The Optimist Living
You get more nutrients from food you want to eat than from food you don’t enjoy
It makes a difference how you feel when you eat. Science tells us that the more you enjoy your food, the more you absorb the nutrients. That doesn’t mean that you should only eat desert. But to fully benefit from healthy food, you need to make sure that you fully enjoy it. Years ago, researchers Read More...
Tips to calm your overactive brain to get a good night’s sleep
People who sleep better increase their chances of staving off diseases. But more and more people struggling with their sleep as a result of their active lifestyles that include watching television and working on computers until right before bedtime. A good night’s sleep requires careful Read More...
Why full schedules and lots of meetings don’t lead to success
Many people go through their days following overloaded schedules. If you want to meet them, you can do so in two weeks… Some people even take pride in these heavy schedules of meetings as a reflection of their productivity. Alas, it doesn’t work. There’s one thing that the truly successful Read More...
Learn how to focus your mind from an ancient Roman emperor
Marcus Aurelius was one of the so-called Good Emperors of Rome. Today, he is still known through his Meditations. It’s a timeless manual for living a balanced life. Marcus Aurelius saw the world as it was rather than as he hoped it would be. That may not sound like an accomplishment, but it’s Read More...
How to avoid overthinking and reclaim your sleep
Most of us have this experience: You wake up in the middle of the night and your mind starts racing. The analysis of past events and thoughts about future challenges begin an “overthinking” competition with your sleep as the guaranteed loser. But, there are ways to control overthinking. Read More...
There’s a healthy way to compare yourself to other people
We seem unable to escape comparing ourselves with others. Envy and depression are often the outcomes. Mark Twain said: “comparison is the death of joy”. Is there a way to compare yourself in a healthy way? The objective may be to “compare wisely to become truly incomparable”. Compare to Read More...
From Plato to the Christian mystics: Western philosophy is rooted in psychedelics
After the wild experiences of the 1960s psychedelic drugs were banned. However, Western philosophy has a huge debt to psychedelics, according to a new book on the philosophical significance of drugs. Plato wrote more than 2,000 years ago that he was inspired by an ancient religious ceremony that Read More...
There’s evidence that you can do math in your sleep
Researchers in Paris have found that brains are capable of both learning and suppressing information during different phases of sleep. And Israeli researchers have discovered that it’s possible for us to learn different patterns of smells while Read More...
There are scientific reasons why being near water makes you happier
What is your water? And as it turns out, nearly everyone has an answer. Studies have found that people who live near the coasts are generally healthier and happier. Other studies show that when shown photographs of natural green spaces, people’s stress levels drop, but the more blue spaces in Read More...
The tale of an organic farm that is a successful business
A good story about a couple that started an organic farm without any experience and turned it into a successful profitable business. They wrote an inspiring book about their experiences as a “real farm” in a village north of Toronto in Canada. Heirloom tomatoes and kohlrabi are “stupid Read More...