Happiness & Its Causes

Professor Richard Wiseman presented a workshop on the science and sleep of dreaming and gave us 10 tips for better sleep: (These are general tips - please see your GP or specialist for personal advice)
10 if you can nap, nap. There are enormous benefits: increase in alertness, decrease in heart disease, increase in memory. The nap should be a maximum of 25 minutes. 9 Use the 90 minute rule. Decide what time you want to wake up, count back in 90 minute segments and go to bed 1...5 minutes before that time. 8 No alcohol in the 2-3 hours before bed. It might get you to sleep quicker but it disrupts the sleep cycle. 7 Smartphones and tablets emit blue light which prevents us from falling asleep. 10 mins looking at your phone is the equivalent of 2 hours walking in bright sunshine. Use low light in the bathroom and bedroom. 6 If you struggle to fall asleep initially, one of the best techniques is paradoxical sleep. Try to stay awake. You can blink, but you must keep your eyes open for as long as you can. 5 Lavender is good - spray it on your pillow. 4 Play the alphabet game. Go through from A-Z and come up with an animal or fruit for each letter. Or count backwards in threes from 100. Or imagine a calm, positive scene with yourself in it. 3 If you find yourself lying in bed for more than 10 mins, get out of bed. In low light, work on something such as a jigsaw puzzle or adult colouring for 10 mins. No reading! Do something less stimulating. Repeat as necessary. 2 Create a to-do list or write down problems and possible solutions before you try to go to sleep. 1 Know the difference between regular snoring and sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea involves the stopping of breathing and must be looked at by a GP or specialist ASAP.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #learning #sleep #dreaming #habits #richardwiseman
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Professor Roy Baumeister conducted a workshop on willpower, covering the concepts of self-control, decision fatigue and energy depletion. We learnt that those with high levels of self control have less guilt, less stress, and desire things that they ‘shouldn’t desire' less often than those with low self-control.
There are three ingredients to self-control, and success requires all three:
1️⃣ Standards (how things should be)... 2️⃣ Monitoring (tracking, paying attention, self-awareness) 3️⃣ Willpower/change
Self-control is like a muscle: ➡️ It gets tired after exertion ➡️ We can conserve energy and pace ourselves ➡️ Exercising increases strength
Ego depletion occurs when we expend energy on resisting undesirable behaviours. We can replenish it through: ✅ Sleep ✅ Healthy food - protein based ✅ Positive emotions - we are more willing to exert self-control to a high level even though it depletes the resource ✅ Positive attitude - believing you have high willpower can assist in the short-term
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #learning #habits #decisionfatigue #willpower #selfcontrol #roybaumeister
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The Happiness isn’t over yet! Today we have post-conference workshops to allow participants to delve deeper into areas of interest.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #learning #habits #roybaumeister #robinacourtin #danhaesler #justincoulson #richardwiseman #gilliancoutts #murraypatterson #paultaylor #susannethiebe

A beautiful way to end Day 2 of Happiness & Its Causes!
James Morrison, acclaimed musician and jazz trumpet player extraordinaire, explains that music is the best way that he knows to connect with people, and connecting with people makes him incredibly happy. He notes that the audience doesn’t need to know anything about the chords, the name of the song, whether it’s pre-written or improvised, in order to enjoy it.
And he treats us to some of that music, along with his son Ha...rry.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #jamesmorrison @morrisontrumpet
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James Morrison, acclaimed musician and jazz trumpet player extraordinaire, explains that music is the best way that he knows to connect with people, and connecting with people makes him incredibly happy. He notes that the audience doesn’t need to know anything about the chords, the name of the song, whether it’s pre-written or improvised, in order to enjoy it.
And he treats us to some of that music, along with his son Harry.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #jamesmorrison @morrisontrumpet

Dr Rory Gallagher, an innovator in applied behaviour change and health, talks about the surprisingly simple ways to reach big.
Less than 1 in 10 New Year’s Resolutions are actually completed. We may have good intentions, but life happens. Stuff gets in the way. So we need to be realistic about the way we live our lives if we are to carry out our good intentions.
Rory gives us 7 steps to help us set goals:... 1️⃣ Set: choose the right goals, focus on a single goal, break the goal down into small steps 2️⃣ Plan: keep it simple, create an actionable plan, turn the plan into habits 3️⃣ Commit: set exact dates and times that you will do things 4️⃣ Reward: put something meaningful at stake, use small rewards to build good habits, beware of backfire effects 5️⃣ Share: ask for help, tap into social networks, use group power 6️⃣ Feedback: know where you stand in relation to your goal, make it timely, specific, actionable and focused on effort, compare your performance with others 7️⃣ Stick: practice with focus and effort (quality as well as quantity), test and learn, reflect and celebrate success
#happinessanditscauses #happinessanditscauses2018 #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #rorygallagher
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Kylie Kwong, celebrated chef and TV personality, talks about learning from a young age that food connects people and makes people happy, through her mother’s home cooking. It’s no surprise Kylie became so passionate about food and cooking.
Before moving the Billy Kwong restaurant into its current premises, Kylie made a list of all the local community groups and businesses that she wanted to welcome into the restaurant and collaborate and engage with. She believes any business... needs to have soul and a strong reason for being and that the owner needs to be passionate about sharing their story. The restaurant collaborates with many local businesses and communities, including the Wayside Chapel, where homeless visitors tend to the beehive to create honey for the restaurant’s famous steamed pork buns.
Kylie also uses indigenous Australian food within classic Cantonese recipes to celebrate the flavour of the Australian bush, while also paying respect to our First Nations people.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #kyliekwong #billykwong
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Susanne Thiebe, expert professional organiser and Interior Architect, tells us how ‘stuff’ impacts our headspace as well as our physical space. Every item we have is a task on our to-do list. Clutter is delayed decisions.
So how do we declutter? ✅ Start now ✅ Start small... ✅ Decide on an area and stick to it ✅ Take everything out (then put back only the things you want to keep) ✅ Four bucket method (keep - in this area, rubbish, donation/give away, keep - somewhere else)
Know why you are doing it and where you want to end up. Trust yourself.
It’s not about the stuff. It’s about letting go of ideas and expectations, letting go of the need to pretend.
Keep only what you need, is useful, or you love.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #susannethiebe #declutter #organise
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Di Westaway, inspiring adventurer and founder of Wild Women on Top and Coastrek, joins us to talk about the joy of walking.
Walking just 30 minutes a day reduces the risk of many chronic diseases and brings us joy. Studies show that people who walk regularly are happier than those who don’t. And walking activates the limbic part of the brain - it brings hormones that make you happy. But 70% of Australians don’t meet the government recommendations for physical activity.
And wh...y aren’t we moving enough? We’re too busy, too tired, too depressed, too stressed, too anxious, too embarrassed, or too guilty. We’ve created a world where we no longer NEED to move to get through an ordinary day. And when we have those feelings that stop us from moving, we often turn to sugar, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, screens, coffee, etc.
So how do we get ourselves moving? Di gave herself a big, hairy, audacious goal. Big goals shift your behaviour. For Di, hiking adventures that have changed her life, but we all need to find our own adventures. And if you incorporate service to others into your adventures then you’re even more likely to find success.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #diwestaway
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As a distinguished broadcaster, Indira Naidoo began campaigning for the environment but realised she actually knew very little on a practical level - including where her own food came from. Yet 100 years ago we would have all grown our own food. So she set out to grow her own herbs and vegetables on the small balcony of her apartment.
Little did she realise that it would soon become a passion for her. She began to base her meals on whatever was growing on her balcony and in-...season. She got a worm farm for any green waste and used the worm-wee and worm-poo as fertiliser for her plants.
And then came the birds and bees! The birds began to enjoy the space as well, and the bees helped to pollenate the fruit and vegetable plants. Indira realised that this was much bigger than her and her family and that what she was doing was having a flow-on effect to the wider community of people, flora, and fauna. Indira has extended her ‘edible balcony’ concept and it is now being used by centres that support the homeless, community centres, schools, restaurants, and a variety of places all around the world.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #indiranaidoo
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Andrew Turbill is a one-of-a-kind environmental educator and wildlife naturalist. reWilding is the process of introducing a plant back into an area where it no longer exists but once did. reWilding children is about putting children back into nature.
The impacts of our lifestyle on the planet is bringing us very close to the threshold of where the planet can no longer continue to support us. We need a whole different way of relating to the planet.
Children are born with an in...nate love for nature. But a huge percentage now live in areas where they can’t get out and experience nature, so it becomes abstract and something they only learn about at school. Nature begins to be seen as something disposable to us. Love of nature must come first, if we are to foster knowledge of and care for our planet.
Principles to foster love of nature: ✅ have truck-loads of fun (nature can compete with facebook and instagram if you give it half a chance) ✅ adults as mentors (be mindful of different ways that children see the world and be flexible to adapt) ✅ it helps to be cool (have adults that understand the language of youth) ✅ have skin in the game (let them actually experience the reality of nature) ✅ tapping into primal joys (e.g., starting fire without matches creates empowerment) ✅ seeing through new eyes (one thing in nature leads to another and another) ✅ archetypal passions (games that require skills like how to be human and use your own resources) ✅ let nature be the teacher (e.g., set a string line through a rainforest and allow them to explore blindfolded)
Isn’t it the right of every child to have at least one profound nature experience?
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #andrewturbill #rewilding
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Dr Fiona Kerr, a thought leader in the neuroscience of human connection, joins Gill Hicks MBE, survivor of the London terrorist bombings in 2005 and advocate for peace, to talk about the power of touch.
Gill has a permanent relationship with pain. So why is she happy? Why does she harbour no hatred or bitterness? Her answer lies in the moments immediately after the bombings, when she was given unconditional love in hospital, when her hand was held. She was happy because she w...as alive, and that’s still her attitude today.
Fiona explains the neuroscience of eye contact and physical touch and how we are hard-wired to respond to these biological cues.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #fionakerr #gillhicks
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Melli O’Brien, aka Mrs Mindfulness, co-founder of the mindfulness summit and respected meditation teacher, is on stage with The Bay Collective, and entrancing musical trio, to guide us through a moving meditation practice.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #melliobrien #mrsmindfulness #thebaycollective @the_bay_collective_

Melli O’Brien, aka Mrs Mindfulness, co-founder of the mindfulness summit and respected meditation teacher, is on stage with The Bay Collective, and entrancing musical trio, to guide us through a moving meditation practice.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #melliobrien #mrsmindfulness #thebaycollective

Dr Reena Kotecha, inspiring medical doctor and employee wellbeing expert, shares her own story of being a junior doctor and suffering from stress, anxiety and burnout. She was just one of 60% of doctors in the UK that struggle with mental health issues during their career.
Reena knew how to look after other people, but not how to look after herself in the process. She was becoming disconnected from those around her but also from herself. And then she took a leap of faith: to ...befriend herself. Self-compassion, a radical idea to Reena at the time. She knew the theory around mindfulness, power of the breath, and meditation, but once she actually put it into practice she felt alive again. The cloud hanging over her head lifted a little at a time.
Reena chose her response, and in that lay growth, happiness, and freedom. She knew that if she could feel this alive again, so could others. And it became her purpose to help others recharge their batteries.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #reenakotecha
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Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s most respected relationships researchers and author, talks about achieving a happier family in 21 days.
There are three main principles of maintaining a happy family:
✅ Love... To a child love is spelled T-I-M-E. Do you have time for your children in the mornings? Try the Stop, Look, and Listen technique. Give your children your attention.
✅ Limits There are 3 keys to effective discipline: ➡️ Explain ➡️ Explore ➡️ Empower
✅ Laughter ➡️ Music: play it loudly, dance ➡️ Find the funny: make jokes, find opportunities to be silly ➡️ Stop, drop, and roll: when you get home, lie on the floor and play-wrestle with the kids ➡️ Create fun traditions of your own: low-cost or no-cost
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness
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Susan Moylan-Coombs, Woolwonga, Gurindji (NT) Australian First Nations People cultural and wellbeing advocate, joins us to talk about connection and wellbeing for all.
When we acknowledge that everyone has their own story and life journey, we are more compassionate when we show up in front of each other.
We must protect Mother Earth rather than focus on money and material things. Because when Earth is completely destroyed, we can’t eat the money. And when we pass, we can’t t...ake the money with us.
Susan is part of the Stolen Generation but chooses not to let that story define her. But we do need to understand the past so we can choose better outcomes for the future. We can choose to live in the light, expressing love and kindness, or live in the shadow and express greed and negativity. If we live in the light, it flows down to those who come after us.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #susanmoylancoombs
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Anthony Bennett is a ‘miracle man’ who survived a near-death experience due to a number of serious infections that threatened to take his life over and over. He fought long and hard, and was brought back to life 12 times. At one point he wanted to just give up but he started to think about the future and what he would miss. It was like the reset button had been pushed on his life and he had to learn to do everyday things again.
Anthony felt huge gratitude to the team at Great... Ormond Street Hospital who had helped him survive and began telling his story at charity events to help raise money for the hospital that had done so much for him. Anthony started to see what could be achieved when people worked together as a team towards a common goal.
Life is a temporary experience that will come to an end. You are part of a magical experience. Live life, love life, and enjoy every moment. Keep pushing towards your superpower and inspiring others around you.
#happinessanditscauses #happiness #positivepsychology #positivity #compassion #selfcompassion #mindfulness #mindfulselfcompassion #meditation #wellness #thewellnessshow #anthonybennett
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Happiness is knowing that u know

Jesus and on your way to Heaven .

Happiness is knowing that u know

Jesus and on your way to Heaven .