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| Source: The Science of Happiness course |
Since the start of this blog, initially built around minimalism and (mostly material) simplification, things have changed quite a bit, and the question of the art of simplicity and its relation to happiness has taken quite some place here. Let me hazard the guess that the quest for happiness and meaning is also interesting for you, who are still following me despite this shift of editorial line. If that's the case, I have the perfect MOOC for you.
I discovered positive psychology some years back through magazine articles, but it is only this year that I really got to understand what that peculiar branch of research is about. The French researcher Florence Servan-Schreiber came to our offices for an introduction to positivie psychology, and presented us with a scientific field about human well-being and self-actualization.
"The creator of positive psychology wondered: how come psychology books are only about ailments of the mind, mental illnesses and everything that is wrong—and never about what makes humans happy?"
That's how positive psychology was born: learning the science behind happiness, fulfillment, meaning. I have always been a pragmatic mind, and this struck home for me. At the time, she suggested a MOOC on positive psychology, and, guess what? It started on September 8!
The Science of Happiness is a MOOC from the university of Berkeley, and covers in eight weeks the various aspects of happiness: meaning, compassion, gratitude...
As the classes are just starting now, and I have been writing about these subjects for a while here at the Nife en l'Air, I thought you might want to enroll.
If you do, please do let me know your thoughts on this! I will probably write more about positive psychology in the future, perhaps with thoughts inspired by this very course. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few things I've been grateful for lately...
Cooler evenings under the late summer golden sun // writing fiction every day and getting new ideas in the shower, on the train, at dinner, in my dreams... // digging out the Dark Amber & Ginger Lilly perfume and smell like Autumn again // discovering Asimov's Foundation, binge reading all the volumes // finding out that Jack White is actually the guy from the White Stripes // getting new projects started // playing the violin again after a busy summer
Sounds teally interesting but I have so,much on my plate already that I don't see myself spending 4-5 hours a week,on a course right now. Too bad, but I'm looking forward to any future posts inspired by your learning :)
ReplyDeleteI'll make sure to write updates as I learn interesting stuff! I hardly can spend 5 hours a week on it either (especially since I started writing fiction for real), but that's only if you actually want to get the credits for the course. Otherwise, the classes are available for free consultation without time constraints or limits. I've done the first week of class so far, and it's really interesting, I like the scientific aspect of it, and there are some exercises to practice happiness and gratitude as well :)
Deletereading about positive psychology and neuroscience is one of my very favorite things! I hope you enjoy your class immensely.
ReplyDeleteI do so far! From what I understand, it's the first course on this topic, aimed at a rather beginner level, so it should contain interesting overviews of all the research done on the topic. I love reading about neurosciences as well :)
DeleteI can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!
ReplyDeleteGreat! I'm only starting but there are already tons of things to write about! I'll probably put some posts together over the next few weeks...
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