Happiness Break: Tap Into the Joy That Surrounds You
Buddhist meditation teacher, Anushka Fernandopulle, guides us through a practice of Mudita, or appreciative joy, to help us share in the happiness of others.
Stories from Berkeley
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Recurring themes in this source.
happiness breakjoymeditationmuditascience of happinessaginglongevitymind-body healthbelongingcommunityhappinessrelationshipssocial connectionadolescents
Recent curated reads
As People Live Longer, How Can We Live Better?
When the Stanford Center on Longevity launched in 2007, founding director Laura Carstensen spent a lot of time correcting misperceptions. “The initial response people had was, ‘Like the Methuselah Foundation? You are going to extend life?’” Carstensen was clear that the center’s aim was not to increase lifespans—which
Your Happiness & Connection Calendar for September 2026
Our monthly Happiness Calendar is a day-by-day guide to well-being. This month, we’re offering a special Happiness & Connection Calendar in partnership with the US Chamber of Connection—and we hope it inspires you to invite someone to belong. To open the clickable calendar, click on the image below. (Please note: If yo
Am I Doing This Right? Teen Edition
Parenting a teen can sometimes make you nostalgic for the early years, when you could still scoop up a frustrated toddler and redirect her with bubbles. In the teen years, sweet hugs can provoke eye rolls; a well-intentioned “How was your day?” may be misconstrued as meddling. That’s just your teens becoming independen
Sidedoor: Writing on the Wall
What is the role of the public artist? And how can public art both reflect and shape a community's identity?
The Overlooked Ways Love Shows Up in Urban Spaces
Over the past two decades, my doctoral students and I have focused on studying love, care, kindness, and compassion in urban settings. Why? Because social science research on life in America’s cities is desperately incomplete. Much like the vision of urban life that permeates most of American popular culture, social sc
Can Artificial Intelligence Predict the Right Partner for You?
Finding love is big business (a multi-billion–dollar industry), and artificial intelligence is transforming that business. Dating apps are increasingly outsourcing user matching to AI. Recent examples range from Overtone, an AI-powered matchmaking service started by the former chief executive officer of Hinge, to SciMa
What Does Gen Z Think About Political Polarization?
Polarization is a fact of political life in the U.S. today. Gen Z, however, is less inclined than older generations to view it as a permanent fixture in American politics, according to research by students in the Stanford political science course Democracy in the Balance: Polarization and the Road Ahead. Students found
Talk To A Stranger—It’s Good For You
We often underestimate how much small talk can impact our wellbeing. Research shows that even brief conversations with strangers can boost our happiness and sense of connection, but fear and anxiety often keep us from reaching out.
Three Qualities That Can Make You an Inspiring Leader
Imagine you’re on a plane and suddenly hear an explosion. The whole plane rattles, and you see the left engine is on fire. After another loud noise, you realize there’s a hole in the side of the aircraft. As air rushes out, the plane is rapidly descending—over 20,000 feet in less than five minutes. If you faced what pa
Four Ways to Help Newcomers Feel Like They Belong
Liz Cahill was born and raised in Philadelphia. Her whole family is from Philadelphia, going back generations. One day, she was offered an internship in the Bay Area and decided to make the leap, despite not knowing anything about it or anyone there. “I said goodbye to everything I knew and loved in Philadelphia and ca
Why Should We Keep Trying to Talk Across Political Differences?
john a. powell makes the case for trying to bridge our differences even when it’s hard, while acknowledging when we might step away.
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