The Science of Happiness

• Happiness Break: Smiling From The Inside Out

  Just a soft smile and a few minutes of breath can shift your mood, lower stress, and deepen your sense of connection.How To Do This Practice:  Settle In: Find a comfortable seat, rest your hands gently, and soften your gaze or close your eyes. Breathe and Soften: Take a few slow, deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth, relaxing your face, jaw, and neck. Form a Gentle Smile: Let a soft, effortless smile form at the corners of your mouth. Think of something or someone that makes you smile. Turn the Smile Inward: Imagine that smile radiating inside your body, through your face, throat, and chest. Send the Smile Through Your Body: With each breath, guide the smile to your heart, lungs, digestive system, and spine, acknowledging and appreciating each part. Close Gently: Let the smile spread throughout your whole body, take one final deep breath, and slowly open your eyes, carrying the smile into the rest of your day. Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.Today’s Happiness Break Guide:DACHER KELTNER is the host of The Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.Related Happiness Break episodes:Take a Break With Our Loving-Kindness Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2kr4fjz5A Meditation on Original Love: https://tinyurl.com/5u298cv4Embodying Resilience: https://tinyurl.com/46383mhxRelated Science of Happiness episodes:Are You Remembering the Good Times: https://tinyurl.com/483bkk2hMake Uncertainty Part of the Process: https://tinyurl.com/234u5ds7Why We Should Seek Beauty: https://tinyurl.com/yn7ry59jFollow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPodWe’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapHelp us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapTranscription: https://tinyurl.com/s4wk4x4y

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• How Parks Keep Us Connected

  From childhood adventures to post-trauma recovery, explore how our parks support our well-being— and why access to them matters.Summary: Nature has long been a source of wonder, healing, and connection. But access to those green spaces—from neighborhood parks to national treasures—are increasingly at risk. In this episode of The Science of Happiness, we hear how awe-inspiring outdoor experiences can help us feel more alive and less alone, and what we can do to protect those spaces.How To Do This Practice:  Step outside with intention, even if it’s just to your backyard, a nearby park, or a patch of grass. Pause and take a few deep breaths to ground yourself and shift your attention from doing to simply being. Notice the details around you. The movement of leaves, the pattern of clouds, the sound of birds or distant traffic. Look for something that surprises or moves you, no matter how small, like a weed blooming through concrete or shifting light on a tree. Let yourself feel whatever arises, whether it’s wonder, calm, grief, or joy—there’s no right way to experience awe. Before you return indoors, take a moment to reflect on what you saw or felt, and how it might shift your day or perspective. Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.Today’s Guests:STACY BARE is a climber, mountaineer, and skier. Climbing helped Stacy recover from PTSD from a year in Baghdad as a Civil Affairs Team Leader in the Army. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star for merit and a combat action badge and named one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year for 2014.​Follow Stacy on Instagram: @stacyabareAdd Stacy on Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/49zazw8fRelated The Science of Happiness episodes:  The Healing Effects of Experiencing Wildlife: https://tinyurl.com/bde5av4zHow to Do Good for the Environment (And Yourself): https://tinyurl.com/5b26zwkxExperience Nature Wherever You Are, with Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/mrutudehRelated Happiness Breaks:How To Ground Yourself in Nature: https://tinyurl.com/25ftdxpmPause to Look at the Sky: https://tinyurl.com/4jttkbw3A Walking Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/mwbsen7aTell us about your experience with this practice. Email us at [email protected] or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapTranscription: https://tinyurl.com/3fv7695k

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• Happiness Break: Embodying Resilience, With Prentis Hemphill

  What if you could tap into your inherent resilience at any time? Prentis Hemphill guides a meditation to turn good memories into a state of resilience.How To Do This Practice: Get Comfortable in Your Body: Find a position, seated, standing, or lying down, that feels right. Move, shake, or sound out anything that helps you arrive in your body. Conjure a Resilient Memory: Call to mind a moment, place, or experience that makes you feel strong, creative, or connected, something that reminds you of your resilience. Let It Fill You Up: Notice where that memory lives in your body, and let it expand into your arms, legs, face, and breath until it energizes your whole being. Turn It Up: Amplify the sensation by 20%, letting it spill through your muscles and cells. Notice shifts in breath, posture, and energy. Turn It Down: Gently reduce the sensation, bit by bit, and observe what changes. What stories re-emerge, how your body responds, and how you make that shift. Carry It With You: Return to the present moment with the option to bring that resilience with you at the volume and intensity you need, knowing it’s always available. Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.Today’s Happiness Break Guide:PRENTIS HEMPHILL is the founder of the Embodiment Institute, and a writer and therapist who prioritizes the body in their approach to healing.Learn More About the Embodiment Institute: https://www.theembodimentinstitute.org/aboutCheck out Prentis’ website: https://prentishemphill.comFollow Prentis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/prentishemphillFollow Prentis on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/4d99f4xsRelated Happiness Break episodes:Make Uncertainty Part of the Process: https://tinyurl.com/234u5ds7Pause to Look at the Sky: https://tinyurl.com/4jttkbw3A Self-Compassion Meditation For Burnout: https://tinyurl.com/485y3b4yRelated Science of Happiness episodes:How Holding Yourself Can Reduce Stress: https://tinyurl.com/2hvhkwe6Breathe Away Anxiety: https://tinyurl.com/3u7vsrr5Are You Remembering the Good Times: https://tinyurl.com/483bkk2hFollow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPodWe’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapHelp us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapTranscription: https://tinyurl.com/46383mhx

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• How to Feel More Hopeful

  How can we build a sense of hope when the future feels uncertain? Poet Tomás Morín tries a writing practice to make him feel more hopeful and motivated to work toward his goals.Summary: Can writing about your hopes make you feel more optimistic? In this episode, poet Tomás Morin tries a hope-focused writing practice developed by psychologist Charlotte Van-Oyen Witvliet. Backed by research, the practice helps people feel more hopeful, motivated, and grounded in gratitude, even in the face of uncertainty.How To Do This Practice:  Write about something you deeply hope will happen, but can’t fully control. Reflect on how important this hope is to you and how motivated you are to pursue it.  Recall a past hope that once felt uncertain but eventually came true. Write about what you’re grateful for from that experience, including who helped and what you learned. Connect what you learned then to what you’re hoping for now. End by naming one small action you can take today toward your current hope. Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.Today’s Guests:TOMÁS MORIN is a poet who won an American Poetry Review Honickman First Book Prize for his collection of poems A Larger Country. He’s currently a professor at Rice University.Check out Tomás’ work: https://www.tomasqmorin.com/|Read some of Tomás’ poems: https://tinyurl.com/3v8u6m5hRead Tomás’ latest book: https://tinyurl.com/aej9cw3aCHARLOTTE VAN OYEN-WITVLIET is a clinical psychologist who teaches at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.Learn more about Charlotte’s work: https://tinyurl.com/yc65w4nuRelated The Science of Happiness episodes:  Climate, Hope, & Science Series: https://tinyurl.com/pb27repWhy Going Offline Might Save Us: https://tinyurl.com/e7rhsakjHow To Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xcHow To Feel Better About Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/42fn62a2Related Happiness Breaks:A Self-Compassion Meditation For Burnout: https://tinyurl.com/485y3b4y5 Minutes of Gratitude: https://tinyurl.com/r6pkw2xxA Humming Technique to Calm Your Nerves: https://tinyurl.com/mr42rzadTell us about your experience with this practice. Email us at [email protected] or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapTranscription: https://tinyurl.com/557waxw7

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• Happiness Break: A Meditation For When You Have Too Much To Do

  Does your to-do list feel endless? Try this short, guided practice to help you reflect, reconnect, and release the pressure to do it all perfectly.How To Do This Practice: Find a Comfortable Posture: Sit or stand tall with a sense of dignity, grounded, yet relaxed. Take Three Cleansing Breaths: Inhale twice through the nose, then exhale slowly through the mouth. Repeat this three times to settle into the moment. Scan Your Body from Head to Toe: Gently bring your attention to each part of your body, noticing sensations and letting go of any tension as you move downward. Visualize Your To-Do List as Floating Bubbles: Imagine each task as a bubble above you. Observe them without judgment, simply noticing their presence. Ask Reflective Questions: Is it the number of tasks that’s overwhelming, or is it fear of forgetting, failing, or letting someone down? What’s truly fueling your stress? Recenter with Gratitude and Self-Compassion: Acknowledge that being needed is a form of purpose. Remind yourself that even if not everything gets done, you are still enough and already whole. Scroll down for a transcription of this episode. Explore more talks, workshops, and resources atggsc.berkeley.edu/speaking.Today’s Happiness Break Guide:KIA AFCARI is the director of Greater Good Workplaces at GGSC. Kia grounds his work in the science of well-being, prosociality, and contemplative practices and uses creative methods like “instant dance parties” and Boal-informed theater techniques to achieve results.Watch Kia’s TED Talk on reshaping diversity, equity, and inclusion here: https://tinyurl.com/483tdjp5Related Happiness Break episodes:Making Space For You: https://tinyurl.com/yk6nfnfvMake Uncertainty Part of the Process: https://tinyurl.com/234u5ds7Who Takes Care of You: https://tinyurl.com/5xmfkf73Related Science of Happiness episodes:Are You Following Your Inner Compass: https://tinyurl.com/y2bh8vvjHow Holding Yourself Can Reduce Stress: https://tinyurl.com/2hvhkwe6How To Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xcFollow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPodWe’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapHelp us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapTranscription: https://tinyurl.com/5dvk3d7m

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