I was recently interviewed for a blog article by my friends at Spa Developments , a global spa consulting and design firm. Since I’m traveling in Asia and haven’t had time to write an article for this week, I thought I would publish this interview and give TPOW readers a chance to get to know […]
Today’s article is also published on Positive Psychology News Daily. With the release of his new book, “Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being,” Martin Seligman presents his new model for wellbeing under the codename PERMA. PERMA is an acronym for the five pillars of wellbeing that Seligman has identified through decades of research […]
My son Dylan turned one year old this week. The past year of watching this little peanut develop into a tiny human being has been an incredible, wonderful amazing adventure. I joked when he was born that I was beginning a lifelong experiment in positive psychology as I would be trying to apply as much […]
The Psychology of Wellbeing blog is now one year old! I launched the blog just a few days before my son was born in May of last year (the second article on the blog was about his birth: “Why is Childbirth So Freakin’ Painful?”) I knew that if I didn’t get the blog going before […]
The tendency in holistic or “mind-body” wellbeing is to focus on the importance of mental wellbeing for physical health. Reducing stress, practicing mindfulness, and experiencing positive emotions all have an impact on our physical health. But the mind-body connection works in the other direction too. Using our bodies and developing physical fitness is also good […]
Have you ever read a book (and religious texts don’t count—that’s too easy) that you can honestly say has changed your life? For me, the one book that has changed my life more than any other is “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (say that three times fast–hint: it’s pronounced “cheek sent […]
Good news for the spa industry: The science of touch is exploding. Through my own work in the spa world, I’ve always been an advocate of getting more science to support the work of healing through touch. Previously on this blog, I’ve had articles about the effects of massage on health (see “Get Thee to […]
I was recently invited to speak at a symposium on “Redefining the American Spa Experience” for the Washington Spa Alliance, an impressive group of spa and wellness professionals in our nation’s capital. The theme of the day seemed to be exploring the relationship that spas have with science. I tried to contribute to the dialogue […]
I’ve noticed lately when I am doing research for an article on The Psychology of Wellbeing, I am inclined to seek out blogs as my sources as opposed to doing my research in peer reviewed research journals. I am surprised to find myself doing this because the intention of this blog is and always has […]
If you saw the movie Fight Club, you may remember Brad Pitt as the colorful Tyler Durden, sharing the rules of Fight Club: “The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club.” (The second rule, by the way, is “you DO NOT talk about Fight Club.”) Similarly, the first rule […]
