More than a third of us admit to having had a spiritual experience. We might have been profoundly moved by a sunset or a painting; or felt that we've connected with our god or with the entire world around us. Such events can be transformative - bringing positive change to our lives and increasing our happiness - but some experiences aren't so great. 

In front of a live audience in Washington DC, David Yaden of Johns Hopkins University tells Dr Laurie Santos about his work examining what effect spiritual experiences have on us and how things like meditation and psychedelic drugs can bring about these powerful transformational episodes.  

David Yaden is the author of: The Varieties of Spiritual Experience: 21st Century Research and Perspectives.

More than a third of us admit to having had a spiritual experience. We might have been profoundly moved by a sunset or a painting; or felt that we've connected with our god or with the entire world around us. Such events can be transformative - bringing positive change to our lives and increasing our happiness - but some experiences aren't so great. 
In front of a live audience in Washington DC, David Yaden of Johns Hopkins University tells Dr Laurie Santos about his work examining what effect spiritual experiences have on us and how things like meditation and psychedelic drugs can bring about these powerful transformational episodes.  
David Yaden is the author of: The Varieties of Spiritual Experience: 21st Century Research and Perspectives.

The Happiness Lab is serving up scientifically-backed takes this summer that are so hot, even your SPF 50 won’t protect you.

With the help of behavioral scientists, historians, and cultural critics, Yale psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos challenges some of our biggest assumptions about what it takes to live a good life. Dr. Laurie explores topics like why we should forget about TMI and lean into oversharing, how dumping small talk makes for better conversations, why the kids these days are actually doing just fine, and how men can establish strong bromances. Each episode unpacks a bold, counterintuitive claim — using research, data, and expert insight to question the conventional wisdom around happiness and wellbeing.

The Happiness Lab is serving up scientifically-backed takes this summer that are so hot, even your SPF 50 won&rsquo;t protect you.
With the help of behavioral scientists, historians, and cultural critics, Yale psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos challenges some of our biggest assumptions about what it takes to live a good life. Dr. Laurie explores topics like why we should forget about TMI and lean into oversharing, how dumping small talk makes for better conversations, why the kids these days are actually doing just fine, and how men can establish strong bromances. Each episode unpacks a bold, counterintuitive claim &mdash;&nbsp;using research, data, and expert insight to question the conventional wisdom around happiness and wellbeing.

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Can Spiritual Experiences and Psychedelics Make us Happy? (LIVE from DC)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4e11bab2-7ec7-4678-91e7-affd00b62efa/transcript

As summer begins, many of us are bombarded with messages about how our bodies aren't good enough. But what if we embraced movement not out of self-criticism or shame, but self-compassion?

To close out our series on how to spring clean your wellbeing, we're revisiting a powerful conversation from The Happiness Lab archives featuring Jessamyn Stanley, author of Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body. Dr. Laurie explores how body shame warps our relationship with exercise — and how to rediscover the joy of moving our bodies.

If you've ever treated exercise like punishment, this episode offers a happier, kinder way to move through the world. 

As summer begins, many of us are bombarded with messages about how our bodies aren't good enough. But what if we embraced movement not out of self-criticism or shame, but self-compassion?
To close out our series on how to spring clean your wellbeing, we're revisiting a powerful conversation from The Happiness Lab archives featuring Jessamyn Stanley, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Every-Body-Yoga-Fear-Body/dp/0761193111">Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body</a>. Dr. Laurie explores how body shame warps our relationship with exercise &mdash; and how to rediscover the joy of moving our bodies.
If you've ever treated exercise like punishment, this episode offers a happier, kinder way to move through the world.&nbsp;

How to Feel Happier in Your Body with Jessamyn Stanley

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b0596622-acd6-477f-8f17-b4590153745e/transcript

Negative emotions like sadness, anger, guilt, and anxiety can feel overwhelming. But what if those uncomfortable feelings aren’t problems to fix, but signals worth listening to?

As part of our series on how to spring clean your wellbeing, Dr. Laurie revisits a conversation with Harvard Medical School psychologist Susan David, author of Emotional Agility. Together, they discuss why bottling up difficult feelings doesn’t work, why brooding can keep us stuck, and what our individual emotions are actually trying to tell us about our lives and relationships.

If you’ve ever tried to bury a bad feeling, this episode offers a more effective approach to emotional healing.

Experts Mentioned:
Susan David, Harvard Medical School psychologist a
Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist, neurologist, and founder of logotherapy

Resources Mentioned:
Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life, by Susan David (2016)

Related Episodes:
"How to Identify Your Negative Emotions"
"Stepping Off the Path of Anxiety"
"How to be Angry Better"
"When Guilt is Good... and When it's Not"

Negative emotions like sadness, anger, guilt, and anxiety can feel overwhelming. But what if those uncomfortable feelings aren&rsquo;t problems to fix, but signals worth listening to?
As part of our series on how to spring clean your wellbeing, Dr. Laurie revisits a conversation with Harvard Medical School psychologist <a href="https://www.susandavid.com/">Susan David</a>, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Agility-Unstuck-Embrace-Change/dp/1592409490">Emotional Agility</a>. Together, they discuss why bottling up difficult feelings doesn&rsquo;t work, why brooding can keep us stuck, and what our individual emotions are actually trying to tell us about our lives and relationships.
If you&rsquo;ve ever tried to bury a bad feeling, this episode offers a more effective approach to emotional healing.
Experts Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.susandavid.com/about/">Susan David</a>, Harvard Medical School psychologist a</li>
<li><a href="https://www.viktorfranklinstitute.org/about-viktor-frankl/">Viktor Frankl</a>, psychiatrist, neurologist, and founder of logotherapy</li>
</ul>
Resources Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Agility-Unstuck-Embrace-Change/dp/1592409490">Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life</a>, by Susan David (2016)</li>
</ul>
Related Episodes:
<ul>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/how-to-identify-your-negative-emotions">How to Identify Your Negative Emotions</a>"</li>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/stepping-off-the-path-of-anxiety">Stepping Off the Path of Anxiety</a>"</li>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/how-to-be-angry-better">How to be Angry Better</a>"</li>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/when-guilt-is-good-and-when-its-not">When Guilt is Good... and When it's Not</a>"</li>
</ul>

What Your Negative Emotions Are Trying to Tell You

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c25db77c-5060-48f3-b44b-b4520154fe0b/transcript

Our beliefs shape more than we realize. They influence what we notice, how we respond to setbacks, how connected we feel to others, and whether we take action to improve our lives. 

As part of our series on how to spring clean your wellbeing, Dr. Laurie sits down with happiness expert Shawn Achor, author of The Power of Beliefs, to explore how our beliefs about time, work, relationships, and self-worth shape happiness, success, and long-term wellbeing.

And if some of your beliefs are holding you back, Shawn shares practical ways to start shifting them. Plus, we learn one delightful fact about fireflies.

Experts Mentioned:
Shawn Achor, positive psychology researcher and author 
Richard Wiseman, professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire
Henry Beecher, anesthesiologist at Harvard Medical School who pioneered research on the placebo effect 

Resources Mentioned:
The Power of Beliefs: How Strengthening Seven Core Beliefs Predicts Greater Success and a Better Life, by Shawn Achor (2026)
The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, by Shawn Achor (2010)
The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind, by Richard Wiseman (2004)
"From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behavior," by John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973)

Related Episodes:
"Grateful Expectations"
“How to Adopt a Growth Mindset”
“Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: The Buddha”
"Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Socrates and Self-Knowledge"

Our beliefs shape more than we realize. They influence what we notice, how we respond to setbacks, how connected we feel to others, and whether we take action to improve our lives.&nbsp;
As part of our series on how to spring clean your wellbeing, Dr. Laurie sits down with happiness expert Shawn Achor, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Beliefs-Strengthening-Predicts-Greater-ebook/dp/B0FBVK3HYN">The Power of Beliefs</a>, to explore how our beliefs about time, work, relationships, and self-worth shape happiness, success, and long-term wellbeing.
And if some of your beliefs are holding you back, Shawn shares practical ways to start shifting them. Plus, we learn one delightful fact about fireflies.
Experts Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.shawnachor.com/">Shawn Achor</a>, positive psychology researcher and author&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/">Richard Wiseman</a>, professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire</li>
<li><a href="https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/02/henry-knowles-beecher">Henry Beecher</a>, anesthesiologist at Harvard Medical School who pioneered research on the placebo effect&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Resources Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://a.co/d/01wSorKr">The Power of Beliefs: How Strengthening Seven Core Beliefs Predicts Greater Success and a Better Life</a>, by Shawn Achor (2026)</li>
<li><a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-happiness-advantage/id420522405">The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work</a>, by Shawn Achor (2010)</li>
<li><a href="https://a.co/d/0eLlPtJC">The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind</a>, by Richard Wiseman (2004)</li>
<li><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1973-31215-001">"From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behavior,"</a> by John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973)</li>
</ul>
Related Episodes:
<ul>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/bonus-grateful-expectations">Grateful Expectations</a>"</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/how-to-adopt-a-growth-mindset">How to Adopt a Growth Mindset</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/happiness-lessons-of-the-ancients-the-buddha">Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: The Buddha</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/happiness-lessons-of-the-ancients-socrates-and-self-knowledge">Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Socrates and Self-Knowledge</a>"</li>
</ul>

The Hidden Beliefs That Shape Your Happiness with Shawn Achor

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/27945d2c-2bb2-444c-9ab8-b44e00138746/transcript

Can Spiritual Experiences and Psychedelics Make us Happy? (LIVE from DC)

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