May 1st, “May Day” is a world-wide holiday celebrating events in history and culture. It is a marker of the seasons, and a touchstone for many political traditions including the International labor movement, the old Soviet Union, and Cold War-era US patriotic observances. In the context of your personal health and sustainability, the beginning of May [...]
Imagine Alcoholics Anonymous mixed with an environmental humanities course and you’ll begin to get a sense of the ”good grief” group started by Schmidt. Its goal is to help people cope with what’s been called “climate grief”— anxiety, sadness, depression, and other emotions provoked by awareness of the planet’s march toward a hotter, less biologically [...]
What does adulthood mean for men in 2017? And what does science say makes a happy adulthood? Is there an optimum way to communicate your emotions in relationships? How can you make the most of the victories and losses in your past, and set positive goals for the future? How can you connect with nature [...]
If we can call on an ability to remain present, this increases our options. We can be more resourceful. We can act rather than react. You practice mindfulness so that this state becomes more common in your life. Mindfulness, as in “mindfulness meditation,” has been defined simply as “paying attention, on purpose, in the [...]
"Ideally your office should have a clean, living, generative sense—one that fosters a renewed sense of physical vitality, alertness and creativity for your clients and yourself..." At the 2013 American Psychological Association (APA) Meeting, I provided a therapist's perspective at presentation "Design of the Psychotherapist's Office – Lessons from Research and Experience." During [...]
There are two basic coping strategies that people use to deal with the emotional impacts of environmental issues. It’s helpful to be aware of these, and to know your habitual style. It’s even better to learn how to be flexible and use both strategies to support yourself. Note: I'll be doing a series of posts in [...]
The story goes that during Reverend Martin Luther King’s famous speech at the March at Washington on August 28, 1963, the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to Rev. King, “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” at which point King set aside his prepared notes to improvise the famous, “I have a dream…” section of his speech. [...]
Think about the time around Groundhog Day as opportunity to celebrate that you made it through the darkest period of winter. Imagine seeds of inspiration that are stirring within you. Take time to celebrate ancient, Earth-based holidays. It’s an ideal way synchronize your mental health with the seasons of the year and the cycles of [...]
Life is short. Most of us must work to support ourselves. How can we design our careers so that we can have the most positive impact on the world? The Effective Altruism movement came up on my radar recently. (Maybe through my various research about the concept of the Social Contract?) Effective Altruism tries to [...]
Given today’s inauguration, I wanted to share some thoughts from my perspective as a psychologist. For the record, I am a registered Independent voter in Oregon. Outside of my research and teaching, much of my work goes on behind the scenes in private conversations with people. My approach to psychology has always been that political [...]
