Harvesting Happiness

In 2025, the United States is experiencing a troubling downward trend in its ranking on The World Happiness Report. This is a significant departure from its usual position within the top 20 globally. The exact causes are complex, but emerging evidence suggests that various psychosocial stressors are leading to a decrease in life satisfaction among US citizens, a trend that should concern us all.

Harvesting Happiness Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with social psychologist and co-editor of The World Happiness Report, Lara Aknin, PhD, to explore what manifests as happiness and life satisfaction in the US and worldwide.

Dr. Lara Aknin shares specific findings from The World Happiness Report and provides valuable insights into the global cultural factors that contribute to life satisfaction. She particularly emphasizes the role of generosity, volunteerism, and donations as significant sources of happiness, shedding light on these often overlooked contributors to our well-being.

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The United States ranked 43rd out of 146 countries for gender equality in the World Economic Forum's 2024 Global Gender Gap Report. In addition to that staggering result, the current administration is eliminating DEI efforts to further erode progress toward social justice for women. How can we empower girls and women to ensure their voices are heard and their contributions are valued at all levels of society?

To explore gender bias and the generational transmission of sexism, Harvesting Happiness Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with clinical psychologist and author Dr. Jo-Ann Finkelstein, PhD.

Jo-Ann highlights emotional labor as a generationally transmitted unfair bias against females. She offers guidance on promoting equality within the home and explores how social conditioning might influence empathy in males. Her book, Sexism & Sensibility, emphasizes the importance of fostering five specific female voices and provides practical tips for reducing negative bias in women and advancing overall gender equality.

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Navigating the emotional challenges of modern secular living can be eased by cultivating inner peace of mind. Mindfulness practices, though sometimes challenging to adopt, can ground us in gratitude. How can we actively seek out the everyday magic and truly appreciate each mindful moment as a source of relief?

To explore strategies that increase our capacity to deal, and heal, Harvesting Happiness Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with author and mindfulness educator Susan Kaiser Greenland.

Susan shares her wisdom of secular mindfulness from her latest work, Real-World Enlightenment: Discovering Ordinary Magic in Everyday Life. She offers simple techniques that quiet the monkey mind, alleviate the emotional toll of modern life, and cultivate peace of mind. The three-part practices are so easy that adults and children can do them.

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Nature offers a profound secular and sacred sanctuary that presents a landscape of opportunities for spiritual awakening beyond traditional walls. The divine exists within the cathedral of the earth, sea, and sky. It is at the core of every human soul. It is not confined to the walls of a physical structure, nor does it exist under the guise of any specific religion. The divine is everywhere—around us and within us. Spending time in nature offers a sacred path to individual and collective healing, but are we curious enough to discover its solace when we need it most?

For a deeper understanding of how to ground ourselves in nature, Harvesting Happiness Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with Celtic teacher and author Dr. John Philip Newell.

Dr. John Philip Newell describes humanity’s spiritual yearnings and offers insights into the quest for spiritual awakening through Celtic wisdom. In his book, The Great Search, he thoughtfully draws upon the teachings of revered prophets of the past, gently leading us towards a deeper connection with the Earth and, ultimately, the sacred divine that resides within us.

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Benjamin Franklin's "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today" sounds simple, yet for many, it's a monumental challenge. Well-intentioned individuals often find their to-do lists perpetually lingering, not from laziness or a lack of motivation, but from a more complex, underlying struggle. This persistent inaction isn't a matter of willpower; it often stems from deeper issues like fear of failure, perfectionism, or an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

To better understand what lies at the core of procrastination and how to overcome it, Harvesting Happiness Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with psychologist, coach, and author Dr. Patricia Zurita Ona, aka Dr. Z.

Dr. Z’s research goes beyond the surface of procrastination and perfectionist behaviors. In her book, Acceptance and Commitment Skills for Perfectionism and High-Achieving Behaviors, she lifts the veil of procrastination demonstrating that it is not laziness but the fear of failure that inhibits people from completing tasks.

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Humans inherently have a negativity bias. Our brains prioritize negative stimuli as compared to positive stimuli. And while it may have served us well in the past, today, it only serves to increase anxiety and worry. Research shows that we can rewire our brains to acknowledge the negative and change our perception of it, but it takes practice.

To guide us through the practice of positively changing our minds, Harvesting Happiness Podcast host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with Neuroscientist and organizational consultant Nicole Vignola.

Nicole shares strategies for transforming negative habits into positive perspectives from her book, Rewire: Break the Cycle, Alter Your Thoughts, and Create Lasting Change. She describes the benefits of a growth mindset and the importance of emotions and gratitude.

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Sometimes, navigating our next steps can be complicated, and discernment is not always easy. Approaching problems from a different perspective can help us to gain clarity on a situation and when done so with intention, can become a sacred journey of self-discovery. Through discernment, we listen to the desires of the soul, allowing them to guide us toward choices that resonate with our authentic selves. This inner listening is crucial for identifying our true needs and values, ensuring that our next steps are not merely practical but deeply aligned with our core being, ultimately honoring the integrity of our whole self.

To guide us through navigating decisions and discerning the next steps of our journey, Harvesting Happiness Podcast host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with a Wall Street Journal best-selling author of six books and podcast host, Emily P. Freeman.

Emily describes the journey of discernment that allows our inner guidance system to separate our decision-making process from external influences. She offers a transformative practice that allows us to honor ourselves, slow down the assessment process, and weed out red flags.

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The weight of mounting tasks and looming responsibilities of modern life often leave us feeling overwhelmed and under-equipped. Many of us put burdensome chores on the back burner and choose instead to do nothing because the task seems so big that we don’t know where to begin. This avoidance, however, only serves to amplify the feelings of overwhelm, creating a vicious cycle of procrastination and stress.

To help us decode the fear of procrastination and apply the science of productivity, Harvesting Happiness Podcast host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with trauma specialist, author, and speaker Britt Frank.

Britt highlights her journey as an example of how we all can fall prey to procrastination in its various forms, and she shares the three-step process included in her newest work, The Getting Unstuck Workbook: Practical Tools for Overcoming Fear and Doubt - and Moving Forward with Your Life.

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Healing the loneliness epidemic requires much more than bringing humans together. It is likely that you have felt disconnected from others even when in a crowded place. That disconnection comes from within ourselves. By nurturing our inner world we can create a strong foundation for building meaningful connections with others, and help us find contentment and love within ourselves.

To discover a clear pathway to love yourself, Harvesting Happiness Podcast host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with bestselling author, relationship expert, and co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding® self-healing process, Dr. Margaret Paul.
Margaret discusses how her 6-step Inner Bonding process leads to healing the soul and creates deeper bonds with ourselves and within our closest relationships.

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In our increasingly isolated world, online dating has become a prevalent avenue for finding romance. While self-confident individuals often leverage these platforms to strategically navigate potential partnerships, others may use them, and related platforms such as cam sites, as a means to develop the emotional and social skills necessary for offline relationships and well-being.

* This episode explores human sexuality and is intended for mature listeners.

To get the down-and-dirty details of the impact of technology on modern love, Harvesting Happiness Podcast host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with the Head of Research Analytics at the famous Kinsey Institute, Dr. Amanda Gesselman.

Amanda discusses statistics and research data about the intersection of humanity and technology in matters of the heart and mind. She also offers her unique insights about the healing power of electronically-driven connections.

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