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Welcome to happiness Pratheep, I'm sorry to hear you've been struggling lately, the pandemic really has affected all of us in so many challenging ways. I would like to suggest you take a look in the Magazine and Academy too where you might find some useful resources to dealing with what you're going through in some way. 🙏

@madhuvarsha Later in the course the meditations will get more spacious and the students become more experienced. There are 6 different versions available on the resources page. If you find one that you particularly like please add the link in the comments so other students can benefit from it as well. :-)

Leaders at Stanford Medicine, located in one of the first U.S. communities to be affected by Covid-19, quickly realized that they were not prepared to meet the escalating needs of their clinical and operational workforce. The pandemic would require existing care-delivery structures across the academic medical system to be expanded and aligned to prioritize workforce protection. Leaders identified an approach driven by connection, collaboration, and caring. They created specialized teams to develop a systemwide Occupational Health service with practices and procedures to assess health care workers and begin robust Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction testing; to centralize operations to maximize utilization of essential clinical and nonclinical staffing resources; to make visible and address psychological safety concerns and basic needs for faculty and staff; to aggressively address personal protective equipment supply chain issues and effectively assess infection risk; and to plan for a safe return of elective procedures and visits. For a health care organization to deliver high-quality care to patients, whether in normal times or in a crisis, the safety and well-being of health care workers (HCWs) is crucial. Although this may seem obvious, the care of HCWs is at times taken for granted by health care leaders rather than recognized as a priority requiring intentional actions and strategies. As the Covid-19 pandemic began to take hold in March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified Santa Clara County, California, as a community requiring elevated containment strategies.1 Two at-risk populations were identified: elderly/immunocompromised persons and the health care workforce. At Stanford Medicine, we recognized that we were not prepared to meet the needs of our clinical and operational workforce within our current structures. An expanded and aligned approach to workforce protection across our system would be required. To coordinate system response efforts, we activated a hospital emergency incident control system (HEICS) and created a governance structure, chaired by physician executives, to oversee the clinical response and to coordinate operational priorities. The Stanford Medicine system includes Stanford Health Care (SHC), the academic flagship hospital serving adult patients; Stanford Children’s Health/Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (SCH/LPCH), an academic hospital serving pregnant women and pediatric populations; SHC ValleyCare (VC), a community hospital in the Tri-Valley located 40 miles from Palo Alto; and the Stanford University School of Medicine faculty and providers assigned to each of the hospitals and ambulatory sites. Stanford Medicine reported consolidated fiscal year 2019 net health care services revenue of $7 billion.2 Upon HEICS activation, executive, operational, and clinical leaders from these three hospitals, each with quite different patient populations, volumes, acuity, and level of risk in the setting of Covid-19, came together to create shared strategies and one overarching response plan. Our common commitment to support our HCWs while ensuring the highest level of safety for them and our patients became our unifying call to action. Following the emergence of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, caused by the novel human coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), infection rates reached pandemic proportions. By the end of March 2020, just as the surge was beginning in the United States, more than 77,000 cases a day were reported worldwide, with nearly 5,000 daily deaths.3 SARS-CoV-2 was causing a wide range of clinical outcomes, from a complete lack of symptoms to severe respiratory dysfunction requiring ICU-level care.4 As the pandemic accelerated, one of the most pressing issues facing HCWs was the risk of transmission in frontline clinical settings. Infection and subsequent removal of significant numbers of HCWs from the workforce because of quarantine and/or treatment when required amplified the strain on health care systems across the globe. In response, Stanford Medicine activated an incident command structure that included the Clinical Operations Resource Team (CORT), comprising senior-level leadership across the health system

At the dawn of the third decade of the 21st century, the existence of humankind has become highly perilous. We are cutting down our forests, exhausting our fresh water aquifers, and losing our vital top soils. We are stripping the life from our oceans and replacing it with hundreds of millions of tons of plastic waste. We are flooding our environment with toxic industrial chemicals. Our pollution is driving climate change that causes heat waves, droughts, and wild fires that shred the fabric of life on the continents. And we are bringing new generations into the world, millions who require access to the resources of a dignified existence. The scope and breadth of the threats to life are increasing day after day. This is not a sustainable mode of development.Goodreads, alexis karpouzos official siteThe root cause of our ills stems from a mistaken way of thinking. What exactly does this mean? it means that we have been thinking of ourselves mainly as material beings, while denying our spiritual nature. Because we think that we exist as material beings and nothing more, we place first importance on protecting our bodies from harm and prolonging our material existence. Our spiritual nature, if considered at all, is treated as a secondary aspect of our physical being—something not to be taken seriously. To us, the only things that matter are the phenomena that appear in the material world—things that can be seen, or heard, or touched, or measured, but we know that our senses deceive us, the senses are a construction of the brain. What we consider a real world is an illusion. The domination of the positivist and materialist thought leads to irrationality and destruction.IMDB, alexis karpouzos official siteYet where has this approach led us? Has it brought us a sense of happiness and fulfillment? Rather than living each day in a spirit of joyful cooperation, with our hearts filled with bright hope and happy anticipation, we have isolated ourselves from others and viewed them as rivals or enemies. Our thoughts are flooded with suspicion, fear and greed, leading to an endless cycle of war, poverty, starvation, and environmental destruction. Unless we wake up soon and pay attention to our spiritual nature, there will be no future for humanity on Earth.Words are life. Words are light. Words are power. Words are energy. Words are truth. Words can enliven and words can also kill. Words can give hope, or plunge us into despair. People use words to build peace, and use words to make war. Words can create walls between cultures, religions, and nations. And words can also build bridges. The existence of an individual, a family, a community, a country, and our planet is being led to good or to evil through the power of the words we speak. The words we speak are responsible for everything that happens in this world. We, therefore, must be responsible for the words we speak. On behalf of future generations, I hope that each of us will do all we can to speak only bright, light-filled words, so that one day, our descendants will be born into a world filled with light. There is no time to lose. Starting at this very moment, I hope all of us will take a close look at the words we have been using and make constant efforts to fill them with brightness.Amazon, alexis karpouzos official site No one is going to change our lives for us. No one is going to change the world for us. It is time for each of us to recognize the prodigious, creative power that is unleashed by each word we speak, and to consciously speak only words filled with gratitude, encouragement, and good intention. From this moment forward, let us choose words that resonate with love and forgiveness for ourselves and others. We can certainly do it if we take just one step forward. One step at a time, one word at a time, we can uproot the germs of tragedy and of isolation in our consciousness and convert them into waves of happiness and conciliation. For the sake of ourselves, for the sake of Mother Earth, and for the sake of future generations, let us use words that contribute to the positive evolution of humankind on Earth. alexis karpouzos, visual art1.mp4 alexis karpouzos_ The world in the flames.mp4

Here's an essential reading guide for fighting racism: And also, an entire Google doc of resources from Ashely Adams, CEO of Black Yoga Magazine. Her website is a gold mine of education and ways to support anti-racism.

Welcome to happiness, and thank you for your kind words ? I hope you find our community helpful, and please feel free to the Forum to start new conversations if you have any questions or need support from others ✨ You will also find a lot of great resources in the Magazine, there's one article about 11 steps to finding happiness, for example, so make sure you check it out! Have a lovely week! ☀️

@ias206 Tara Brach has many guided mediations and also talks freely available on her site: https://www.tarabrach.com/guided-meditation-basic-meditations/ which work well with the MBSR course. Please let us know which one you enjoy the most in the resources overview. ?

Hi, Nisha, lovely to hear from you! Congratulations on your certificate ? I totally agree with us having rich resources, and sometimes reaching out like this could connect you to others where you can both learn from each other. ✨

I'm a registered dietitian nutritionist and wanted to add to the mindful eating resources shared in Week 1. Intuitive eating is a concept that is gaining more popularity in the dietetics field, and it's an eating framework that I follow myself. It is different than mindful eating in that mindful eating is a part of intuitive eating. In other words, intuitive eating encompasses mindful eating and then expands into other principles. I like to describe intuitive eating as a self-care framework for eating that rejects the diet mentality and honors your hunger and emotions with gentle nutrition, discovering satisfaction with food, and joyful movement. The most recent edition of the original intuitive eating book is out, and there are also workbooks for adults and teens. Here's a link for more information: https://www.intuitiveeating.org/

A big welcome to happiness Tyrell! ✨ I'm sorry you're struggling with anxiety and finding your inner happiness, it's a journey but there are lots of good resources out there. Try to remember that all negative situations and feelings will pass, they are not forever even if it might seem that way. Control the things you can control, and accept what you cannot ? I hope you find our community helpful and please have a look around the magazine and academy for some interesting reading material and courses.

I'm sorry to hear you're feeling unhappy and lonely, those are feelings that can easily overwhelm and take over so it's a great thing that you're reaching out for support and advice. I agree with Tati that it's important to try and find happiness in yourself; to come to the understanding that you can make yourself happy rather than relying on others for happiness. If you feel like you messed something up with this person you mention, perhaps try to talk to them and explain your feelings and apologise if you did something wrong. Whether they accept or not, it might give you peace of mind to have shared how you feel. It's been a difficult year that has left many of us feeling lonely and anxious, and due to different stages of restriction it might be hard to socialise with others at this time. Joining our little community is a great thing, but perhaps you can also look into joining (online) classes of some sort? Whether it's yoga, live workouts, a book circle - there are tones of niche communities that have emerged just because people are restricted from going out and meeting in person. Focus on yourself, your wellbeing, and what makes you happy. Take a long walk, do some kind of exercise that you enjoy, bake or cook something delicious, watch a series/movie/documentary that you like, etc. If you never tried it, perhaps give yoga or meditation a chance - it could be a great way to start. There are lots of free yoga classes on YouTube (I like Yoga with Adrienne) and many meditation apps where you can try it out. You can also have look in our Academy for some free resources that you might find interesting! ?

A big welcome to happiness Colin, we're happy you found us ✨ It has been a difficult year to say the least, and many have felt it affecting their mental health in different ways. I'm sorry you've been struggling with anxiety lately, and just like Candy already pointed out, you might find our Academy courses helpful, and there are lots of great articles in the magazine about mindfulness for example, or this one about yoga for anxiety. I hope you find some of our resources to be helpful, and also please remember you are not alone in having these feelings. Also have a look around the forum, and please feel free to start a new topic if you want to ask the community for advice or share your own experiences with anxiety - we are in this mess of a year together! ?

Thank you for sharing these resources Tine! I think it's great to have a space where we can easily find (and recommend!) material on racism and how to be actively anti-racist. Last night I watched 13th on Netflix, which is a really interesting documentary on slavery, racial injustice, and police brutality in the U.S. I learned a lot from watching it, and the documentary has been made available to watch for free even if you don't have a Netflix account. Highly recommended!

A while ago, my colleague asked me if I'd like to start a BIPOC thread in the forum, and at the time I wasn't too keen. I feared excluding people or coming across in an inappropriate manner. Today, I find this post necessary, because the truth is, I AM FURIOUS. I am furious that people are still being brutally murdered for no other reason than the colour of their skin. I am furious that those vile, trigger happy cops still get to go home to their families unscathed. I am furious that black parents have to teach their young children to fear privileged white policemen. I am furious that protestors are being arrested for taking a stand against this brutality while those killer cops are kept safe and unharmed. I am furious that in the year 2020, amidst everything else going on in the world, there is still racism. Yesterday, during #blackouttuesday, millions of people posted black squares on their social media in "support" of black people. But what was that post actually supporting? Social media is a great tool for activism, but when it's not used appropriately, it can cause more harm than good. Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was used millions of times yesterday under said black square, completely drowning out the vital messages and videos shared by the movement. It also made it dangerous for anyone using that hashtag to find or share crucial information. #Blackouttuesday was a day to PROTEST. Black people in the US are fighting for their freedom for the umpteenth time, while others complain about the looting and burning of buildings and corporations built and run by the very hands of the oppressed. Posting and reposting on social media does not excuse the way black people are treated and interacted with on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that so many want to help, but there are other ways to do so. This is the time to LISTEN to those who’ve had their lives and voices controlled by white supremacy for generations. True allies are those who are willing to stand up, stand out, and stand alongside their black brothers and sisters, regardless of circumstance. True allies are those willing to educate themselves, their families, friends and acquaintances about racism and what they can do to stop or prevent it. Black lives are in danger, not only in the US, but all over the world. If you really want to help, ask yourself, especially if you’re privileged, “what can I do TODAY to stand in solidarity with black people in a tangible way?” There are many options. You can support black-owned businesses, donate money to black causes, protest, send resources, and most importantly, you can learn and teach others how to be anti-racist. From this week on, once a week I will share on this thread a book, business, or quote from a Person of Colour (POC) that I hope will inspire others to support and do the same. ✊? “We are all part of the same consciousness We are all connected We are all Brothers and Sisters No matter the colour of our skin No matter the shape of our eyes No matter the size of our body We were designed to LOVE and HELP each other To live in PEACE and HARMONY Nurturing Gaia, Pachamama, Mother Earth”

Grief is a tumultuous process. Be patient. Listen. Even if you don’t fully understand, be understanding. And do let her know how you feel too. Powerless? Uncomfortable? Loving? Compassionate? Also...Our book, Loss to Legacy: A stepping stone path to healing and transformation may be helpful for both of you! You can find out more on our website: www.ReshFoundation.org/loss-to-legacy (where we also offer other resources, so please visit!)

Hello Mike, I am happy to hear about your journey with the bodyscan. For me the bodyscan also leads to a wide range of experiences. ? Please feel free to share guided meditation you find beneficial on our resources page.

Hi all! I thought it might be useful to post a link to some powerful texts by Bikkhu Analayo, a Buddhist scholar monk who teaches at IMS (and a ton of other places). In his Early Buddhist Meditation Studies book he does a deep dive into the history of mindfulness in early Buddhism. It puts JKZ's definition of mindfulness into perspective, since there are many different ideas and definitions of mindfulness in use in the media, psychology, Buddhism, etc. https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/resources/offerings-analayo/publications/

Hi, I have no idea whether I am posting in the right area of the website - so we will just say that this is putting my ideas out to the universe lol. I have just signed myself onto an online Reiki course to do Levels One, Two and Mastery. The idea is to offer Reiki sessions to the public alongside the Holistic Therapies I am offering at my Practice. I have been thinking about Reiki for a while and now that Corona has changed the course of my business; now is a good time to embrace a new challenge. I am simultaneously excited; and a little scared. This is running alongside a massive, healing re-alignment in my life (last two years) in which I have started to change habits, seek new connections and better myself. The course I have chosen is on a reduced budget (finances are tight) and I know that it will not offer me the same support as training in-house and face to face with a Master. I would like to surround myself with knowledgeable practitioners who can help me evaluate my learnings further and point me in a good direction in terms of resources and support avenues Can that person be you? I look forward to sharing my thoughts and feelings with you. You are welcome to look at my profile and see if there is anything I can help you with in exhange. Namaste, Joh Flow

Happy Earth Day! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the earth essentially being 'closed' to humans, this year's Earth Day seems to be a quiet one. Each year, millions of people are estimated to participate in environmental action to address the massive challenges facing the earth. Last year's theme was plastic pollution, while this year's focus is climate action. Earth Day celebrations would usually include community tree planting initiatives, beach and other cleanups, national park or forest visits, and other outdoor activities. This year, although most celebrations were cancelled, some are still holding virtual events. Earthday.org is going digital with a full programme of activities for anyone interesting in joining. Although the pandemic is severe, tragic and scary for many, to me it also appears as a great reminder of what's at stake in the fight for our planet. The lockdowns have seen skies clear of pollution, wildlife returning to deserted places, and greenhouse gas levels reducing drastically as travel, commuting and other industries come to a halt. Venetians claim they haven't seen clear water in Venice's canals in approx. 60 years! In previous years, I loved being outdoors, preferably barefoot, doing a mindful walk, earthing/grounding, and taking deep breaths while sending love and gratitude to Mother Earth. This year I find it a bit sad not being able to do that, being on complete lockdown, but I encourage everyone who can leave their homes for an hour to do just that! Connecting with the earth and being out in nature is proven to have very many health benefits. What will you get up to today to celebrate and honour our beautiful, abundant Pachamama? Whatever it is, let us all on this 50th Earth Day anniversary, during this incredibly unique time in our lives, take time to reflect on our choices and acknowledge and take responsibility for our actions related to the earth and the climate. Remember also: "The earth is not an endless deposit of resources to exploit." Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

18.04.2020/ 19.04.2020 free world premiere of the film "Already free" “When you connect with your True Self, you connect with everything in the universe and with your destiny.” — Dorrie Resources for challenging times by the SAND community

Hello! everyone, I am a pre-licensed mental health counselor always seeking new resources and support for my colleagues as well as those seeking support.

Here's some more: 02.04.2020 5:00 PM CET Lewis Rossignol teaches collage live on youtube 03.04.2020 9:30 AM PST Science of Happiness webinar with our partners at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center on Facebook live Free video training and live webinar via conscious life Spiritual Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Harvard Divinity School Learn about coping skills on positivepsychology.com (hint: watching cute kitten videos on youtube is one of them!) Each Monday at 7pm-8pm EST online Medicine Buddha Practice and more with Lama Rod Owens Gretchen Rubin has daily conversations on Instagram Live: Coping with COVID-19 for Hacks, Encouragement, and Connection.

Thank you both for sharing so many ideas and helpful links. I am not on lockdown where I live and I'm still expected to report to work for now. Nonetheless, I'd like to share with everyone some things that have been helping me cope with these uncertainties: 1. Please know that it's okay if you feel you only have enough energy to simply survive right now. Try not to feel bad about yourself due to lacks in productivity or creativity. If you're spending more time than usual lying on the couch and binge-watching a series or two, that's okay! 2. If you'd like to try to feel reinvigorated, look up some energy exercises by Donna Eden. I've recently learned about her and her work. I've tried one simple exercise, a few times so far now, and I swear each time I felt great afterwards! 3. Finally read one (or more) of those books that's been sitting on the shelf! 4. Send a message to someone you haven't interacted with in a while. Check in on family and friends, too, of course. 5. Exercise! Yoga is ideal. HIIT workouts and weight training (even using just your own body weight) are beneficial as well. You can find endless exercise videos on YouTube. 6. Meditate, obvi. ? It can be as simple as observing your thoughts and welcoming your emotions as visitors passing through. (There are countless resources out there for those who need more help than that. I recommend starting with Guided Meditations, like the one our friend @Tine will be facilitating!) 7. If you have pets, spoil them with your attention. Be grateful that you have the emotional support of a being who cannot possibly bring up the virus ?? 8. Revel in the delightful feelings brought about when listening to music 9. Enjoy free access to some of the visual arts of Paris: http://parismuseescollections.paris.fr/en 10. Eat fresh produce if you have access to it. If not, get creative with whatever you have in your pantry. I get into mindul/meditative headspaces when cooking and when cleaning, too (do your spring cleaning if you can!). Thank you for reading! I truly hope anyone finds this post helpful Prioritize self care right now.

And some more resources for your mental health: the crisis kit from positivepsychology.com

In this video, I talk about something that is relevant to each one of us – HAPPINESS. I call these resources HAPPINESS HACKS!! Let’s check out the amazing power of Happiness Hacks and create our own Happiness Salad. https://youtu.be/jBbdy8FXhN8 *Disclaimer - I am not a psychologist, i am a Masters stydent of Sport Psychology and I learnt about these ideas in my school, through personal experiences and by going through tonnes of research papers online. Hope you find this video useful. #SPORTPSYCHOLOGY #PERFORMANCEPSYCHOLOGY #HAPPINESS #HAPPINESSHACKS #HAPPINESSSALAD #PEAKPOTENTIAL #BETTERHUMANBEING #HAPPIERHUMANBEINGS https://youtu.be/jBbdy8FXhN8