This is a great piece of bittersweet creativity from lizstless. Just click on it once to expand it, then click on the ‘+ all sizes’ link top LHS of the image to make it large enough to read.

Thanks to Hearistic for the link.

Today I came across a fantastic idea called The Feast of Strangers, an afternoon of organised conversation at Regent’s Park, London, hosted by philosopher, historian and author, Professor Theodore Zeldin.

The idea is that you turn up at the Park, get introduced to someone you don’t know, and are given a ‘Menu of Conversation’ – like a restaurant menu, only instead of dishes, you’re presented with 25 topics of conversation to choose from. But these aren’t your usual dinner party ice-breakers; they’re designed to get you to think about yourself, your life, your relationships, your hopes and aspirations and what makes you you. In other words, the kind of topics that you’d rarely discuss with friends or work colleagues, let alone complete strangers.

Examples of questions on the Menu of Conversation include:

• What have you rebelled against in the past and what are you rebelling against now?

• What most delights each of your five senses and which sensations do you avoid?

• How have your opinions and behaviour changed on the way the two sexes treat each other?

The idea is that posing the questions to a stranger gives you the chance to step into their shoes and really understand what it’s like to be them. And at the same time, when you answer the questions, you get to find out a lot more about yourself and who you really are.

This is such a fantastic way of building connections between people – fun, engaging, light-hearted and profound at the same time. Since relationships are one of the three basic psychological needs (the others being control and competence – Ryan & Deci, 2000), it’s right at the heart of positive psychology. It’s been suggested that the so-called Muse Conversation approach, as well as the self-portrait approach, might help to prevent stress and depression, so not surprisingly, they’re the subject of ongoing clinical trials.

Zeldin has also run “Muse Conversation dinners” for organisations : you can find out more by emailing info[at]oxfordmuse[dot]com or calling 01865 791421.

Image courtesy of katiedee47

A great article from The Guardian yesterday about the plans of Lord Layard, the so-called ‘Happiness Tsar’, to bring happiness to the UK masses. As an economist, his epiphany was the realisation that above a certain point, money and happiness aren’t correlated.

Putting aside the argument about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and depression (which is one definitely worth having), I’m not yet convinced that government intervention to make us all happier is either necessary or effective. I’m all for educating people to make their own decisions but perhaps the government should concentrate its efforts on creating better schools and hospitals first…

But no doubt it would become bogged down in happiness measurements, targets and standards anyway before any real difference was made!

In this month’s Positive Psychology News Daily article we explore the links between Positive Psychology, making music and singing in unison.

Not only are they both good for your physical health, scientists like Professor Stephen Clift of the Sidney de Haan Centre for Arts and Health are now investigating the benefits for psychological well-being, including increased happiness,self-esteem and self-efficacy, and reduced depression.

Read the rest of the article here.

Image: Tallalex85

Here’s an interesting article from the Guardian about the argument for and against teaching happiness lessons in schools.

You can see why Anthony Seldon, head of Wellington College (one of the most elite schools in the UK) is so keen that kids get something more than the National Curriculum, since it will hardly prepare them for the adult world in the 21st Century after all. But teaching them Positive Psychology doesn’t fill Richard Schoch with confidence, largely because he says you can’t measure meaning and engagement, which are the holy grail of happiness. He thinks there is a place for well-being in the classroom, but doesn’t really have any suggestions about how to teach it, other than getting kids to read ancient texts.

Hmmmmm.

I’m not sure that’s the answer either!

The really interesting question is why we feel that children need to be taught about happiness in the first place. Some people (including Seldon) have argued that kids are more prone to depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses than in the past. So teaching them various life skills will help them survive these issues. If that’s the case, shouldn’t we be asking ourselves what is causing them to be more prone to depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses in the first place, and try to do something to fix that?

According to Schoch, Positive Psychology is a bit like Marmite, i.e. you either love it or you hate it. The challenge for Positive Psychologists is how to persuade its critics that it’s a useful subject which can make a positive difference to how people choose to live their lives. I’m not sure it’s succeeding in that aim at the moment. What do you think?

You can read the original debate between Seldon and sociologist Frank Furedi here.