While I was in high school, I volunteered at a hospice, where patients were essentially cared for until they passed away. Although many had family, it was shocking to see how many elderly individuals were abandoned. It broke my heart to know that these individuals felt like they were alone.

Visiting various patients for two to three hours after school, three times weekly meant that they had something to look forward to. For those I would visit, I knew what it meant to them — I could see it on their faces. I was surprised by how rewarding the overall experience was.

Volunteering is a small job with BIG rewards

Between September 2014 and September 2015, 62.6 million people volunteered through an organization — a rate that was down 0.4 percent from the previous year. Some of the main organizations and groups were those related to religion, educational youth services, social services and health services.

Related: 5 Reasons To Volunteer

For years, the power of volunteering has been well documented, but science is now able to show more concrete, positive effects. If you currently a volunteer or would like to make a difference in your community, be aware of the following surprising, yet enlightening benefits.

1. You’ll feel as though you have more time

Time is the one thing we could all use more of it — as they say, time waits for no man. As reported in theHarvard Business Review, professor Cassie Mogilner found that when people “give” time away, they actually feel more time affluent. Volunteering made participants feel as though they had time to spare and were less likely to view their time as scarce.

Of course, volunteering won’t magically give you more hours in the day, but being charitable makes you feel more productive — like you’re spending your time more effectively. In fact, it was found that those who volunteered also felt more confident, useful and capable.

2. You’ll develop new skills

Not only can volunteering provide you with opportunities to strengthen social skills, but also valuable career skills. Just because someone isn’t paying you for your time, does not mean that you’re not learning a range of skills, all while helping your community. Whether you strengthen your communication or leadership skills, you will most certainly open your mind.

3. You can explore your interests

When you volunteer, you will benefit from a rewarding experience that heightens your creativity and level of motivation. Volunteering is a way to helps others, while you make time for hobbies outside of your work environment. If you work indoors, for instance, you may find it rewarding to help out at a gardening center or a youth camp.

4. You can test-drive a career

Before I went to college, I volunteered at a local mental health hospital, tutoring young adults within the forensic ward. For me, it was an opportunity — one in which allowed me to dig a little deeper. Before you commit to school or a long-term career, volunteering can provide you with some insight as you gain experience.

5. You’ll be happier

Of course, it’s rewarding to help those in need, but you may be surprised the impact volunteering can have on your own personal mental health. Within one study, published in Social Science and Medicine, found that when compared to those who never volunteer, levels of happiness rose by 12 percent among those who volunteer every two to four weeks.

Researchers stated that among weekly volunteers, 16 percent were very happy. The documented rise in happiness levels was comparable to an individual having an income of $75,000 to $100,000 versus $20,000. Since positive emotional and overall mental health are closely linked to physical health, boost those volunteering endorphins.

6. Support optimal health

As mentioned, volunteering supports your mental health — but it will also help you maintain your health physically. A number of studies have linked volunteering with lower rates of mortality, reduced blood pressure, fewer pain-related symptoms and a lower risk of heart disease. You may not make money, butyour health is wealth — can’t argue that one, right?

7. Can increase feelings of confidence

While volunteering, some individuals display a significant boost in self-esteem, leading to increased feelings of confidence. As you become more selfless, doing good for others, you will naturally feel as though you have accomplished something great. For many, volunteering provides them with an opportunity to find their true identity, as they feel an overwhelming sense of pride.

8. Helps to reduce feelings of stress

Giving back feels good and when you feel positive, you are generally more relaxed. Within one study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, after examining 846 participants, it was found that helping others reduced mortality rates. More specifically, volunteering buffered the association between mortality and stress.

9. Encourages strong relationships

While volunteering, you will often build meaningful connections with others. As you strengthen relationships, you also build a more reliable support system. By strengthening and developing key social skills, you will be able to take what you learned and apply it to other relationships — outside of your voluntary role.

10. Provides the opportunity to truly make a difference

How often do you hear people say, “ I wish there was something I can do.” The truth is, no act of kindness is too small. If you’re passionate about a cause or would simply like to brighten someone’s day, volunteering provides you with that opportunity. You never know what’s around the next corner and by helping others, how knows how great the impact will be — you could inspire someone or even help an individual heal.

11. Promotes greater work-life balance

There’s a reason why so many researchers have recommended a healthy work-life balance. especially within our modern, hectic world. If you’re someone who finds it hard to step away from work, volunteering may be a beneficial solution. You need some down time in order to increase levels of productivity and to ensure positive health.

12. Helps you achieve personal growth

One thing is certain: we’re always changing. As we experience new things, they become a part of us, helping us gain perspective as we strengthen our identity. Learning is a lifelong phenomenon and regardless of where you volunteer, the act itself can teach you so much. Just as you will personally grow and develop, you may also influence and teach others.

13. Expand your network

Whether you’re looking for greater social or professional support, volunteering can help broaden your horizons. You will become a part of a community, which will be made up of like-minded individuals. What goes around comes around — if you were willing to help others, you will more than likely have someone that will be there for you if you are ever in need.

So, remember what Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” To make a difference, check out one of these organizations: Volunteer Match, Help Stay, BUNAC or check with your local community to see where help is needed.

Source:  Krista Hillis

http://www.thealternativedaily.com/13-surprising-benefits-volunteering/

Volunteering Necessary For Health And Happiness | Baby Boomers

Good for everyone all round :o)

4 Discoveries In Neuroscience That Redefine Happiness

Have you ever tried to tell yourself to "just relax and enjoy" an unexpected traffic-filled commute that is sure to make you late? You keep telling yourself there's nothing you can do, so "let go" and "be Zen" about it, only to feel your hands gripping the steering wheel and your eyes rolling out of frustration at the car that jettisoned into your lane. You sarcastically think to yourself, As if they were really going to get there much faster.

Then you remember to be positive. Back and forth your mind goes like a high-speed Ping-Pong match. On one side, you have frustration-filled thoughts, and on the other you have Pollyanna positive thoughts.

It's commonly believed that you should be able to just think your way out of negative feelings, yet this isn't actually how the brain is wired. Once you're frustrated or stressed, you can't effectively tell yourself not to be. This belief has caused a society where people would rather think than feel, be in their heads instead of their hearts, or talk rather than tune inside and listen. This won't lead to lasting happiness.

Consequently, the most important, yet most avoided step toward lasting happiness is emotional intelligence.

The challenge is that most people would rather get a root canal than deal with their feelings. It's as if feeling is perceived as a personal weakness, or would somehow sink them into a black hole, never to return to land of the happy living.

This avoidance poses a problem, given it doesn't seem that stress is going anywhere anytime soon. According to the American Psychological Association, 75% of people report experiencing stress that is unhealthy, and 22% report extreme stress. Researchers at Notre Dame report that the average person experiences the fight, flight, or freeze response 50 to 200 times per day.

We propose that rather than avoiding stress and negative feelings, we need to practice more effective ways of dealing with our feelings beyond just changing our thoughts.

Let's look at a few brain science findings that encourage us to rethink our strategy for experiencing lasting happiness.

1. Your brain is wired such that your emotional brain can act independently of your thinking brain, but the reverse is not true.

Daniel Goleman, author of the best-selling book Emotional Intelligence, describes chronic stress and the subsequent feelings of loss of control as a "neural hijacking" in which the emotional brain takes over. In other words, you can't just think your way through your feelings.

2. The emotional brain operates twice as fast as the thinking brain.

Your thinking brain is simply outmatched.

3. Stress decreases your ability to focus and sustain positive thoughts.

The area of the brain responsible for focus is the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Due to the release of stress hormones, the emotional brain takes precedence and the PFC becomes less active. This is witnessed at times when you feel distracted and find it difficult to concentrate.

Interestingly, studies show that the average American is distracted 47% of the time, and that at these times they are not as happy as when they are present.

4. Once activated, the stress center of the brain can get stuck in an unending Ping-Pong match; emotional vs. thinking brain.

This might look like:

• feeling worried about finances while telling yourself to think confidently
• feeling lonely while telling yourself to look on the bright side, or
• feeling embarrassed about your weight while telling yourself tomorrow is a new day.

The nature of the stress response is such that once it has been triggered, it can't be turned off solely at the level of thought.

De-Stress To Rewire Your Brain

Based on these findings, approaches designed to rationally think past stressful feelings aren't always effective. The PFC does not have enough neural strength to simply override stressful feelings with happy thoughts. Fortunately, you can feel and diffuse the stress response in a matter of minutes. Approaches that decrease stress and increase feelings of calm activate the power of your PFC to focus on being happy.

According to Richard Hanson, neuroscientist and author of The Buddha's Brain, engaging regularly in relaxing activities can wire your brain for calm. Hansonnotes that people who routinely relax have "improved expression of genes that calm down stress reactions, making them more resilient."

The options available for us to accomplish this are abundant in our society; examples include meditation, yoga, nature walks, breathing practices, energy psychology, somatic practices and a host of other mind-body approaches.

This post was cowritten with Dr. Kim Ward.

Source:  by Dr. Hilary Stokes

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-16708/4-discoveries-in-neuroscience-that-redefine-happiness.html

Hip-Hop State of Mind

Hip-hop artist and mindfulness instructor JusTme uses music to teach mindfulness.

Three years ago California rapper Tim Scott Jr. was working at a YMCA branch as a front desk greeter—“hitting members with handshakes and smiles and joy”—when mindfulness hit him. At a job training session, he drew the attention of educator J.G. Larochette, founder of the Mindful Life Project in Richmond, CA. Larochette asked Scott if he knew what mindfulness was. “Nah, not really,” Scott replied. Over a cup of coffee, Larochette introduced him to mindfulness and, before long, Scott became “JusTme,” a hip-hop purveyor of mindfulness for children in local public schools. Scott now has his own venture—JusTmindfulness—and a kid-friendly YouTube channel that features podcasts and such raps as “D.F.Y.L. (Don’t Flip Yo’ Lid)” and “Ain’t Worried” and “Mindful Life Style.”

“Don’t Flip Yo’ Lid” delves into how it’s difficult not to react when we’ve been triggered by stressful situations. Scott discusses how negative talk and cruel people can activate our fight or flight response, raise cortisol levels, and how different networks in the brain raise alarm bells (or go offline) when we’re flipping out. It all comes back to why it’s important to come back to our breath—and take a few when the mind is racing.

For a full Q&A where Scott talks about how hip-hop has transformed from an emotional outlet for him into a powerful tool for teaching mindfulness, read the October 2016 issue ofMindful magazine.

Source: By Victoria Dawson and Stephany Tlalka  

http://www.mindful.org/hip-hop-state-mind/

Isn't this just wonderful :-)

How Mindfulness Empowers Us: An Animation Narrated by Sharon Salzberg

I Just love this :-)

Will You Be Happy After You Retire?

Not surprisingly, it takes more than simply saving enough money.

At first, this may seem like a rhetorical question. After all, you won't have to work anymore. You will no longer have to deal with pressure, deadlines, performance reviews, demanding customers or annoying co-workers. You can shut off the alarm clock and get up when you want. And best of all, there's no more boss. (Well, except maybe your spouse.) Why wouldn't you be happy after you retire?

As it turns out, enjoying a happy retirement does not automatically happen when you kiss the old job goodbye. While what makes you happy is as individual as you are, these five tips will enable you to make good lifestyle choices and approach retirement with the right frame of mind to truly be happy after you retire.

[See: 12 Ways Retirees Spend Their Newfound Free Time.]

Realize that happiness comes from people and experiences, not things. For most of your working years, you were probably focused on making money and accumulating possessions. You probably had your sights set on the next thing you wanted to acquire, such as a boat, a bigger house or a nicer car.

Later in life, you will realize that these things don't really bring happiness. In retirement, you may downsize to a smaller house and share one car with your spouse, while you find happiness in the people you associate with and the activities you engage in. Many people discover that they are happier after they rid their homes and their lives of the accumulated possessions that no longer hold meaning for them.

It's also erroneous to think that saving more money for retirement automatically equals more happiness in retirement. While it's true that having more financial resources will enable you to do more things you enjoy doing and relieve the stress that comes with struggling to make ends meet, the happiest retirees aren't necessarily the ones who are driving a Mercedes and taking four luxury cruises a year.

Wes Moss, author of "You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think", surveyed over 1,200 people and found that their level of happiness reached a plateau at about $500,000 in retirement savings. While that is significantly less than most experts recommend that you have in your nest egg when you retire, it illustrates that once basic needs are met, more money does not by itself equal more happiness.

Strive for a balance of physical activity, mental stimulation, socialization and fulfillment.These are the four pillars of a happy, well-balanced life. While you may not be able to run marathons, play contact sports or climb the highest mountains during your later years, activities such as walking, biking, hiking, swimming, tennis, golf and many other recreational activities will get you out of the house and keep you healthier and happier longer.

Even though you will no longer need continuing education to sustain your career, there's no reason not to continue learning. Many seniors enroll in college courses just to learn about subjects they are interested in. But mental stimulation does not have to take place in a classroom. Art museums, history museums, theater and concerts provide mental stimulation as well as cultural enrichment.

During your working years, you benefit from having people in your life all day long. You might not consider your co-workers to be close friends, but they provide the benefit of human contact. After you retire, most of your work relationships will fade away, so it's up to you to cultivate a network of people you enjoy and take the initiative to spend time with them. It's not difficult to do, but it doesn't happen as easily as it used to. It requires conscientious effort.

Fulfillment means something different for each of us. It may be hard to define, but you know when you feel it. Fulfillment comes from anything that makes you feel happy, alive and complete. It's how you feel when you are in your zone.

[See: 10 Classic (and Unique) Retirement Gift Ideas.]

Discover a new sense of purpose. A life filled with nothing but pleasure and entertainment will be fun for a while, but sooner or later it will leave you feeling empty and bored. People are happiest when they have purpose and meaning in their lives, and they are pursuing their passions or helping others.

If you were heavily absorbed in your career, you might experience a lack of purpose or identity once you leave your career behind. If this happens to you, think back on what interested you earlier in your life, especially during your teenage and college years, or perhaps the years before your children came along. Make a list of the activities you had to set aside along the way because the demands of being a working adult took over. Write down all the things you have ever thought you might like to do someday.

Once you retire, you will be able to pursue what you are truly passionate about, without concern for whether you can earn a good living doing it. You might make your most significant contributions to the world during your retirement.

Re-examine your attitude toward aging. Do you view aging as a depressing period of gradual decline, or is it simply the passage of time? Growing older is inevitable, so you might as well embrace the experience. Every period of your life has its rewards. Rather than being depressed about the things you can no longer do, celebrate all the things you can still do and the fact that you now have more time to do them. Many of today's boomers don't even think of themselves as being "old."

Decide to be happy. If you are unhappy during your working years, the act of retiring by itself won't turn you into a happy person. Approaching retirement with a positive attitude makes a big difference.

There's good reason to be optimistic. A recent Merrill Lynch survey reported that retirees are much more likely to report feeling happy, content and relaxed than younger adults. The study characterizes ages 61 to 75 as the retirement "freedom zone," when people enjoy the greatest balance of health, free time, fun and emotional well-being.

[See: 10 Alternatives to Full-Time Retirement.]

Without the constraints of work, you can choose the activities you wish to pursue, the people you want to associate with and your attitude. Your retirement offers you a fantastic opportunity to design your life to achieve happiness.

Dave Hughes is the founder of Retire Fabulously.

Source:  By Dave Hughes

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on-retirement/articles/2016-09-01/will-you-be-happy-after-you-retire

Food and Mood: How Diet Affects Depression (Mental Health Guru)

Further to yesterday's post on Diet and Mood