If the expansion of self-awareness, consciousness, and emotional intelligence represent an inward journey, then a journal of that experience is a must. The reasons? You Are Here Today you have a pretty clear picture of who you are. If you've taken our assessments, they've similarly painted a scientific picture of your personality and so on. [...]

You may not be thinking about enhanced alpha and beta oscillations in your brain when walking or petting your dog, but that's precisely what's happening and it's good for you. In fact, recent research has found that spending time with a dog delivers notable decreases in feelings of fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Participants in the [...]

"Frankly, I had never thought of listening as an important subject by itself . But now that I am aware of it, I think that perhaps 80% of my work depends on my listening to someone, or on someone else listening to me." Those were the words of a Chicago area manufacturing executive published in [...]

Self-inquiry is a mainstay of many Eastern philosophical and spiritual traditions that places an emphasis on the student's persistent investigation into who, exactly, he or she is. In a sense, it is the ultimate self-inventory. As with meditation, the practice of self-inquiry is considered an important and effective approach to quieting the mind and allowing [...]

Most people don't know themselves nearly as well as they think they do. That's probably why you're here (well, that awareness and the courage and humility to admit it). It is precisely because of these blind spots that a journal can be such a powerful instrument for self-development, personal improvement, and inner growth. In fact, [...]

You're on a journey. And like any good journey, you'll want to keep a travelogue of your experiences. We recommend a journal. In fact, we recommend a really nice one with maybe leather binding and built to last. Why? Because this could (and should) be the most important journey of your life . And depending [...]

Of all the practices we recommend, this is the one that matters most. In fact, your quest for a happier and more meaningful life could start - and end - here. The reason: meditation alone creates the space between these anxious, hyperactive minds of ours and the innate wisdom that lies deep within us [...]

It's one of the world's oldest pieces of advice, if you can call it that: know thyself. Yet despite its longevity and embrace by virtually every philosophical and spiritual heavyweight of the past 2,500 years, few of us across time and place have made it a focus in our efforts to improve our lives, reduce [...]

For as long as self-aware humans have occupied this planet, they've been busy attempting to understand and improve themselves. In this post, we'll look at vision quests, which actually lends itself to other aspects of personal development, including meditation, mindfulness, silence, and self-inquiry. Although there is evidence vision quests have been practiced for thousands of [...]

Genuine, lasting happiness is an internal state of being. Finding it outside oneself is a fool's errand (and, unfortunately, what a majority of humans practice). This was the verdict of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, whose observations of people's struggles during and after World War II led him to a lifelong study of what, exactly, happiness is [...]