Live Well and Flourish

Grief comes from loss. But gratitude should accompany grief. Listen as Craig reflects on the puzzling relationship between grief and gratitude, and how a deeper understanding of how they interact can help you deal with grief, and prepare for future grief. 

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

We often hear of utility, usually as it relates to economics or usefulness. But there is a different view of utility, one that focuses on pleasure. In this episode, Andrea and Craig discuss this view of utility as pleasure, which is the foundation of Jeremey Bentham and John Stuart Mills' view of utilitarianism.  They also discuss the difference between transitory, shallow pleasures (like eating yummy french fries) and enduring deep pleasures (such as being a good person).  At the end of the episode Andrea and Craig provide some suggestions for building more pleasure into your life.

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

Humans are hardwired to pay more attention to negative events than positive events. This proclivity is known as the negativity bias. Thankfully,  a large number of good events can overcome the effects of a small number of bad events, which can work out well because most of us experience many more positive events than negative events. The problem is that we tend to pay more attention to the bad things that happen.

In this episode, Andrea and Craig discuss negativity bias and how to overcome its effects by attending more to positive events.  As always, Craig makes a mention of pets and animals while Andrea figures out a way to mention Aristotle. Listen to this episode to learn how to keep the little negative things from bothering you so much and gain insight into how focusing on the positive will have a beneficial effect on your life and mental health.

Articles on Negativity Bias:
Not all emotions are created equal: The negativity bias in social-emotional development
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3652533/

Reappraisal—but not Suppression—Tendencies Determine Negativity Bias After Laboratory and Real-World Stress Exposure

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8531907/

Convergent behavioral and corticolimbic connectivity evidence of a negativity bias in children and adolescents
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390736/

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

Craig’s favorite day of the week is Saturday, not just because it’s recording day, but also because it’s #Caturday! (It really is a thing.) Fun, seemingly silly activities like posting or viewing cat pictures (or dog pics, or whatever) give us some hints on an often overlooked aspect of flourishing. In this episode, we explore why frivolous activities such as #Caturday can help us flourish by giving us short breaks from the daily grind of life.

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

Recently, a listener posed an interesting question in response to Episode 9 on Human Flourishing.  In that episode we said that a hermit might be happy living alone in the woods, but that s/he wouldn't really living a flourishing life. The listener questioned whether this was accurate, especially since flourishing is unique to each individual. In this episode, we discuss the question of whether a hermit can flourish. Along the way we also delve into moral relativism, moral pluralism and even nihilism. 

In addition, we talk about the "reboot" of the Rational Ignorance Podcast, which involves shorter, more focused episodes that all pertain to some aspect of human flourishing. 

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

Andrea and Craig welcome Nita Sweeney, an author, distance runner, and meditator who shares her tale of overcoming depression and anxiety through long distance running with her dog Morgan. She details the first basic steps everyone should take to start their battle against depression, getting out of bed and doing a basic self-care task such as brushing your teeth. Nita describes how at 49, being overweight and depressed she went from “couch to 5k” and how it changed her life. Another challenge Nita was able to overcome was the negative voices in her head that filled her with negativity and self-doubt, making her constantly second-guess her decision to improve. She narrates how she was able to defeat those voices and how to keep them from spoiling your drive and motivation. The co-hosts share some of their experience with running (and with pups) and how it benefited them, as well as their take on trail running versus road running. Listen to the episode to find out how you too can go from “couch to 5k”, become a marathon runner and overcome depression, anxiety, self doubt and even flourish along the way.

Visit Nita’s website: https://nitasweeney.com/

All things Nita: https://linktr.ee/nitasweeney

Check out Nita’s books:

Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running With My Dog Brought Me Back From the Brink
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1642500135

https://nitasweeney.com/about-the-book/

Free eBook: Three Ways to Heal Your Mind

 You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration & Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1642502553

Nita Sweeney’s Bio

Nita Sweeney is the award-winning wellness author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink and co-creator of the writing journal, You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration & Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving. A certified meditation leader, mental health advocate, ultramarathoner, and former assistant to writing practice originator Natalie Goldberg, Nita founded the groupsMind, Mood, and Movement to support well-being through meditation, exercise, and writing practice, and The Writer’s Mind, to share using writing practice to produce publishable work. Nita also publishes the writing resource newsletter, Write Now Columbus. Nita lives in central Ohio with her husband, Ed, and their yellow Labrador retriever, Scarlet. Download your free copy of Nita’s eBook Three Ways to Heal Your Mind.

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

Many of us have a faith, but how is that different from spirituality? Is spirituality like food in the sense that we need it to care for our bodies (or in this case, our soul), something that every person by the nature of being a person has to deal with, or is it more like art and music? Spirituality, unlike religion, focuses on obtaining a sense of peace and of purpose.

Andrea and Craig welcome Reverend Dr. Bernadine Lewis as she tells us a little bit about how having a spiritual dimension to one's life could contribute to flourishing. She speaks about how spirituality has been in her family for generations, and why a lot of people still aren’t really flourishing despite comfort, wealth and success, and what might be missing in their life to truly flourish. Listen to the episode to learn how to flourish by incorporating spirituality into your life.

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

Music is synonymous with emotion and beauty and is a vital part of life. This week Andrea and Craig welcome musician Bryan Toney as he gives us insight on how music can help us flourish. He explains why it’s important to find your passion and how you can make music (or engage in some other creative activity) while still working another job. We also learn about some of the struggles musicians face in modern times, the hardships of the music industry nowadays and Bryan’s contributions to helping other people flourish through music by organizing open mic nights so more folks can showcase their passion and talents. Listen in to discover how to flourish through song.

Visit Bryan Toney’s website: https://www.bryantoney.com/

 Listen to Bryan Toney on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/58Xf6nCVfn3QzSU4aCxpXi?si=Y1qxZnDdToWBHAxGKGd7OQ

 Listen to Bryan Toney’s album Cone of Uncertainty on Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/cone-of-uncertainty/1451933911

 Connect with Bryan on Facebook: http://facebook.com/bryantoneymusic

 Check out Bryan’s Youtube Channel: http://youtube.com/bryantoney

 Follow Bryan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryantoney/

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

In this episode Andrea and Craig welcome Sebastian Siegel, a British-American director, producer, screenwriter and author to talk about some of the themes and experiences from his new film, Grace and Grit, based on the book by Ken Wilber. They discuss the resilience of human love when faced with tragedy and loss, deep philosophical issues regarding joy, pain and transience, and even share some of their personal experiences on how they were able to relate to the film on a deeper level. 

Links: 

Sebastian Siegel

http://sebastiansiegel.com/

 The film Grace and Grit  is available on Amazon, as is the book on which the film is based.  

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3910630/

Mercury Theatre Podcast: https://www.mercurytheatrepodcast.com/

[Note: We may earn a small commission from affiliate links ... really small.]

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert

In the first episode of season two, Andrea and Craig discuss some of the differences in how Aristotle, Dr. Martin Seligman, and Harvard view flourishing and some of the overlapping concepts in philosophy, religion, psychology and Daoism related to living a good life. Craig explains in depth how striving for flourishing is beneficial to anyone no matter what their religion or philosophy might be. We also learn about the three basic steps towards flourishing and developing a virtue and that grits are a vehicle for flavor. Yum!

 Here are links to the two books mentioned in this episode. (Note: We earn a very small commission when you use the links.)

 How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness, Russell D. Roberts
Kindle
Paperback

 The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith
Kindle 

Navajos Wear Nikes: A Reservation Life, Jim Kristofic
Kindle
Paperback
Hardcover

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Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/

The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, [email protected].

Production assistant - Paul Robert