When a crisis erupts in our lives, we need to ask ourselves what is really going on. Whatever form it takes, it’s usually some kind of wake-up call. However difficult the circumstances are, we need to trust that something isn’t working and is trying to change— ultimately for our benefit.

People tend to throw around a lot of words to describe their emotions and feelings. We're confused or we feel frustrated. We're hurt or we're excited. Whatever the label, deciphering feelings from emotions can be a bit perplexing. If we start by learning the difference there are big rewards.

Underneath the dogma, we’re all pretty much the same and we want very similar things. We may differ wildly on how to achieve them, but if we start with objectives that we can agree on, like safety for our children, health care for all of us, an economy that rewards honest work, etc., then perhaps...

I certainly can’t imagine that we are on this planet simply to eat, work, and sleep. And we aren’t here just to procreate and keep humanity going, because if we were, all of us would have children. Why, then, are we here? I believe it’s for a much larger reason.

The burdens and pain we overcome grow into our greatest storehouse of wisdom and compassion. They literally become the power that enables us to assist others in their healing. Our suffering has been our initiation of the heart...

When we are authentic, we are living from our essential self; whenever we deny a truth, we are living from the social self—in other words, inauthentically. As Freya Madeline Starke phrased it, "There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do."

Is a wandering mind an unhappy mind? A new review of studies on spontaneous versus controlled thinking challenges that adage.

During a lab meeting, one of our PhD researchers recalls how her father would forbid her from using paper to help solve maths homework problems by writing them down.

We come to know our true potential through opening to whatever life offers us — the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Chinese character for crisis includes those for both danger and opportunity. Birth and death, joy and sorrow, gain and loss, success and failure — these are all partners. You can never have one without the other.

Are you a person who one day asked herself (or himself): I wonder if my thoughts are accurate? I wonder if I should really believe all my thoughts without question? I wonder if my thoughts actually represent the ultimate truth about myself, about others and about life?

The date for an important exam is looming. You know you have to study for it. Suddenly, it’s the evening before the dreaded date, and you feel like you haven’t studied enough, if at all.

A lack of flexibility in high-stress jobs may literally be a matter of life and death, experts warn.

An attitude that focuses on vi­brant well-being creates the mental and emotional framework for the entire healing process. Expecting a successful outcome of the chemotherapy experience will help to bring about that result.

At hundreds of colleges and universities across the country, thousands of students are in the midst of the fall semester, trying to manage the academic tasks of studying, exams, papers and lectures.

I think it is important to differentiate between a need and a requirement. I say this because I often say to people that I have no needs, meaning that all my needs are taken care of by my soul before I know I have them. However...

I consider myself an expert in recovering from emotional shocks. The past six years has been a long series of extremely difficult events that were accompanied by heavy emotional after-shock for me.

Consumer society is growing fast around the globe. In 2011 it was estimated that 1.7 billion people were living in what is considered to be the “consumer class” – and nearly half of them are in the developing world.

Many times we seem to experience life as if we have no power to make changes -- no power to make a difference. If you don't feel powerful, or if you feel that power is unavailable to you, take a look at where, in your daily life (and in your past), you have relinquished your power.

What if we defined wise spending in terms of the happiness that it brings? Research shows certain spending can bring us closer to others.

“Weak”, “sick”, “immobile”, “decrepit”, “lonely”, “depressed”. If the prospect of growing old brings thoughts like these to mind, you are not alone. It seems that many people – of all age groups – have a preconceived idea of what being old will be like. And it’s generally not good.

The guidance your IGS (internal guidance system) gives you is specific to your life. It takes into account how you are to think, feel, and behave in order to be happy and successful in every situation you encounter. If there is a difficult situation or conversation that you need to have...

A recent explosion of neuroscience techniques is driving substantial advances in our understanding of the brain. Combined with developments in engineering, machine learning and computing this flowering has helped us enhance our cognitive abilities and potential.

As someone who was once unhappy in every sense of the word, I can personally verify that misery leads to heartless behavior, and vice versa. For years I experienced failed relationships, financial struggles, poor health, depression, and an endless stream of...