COVID-19 has had disastrous effects on our collective wellbeing. Beyond the illness and death, the social isolation meant to keep us safe has taken a serious toll on mental health. Humans are inherently social creatures who thrive in tribes and whither without them. So if you are craving connection, you are not alone. These 5
8 Environmental Exercise Examples that will Energize You
Living in an intentional Buddhist community in Thailand taught me about “right exercise.” For true physical wellbeing, exercise should be integrated into daily life and motivated by meaning. As Zen-inspired Buddhadasa Bhikkhu might say, “The broom sweeps the ground; the Dharma sweeps the heart.” And because most Thai Buddhists I know have an interdependent sense
7 Surprising Ways to Do Good While You Get Fit
Would it surprise you to know that people who have a stronger sense of purpose in life are more physically active? So say researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver, who published study in the Journal of Health Psychology(2010). One of the co-authors, Stephanie A. Hooker explained in an interview with Time,“Reminding yourself what gives your life
Child’s Play: How To Boost Kids’ Physical Activity
The adults I know tend to be nostalgic about our childhood. We roamed freely around the neighborhood: riding bikes, playing tag, skating, climbing, and swinging until the streetlights came on. We lament how kids these days can’t or don’t get the same quality outdoor exercise. And it’s worse now that the pandemic has turned the
How to Get Fit for Life: 10 Tips to Integrate Exercise
Americans are certainly no strangers to exercise, though we seem to favor working out at fitness clubs. Just after New Years in 2017, Google searches for “improved health” saw a 315% increase in more specific queries for gyms. Unfortunately, this intent doesn’t always translate into action. I’m not crazy about gyms myself, but I do
How to End Hunger: 9 Powerful Ways to Feed the World
Hard to believe we’ve made to the end of the first month of INTENT 365 daily wellbeing tips! This month has been all about boosting our physical (and mental) wellbeing, a.k.a., getting “In-shape” via energizing food. Tips from week 1, week 2, and week 3 have spun out from the core lesson I learned during
Why Go Organic? 7 Simple Ways to Eat More Sustainably
Right – continuing on with more tips on boosting our mental and physical wellbeing by eating a whole, plant-based, chemical-free (a.k.a., organic) diet. Week 1 of INTENT 365 shared 7 tips to help your personal shift to a plant-based diet, and week 7 offered 7 more. This week, we focus more on the organic part
Not All Vegans are Weird: 7 (More) Healthy Eating Tips
If you liked last week’s round up of plant-based diet tips, then you know not all vegans are weird :). In week 2 of INTENT 365, we’re continuing to get In-shape with a whole, plant-based, chemical-free diet. With all the preconceived ideas about vegans, this may be a tough transition for many of us. So
7 Tips for a Successful Plant-based Diet
Raise your hand if you made a New Year’s resolution to get in shape (again). I always start out the year enthusiastically and then fizzle out. If you’ve had the same experience, I suggest we take a different approach this year. Instead of struggling to shed pounds or firm flab, why don’t we try to
How to Live Well on a Small Planet: 365 Days of INTENT
They say you have to walk a mile in a person’s shoes to truly understand what her life is like. For me, it was six miles, barefoot, across irrigation ditches and rice fields in northeast Thailand. The people I hoped to understand were members of the Santi Asoke Buddhist Reform Movement—a fringe Buddhist group who
Wellbeing Starts with “We”
Santa Monica’s Inaugural Wellbeing Summit On November 16, 2019, the small coastal city of Santa Monica, California held its inaugural Wellbeing Summit – a free and interactive community event that brought together nearly 900 residents, city leaders, local organizations, and members of the global wellbeing movement. The Summit was designed to engage a broad cross-section
Nature-loving, Part 1: Hug a Tree (literally)
Though the INTENT framework comprises six interdependent dimensions of wellbeing (physical/mental, social, material, community, environmental, and existential), being nature-loving is quite likely the keystone of them all. We can fully understand this by looking at its absence – the pervasive disconnect from nature that characterizes modern society. Western culture has long celebrated mastery over nature –
Engaged, Part 2: Participate in Community Change
Strengthening communities through giving — the subject of the last installment of the Intentional Wellbeing Project — might be viewed by some as an elective activity. Individuals in this free society can chose when, how, and how much to give…or not at all. There is, however, another kind of community engagement that is both a