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Positive Emotions

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Yesterday I went to a lecture at UCSD by Dr. George Valliant, a Harvard psychiatrist who has been doing research on people for over 70 years. They have collected "massive data" on this large group of people on all aspects of health--psychological, spiritual, medical data, etc. His take home message during this very interesting lecture was about positive emotions(that was the title of his talk). He outlined clearly how little we talk about them. We focus on the negative emotions--anger, anxiety, depression, hate, jealousy. He suggests we focus more on positive emotions--

JOY, GRATITUDE, FAITH, FORGIVENESS, LOVE, HOPE, AWE and COMPASSION.

This was his message. This was his advice. He is a researcher. He is a scientist. He is brilliant.

This experience had a big effect on me. This man has been part of the most comprehensive, longitudinal study about health ever done(to read more about it, check out):

Successful Aging -- Vaillant and Mukamal 158 (6): 839 -- Am J Psychiatry

George E. Vaillant's: Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development


He did make many other points like the 7 factors predicting healthy aging:

(1) Education level
(2)Marital stability
(3)No smoking
(4)No alcohol abuse
(5)Exercise
(6)Healthy weight
(7)Mature adaptations(coping mechanisms)

BUT, his take home message for the audience was to focus on the positive emotions. He called these positive emotions the core of a true spirituality. He was not over-excited. He was clear and calm.

I read about him and his research this morning. Wow, what a study. What a life. So much knowledge and insight. I like what he recommended. I want to be part of bringing this message to the world.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm with you on this. Have you read any of Bruce Lipton's work on cells? He talks about the new Biology, epigenitics. He said that when he was teaching medical students in Madison, Wisconsin, about cells, it was different than what he was observing. He had to quit because what he was supposed to teach was not true. The book I know about is The Wisdom of Your Cells. He also wrote a book called The the Biology of Belief.
May 23, 2010 at 12:43 PM
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