Pathway 3 “Meaning”

Oddly enough, it was April Fool’s day when I went to see the new movie by Tom Shadyac, director of comedies such as Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, and Patch Adams. Shadyac had a serious cycling accident that resulted in him facing his own death. He emerged with new purpose – and this movie is the …

The word judgmental has a bad name. Even though the original meaning of this word was neutral because judgments can be both negative and positive, judgmental is almost onesidedly used for negative judgments today. Powerful and instinctual as it is, negative judgmentalism is not inevitable. we can consciously give more attention to the positive side …

Positive psychology was created to address an overwhelming bias in the psychological and social sciences towards a deficit based approach to mental health. The question becomes, once this bias is corrected, does positive psychology simply fade away, leaving a more holistic, balanced and integrated psychology behind in its stead? Or will we always need this …

When the women of my book club heard the plight of the families of the Red Door, they enthusiastically embraced the task of sponsoring a family. It was wonderful to know this family was going to have a good Christmas…but what touched my heart was how the women of the book club were transformed. They …

I’ve been invited to give a lunchtime talk on resilience for a conference of nurses in the Veteran’s Administration Polytrauma System of Care. Because I’m feeling a wave of humility — these nurses care for patients with very serious conditions — I’d like to organize my thoughts here, so that the community can tell me …

Two weeks ago a very good friend wrote to me, “This is wonderful – perhaps some grist for your newsletter?” She included a link to J. K. Rowling’s June 2008 Commencement Address. Rowling said she had two key themes: the benefits of failure, and the importance of imagination in finding empathy. But I found much, …

The 6th Biennial Meaning conference took place August 5-8 in Vancouver Canada. The theme was Creating a Psychologically Healthy Workplace, and sessions also touched on a deeper theme — the importance of meaning to the quality of our lives. Many of the sessions were recorded and recordings are available for purchase, if this brief summary …

Visiting an 87-year-old friend in a supported living facility, I have been wondering what gives meaning to life when someone is no longer able to serve others or contribute to lifetime passions or pursue a larger purpose.

The film, Inception, explores the phenomenon of ideas. Where do they start? How are they influenced? Can we extract ideas from each other, and when we do, to whom do they belong? Can we cause others to incept (take in) ideas by influencing them to think what we want them to think? The film shows …

Research and application often appear to live in separate worlds, but sometimes they come together in a way that shines light on both. What if a company could change direction radically by adopting a shared and valued purpose? Interface, Inc. did just that. An Existence Proof: Interface, Inc. Can an organization really have a shared …

It is time again for the biennial Meaning Conference, to be held in Vancouver BC on August 5-8. From from the announcement, “Work is more than a means of making a living or creating wealth. It can also be a higher calling that ennobles the soul, endows life with meaning, and enhances humanity. ” Read …

Kathryn Britton recently wrote about using positive psychology to deal with a sudden loss as she mourned her dear friend Linda. Grieving is an individual process, but while no two people have an identical experience of losing a loved one, there are several patterns that emerge. I’d like to offer some observations about how Positive …

Is It More Fun To Be a Scientist or an Artist? is the title of Professor Richard Gregory’s final publication. Professor Gregory, one of the world’s leading researchers on perception died on May 17, 2010. Professor Gregory’s first job, after finishing studies in Philosophy and Experimental Psychology, was as at the Medical Research Council’s Applied …

At some point in all the stories I have heard from people who describe their memorable and positive experiences at work, those in which they had high job satisfaction, I hear words such as ‘passion,’ ‘committed,’ ‘drive,’ ‘I believed in what I was doing,’ or ‘it’s just what I do.’ They realize they derived great …

Is there any substance and meaning behind the choice of who wins an Academy Award? In an analysis of 1,132 films, Simonton found that the Oscars do matter; they provide meaningful information about creativity and achievement in the cinema and are more representative of these positive phenomena than any other awards platform. What Makes a …