I’ve selected these videos based upon three criteria. First, I find them valuable enough that I have watched them more than once. Second, they are either short enough to enjoy briefly, or long enough to cover a topic in some detail with precision. Third, they encompass ideas that I find helpful in working with people in my practice of psychiatry and addiction medicine. The first video I’ve chosen to post is from Martin Seligman. Also: discussions of pseudoscience, a TED talk by The Monk Guy (with guitar), and Kabat-Zinn on mindfulness.
MARTIN SELIGMAN AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
According to Martin Seligman, widely considered the founder of the field, there’s more to positive psychology than happiness—and, more importantly, there’s more to life than happiness as well. Seligman has come to believe that the term “happiness” is too often confused with just feeling good; instead, leading a good, truly happy life requires more than positive emotions. To truly maximize our well-being, we need five crucial elements, which Seligman summarizes in an acronym he recently created, PERMA: positive emotions, engagement (the feeling of being lost in a task, aka “flow”), relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. “Well-being cannot exist just in your own head,” Seligman says. “Well-being is a combination of feeling good as well as actually having meaning, good relationships, and accomplishment.”
“If we just wanted positive emotions, our species would have died out a long time ago,” Seligman says. “We have children to pursue other elements of well-being. We want meaning in life. We want relationships.”
This doesn’t suggest that pursuing happiness is totally unimportant and irrelevant to a good life. But it does suggest that we should broader our notion of true happiness—it’s much more than momentary feelings of joy and a positive mood.
JON KABAT-ZINN AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn recruited chronically ill patients not responding well to traditional treatments to participate in his newly formed eight-week stress-reduction program, which we now call Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Since then, substantial research has mounted demonstrating how mindfulness-based interventions improve mental and physical health—comparably so to other psychological interventions. But let's take a step back—what is mindfulness?
"Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally," says Kabat-Zinn. "It's about knowing what is on your mind."
TED TALK BY MY FRIEND “THE MONK DUDE” AND HIS SINGING MEDITATION
People who know me as a medical school professor, or as an old fuddy-duddy, or as a more-or-less square guy, may be surprised by this video. Last year I made a new friend when I encountered Dada Nabhaniilananda (don’t even try to pronounce it), better known as “The Monk Dude.” This fellow is simply fascinating. In this video, he talks about love, and then he takes out his guitar and performs a beautiful, lyrical, “singing meditation” with the audience at TED. Maybe it’s not for everybody, but I really enjoy it, and I’ve listened to it many times, often singing along with him. He is an eloquent correspondent, and he will be in Austin, Texas, this year teaching one of his courses.
Dada Nabhaniilananda, also known as The Monk Dude, is originally from New Zealand. He has been a yoga monk and meditation teacher since 1979. Author of 'Close Your Eyes & Open Your Mind - a Practical Guide to Spiritual Meditation' and winner of eight international song writing awards, his unique talents have brought him invitations from all over the world. Dada currently lives in Los Altos Hills, California where he runs the Ananda Marga meditation center and teaches a course in Meditation at UC Berkeley, California. You can find his website here.
DR. DAVID TOLIN ON PSEUDOSCIENCE
The public has very little understanding of what works, and what does not work, in mental health. If you have seen my FAQ page, you may have noted my critical comments about quackery, junk science, pseudoscience, and the challenge of finding competent help.
Here is a Stockholm Psychiatry Lecture given at Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet May 28 2013 by Dr David Tolin, Director, The Institute of Living and Adjunct Associate Professor at Yale University. Dr Tolin is well known for his research and has was the host of the TV series "The OCD project". Dr. Tolin discusses the contribution of scientific and pseudoscientific theories and methods to mental health.
BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY, DISCUSSES PSEUDOSCIENCE
Not into academic lectures on pseudoscience? Need a little more sizzle, humor, and entertainment on the subject? Then check out Bill Nye, the Science Guy, and his program discussing junk science. James Randi, magician and debunker, also shows up. Look into your screen and knock the pencil off the platform.
RICHARD ROHR ON “BREATHING UNDER WATER”
I have followed Richard’s work for over 25 years, and his series called “Breathing Under Water” was deeply meaningful to me both in my personal recovery and in my studies at The Anglican School of Theology. We have never met, but we have many mutual friends, and he is also a wise teacher of The Enneagram, an instrument often used in spiritual direction. Activist, author and spiritual teacher Richard Rohr presented "Breathing Under Water" in the All Saints Church, Pasadena Rector's Forum on Sunday, March 25, 2012.
DR. ROY BAUMEISTER ON WILLPOWER
A new understanding of how people control themselves has emerged from the past decade of research studies. Self-control depends on a limited energy supply, and each person's willpower fluctuates during the day as various events deplete and then replenish it. Decision-making and creative initiative also deplete the same willpower supply, while eating and sleeping can restore it. Some circumstances propel people to perform well despite depleted willpower, including power and leadership roles, local incentives, and personal beliefs.
Dr. Roy Baumeister is the Eppes Professor of Psychology and Head of Social Psychology Graduate Training Program. He grew up in Cleveland, the oldest child of a schoolteacher and an immigrant businessman. He received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Princeton in 1978. At Case Western Reserve University, he was the first to hold the Elsie Smith professorship. He has also worked at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Texas, the University of Virginia, the Max-Planck-Institute, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.
Dr. Baumeister's research spans multiple topics, including self and identity, self-regulation, interpersonal rejection and the need to belong, sexuality and gender, aggression, self-esteem, meaning, and self-presentation. He has received research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and from the Templeton Foundation. He has over 400 publications, including 22 books.
The Institute for Scientific Information lists Dr. Baumeister among the handful of most cited (most influential) psychologists in the world. He lives by a small lake in Florida with his beloved family. In his rare spare time, he enjoys windsurfing, skiing, and jazz guitar.