier

3. Letting go of resentment and anger might be a first step in expressing more happiness in your day. The up side of joy is letting go of The Down Side of Resentment.

“Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to
share it.” -Mary Baker Eddy

Online MD, Honesty, and Early-Risers

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Today’s News & Culture update:

CNN.com: Be Careful When Diagnosing Your Ailments Online

According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, 80% of Internet users have looked up health information online. The study points out that the social life of health information is alive and kicking, motivated by two driving forces: 1) the availability of social tools and 2) the motivation, especially among people living with chronic conditions, to connect with each other.

The problem is, online diagnosing can lead to fear and misdiagnosing, causing more anxiety and perhaps leading to the very symptoms you didn’t want. Research into the “nocebo effect” shows that merely the power of suggestion can be enough to “bring on real-life symptoms.”

One thing is for sure, the more the conversation turns to self-managed, personalized care through a spiritual approach to health–as I discussed in last week’s blog–the more answers to our questions won’t seem so illusive or fear-inducing. So add your voice to the conversation!

Study Finds that Avoiding Lies Can Improve Your Health

A recent study on honesty has been buzzing on internet health sites. Did you ever think that your honesty index is directly related to your health and well-being? According to this study, telling fewer lies positively affects your physical and mental state.

“Over the study period, the link between less lying and improved health was significantly stronger for participants in the no-lie group.”

Morning is Prime-Time for Self-Improvement

If you’re anything like the average person, just getting out the door dressed and ready for work (not to mention getting the kids out before you) is enough to feel satisfied (or frazzled!) about your morning. Continue reading →

Reaching a Younger Generation of Spirit-Goers

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Today’s news & culture update:

A pew survey discussed in a USA Today article found that young people today are significantly more likely than those in earlier generations to say they don’t identify with any religious group. 72% of millennials say they’re “more spiritual than religious.”

What does “spiritual” mean to you? Perhaps you can try the following exercise. Think of the first word that comes to you when you hear:

  • spirituality . . .
  • love . . .
  • gratitude . . .

Deepak Chopra played this same word game with one of his young guests on his newly launched YouTube channel, “Chopra Well.” There’s a lot of content to choose from, including programs like, “Have you ever watched your health?” His goal is to “enlighten and inspire 100 million people to change the world.” Continue reading →

Selfless Giving Equals Healthy Living

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This week’s guest blogger is Dawn-Marie Cornett, Christian Science practitioner and community-involved mom of three. She writes from her home in Framingham, MA.

You could say we’re all trying to get something: health, happiness, safety, companionship, etc.  Yet for many, one or more of these very right and understandable desires seem illusive.

Researchers have found that compassion, honesty, and the like tend to result in improved well-being. There are pages of studies on the health-giving effects of “being good.” But a book I read a few years ago gave me a new perspective on the topic.

Why Good Things Happen to Good People by Dr. Stephen Post and Jill Neimark starts off with this little idea: “If I could take one word into eternity, it would be ‘give.’” Hmm . . . only one word forever, and it’s not “get.” It’s “give.” The whole book explains how selfless giving–deep, persistent, and unselfish love–is the key to having good in our lives. We give it because we already have it. Continue reading →

Essential tools for healthy lives

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Boston-based guest blogger, Kim Shippey, devours books from many fields in his regular job as a staff editor for the Christian Science Sentinel.

I have recently read a book by two psychotherapists with a combined 60 years of counseling experience, Phil Stutz and Barry Michaels. It’s titled The Tools (Spiegel & Grau, New York, 2012), and their purpose, as the subtitle explains, is to transform the everyday problems everyone faces into “courage, confidence, and creativity.”

Stutz and Michaels identify several fundamental issues that “keep people from living the life they want to live.” They provide readers with the main “tools” their professional lives have shown to be highly effective in achieving such goals, and explain how their tools connect us to a “higher force.”

The authors illustrate their findings with dozens of case histories, including several drawn from their own experience. These personal stories, understandably, are especially  convincing and gripping. Continue reading →