Paul Sutherland is on the Board of GAIA and is the founder of Utopia Foundation, a public charity with a "give with confidence" score of 100 percent from Charity Navigator. paul@paulhsutherland.com.
Exhibiting optimism is our choice. It is healthier; expressing positive emotions extends our lives. The groundbreaking Nun Study by researchers at the University of Kentucky and numerous follow-on studies by researchers at Harvard and other institutions have documented that people who exhibit optimism, happiness, and other positive character attributes live longer and have less heart disease, depression, and a host of other ailments.
The Nun Study started in the 1980s by tracking a group of nuns who belonged to the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The study, which is still ongoing and has since spread to other participants, tracks many personal and physical attributes and how they impact aging.
Becoming a nun is a big commitment and those nuns who joined the School Sisters of Notre Dame in the 1930s and 1940s were, I imagine, like volunteers seeking to help societybut giving 100 percent commitment of their time, talent, and treasure. The '30s and '40s were no cakewalk of prosperity and peace. World War I had ended but the Great Depression was rampant, and, not unlike Trump or Putin today, Hitler was stirring up racism and nationalism and vilifying people based on sex, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
This story is from the July/August 2022 edition of Spirituality & Health.
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This story is from the July/August 2022 edition of Spirituality & Health.
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Let's Not Limit Nature- According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, nature is first defined as "the external world in its entirety," with etymological roots from multiple cultures and originating meanings
The ancient Greeks had no word for art. Many indigenous people have no word for religion. Art and religion were inherent to human life until outsiders needed to critique and study these concepts-so they named them. The legacy of the word nature is similar. We speak about nature as if we are separate from itas if, like a starkly delineated shadow on a sidewalk, you can stand with one foot in nature and one foot outside of it.
QUEEN DIAMBI KABATUSUILA SHEDS A NEW LIGHT ON AFRICA
In 2016, before she became queen of the Bakwa Luntu people of the Dimbelenge territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Queen Diambi Kabatusuila was a 48-year-old therapist going through a difficult divorce, living in Boca Raton, Florida, and having a recurring dream about an old woman in an African village.
Over the MOON About Helping Animals (and Their People)
Since I was a child, I've had a ritual: Every night, I go outside and search the sky for the moon and stars. I marvel at the magnificence of a dark, crisp, clear, midnight blue sky and its symphony of constellations, occasional meteors, and the glorious moon herself-each illuminating the vastness. This simple practice always gives me the deepest peace and centeredness. It aligns my internal compass every night before bed.
Unlikely Lightworkers from Liverpool
The Beatles were more than musical masters-they were spiritual pioneers.
ENTER THE SAUNA
Journalist Emily O’Kelly shares some uplifting research on the benefits of sweat bathing, a global healing practice not just limited to Northern climes.
LEAVING MESA VERDE
After 21 years of service at Mesa Verde National Park, RANGER DAVID FRANKS recently guided his last tour of the pueblos and cliff dwellings. He says he was fortunate to assist the archeologists with a variety of work and never lost his amazement with their ability to figure out how and when things happened. The question he still wrestles with is much deeper: Why they left?
MY SMILING NEIGHBOR CALLS ME A CHRIST KILLER...
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE FOR THE SPIRITUAL TRAVELER
FEATURED ARTIST - Paul Lewin
Lead digital editor Brenna Lilly spoke with artist Paul Lewin about ancestral inspiration, visions for the future, and the art of patience.
3 Poses for Awakening
The difference between yoga and many other forms of exercise is that while you are doing it, you are paying attention. You notice your breath, your rhythm, the specific ways the body feels in each posture. Yoga can be a form of moving meditation. This can be true for any pose, but these three advanced poses, which bring energy into the head, heart, and throat, are especially helpful for awakening.
THE SIMPLE THERMODYNAMICS OF ENLIGHTENMENT
When S+H was conceived, evolutionary neuroscientist PEGGY LA CERRA, PhD, awakened to a new understanding of the nature of the mind created by evolution. It’s not widely taught, but the science seems pretty obvious.
