Happiness and Its Causes Conference PREVIEW in San Francisco

Nicholas Hall, MAPP '06, is the manager of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Behavioral Lab. He consults on worker satisfaction and engagement, and sits on the advisory board of Omnirisk Management Tools. His research work focuses on work satisfaction, character strengths, and positive psychology, and is published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior.

Articles by Nicholas are here.

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.  The dynamic and energetic Ven. Robina Courtin was part of the force that created the same successful Happiness and Its Causes conferences in Sydney and London in 2007, and she wanted to bring it to her home base of San Francisco this time.

“Let’s deconstruct happiness, open it up, and look at the differences,” says Courtin. “Inspiring people is the main agenda of this conference.”

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Happiness and Its Causes Conference
November 24-25, 2008
The Westin San Francisco, 50 Third Street, San Francisco, CA.
PPND Readers get a 10% discount.  Email us to get the discount details.
Register HERE.

Main site here.  Schedule here.  Speaker list here.

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Expert speakers will infuse all the panels of the conference, including a talk on deconstructing happiness with Paul Ekman, health and happiness with Robert Saplosky of Stanford, a happiness in relationships panel with Thupten Jinpa, and Google promoting happiness in the workplace with Chade-Meng Tan, Google’s “Jolly Good Fellow.”  Tough issues are also part of this conference such as dealing with depression and stress, happiness at the end of life, and teaching happiness in the classroom.

Scroll through the agenda of the conference to see noteworthy individuals in psychological science, Buddhist practice, psychological practice, medicine, sports, and the arts – from Buddhist nuns, to a seven-time senior national judo champion, to psychology experts. Click here to view all of the speakers.

Who is this conference for?

Just about anyone: psychologists, social workers, human resource managers, academics, medical professionals, coaches… anyone who wants to learn more about happiness and incorporate it into their own practices and lives. There are several different concentrations in the conference, so there’s something for everyone.

The concept behind the conference

The conference is to connect academics, researchers, and practitioners in and around the field of happiness, and look at happiness from many different aspects.  Exploring all the ways that happiness has been approached, and clearing away the ideological debris to look at the fundamental aspects of happiness is what this conference will do.

As Buddhist nun for the past 30 years, Courtin believes that “happiness is about benefiting others” and that “everyone has the potential to change and develop themselves.” Bringing together Eastern and Western academics and practitioners on the multitude of approaches to happiness helps to disseminate the message of happiness and serves to benefit everyone involved.

Health practitioners will be happy to know that California State Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) are granted to all California MFTs, LCSWs and RNs for attending the conference.

Conference schedule HERE.