and one that is attempting to enhance the personal growth of people while improving the caring and quality of our many institutions. This emerging approach to leadership and service began with Greenleaf. The term servant-leadership was first coined by Greenleaf (1904–1990) in a 1970 essay titled "The Servant as Leader." Since that time, more than half a million copies of his books and essays have been sold worldwide. Greenleaf spent most of his organizational life in the field of management research, development, and education at AT&T. Following a 40-year career at AT&T, Greenleaf enjoyed a second career that lasted 25 years, during which time he s... posted on Jun 4 2013 (121,341 reads)

the leading researchers in the field of positive psychology. Her previous, best-selling book, The How of Happiness, published in 2008, is chock full of the best research-based practices for increasing happiness. The Myths of Happiness follows up on that work by explaining how our assumptions about what will and won’t bring us happiness are often flat-out wrong. Understanding those myths, Lyubomirsky argues, can help us avoid the psychological barriers to a rich and happy life. As part of our Greater Good Podcast series, she recently spoke with Editor-in-Chief Jason Marsh about why we are so often mistaken about what will make us happy—and how w... posted on Jun 12 2013 (27,004 reads)

is the country they call life. You will know it by its seriousness. Give me your hand. --Rilke I was going through airport security the other month, participating in the grind of pulling out my laptop and my Ziploc baggie full of plastic bottles, and removing my belt and my shoes and my watch and my jacket and trying to fit them all into the plastic bin in such a way that nothing would fall out as it went through its screening. On the other side, I quickly gathered my belongings so they wouldn't get run over by the oncoming stream of objects. I started shuffling forward with my shoes half on and my arms weighed down by my scattering of possessions. As I glanced up, I saw a g... posted on Jun 14 2013 (24,094 reads)

in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Now what bird? It should be white, because white symbolizes peace and vulnerability. Then look through a list of what would be the most symbolic bird as "messenger." Oh, the albatross, of course! Then the last thing: What should we name this island? Coconut Island? Coral Atoll? What would be most symbolic of where humans find ourselves now  —  between the collapse of the old and the new not yet emerging, making choices that affect life on Earth? How about "Midway"? What more provocative term could there possibly be?  As I went there, the other piece that was so astonishing was that the albatross is an incredib... posted on Jul 29 2013 (82,662 reads)

foot and to notice the sensations that are present in this body location.  You might notice tingling or pressure or warmth and you can isolate these sensations to your right foot, with varying degrees of success. Do we emerge at birth endowed with this ability?  Or does this ability develop over the course of maturation?  Is it associated with the development of specific circuits in the brain?  To what degree are individual differences in this ability present early in life and what environmental and genetic influences modulate this ability?  These are all important questions that bear on the larger issue of whether we can learn to control our mind.  To ad... posted on Aug 15 2013 (61,379 reads)

to most anyone who practices gratitude, even in the midst of adversity, such as elderly people confronting death, women with breast cancer, and people coping with a chronic muscular disease. Here are some of the top research-based reasons for practicing gratitude. Gratitude brings us happiness: Through research by Emmons, happiness expert Sonja Lyubomirsky, and many other scientists, practicing gratitude has proven to be one of the most reliable methods for increasing happiness and life satisfaction; it also boosts feelings of optimism, joy, pleasure, enthusiasm, and other positive emotions. On the flip side, gratitude also reduces anxiety and depression. Gratitude is good... posted on Nov 28 2013 (44,308 reads)

has raised hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade for his company, Strategic Value Partners, through her financial acumen. The same woman who, leading international finance lawyer James Watkins says, gave up millions of her own income to help some of the most impoverished people in the world. The same woman again who high-flying lawyer John Atkinson believes puts him and other bankers and lawyers to shame. “When I examine my life and I compare it to Audette’s, you can quickly feel pretty humbled, even quite selfish. I guess in the scheme of things I look quite normal and Audette looks pretty extraordinary.... posted on Oct 28 2013 (29,346 reads)

prize-winning poet Robert Hass brings our attention to the potential resilience of rivers as stories across cultures, places, and time. A book of river stories is, of course, an invitation to think about the relation between rivers and stories. It is also an occasion to think about the condition of the world's rivers, which we need urgently to do at this moment in the history of the human relation to the earth. And a place to begin is with the obvious, with the fact that most of the life on earth depends on fresh water. The mineral earth with its dream shapes of mountain range and valley basin, desert and forest and taiga and prairie and butte and mesa, forged by the heat of the ... posted on Oct 20 2013 (21,753 reads)

combination of nature and nurture? Dacher Keltner, director of the Berkeley Social Interaction Laboratory, investigates these questions from multiple angles, and often generates results that are both surprising and challenging. In his new book, Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life, Keltner weaves together scientific findings with personal narrative to uncover the innate power of human emotion to connect people with each other, which he argues is the path to living the good life. Keltner was kind enough to take some time out to discuss altruism, Darwinism, neurobiology and practical applications of his findings with David DiSalvo. DISALVO: You have a book that was jus... posted on Oct 19 2013 (26,867 reads)

is like a spotlight—whatever it shines on becomes brighter in the mind. This knowledge can help us build compassion, says Paul Gilbert. Why do we need compassion? This week, we feature the video of a Science of a Meaningful Life presentation by Paul Gilbert, the author of Mindful Compassion. This essay is inspired by his talk. We need compassion because life is hard. We are all susceptible to diseases and injuries. Every one of us has a lifespan that had a start and will have an end. Just like you, I am vulnerable to disease. Just like you, I could have a blood test tomorrow that says my life is going to end. Just like you, I could hear that my son has been killed... posted on Jan 26 2014 (25,133 reads)

science of why fantasy and imaginative escapism are essential elements of a satisfying mental life. Freud asserted that daydreaming is essential to creative writing — something a number of famous creators and theorists intuited in asserting that unconscious processing is essential to how creativity works, from T. S. Eliot’s notion of “idea incubation” to Alexander Graham Bell’s “unconscious cerebration” to Lewis Carroll’s “mental mastication.” In the 1950s, Yale psychologist Jerome L. Singer put these intuitive observations to the empirical test as he embarked u... posted on Dec 8 2013 (25,184 reads)

who want to pursue these ideas more deeply. Seven Lessons for Leaders For educators and change agents who are tackling the challenge of changing systems, some of them deeply entrenched, we are pleased to offer these lessons, based on our work with thousands of leaders. Lesson #1:  To promote systems change, foster community and cultivate networks. Most of the qualities of a living system, notes Fritjof Capra, are aspects of a single fundamental network pattern: nature sustains life by creating and nurturing communities. Lasting change frequently requires a critical mass or density of interrelationships within a community. For instance, we've seen from research and our e... posted on Dec 12 2013 (32,795 reads)

research suggests—is that your phone? Go ahead and reply. It’s OK, I’ll wait. Back? I think I was saying something about—wait, you’re checking your email? Can’t you focus? You’re not alone. It has become an axiom of modern life that we’re a people under attack, assailed by a barrage of technologies and near-constant communications. Amidst this wealth of data and information, one resource is in short supply: our ability to pay attention. It is this dilemma that animates Daniel Goleman’s new book,Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence. Goleman, the former New York Times science journalist turned best-selling author... posted on Feb 18 2014 (31,478 reads)

have anybody anymore. My son is gone and he was the only person that I was living with. I set about changing you, and you’re not that same person anymore. But I don’t have anybody, and I want to know if you’d stay here. I’m in need of a son, and I want to know if I can adopt you.” And he said yes and she did. What is forgiveness? What is this human capacity for forgiveness? What is the human capacity for dignity no matter what the circumstances of life? As this story shows, forgiveness is not just about the other. It’s really for the beauty of your soul. It’s for your own capacity to fulfill your life. Forgiveness is, in... posted on Mar 15 2014 (62,259 reads)

Women Were Birds. "What was my mother trying to say to me?" she asks in the interview that follows. "Why did my mother choose not to write in her journals? Was she afraid of her voice? Was she saying, 'Use your voice because I couldn't or wouldn't use mine'? Was she saying, 'I'm giving you my journals because I want you to fill them'? Or were her empty journals an act of defiance by a Mormon woman who was told: the two things you will do in your life are to keep a journal and to bear children?" For 30 years Williams wrote in the journals, and then at 54 turned her attention to exploring these questions. The resulting considerations of... posted on Mar 22 2014 (12,463 reads)

Attention the Secret to Emotional Intelligence? An interview with best-selling author Daniel Goleman about his new book, Focus. New research suggests—is that your phone? Go ahead and reply. It’s OK, I’ll wait. Back? I think I was saying something about—wait, you’re checking your email? Can’t you focus? You’re not alone. It has become an axiom of modern life that we’re a people under attack, assailed by a barrage of technologies and near-constant communications. Amidst this wealth of data and information, one resource is in short supply: our ability to pay attention. It is this dilemma that animates Daniel Goleman’s ... posted on Mar 25 2014 (22,967 reads)

analysis ... It's a knowing without knowing." Our intuition is always there, whether we're aware of it or not. As HuffPost President and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington puts it in her upcoming book Thrive: Even when we're not at a fork in the road, wondering what to do and trying to hear that inner voice, our intuition is always there, always reading the situation, always trying to steer us the right way. But can we hear it? Are we paying attention? Are we living a life that keeps the pathway to our intuition unblocked? Feeding and nurturing our intuition, and living a life in which we can make use of its wisdom, is one key way to thrive, at work and in life. ... posted on Apr 30 2014 (136,004 reads)

During the bad days I would say that the ‘light was definitely out.’ On the good days, I would come to her and embrace her. I would kiss her, and she would kiss me back, which elicited wonderful memories of a loving marriage. Shoshana died in 2012, but during our half century together, she taught me that trauma can be an opening for transformation through the way she dealt with her own experiences, in her psychotherapeutic work, and through my own role as her care giver later in life. “War.” Tapestry by Shoshana Comet. Credit: Ted Comet. All rights reserved. *** On the morning after Hitler’s invasion of Belgium in 1940, Shoshana Ungar and he... posted on Jun 15 2014 (23,211 reads)

unexpected. My explanation created an atmosphere of mystery. The tale was so unlikely that later my friends joked that perhaps I’d dreamed it. The red napkin, tablecloth, and candlesticks all belonged to Mrs. Cybulski (not her real name), a widow who had lived down the street as long as I’d been in the neighborhood, about twenty years. Except to water her yard, she didn’t go out much. And when she did, she stayed near the house, as if the tether fastening her to life had retracted, pulling her toward an eternal home. One day, I noticed a full-size dumpster in front of her bungalow. I assumed it was for yard debris or trash from some renovation project. But... posted on May 27 2023 (24,481 reads)

from chemical reactions in your brain. RW: Can we just say that human intelligence is a broader field than what our typical measurements can disclose? EJ: Oh, human intelligence, right now, can’t be explained scientifically! And there’s a very good chance that it will never be explained scientifically. The idea of free will in science would seem to contradict the idea that everything is driven by entropy proceeding toward the greatest state of disorder. Free will, in fact life in general, is acting in the opposite direction. So when I say “feeling” I do mean an emotional expression that is inexplicable and that’s capable of not necessarily overriding,... posted on May 26 2014 (10,880 reads)