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All Psychology

Ego Honesty

Ego Honesty How Are You Lying to Yourself? (originally published on DailyHap.com on 5/21/13)  Ego honesty is when we think we’re being fully honest for a higher good, but we are really being “honest” just to inflate our sense of self. The Lie of Full Disclosure John shares a rude opinion, despite the fact that no one asked for it. […]

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All Optimism

Positive Proof that the World’s Getting Better

The Power of Consuming Good News I propose that we live in the most loving, compassionate, and aware time in the history of humanity. I believe that the average person is far better off right now than the average person was even a very short time ago, even looking at objective things that almost everyone […]

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All Happiness

Share Your Happiness

Comically and Conscientiously Self-Promoting (Previously Published on DailyHap.com) “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” —Buddha Sure, you can achieve your happiness goals alone, but why bother? Why hide your happiness, when you can share it? […]

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All Psychology

How to Become Your Favorite Superhero

Whether it’s Thor or Tina Fey, these simple exercises will help you get in touch with your best self Last night I watched Iron Man 3. I love Tony Stark (the character who is Iron Man); he’s brilliant, brave, delightfully arrogant in self-aware kind of way, and he consistently saves the world. He’s quick witted and […]

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All Happiness Psychology

The Secret Health Pill: Journaling

What if I told you that there was a free, secret pill that was scientifically proven to lower doctor visits, improve your immune system, reduce your blood pressure, improve your mood, increase your feeling of well-being, and reduce depression? (1) That it has no negative side effects, and has been proven to reduce absenteeism from work, lead to quicker re-employment […]

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All Psychology

Reflections on the Boston Marathon Bombing

What does it mean to explore your shadow when it comes to people getting killed? “…Fortunately, I have a mirror. We all do. Everything that happens “out there” can act as a mirror—if we consciously choose to see it that way. And lucky for us, the events that we react the most emotionally against (or […]

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All Integral

What is An Integral Life Practice, and Why Do You Want to Do it?

Exercise the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual What is an Integral Life Practice? Very simply, it is a way to exercise the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of the self. It’s a commitment an individual makes to actively pursue development in these four key areas of life (body, mind, psyche, spirit) at every level: […]

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All Happiness

Happiness Secret: Earn a Whole Extra Day of Free Time a Year

An easy trick that saves time… while the principle is universally applicable, this article applies mostly to gmail users. Does free time make you happy? Would you be happy if I told you a secret way you could have an entire day to do whatever you wanted, every year, for free—all it was a couple of […]

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All Psychology

Humility and Greatness

“There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.” Today I sat in my car in a Texas thunderstorm talking with a friend about greatness. She wanted to make sure her greatness was tempered with humility. I believe that distinction isn’t necessary; humility is inherent in true greatness. It’s […]

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All Politics

Radical Gun Violence Control

I want to offer a different way to address gun violence in our country, one that might be more individually empowering and ultimately effective today than our current proposals. Almost all of our commonly proposed solutions—fewer guns, more guns, background checks, licensing, better mental health coverage, etc.—are external solutions that leverage behavior and systems and therefore fail […]

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All Psychology Spirituality

Spirituality isn’t for Cowards

A lot of people think spirituality is for softies, but nothing could be further from the truth. To truly live a spiritual life—which might be defined universally as seeking to embody love (God, Enlightenment, Truth) in every action of every day—takes more courage than anything else in the world. What it Takes A person living […]

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All Art

Discipline Breeds Creativity

This is part three of a three-part series on Creating Creativity. For Part 1, click here. For Part 2, click here. For many creative people, this step may be the most difficult of all: Discipline. The importance of discipline for creativity Yet I can not underscore enough the importance of discipline. Have a schedule, and stick to […]