When my daughter, Lauren, chose her college, she picked-up on an aspect that didn’t jump out at me. I guess I was the only one surprised at how that played-out four years later and it made me curious: how does a college foster a service culture that stands out to a high school student?

I want to travel to Pandora, the fictional planet depicted in Avatar.  I saw James Cameron’s newest film that has rocked box offices since its release in December on I-MAX 3-D and have since …

I visited Maui, a breath-taking beautiful island where I experienced multiple moments of awe, elevation, spirituality, and connection with all things larger than myself. Stepping outside urbanization and its demands stimulated my strengths of open-mindedness, appreciation of beauty and capacity to love. Today, I am more motivated than ever to be respectful of the environment through the dozens of everyday choices that we know about, and should never fail to make.

When we chose the theme of relationships as a topic for PPND this month, I asked myself, what is true love? I would describe myself as a (covert/genuine/tentative-but-rational … Heathcliff!!) Romantic, so was a bit …

In 1845, Thoreau went to live for three months in the woods near Walden Pond. When asked why, he responded, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived… I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…”

What exactly grants love the magic? Elijah Mickel and Cecilia Hall recently wrote about the five presents of perfect love. I would like to share this food for thought with you in February – the month of LOVE – when St. Valentine’s Day in the West and Yuanxiao Jie (元宵節) in the East occur in the same month.

For researchers who want to collaborate on a broad study of wellbeing over time: the Wellbeing Study team is seeking collaborators who are willing to promote the study in their own countries or with specific populations in return for access to interesting data. Read further for the information about the study duration, planned measures, and how you can contribute.

What separates people who achieve lofty goals from people who procrastinate with even simple things? Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide is the best and most comprehensive resource I have come across on this topic.

It might sound unlikely that an Australian-raised, self-proclaimed 60’s feminist-turned-Buddhist-nun would be the energy behind the San Francisco-based conference Happiness and Its Causes (November 24-25, 2008).

“Let’s deconstruct happiness, open it up, and look at the differences,” says Ven. Robina Courtin. “Inspiring people is the main agenda of this conference.” (DISCOUNT inside the article).

I live in New York City. Perhaps because it is the financial capital of the world, anxiety about the economy is everywhere. In Starbucks people sit grimly reading the Wall Street Journal and the patois overheard is about Lehman Brothers, AIG and bailouts. With every lurching move of the Dow, you can feel the collective panic or collective sighs of relief. In this environment how can positive psychology help?