Nature has a calming effect on the soul. Now scientific research shows that it also has a positive effect on the brain.
Anne Frank’s insight - The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.
The best place to live for achieving innovation with happiness is in a city but next to a green patch with a diverse variety of trees. The reason is that there are no negative reactions in the brain as there are when one walks on a busy city street. There are no material choices to make, no dull and dreary people lost in dead habit, no noise, no hurry, no artificial sounds, no cemented structures, no polluted air.
Thoreau regarded Nature as his God.
John Muir’s observation - Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you...
while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Monday, 5 January 2009
Psychology of happiness
Although economists (barring Richard Layard) have not really started believing in happiness research, there is a lot to learn from psychological randomized experiments that have taken place of late.
Often it’s said that artificial happiness is not of the same quality as natural happiness. I listened to a lecture by Dan Gilbert who says that synthetic happiness is the same as natural happiness. Long term happiness is not a function of events that we perceive would make us happy, like elections or winning lotteries or passing exams. Our minds seem to have automatic stabilizers that kick in whenever we encounter failures or are unable to achieve our goals. This usually takes place in the shape of altering the world view – “It happened for the good” or “This was destined to happen” or “We should learn to accept this”. These statements are examples of psychological immune systems that make us feel less miserable than what we might think would happen after a huge loss.
Another talk on the psychology of happiness that is worth listening to is by Martin Seligman. He finds that there are three channels of achieving happiness – leading the pleasant life, the good life and the meaningful life. The first one deals with the sensory pleasures. The second one with social engagement, relationships with family and friends and how much satisfaction you get from work (Karma-yoga in Sanskrit). The third one is about having a goal bigger than oneself. The meaningful life and the good life seem to be the significant contributors to long-term happiness with sensory happiness only the icing on the cake. But it seems that in ancient Hindu scriptures avoiding sensory pleasures was one of the goals to reach long-term sustained happiness or enlightenment. This would be the next frontier for happiness research. How much are the goals of the first life conflicting with those of the second and more importantly the third life.
Often it’s said that artificial happiness is not of the same quality as natural happiness. I listened to a lecture by Dan Gilbert who says that synthetic happiness is the same as natural happiness. Long term happiness is not a function of events that we perceive would make us happy, like elections or winning lotteries or passing exams. Our minds seem to have automatic stabilizers that kick in whenever we encounter failures or are unable to achieve our goals. This usually takes place in the shape of altering the world view – “It happened for the good” or “This was destined to happen” or “We should learn to accept this”. These statements are examples of psychological immune systems that make us feel less miserable than what we might think would happen after a huge loss.
Another talk on the psychology of happiness that is worth listening to is by Martin Seligman. He finds that there are three channels of achieving happiness – leading the pleasant life, the good life and the meaningful life. The first one deals with the sensory pleasures. The second one with social engagement, relationships with family and friends and how much satisfaction you get from work (Karma-yoga in Sanskrit). The third one is about having a goal bigger than oneself. The meaningful life and the good life seem to be the significant contributors to long-term happiness with sensory happiness only the icing on the cake. But it seems that in ancient Hindu scriptures avoiding sensory pleasures was one of the goals to reach long-term sustained happiness or enlightenment. This would be the next frontier for happiness research. How much are the goals of the first life conflicting with those of the second and more importantly the third life.
Monday, 29 December 2008
Happiness index
Why this article is misleading?
The happiness index is very subjective and even then, India is 62nd on the list. Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all are higher than India. Of course much has been written on happiness but three clear problems with this measure are that it is non-comparable across individuals (let alone countries) - as happiness as a concept may be different for different people and secondly, even for an individual, happiness can be different at different times of the year. Third, the Hawthorne effect (how people respond in front of a surveyor) is different for people from different countries.
The happiness index is very subjective and even then, India is 62nd on the list. Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all are higher than India. Of course much has been written on happiness but three clear problems with this measure are that it is non-comparable across individuals (let alone countries) - as happiness as a concept may be different for different people and secondly, even for an individual, happiness can be different at different times of the year. Third, the Hawthorne effect (how people respond in front of a surveyor) is different for people from different countries.
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