neuroscience

17 Dec

Posted at 18:31h in Glimpse into Me, neuroscience, positive emotion, Positive Intervention by

You ever find yourself responding to most emails with, “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you . . . blah, blah, blah . . . I’m busy but good”? Well, I’ve been doing a lot less of that since adopting Ryder, my now 5 month old cockapoo (that’s cocker spaniel + poodle) who is so delicious to love I can hardly stand it. Who has time to be “busy” when the opportunity to be fully present and engaged presents itself in this little one? I described falling in love with Ryder on a recent blog,...

10 Oct

Posted at 07:27h in Character Strength, Glimpse into Me, Meaning, Moments that matter, neuroscience, Relationships, Social-Emotional Leadership, SOMO Leadership, Uncategorized by

The field of positive psychology lost a great friend and contributor today: Dr. Chris Peterson (1950-2012). [caption id="attachment_934" align="alignleft" width="321"] RIP CP.And thank you.[/caption] You may know Dr. Peterson as the guy who researched the VIA: the character strengths inventory we use often in SOMO Leadership Labs. (We're also using his book in SOMO 300!) He put a lot of work into this tool, combing the world's many moral texts for a ubiquitous classification of strengths and virtues. I know him as Chris, one of my professors in grad school. What an amazing teacher: humorous, zestful (in his own way) and wise -...

01 Nov

Posted at 11:47h in Action Research, Cognitive-behavioral, Glimpse into Me, Mindfulness, neuroscience, well-being by

[caption id="attachment_629" align="alignleft" width="276" caption="Who the hell knows?"][/caption] The story of my life. Yours too, I may presume. But not. So step off. It’s mine. Kidding. Step on. We're all fuck ups. Really, I believe this. Cause what happened to our childhood innocence and love – for ourselves, for others? Yes, I’m a fuck-up. And I’m pretty straight, sort of speak. What I mean is, I’m becoming more and more aware of my own insanity and what I’m realizing is that boy, I’ve been conditioned in a funny way. Wow. And I can’t judge it. I can’t hate it. Cause when I do,...

04 Jul

Posted at 15:48h in Flourishing, neuroscience, Positive Intervention, SOMO Leadership, Uncategorized by

[caption id="attachment_535" align="alignright" width="157" caption="Shot on my run one morning along the Bosphorus River."][/caption] I'm just returning from Turkey, where I spent just five days in Instanbul, an amazing place on so many levels--rich with history, faith (of all kinds), and beauty beyond imagination. I was invited to facilitate a SOMO Learning Lab for 30 pioneering change-agents (coaches, HR directors, business & media leaders, university professors) in a 2-day experience we called Engaging Leadership With Positive Psychology. The program was stamped by George Mason University's Institute for Leadership Excellence and its Director, Fran Nurthen and I co-facilitated. We used my SOMO Leadership Model as the...

25 Feb

Posted at 16:27h in Action Research, change-agent, Cognitive-behavioral, family, Neurobiology, neuroscience, Positive Psychology, social contagion factor, Social-Emotional Leadership, Thoughts-Action by

My Facebook status update read: “Dreams coming true this week” and really, that’s just as I experienced it. I’m still savoring the best week of my life, which I spent in Cleveland, Ohio, starting on Valentine’s Day and ending six days later as I drove back home to New York last Saturday. A long drive on route 80, indeed, but with a big smile on my face and lots of oxytocin running through my body, it was A-Okay. Better than okay. Great! Dare I say, the best week of my life? I was there working on an intervention project called SOMO Leadership which...

17 Sep

Posted at 10:01h in biases, customs, Inspiration, Life Coach, Mindfulness, neuroscience, Positive Psychology, Relationships, Schools, Social-Emotional Leadership, spirituality, Traditions, Uncategorized by

Today is the highest of the Jewish holy days: Yom Kippur (I love saying that with my gentile accent!). My Facebook status and Twit feed read: Am realizing we don't have to be Jewish to seek forgiveness today. Traditions are good, even when we borrow them. Atoning is about clearing psychological and emotional space, a task that I take quite seriously with myself and my clients. Who will you risk having a conversation with to ask for forgiveness? Don’t forget forgiving yourself! We are often our worst critics. Last week, the Jews celebrated Rosh Hashanah symbolizing the start of a new year...

23 Jun

Posted at 18:40h in Cognitive-behavioral, forgiveness, gratitude, Meaning, Mindfulness, Neurobiology, neuroscience, Positive Psychology, Schools, Thoughts-Action, Uncategorized by

[caption id="attachment_283" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Rocco always has to sniff for just the right spot."][/caption] It’s all about animal instinct. My one-year old dog, Rocco, has been reminding me of this lately. When I hear him bark at a foreign noise in the stairwell – or when he has to pee atop another dog’s urine, as if to signify, “I am here, I am best.” It reminds me of bullies, those who piss on other people. Bullies are animals. Animals are not always bullies (Rocco is sweet, just like his dad). Bullies exist not just on the playgrounds, but in the workplace too....

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