Lifestyle
Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.
About how prayer affects the brain
The papal visit is a time for ritual, prayer, and meditation. Research has shown that such activities - even outside a religious context - change our brains for the better. Andrew B. Newberg, a neuroscientist and director of research at Jefferson University Hospitals' Myrna Brind Center of Read More...
Sweden experiments with six-hour-workday: efficiency up, staff turnover down
Scandinavian countries have been known for showing the world the importance of quality of life over economic growth. Now,nursing homes, hospitals and businesses in Sweden have switched from an eight-hour to a six-hour workday. And guess what? It’s benefitting everyone. The shorter workday gives Read More...
Learn how to stalk your own mind (and why you should)
If we are relentless and impeccable about stalking ourselves, a result is that we leave the world and other people alone. There is a very old tradition taught by indigenous elders from the Americas that trains us to use the voice of the mind to be free of the voice. The term these elders use for Read More...
6 magic tricks to noticeably increase your productivity (and your happiness)
I was recently asked, "Aside from world peace and the elimination of poverty, if you had one wish, what would it be?" At first, I thought, "I would create more time!" But that would just get filled with all of the frenetic work that continually beckons to be done. Instead, I answered, "I would slow Read More...
Nine of world's biggest banks are interested in using Bitcoin's technology
Bitcoin probably makes you think about digital currencies and new types of money. But what’s most interesting about Bitcoin is not the money, but the underlying technology. This technology, called blockchain, could transform the world in the next decade. What is blockchain? Read a good Read More...
Mindful meditation makes us better thinkers
One of the classic definitions of mindfulness is that it helps us avoid clinging to what is pleasant and condemning what is unpleasant. In this video, psychiatrist Mark Epstein relays information about the practice of mindful meditation and its many mental health Read More...
Can tourism bring peace? Colombian officials say yes!
While Colombia’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism was giving tourism large credit for helping her country escape its violent past, putting it on a road to peace and prosperity, a number of travel industry officials said it’s not that simple. Speaking to attendees at an opening Read More...
Here’s what Germans are doing (and what you can do) to help the refugees fleeing into Europe
Germany has been the moral leader of the refugee crisis. With open arms and compassion, citizens have held welcome rallies, prepared food and opened up their homes to asylum seekers and migrants. One group of German volunteers set up an “Airbnb for refugees” to give them a chance to move out of Read More...
Compassion for refugees isn't enough
Bravo to Pope Francis, Angela Merkel and so many ordinary Germans and Austrians who have welcomed refugees into their lands. Kudos to those American politicians acknowledging that we should accept more Syrian refugees - the U.S. has admitted only 1,500 since the war started four years ago, which is Read More...
Western bombs won’t defeat Isis. Only a wider peace deal can draw its poison
There is no disaster in the Arab and Muslim world, it seems, for which the west’s answer is not to drop bombs on it. As the refugee crisis in Europe has driven home the horror of Syria’s civil war, that has been exactly the response of the leaders of Britain and France. David Cameron Read More...