Harvesting Happiness

Technology is both a vice and a virtue. It can help us manage our lives and accomplish tasks with reminders and to-dos. But, at what point do the dings and pings become more of a distraction than traction? How much of our time is dedicated to managing our digital devices versus tackling the true task at hand? To learn more, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen revisits the subject of digital distractions and speaks with two experts who share how to stay healthy and productive while using modern technology. Amy Blankson discusses key points from her book, The Future of Happiness: 5 Modern Strategies for Balancing Productivity and Well-Being in the Digital Era, and Nir Ayal shares insights, about how to balance productivity and well-being using the same technology designed to distract us, from his new book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.

Eldercare is often over-medicalized and approached as a service in long-term and late-life care facilities. But, this method of care can stunt the mental faculties of those whose cognitive abilities are waning. Stories from more mature family members can ripen the lives of younger members of our families and society as a whole. So, why aren’t preventative measures and creative solutions common in the realm of elder care? To better understand the cognitive process of aging, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two doctors who strive to maintain mental wellbeing in their aging patients. Dr. Dan Gibbs is a retired neurologist with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease who describes key learnings from his book A Tattoo on my Brain: A Neurologist's Personal Battle against Alzheimer's Disease. And English Professor, Dr. Anne Basting describes her work in reimagining late-life and long-term care based on a creative approach as detailed in her book, Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care.

One of the most complicated relationships in our lives is the one we have with our mother. At conception, our bodies are intrinsically connected to our mother for the first nine months of our existence. At birth, and throughout the rest of our lives, we are emotionally affected by the nurturing, or lack of it, we receive from our mothers. Do we have unrealistic expectations of what a mother should be? Why do we remember the traumatic experiences from our childhoods rather than joyful ones? To unveil the process of nurturing our traumas and soothing our nervous system in times of stress, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two doctors who coach people through the trauma of early childhood experiences. Dr. Judith Ruskay discusses key takeaways from her work and book, The Girl in the Red Boots: Making Peace with My Mother. And, Dr. Patti Ashley shares methods for reducing body trauma during times of stress and fear.

The COVID pandemic has most of us thinking about having our physical systems vaccinated. But, what about the disease of disinformation? Is it possible to inoculate our minds and make them immune to untruths and bad ideas that spread through social networks? Is there a proven method to keep probable mind parasites at bay? To better understand how to thwart misinformation and converse with those whose minds have been targeted by pirates, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two doctors who specialize in disarming disinformation. Andy Norman created a new spin on aged philosophy to vaccinate minds. He shares key takeaways from his book, Mental Immunity. Climate Scientist John Cook designed a cartoon and game based on a ‘Crazy Uncle’ amalgam to teach our minds how to have conversations with people who think differently than we do.

People feel happier when they are emotionally engaged in

meaningful conversations and when actively invested in learning

something they care about. Successful people are not only

knowledgeable about facts and figures, they also have multiple

intelligences in several modalities. To discover how we can

redesign our post-pandemic future to bring forth a more

meaningful and happier life, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa

Cypers Kamen speaks with two authors whose latest books focus

on creating emotional connection through communication tools.

Fred Dust discusses his book, Making Conversation: Seven

Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication and details the

benefits of deeper, meaningful conversations in society. And, Dr.

Thomas Hoerr describes the framework of his book, Taking Social-

Emotional Learning Schoolwide: The Formative Five Success Skills

for Students and Staf, and how it can positively affect teachers,

faculty, students, and learning.

For most people, finding happiness and meaning isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when they think of work. But what if it was? What if individuals funneled their creativity and a little of their personal magic into designing a new work-life that was meaningful and fulfilling? To extract advice about designing a life of meaningful work, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two authors who have channeled their creativity into new careers and serve others through their books. Dr. Katharine Brooks revamped the famous career guide, What Color is Your Parachute? for 2021 and wrote two additional books during the pandemic. And, Forensic Psychiatrist, Dr. Amber Fossey found herself with a substantial Instagram and Etsy following when she tapped into her creative inner child. Her sense of childlike wonder is accompanied by her poetry and illustrations in the book, Be Wild Be Free.

Food history is our history, there is no untangling the two. Industrialized food processing may be whittling away at our appreciation of how deeply certain foods are rooted in our families and culture but not everyone forgets. There are people who still lovingly employ age-old methods of food cultivation. In this episode, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two authors and chefs who translated their life journeys into recipes and their recipes into cookbooks. Katie Quinn’s hands-on approach has given rise to the revered tradition of fermentation. She shares highlights from her food adventures as documented in her book, Cheese, Wine, and Bread: Discovering the Magic of Fermentation in England, Italy, and France. And, Mandy Lee shares her experience of fusing foods from the East and West while living in a polarized, authoritarian culture from her personal story inspired cookbook, The Art of Escapism Cooking: A Survival Story, with Intensely Good Flavors.

Western medicine rarely discusses the electromagnetic field that surrounds and permeates the human body. Commonly known as chakras or the biofield, these energy centers are a collection of our stored life events, both positive and traumatic. Medical Intuitives read a person’s mind, body, and spirit to discover the root cause of illnesses. To bring to light the difference between medical intuition from other energy healing modalities, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with three Medical Intuitives who steer patients toward healing using training and intuition. Wendie Colter created the accreditive Medical Intuitive Training Program. She discusses her practice and The Practical Path for intuitive development. And, Professor Paul Mills and Reverend Tiffany Barsotti describe the focus of Medical Intuitives and how positive psychology aids the healing process.

MD, Ph.D. & Julia Rucklidge Ph.D.

Scientific research shows we can enjoy emotional freedom and

dislodge ourselves from unrewarding habits. Becoming aware of

where we find ourselves stuck and nourishing our bodies properly

are the key elements to creating shifts in our lives. To understand

what goes on under the human hood and how we can be our best

selves, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen

speaks with two doctors who empower us with tools to take

charge of our mental health beyond the therapist's couch and the

prescription pad. Dr. Judson Brewer shares the three-step process

for managing anxiety from his newest book, Unwinding Anxiety.

And, Dr. Julia Rucklidge recounts the research that is the

foundation for her book, The Better Brain, which centers around

the micronutrients that balance our emotional and mental health

Men’s and women's brains share 98% of the same genetic

structural makeup. So, why is it common to treat boys and girls

differently? Why are boys shamed for displaying their emotions

and girls not encouraged to become strong leaders? Why do we

promote emotional differences in the all-to-common male versus

female storyline? To discover strategies for creating more

emotionally balanced humans, Positive Psychology Podcast Host

Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with two experts in gender-related

topics. Dr. Gertrude Lyons discusses the transition back to a

balance of feminine and masculine energies in positions of

leadership around the world. And, Andrew Reiner discusses

research from his book, Better Boys, Better Men about the

disservice of promoting emotional detachment when we talk to

boys and the benefits of communicating differently