GO TO USEFUL LINKS FOR
THE HAPPINESS TRAINING PLAN CD
Dr. Chris Johnstone & Miriam Akhtar
"Training to be happy? Can it possibly be done? Can listening to a CD actually make us feel more alive, solve our problems and lead to an inner state of joy? It sounds impossible but what wouldn't we give to be able to do this! The Happiness Training Plan suggests that far from being a random process, we actually have some control over our happiness, health and consciousness. Listening, relaxing and practising is what it takes to bring about profound and far-reaching changes, which help us to tune in to the inner voice of love and the source of our divinity. I have seen people change in this way and know that it can happen."
Pat Pilkington MBE, Co-Founder, Penny Brohn Cancer Care (formerly Bristol Cancer Help
Centre)
Positive Psychology News Daily - 29 January 2010
TAKE ME TO PANDORA,
OR THE POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY OF AVATAR
BY
Louis Alloro
Avatar Girl
I want to travel to Pandora, the fictional planet depicted in Avatar. The message inherent in the panoramic view is profoundly positive and especially relevant to our world today. I saw James Cameron's newest film that has rocked box offices since its release in December on 1-MAX 3-D and have since been urging friends to run, not walk, to see this movie.
Leona Lewis "I See You" video
Theme song from James Cameron's new epic film, Avatar.
The film is set in the year 2154 on Pandora, the faraway moon place where indigenous Na'vi people roam. The film's title refers to the genetically engineered Na'vi bodies used by the film's human characters to interact with the Na'vi. In the film, some humans are interested in mining Pandora's reserves of a precious mineral called unobtanium. Human greed threatens the continued existence of the Na'vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. Avatars that are part-Na'vi and part-human are created to cohabit with the Na'vi in order to gain their trust.
According to Hindu mythology, an avatar is the personification of a god. The more modern Urban Dictionary, defines avatars as computerized images representing a person, like the icon you create and use when playing Nintendo Wii. Avatars resemble real human form, but are digitized.
The perceived need to have Na'vi Avatars exemplifies the social psychological research on own-race bias, the tendency of humans to gravitate towards those who look like them. Research by Barbara Fredrickson and colleagues shows that positive emotions reduce own-race bias: people with higher levels of positive emotion see more similiarities and fewer differences. When we open ourselves up to the wonder of the universe, we see more wonders. Then we ourselves can be seen as wonders. It feels good to be seen.
The Na'vi use "I see you!" as a token of love and respect, signifying knowledge, empathy, and compassion. But being seen requires we let ourselves be seen - a conscious choice to be open and vulnerable. This relates to Carol Dweck's research on mindset: the kids who choose harder puzzles are open to the fact that they may not be able to complete them. They take the risk anyway. The have faith in themselves (in our lingo, this is self-efficacy). The Na'vi people exemplify this faith, not only in themselves, but in the universe as well. Perhaps ...
"Your cup is too full," say Mo'at (played by C. C. H. Pounder), a shaman who is also the mother of Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana). Mo'at encourages her daughter to teach Jake the ways of the Na'vi people. "My cup is empty." Jake pleads as if to suggest that he is open and willing to learn. This spirit of learning is at the heart of the movie, and also at the core of positive psychology. Fredrickson's Broaden and Build Theory is essentially a learning of theory. Positive emotions put us in spaces that allow for learning, for seeing things anew, for opening, for growing.
Interconnectedness. Positive emotions happen in social situations. The film demonstrates the power of interconnectedness. One of the most fascinating scenes shows hundreds of Na'vi people linked together physically, arm to arm, with a brilliant white light radiating between them. This same light is shown throughout the planet's natural world, as if to suggest a oneness, a peace, and the positive evolution inherent in the interconnectedness of all beings.
It is energy giving. I hypothesize this interconnectedness requires trust. Trust comes from a willingness to be vulnerable and from faith (the Na'vi people have this). Faith comes from appreciating the wonders of the universe. The wonders of the universe come from seeing and being seen. Seeing and being seen take intention, mindfulness, risk, and - yes - love.
The Message is for Us. Avatar is real-life, not just a sci-fi epic, if you're open to seeing it that way. Ultimately, this is what positive pyschology is about for me - being willing to see things in different and perhaps more positive ways. It is a mindset that can be built consciously, over time by challenging old habits of thinking, speaking, doing, and ultimately, of feeling.
Hey look, the truth is that I'm working on this process, myself. Maybe you are too? Perhaps then, we'll co-create the brilliance of Pandora right here within the miraculous beauty of our own planet, mother Earth.
To discover how Avatar is relevant today, click here to watch Wade Davis’ TED Talk on indigenous cultures and why it’s important we save both the biosphere and ethnosphere.
REFERENCES
Dweck, C. (2007). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books.
Fredrickson, B. L. (1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2, 300-319.
Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive. New York: Crown.
Johnson, K. & Fredrickson, B. (2005). We all look the same to me: Positive emotions eliminate the own-race bias in face recognition. Psycholgical Science, 16(11) 875-881.
Wright, R. (2000). Nonzero: The logic of human destiny. New York: Fintage Press.
Theme Song, "I See You!.
Louis Allora, M.Ed., MAPP, is a change-agent who consults with individuals and systems (particularly school districts and communities) interested in truly flourishing. He collaborates with MAPP colleagues at Flourishing Schools to offer workshops and consulting services that integrate best practices in education with cutting edge Positive Psychology research.
Positive Psychology News Daily - 5 June 2010
Healing Loss
through Positive Psychology
By Sherri Fisher on June 5, 2010
Sherri Fisher, MAPP '06, M.Ed., CPBS, combines 25 years experience in PK-12 education with positive psychology to uncover engaged learning and working solutions for both individuals and organizations. She is a principal of two education-related businesses: Student Flourishing and Flourishing Schools. Full bio. Sherri writes on the 5th of each month, and her past articles are here.
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 Psychology is at work while people heal after a loss, even in the long term.
When the Memories Align
During the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to be with a community of people who were my colleagues, students, and friends very early in my career. Each of these reunions resulted from the loss of someone of our group. In one case it was a woman who, though childless herself, had touched the lives of thousands of children through her work with them and their teachers. While she finally died from cancer in her 80s, she had already slowly drifted away from this community because of Alzheimer’s disease. There was nothing sudden about the loss, and people felt free to share stories about Alice, her generosity, her quirkiness, her brilliance. While there was a sense that the life of someone special was over, it was not a stinging loss. In fact there was much to celebrate. Everyone felt they had known Alice, that they had had a long time to say goodbye, and no stories shared at her memorial service came as a surprise to those who attended. People left smiling.
Beyond Loss: From Resilience to Meaning
Last month many of the same people met to celebrate a man who also changed the lives of children. He had also died of cancer, but in his 60s. He had lived a colorful and inventive life which included being an aerospace engineer, having a wife and children, divorcing and leaving them, and later becoming one of the founding teachers of a school for children who had struggled mightily to learn in other education settings. Unlike the example above, most of the people attending this remembrance, now 10 years after his death, had been Joe’s students. Now grown up, they shared fantastic true tales of their resilience and successes.
One man, who had become a commercial jet pilot, told of sending his first pair of wings to Joe in gratitude for sharing with him a love of flying. Young women, now with children of their own, recalled road trips in a homemade camper that they had helped build with acetylene torches, and they thanked their parents for letting them travel together across the country in it. A former head of school pointed to photos of Joe with students, experiments, inventions, and the camper, noting how many of these adventures would be unacceptable now in a more litigious age.
A once shy boy, now a filmmaker with a major motion picture studio, showed a film that brought Joe right into the room with us.
Even though this reunion was ten years after his death, people still wept openly when they described what Joe had meant to them and how he changed their lives. Their palpable gratitude had deepened in the years since he had died, as had the resilience and self-confidence he instilled in them.
Memories: Virtual Filmclips, Soundbites, and Snapshots
Also present to celebrate Joe were two of his children. I had always wondered when I worked with him what it must’ve been like to have your father leave you and take on the responsibility of guiding and caring for thousands of children who weren’t even his.
My own father, a consummate workaholic, had two-plus careers and was rarely home until after the children’s bedtime. After his death from a freak accident, several hundred people whom I did not even know came to his standing-room-only memorial service. Following the carefully prepared and delivered eulogy, people were invited to give their spontaneous remembrances. The person they described was someone I had never imagined, much less known, and it was difficult not to feel envious of their wonderful experiences with him. Yet I was glad that they shared their stories, for otherwise, I would never have known these other sides of my dad. It was like getting little film clips of his life outside of our family.
One of Joe’s daughters described how angry she had been for many years and how unwilling she had been to share her father with the many children who loved, admired, and depended on him. Ten years later, seeing many of these children now grown up, hearing their stories and seeing the delight and engagement clearly evident in hundreds of photos and video clips submitted in Joe’s honor, his daughter felt grateful instead. She thanked people who had kept in touch with her long after her father had passed away for caring enough to invite her family to events held in his name. She was so elevated, she said, by seeing her father’s legacy in the school’s alumni community, that instead of feeling that her dad had been taken away from her, she felt that the former students had given him back.
Counting Up or Counting Down? Finding the Meaning in Grief
As Kathryn points out in her article, dealing with a sudden loss leaves survivors feeling blind-sided. Responding to, facing, suffering, and eventually emerging from that initial pain may take a very long time. If there is unfinished business or a back story to deal with, and most people have those, the grieving process can be in various states for years.
A healthy adjustment helps the survivor make meaning from what may seem meaningless. If you care about a survivor of a loss, you may have a film clip, a sound bite, or a snapshot that helps make meaning. Numerous positive psychology themes are at work in the above stories. Here are ten for you to try. (Researchers/practitioners associated with the concepts are in parentheses.)
- Be connected. Other people matter. (Chris Peterson)
- Words make worlds, and stories matter. Share them, especially with people who have experienced a loss. You are creating film clips, soundbites, and snapshots for a very personal video library. (David Cooperrider and Diane Whitney)
- Be gracious and act in elevating ways. Elevating behavior elicits elevation in others. (Jon Haidt)
- Be grateful. Gratitude trumps negative emotion. It’s never too late to say thank you, and it’s both easier and more desirable than saying I forgive you. (Robert Emmons)
- Build resilience. Take the time to build resilient children. See possibility and inspire belief. (Martin Seligman, Karen Reivich and Jane Gillham)
- Build strengths and relationships. Engaging students through strengths and relationships is key to teaching them. (John Yeager, Sherri Fisher, Dave Shearon, Louis Alloro)
- Be curious and help others be this way, too. Cultivating curiosity helps us discover meaning and purpose in life and supports us through loss and adversity. (Todd Kashdan)
- Keep living! Well-being tends to increase with age. Perspective is a powerful healer. (Ed Diener)
- Love. It’s about noticing what is right, diluting the “sulfuric acid” of contempt and developing respect, gratitude, affection, friendship. (John Gottman)
- Savor. Memories that are painful at first are the stuff of meaning later. (Fred Bryant and Joseph Veroff)
References
- Peterson, C., (2006). A Primer in Positive Psychology New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Cooperrider, D. and Whitney, D. (2004) Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
- Haidt, J. (2006). The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. New York: Basic Books.
- Emmons, R. (2007) Thanks!: How the new science of gratitude can make you happier. Boston: Houghton Mifflan Company.
- Reivich, K, & Shattẻ, A. (2002). The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life’s Hurdles. New York: Broadway Books.
Maymin, S. & Britton, K. (Eds.) (2009). Resilience: How to Navigate Life’s Curves. Positive Psychology News. - See Flourishing Schools.
- Kashdan, T. (2009). Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life. New York: William Morrow.
- Diener, E. & Biswas-Diener, R. (2008). Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth. Wiley-Blackwell.
- Gottman, J. & DeClaire, J. (2001). The relationship cure: A 5 step guide to strengthening your marriage, family, and friendships. New York: Three Rivers Press.
- Bryant, F. & Veroff, J. (2007) Savoring: A new model of positive experience.. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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