Greater Good

On November 5, I had the opportunity to attend a daylong workshop on the science of compassion presented by Dacher Keltner, Co-Founder and Executive Editor, for Greater Good Science Center at University of California, Berkeley. It was amazing to see hard scientific data supporting the benefits of living a more compassionate life. I’m finding it difficult to capture in one blog post just how much was covered and how many “ah ha” moments I had listening to the connection between science and feeling. The idea of compassion as a “master nerve” in the body is a huge idea, one that has the possibility to transform the way people value “soft skills” in the workplace. I was amazed to learn that just like stress, compassion has its own hormone cocktail that floats around in the body, that if I understand the research correctly, can lead to a deeper level of happiness. More than that, the data says that by developing more compassion in your life, you can reduce stress and sickness and increase joy. If you have any interest in creating more joy in your life – check out the Greater Good site.