Twelve Good Things

Twelve Good Things

Each year I dedicate one issue of the Just One Thing newsletter to Twelve Good Things that I feel are really worth your attention.

May you and those you love and in fact the whole wide world be truly well, truly happy, and truly at peace.

 


One

homepageSlider_Malaria2Generosity is natural and if you’d like to give a gift of service to the world this holiday season, consider these worthy aid organizations: Against Malaria Foundation works actively in the prevention of malaria; Food Lifeline works to end hunger by rescuing surplus food; and United for Puerto Rico, which has distributed thousands of pounds of goods to communities affected by Hurricane Maria this year.


Two

gallery_greenhills_thumbSpirit Rock Meditation Center has been my primary personal wellspring of spiritual practice. Check out the workshops and retreats from this peaceful, welcoming, world-renowned center. I’m so impressed with their new spectacular Community Meditation Center, which offers a beautiful space for group practice.

 

 

 


Three

buddha-2978269__480We clearly need internal resources such as mindfulness, self-compassion, and positive emotions. Dharma Seed provides an online archive of talks by hundreds of dharma teachers to steepen our learning curve and nurture all that is naturally good in us.

 

 

 

 


Four

danner-poetry-magazineThe Poetry Foundation encourages the soulful presence of poetry in our lives, has a wonderful range of audio poems, and will deliver a Poem of the Day into your Inbox.

 

 

 

 


Five

onlineprogramsThe Foundations of Well-Being is my online program for growing an unshakable core of calm, strength, and happiness – for resilience in a changing world. This program is super accessible and practical, you can go at your own pace, and there is a money-back guarantee. Starting January 2, you’ll get the tools you need to grow a new inner strength each week – and in the spirit of the holidays, there’s a $170 discount if you sign up this month.

 

 


Six

Screen Shot 2017-12-11 at 12.46.01 PMThe Economics of Happiness is a movement to meet real human and ecological needs through focus on local economy and our innate spiritual ties to nature. It’s a positive alternative to the ‘growth economics’ that is ravaging our planet, and uses ‘happiness’ as a viable commodity upon which all societies can prosper. And check out this great TEDTalk by high school economics teacher Elizabeth Salinas: “The Economics of Happiness and the Significance of Joy.”

 

 


Seven

GGSC
The Greater Good Science Center is a world-class resource for compassion, empathy, parenting, and positive psychology. They have a phenomenal Greater Good Magazine, full of useful articles, videos, podcasts, and quizzes. You can offer support by becoming a member, as I have.

 


Eight

Screen Shot 2017-12-11 at 12.49.06 PMPlan International works in 50 developing countries to lift children out of poverty. My wife and I have supported Plan for over twenty years. Their focus this year is on investing in girls’ education in Africa and protecting children of the displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh. You can support their work by becoming a child sponsor.

 

 

 


Nine

Screen Shot 2017-12-11 at 12.51.40 PMChild Advocates (CASA) and Guardian ad Litem (GAL) programs train volunteers to become champions for child victims of life-threatening abuse, neglect or abandonment. There are local chapters in most states and they’re well worth checking out if you’d like to play a positive role in kids’ lives.

 

 

 


Ten

Thich+Nhat+Hanh+Foundation+FamilyThe Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation raises funds for mindfulness practice centers, international humanitarian relief projects, community dharma sharing initiatives, and monastic health care. This is a wonderful way to ‘share the peace’ and transform suffering for all living beings. Their website also hosts a wonderful blog of Thay’s teachings on mindfulness.

 

 

 


Eleven

logoYour Skillful Means (sponsored by The Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom) freely offers nearly a hundred methods for psychological or spiritual growth. This is a kind of Wikipedia for mental health tools.


Twelve

Gratitude2Gratitude may be one of the best ways of improving our lives; research shows it elevates, energizes, inspires, and transforms, and it can help us deal more effectively with tragedy and crisis. For a poignant look at how this might play out in real life, check out this TEDTalk by Dr Tanmeet Sethi, who discovered how saying thank you for the things in life you don’t want helped her find peace with her son’s devastating diagnosis of a life-threatening disease.


Twelve times warm wishes to you,

Rick

P.S. Plus a Baker’s Dozen, check out my Facebook or Instagram pages for  daily uplifting sound bites, videos, and resources for maintaining positive thinking, open heartedness, and a clear focus on your life’s purpose.



Dr. Ramani Durvasula is a licensed clinical psychologist, author, and expert on the impact of toxic narcissism. She is a Professor of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, and also a Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg.

The focus of Dr. Ramani’s clinical, academic, and consultative work is the etiology and impact of narcissism and high-conflict, entitled, antagonistic personality styles on human relationships, mental health, and societal expectations. She has spoken on these issues to clinicians, educators, and researchers around the world.

She is the author of Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship With a Narcissist, and Don't You Know Who I Am? How to Stay Sane in an Era of Narcissism, Entitlement, and Incivility. Her work has been featured at SxSW, TEDx, and on a wide range of media platforms including Red Table Talk, the Today Show, Oxygen, Investigation Discovery, and Bravo, and she is a featured expert on the digital media mental health platform MedCircle. Dr. Durvasula’s research on personality disorders has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and she is a Consulting Editor of the scientific journal Behavioral Medicine.

Dr. Stephen Porges is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He is a former president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and has been president of the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences, which represents approximately twenty-thousand biobehavioral scientists. He’s led a number of other organizations and received a wide variety of professional awards.

In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior and emphasizes the importance of physiological states in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. The theory is leading to innovative treatments based on insights into the mechanisms mediating symptoms observed in several behavioral, psychiatric, and physical disorders, and has had a major impact on the field of psychology.

Dr. Porges has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers across a wide array of disciplines. He’s also the author of several books including The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation.

Dr. Bruce Perry is the Principal of the Neurosequential Network, Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, and a Professor (Adjunct) in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and the School of Allied Health at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. From 1993 to 2001 he was the Thomas S. Trammell Research Professor of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of psychiatry at Texas Children's Hospital.

He’s one of the world’s leading experts on the impact of trauma in childhood, and his work on the impact of abuse, neglect, and trauma on the developing brain has impacted clinical practice, programs, and policy across the world. His work has been instrumental in describing how traumatic events in childhood change the biology of the brain.

Dr. Perry's most recent book, What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, was released earlier this year. Dr. Perry is also the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, a bestselling book based on his work with maltreated children, and Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered. Additionally, he’s authored more than 300 journal articles and book chapters and has been the recipient of a variety of professional awards.

Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith is a child clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma and issues of race. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard and then received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. She performed postdoctoral work at the University of California San Francisco/San Francisco General Hospital. She has combined her love of teaching and advocacy by serving as a professor and by directing mental health programs for children experiencing trauma, homelessness, or foster care.

Dr. Briscoe-Smith is also a senior fellow of Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and is both a professor and the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Wright Institute. She provides consultation and training to nonprofits and schools on how to support trauma-informed practices and cultural accountability.

Sharon Salzberg is a world-renowned teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She is widely considered one of the most influential individuals in bringing mindfulness practices to the West, and co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts alongside Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. Sharon has been a student of Dipa Ma, Anagarika Munindra, and Sayadaw U Pandita alongside other masters.

Sharon has authored 10 books, and is the host of the fantastic Metta Hour podcast. She was a contributing editor of Oprah’s O Magazine, had her work featured in Time and on NPR, and contributed to panels alongside the Dalai Lama.

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