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 […]
If you have ever been on safari in Africa, then you have had an opportunity to see the incredible diversity of life that inhabits our planet. In a lush ecosystem like the Serengeti, there are many different species of animals, all incredibly different from one another, and yet all have adapted specific mechanisms or strengths […]
“Encantado” is the common greeting to someone you’ve just met in Mexico. In France, it’s “enchanté”. These words are awkward for a native English speaker to use, (as I can tell you as an American who has been studying both languages.) We just aren’t as easily “enchanted” as our more passionate international counterparts. In English, […]
“This is your day,” people would tell us when we got married (last week) “forget about everybody else.” This is a common piece of wisdom that friends and family members will tell the bride and groom, who often find themselves spending more time and energy worrying about their guests’ enjoyment than they do enjoying their […]
“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage.” From the time we are ten years old, we learn that this is the way things are supposed to go. But it doesn’t always work out that way. For some people, the baby comes first. At the end of February, I’ll […]
It was the first week of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology graduate school program at University of Pennsylvania when I met George Vaillant, who would be one of our guest lecturers. I was excited to meet him because, working in the spa industry, I was a big fan of his book “Aging Well,” a […]
