My first guest on Tuesday, June 28th at 7 PM Eastern is Rolland Smith.  Rolland  has nearly 50 years of broadcast and television production experience. He is former news anchor for CBS-TV in New York and at super station WWOR-TV in New York.  Currently he is writing and anchoring documentaries for independent television outlets. He also writes a daily blog on topics of interest from poetry to politics.Log into www.rollandsmith.blogspot.com.

Smith first joined WWOR-TV in 1988 from the CBS network where he was co-host of “The CBS Morning Program,” a 90-minute talk and news broadcast. Smith left WWOR-TV in 1993 to work for NBC in California. He returned to Channel Nine in 2000.

While with NBC, Smith covered the war in the former Yugoslavia and the OJ Simpson murder trial.

Smith calls himself a storyteller, but he is the consummate broadcast journalist. His skills as an anchorman, commentator, reporter, writer and producer have earned him numerous awards and honors.

Emmy Presentation
Rolland is the recipient of eleven Emmy awards. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has honored him numerous times with Emmy nominations. He has two Telly Awards and numerous other awards and accolades.

He is an author of three books of poetry and commentary. Quiet Musings, published by Sunscape Publications, was nationally released with critical acclaim in August 1995. Encore – The Poetry of Nature, also Sunscape Publications, was released in October 2001. In November 1996 he released a CD called “Syl.la.bles”. It is his poetry narration coupled with the original music of composer Tim Janis. His third book, a combination of poetry and commentaries entitled Stone Wisdom was released in December of 2008.

My second guest is with life coach, inspirational motivator and author Judy Winkler, and this is Judy’s second appearance on The Enrichment Hour.

“I remind people to recognize their value & think differently so they live their dreams. I offer tools to self-soothe, keep things in perspective & keep moving forward.  My goal is to bless every life I touch, to help create a world that works for everyone,” says Rev. Winkler, who is based in San Diego.

Judy and I will talk about “simple acts of kindness that make a difference; and how a tiny change in thought can change an outcome,”

Judy Winkler is author of “Get Unstuck – Live with Ease” (Sacred Life Publishers). and a wonderful CD, “Guided Meditations to Your Soul,” along with other inspirational products.  Get Unstuck is a book  filled with simple yet powerful affirmations that can get you on the road to healing.  It’s a potential liberator for those who feel stuck in their lives.  Judy is a natural-born teacher and healer.  For decades, she felt unlovable.  She experienced abuse, neglect, fear, and self-doubt.  As she faced inner dragons and demons (old memories and feelings), she learned how to move through obstacles.  

If you are stressed, confused, worried, resentful, feeling limited or unlovable…if anyone or anything kept you from being your true self…if you want to feel empowered, loved, have peace of mind and live your best life, then this interview,  applying the steps in this book can help you.

Get Unstuck includes 5-minute simple steps to change your life. You will learn to shift your focus so your circumstances change.  As Judy Winkler would put it, your focus sets into motion a change that is both waiting to emerge and draws to you that which you desire.  There are more than 75 topics within this book, which can generate inner peace, self-expression, and empowerment.

The techniques in this book are a compilation of the techniques that Judy Winkler used to live with ease and now uses with her clients.  Judy, based in San Diego, is a respected teacher, public speaker, counselor, and coach with more than 25 years experience.  For more information, visit www.coachjudywinkler.com

To listen to show, go to:  www.BlogTalkRadio.com/the-enrichment-hour

To call-in, dial:  917-889-8553

On my March 22nd show, it was my great pleasure to introduce my first guest, JOHN ROBBINS, to The Enrichment Hour. I first met John 20 years ago, when he and his wife joined me for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant in Soho, not far from my then- home. My most vivid recollection of him were his eyes – big clear translucent eyes. If the eyes are indeed the windows of the soul, then John’s very old soul is big and clear in vision, and filled with Heart. John Robbins is currently one of the most popular bloggers on the Huffington Post. In fact he shared with me that over a million readers have read each of his articles.  He is also the author of six bestsellers that have collectively sold more than 3 million copies and been translated into 26 languages. His books include his latest, “The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less” - “Diet For A New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness, and the Future of Life on Earth” - and “The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World”. For further information and to contact John Robbins, visit www.johnrobbins.info   I suggested to my audience that John, in my opinion, deserves to be nominated for, and win, The Nobel Peace Prize.  His books and lectures represent a very important paradigm shift in consciousness for the whole world - a shift leading us to reverence for life for ALL life, healthier lifestyles based on compassion for all life, and a more unititive, kinder world.

My guest in the second half hour was Hollywood producer RANDY ROGERS. Randy has written a new book, “The Key of Life: A Metaphysical Investigation.” He is the president of Telefilm, Inc., a Los Angeles-based production company handling the promotion of Hollywood blockbusters like The Matrix, Harry Potter, Pearl Harbor, Batman, Superman and Indiana Jons. A career spanning four decades in newspapers, television and motion pictures - working with such companies as NBC News, Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal Pictures, MGM, Lionsgate, SONY and DreamWorks - has earned him several Emmy nominations and numerous press club awards. Randy resides in Los Angeles, California with Michele Kohse and their son Kyle. Randy’s book is described as “a gripping, true story about who we are, why we are here and how we are all connected.”  It presents a strong validation for reincarnation.

This interview with John Robbins and Randy Rogers is archived in two places:  www.sedonatalkradio.com/the-enrichment-hour, and www.blogtalkradio.com/the-enrichment-hour.

1st Half Hour -  Ryan Mack and Andrew Bruskin (4:00pm to 4:30pm Pacific - 7:00pm to 7:30pm Eastern).  Special guest:  Entrepreneurial great and author, Jack Nadel.
2nd Half Hour - Ellena Lynn Lieberman - (4:30pm - 5:00pm Pacific - 7:30pm to 8:00pm Eastern) 

In addition to being a financial advisor working with many prominent clients across the U.S., Ryan Mack has authored an important new book entitled, In The Village, a prescription for financial empowerment.  Ryan charitably lends his support to inner-city communities by  coordinating workshops and creating economic empowerment initiatives that teach the principles of understanding the power of financial literacy through his financial firm, Optimum Capital Management.  Ryan has provided keynote presentations to organizations across the country such as Harvard University, Columbia University, Princeton University, NAACP, National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Housing Preservation and Development, National Urban League, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Black MBA Association, Microsoft Corporation, HSBC, KPMG, Johnson and Johnson, Six Flags, and Deutsche Bank. 

With a strong sense of philanthropy he flew to South Africa to teach economic empowerment principles to those in need and has partnered with his local District Attorney’s office to teach financial literacy to previously incarcerated community residents with the aim of lowering recidivism rates.  Ryan can be regularly viewed on television networks such as GMTV, CNBC, CNN, Reuters, BET and FOX Business discussing economic/social issues that impact American citizens.  He has been profiled in Tavis Smiley’s Covenant and Action (a New York Times Bestseller), co-authored a book with Kevin Powell entitled “The Black Male Handbook”, featured in Black Enterprise, African American Family, The Source & NV Magazine and contributes regularly to Huffington Post, The Network Journal, Fortune, and Black Enterprise.  He received the Top 40 Under 40 Achievement Award from The Network Journal; was inducted by Medgar Evers College (where he currently serves as a board member) and into its national honor society PI ETA KAPPA as a honorary member;  and received Tom Joyner’s “Hardest Working Financial Advisor Award” because of his efforts to empower the community with the crucial life skills of financial literacy.

Andrew Bruskin is the Director of Media Publications for All About Business (AAB) a global not-for-profit youth economic empowerment organization that has been featured on CNN, Huffington Post, Bloomberg, Business Week, the Network Journal and Crème Magazine.  Andrew is also editor-in-chief of its blog.  He is an alumnus of Stony Brook University, where he graduated with phi beta kappa and magna cum laude distinction.  At the age of 19, he became the nationally elected president of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS), a 700,000 member national honor society with over 270 chapters in all 50 states of the U.S., including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.  During his tenure, 65,000 new members joined the society, bringing in over $5,000,000 in revenue.  For his achievements, Andrew was one of 238 students state-wide, and one of fourteen students at his college, to be awarded the 2009 SUNY Chancellor’s Award, the Provost Award for Academic Excellence, the Distinguished Community Service Award, the New York State ACT for Excellence Award and received the citation of ‘Outstanding Accomplishment in Undergraduate Activity and ‘Outstanding Achievement in Leadership.’  Andrew currently attends law school at the College of William and Mary.  He has appeared on WL Lillard’s Star Planet TV and The Mecca James Show.  He is cited in two global best-selling books and published in numerous articles.

My special and third guest in the first half hour is Jack Nadel, founder of Jack Nadel International, the gold standard of the promotional marketing business.  Jack, a spry 87 years of age, founded his company in 1953, which today has 17 offices worldwide.  Jack has also launched, built and successfully operated a dozen companies, and today sees himself on a mission to encourage and empower new entrepreneurs, the cornerstone of our economy, with his advice and business wisdom.  Jack’s new book, Use What You Have To Get What You Want:  100 Basic Ideas That Mean Business, filled with fail-proof insights and recession-busting tips based on Jack’s long and amazingly successful career.  Jack’s website: www.ideasthatmeanbusiness.com

In the second half hour, my guest is Ellena Lynn Lieberman.

This is Ellena’s second appearance on The Enrichment Hour.  I can attest to her great gift of accessing and transmitting the Akashic Records of every individual (soul), as she gave me a stunning private reading that illuminated my own personal journey.  What was also reinforced for me is that each of us have only one life, though many incarnations, and that life continues its journey,  learning lessons and growth through different bodily incarnations.

With steadfast commitment, Ellena Lynn Lieberman has devoted two decades inspiring others to realize inner growth through the transformational process of accessing The Akashic Records.  Her sensitivity to internal spiritual forces that shape all physical reality has afforded her widespread public notice.  Her true artistry lies in awakening others to the magnitude of the gifts held within the sanctity of the heart.

Ellena is a founding member of Akashic Record Consultants International and continues as a member of the board.   In her breakthrough book, The Principles of Dynamic Manifestation, she reveals through her loving mastery of spirit, how you can actualize the Divine Force of your full potential.  “When everything you manifest draws from the authentic adoration and grace that is the ultimate transmission of your life and you are aware of this orchestration physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually, you are totally in abundance.”

Simultaneously with her spiritual calling, Ellena has created and performs a concert series “A Golden Treasury of Vintage Songs” in Florida, Chicago, and New York. Trained in classical voice and acting, she is noted for her warm engaging stage presence, professionalism, and rich Soprano voice.

Ellena is available for consultations over the phone or in-person.  She is available for public speaking engagements, seminars, and also teaches classes on accessing the Akashic Records in the US. and Internationally.  Contact:  773-301-7573 or radiantcenter@yahoo.com

Ellena coming to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida:  Saturday, March 26 and Sunday, March 27, 2011, 10:30am - 6pm, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (both days required)
Fee:  $300  Now on Sale for $250 for “March Spring Renewal Sale”

Friday night, March 25, free and open to the public, Questions, Blessings, and Sharing, 7:30pm - 9pm.  This class is hosted by: Beth LeFevre, MasterLife, Inc.
5300 Powerline Road (the checkerboard shopping center), Suite 206,
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida  33309

       

 

 

BY MIKE SCHWAGER - PUBLISHED IN FT. LAUDERDALE SUN-SENTINEL, “OUTLOOK SECTION” (Sunday, April 25, 2010)

They are the beloved and comfort of millions. They connect us to what is natural and spontaneous and unconditionally loving in our lives. They take us out of our busyness and complexity, out of our everyday stresses, out of our heads, and bring us into the wonder and joy of each moment.

Dogs are members of more than 43 million households in America, and cats of more than 37.5 million. These feeling, intelligent, loyal creatures give comfort to people of all kinds - to the young, middle-aged and elderly, to families with children, to couples without children, and to those living alone. When they are brought into hospitals caring for children with grave illnesses, or into nursing homes tending to the aged, they become healers who bring smiles to faces. They defend homes as faithful watchers. They save lives, whether on the battlefield, or as brave aides to firefighters.

The fact is, each year we kill 3 million healthy and treatable dogs and cats at our shelters. Here in Broward, the number killed is 10,000 per year. At Miami-Dade Animal Services, it is a horrifying 40,000; and in Palm Beach it averages 18,000.

If we are agree that these animals are precious individuals who have a right to live, then we can also agree that a fundamental paradigm shift must take place at all animal shelters. The new underlying principle must be no-kill.

For those who don’t believe it is possible to transition from kill to no-kill, look at other shelters who’ve done it - in Charlottesville, Va., in Tompkins County, New York and in Reno, Nev. They’ve done it. They show it is possible.

Here are strategies needed for a transition to succeed:

Hire a director who embodies humaneness towards animals in his or her philosophy - someone committed to no-kill. This is the linchpin element in a successful conversion, and in the implementation of the other essential elements that must follow. The director must support a “culture of life.”

Hire staff people who are likewise committed to humaneness, and the no-kill principle. This means a review of the people on staff to determine who would support the new principle, the weeding out of those who don’t, and the recruitment of those who do.

Make comprehensive adoption programs central to the shelter strategy. Some examples:

Ongoing and intensive public relations/marketing programs. The new director should hire a director of PR/Marketing equally committed to the no-kill principle. If budget precludes a hire, enlist the support of a retired PR professional. This individual should enlist a team of other volunteer PR pros. Consultation with chapter leader of the local Public Relations Society of America can help pull a team together, as well as outreach to the heads of local PR agencies.

Outdoor or indoor adoption events. Work with local Petsmarts, Petcos, pet supply stores, community wellness centers, festivals and carnivals to set up booths presenting dogs and cats from shelters, and literature about the shelters. Arrange ongoing creative vehicles, and redesign a shelter’s website to reflect new culture of life, with a new name, e.g., “Friends of Best Friends.” Conduct active search engine optimization campaign for this website. Air public service spots on television and radio, and complement those with animal photos on major websites like Craigslist. Follow-up with speaking appearances by shelter officials at PTAs, churches, synagogues, Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, as well as in-studio appearances on radio/TV. Use those venues to announce off-site adoption events, and incorporate effective signage allowing traffic to shelters.

Help to increase pet retention. The shelter must be perceived by the community as a place to turn to for advice and support on how pet owners can keep their animals at home. Advice can include everything from discipline and house-breaking training programs to neutering programs to food budget savings.

Volunteers. An impassioned, dedicated and large group of volunteers needs to be the lifeblood of the shelter, often complementing too few-in-number paid staff. At Broward’s ACARD, limits have been put on the numbers of volunteers recruited, and volunteers have been discouraged to photograph animals and post on sites like Craigslist, which previously had brought in hundreds of adopters. Recruit volunteers at booths showcasing animals at festivals, carnivals and local pet supermarkets. Heading the Volunteer Corps should be a humane, paid (or retired) director of volunteers. Reports from other shelters indicate that more enthusiastic volunteers will be recruited after it’s known that a transition to no-kill has occurred.

Rescue groups currently account for only a relatively small percentage of animals saved. They need to be encouraged to pull as many animals as possible from a shelter - and not get discouraged from doing so. And that includes not only purebreds but the many greater-in-number and wonderful mixed breeds as well. Rescuers free up cage and kennel space, and reduce costs for feeding, cleaning - and killing. They need our support, not our discouragement.

Feral cat TNR programs. Trap, neuter and release programs have been effected by a number of communities across the country to reduce death rates.

Proactive redemptions. Often overlooked are lost animal reclaims. Sadly, besides having pet owners fill out a lost pet report, very little effort is made in this area. Becoming more proactive has proven to have a significant impact on life-saving and allow shelters to return a large percentage of lost animals to their families. Read animal advocate Nathan Wingrad’s book, Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation.

When you visit an animal shelter, walk up close to a dog or cat, and really look at it, appreciating it for its life and being. You can see and feel that you have simply connected with life, not only its life but your life. Then you can love it as you love yourself.

Mike Schwager lives in Plantation. His animal advocacy site: www.CompassionateAnimalFriendsofBroward.org. E-mail him at mikemaven@comcast.net.

Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D. is a psychiatrist with more than fifty years experience researching the healing and transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Joseph Campbell said about Dr. Grof:  “I know of no work that so well incorporates the findings of Freud, Jung and Rank, adding fresh insights, which the methods of those psychotherapists could never have achieved.”

Currently, Dr. Grof is Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in the Department of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness, and teaches at the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA

Here is what Dr. Grof described after an experience on LSD:  “What happened next was my consciousness catapulted out of my body.  I lost the research assistant, I lost the clinic, I lost Prague, I lost the planet.  I had the feeling that my consciousness had no boundaries anymore, and I had become the totality of existence….it became clear to me that consciousness is not a product of the neurophysiological processes in the brain, as I had been taught at the university, but something much higher, possibly superordinate to matter.  The idea that consciousness somehow mysteriously emerges from matter didn’t make sense to me anymore.  It was easier to imagine that consciousness could create the experience of the material universe by an infinitely complex orchestration.  I was suddenly in the realm of the Eastern philosophies, where consciousness is a primary attribute of existence and cannot be reduced to anything else.”

It is this statement that fascinates me, and confirms my own speculations and intuition, without ever having experimented with LSD, but validated by various forms of meditation and especially an energetic form called “Body Focusing” taught by Don Kollmar, formerly of New York City, and now of Amsterdam, Holland.

On Enrichment.com, please also read my interview with renowned physicist Dr. Amit Goswami, author of “Creative Evolution” - who says that Evolution is guided by Higher Consciousness (the Consciousness undoubtedly referred to by Dr. Grof).

I’m happy to announce that I am now hosting a new Internet radio show called “The Enrichment Hour” on The Sedona Talk Radio Network.  Here is the link:  www.sedonatalkradio.com/the-enrichment-hour.  My show airs every other Tuesday, from 7 PM to 8 PM Eastern, and 4 PM to 5 PM Pacific.  You can call into the show at this number:  917-889-8553.

The Enrichment Hour is loosely based upon my spiritual/human potential/humanitarian web portal, www.Enrichment.com.  Its slogan:  “Enrich Your Life…Enrich Our World”.

I’m interested in speaking to authors, celebrities and opinion leaders on topics that can inspire people to enrich their lives inwardly and outwardly.

If you have a guest for The Enrichment Hour, you can e-mail me at:  mikemaven@comcast.net, or call me at 954-423-4413.   Thank you.

Last month, on December 10th, in Oslo, Norway, President Obama delivered his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize.  I thought it was a great speech, and has not been given enough attention or acknowledgement.  In that speech, the President navigated between the onward movement towards justice, humanitarianism and human rights, reduction of global poverty, global cooperation and world peace - with a recognition that “evil” exists in the world and that it must be confronted.  Here is a small excerpt:

“We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations - acting individually or in concert - will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.

“I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King said in this same ceremony years ago - “Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones.” As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King’s life’s work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there is nothing weak -nothing passive - nothing naïve - in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.

“But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism - it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.”

As someone who sees himself as dedicated to helping to raise consciousness in the world - to being involved in looking for ways to encourage the expansion of human potential and dialogue between peoples (see my website www.Enrichment.com, and tune into my Internet spiritual radio show “The Enrichment Hour” on The Sedona Talk Radio Network [http://www.sedonatalkradio.com/the-enrichment-hour]), I am part of that group of millions who wish to help build a better world that allows for a real worldwide peace that constitutes the forward movement of human development and creativity, and human progress in science AND the human heart.  That said, I am also the son of German Jewish parents who fled Nazi Germany, and whose father lost his beloved mother and brothers and sisters to the awful hand of Hitler’s extermination squads.  My father, along with others who survived the Holocaust, was a wonderful man who used to tell me to “never judge another human being by his or her race or religion.”  I came to know too that he never totally recovered from the anguish of his losses, nor later the losses of his buddies who he fought with as a soldier in Darby’s First Ranger Battalion during World War II.

It was in part, I think, my awareness of my father’s experiences that brought to life my understanding of the horrors of war and totalitarianism, and my dedication to in some way work to build a gentler, kinder world.   I’ve come to understand that “consciousness” is the key, and that we must dedicate ourselves to first, developing our own consciousness, which includes acknowledging both the shadow side within us and working on the elimination of our own demons, along with accessing our inner greatness and gaining an understanding of our unique talents and missions - followed by helping in some way to inspire others to do the same.

I became momentarily discouraged as a consequence of 9/11, wondering if all the work of so many to build the better world, was in vain.  I quickly snapped out of it, though, recognizing that the forward march of consciousness has always encountered challenges and seeming setbacks.  Our duty, it seems to me, is to counter the adversarial forces with steadfastness of purpose - and I came to recognize that that steadfastness included the reconciliation of two “seeming” opposites:  first, a commitment to spiritual/humanitarian growth and development; and second, our recognition that “evil” in the world must sometimes be aggressively challenged.

I urge those of you who have not read President Obama’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech to read it.  MSNBC has a full online transcript at:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34360743/ns/politics-white_house/

Those of you who have read my postings on this blog know that I did not vote for President Obama.  McCain was my choice in part because I knew that he would not take lightly the Al Quaida threat, and do his utmost to protect our country and encourage other nations to join forces to help rid the world of this tyrannical force.

That said, I think that this speech brilliantly outlines the recognition of this force and the necessity to combat it ALONG WITH the need to build the better world we all yearn for.

Whether the President is fully up to implementing an effective war on terrorism IN ACTION, however, is open to question.  He and his Administration handled the Northwest Airline bomber incident disastrously.  He has recognized the system failed, but has not yet shown his willingness to put into place more effective, experienced and competent people to safeguard our national security.  Janet Napolitano, and others, should be replaced as soon as possible.  It remains to be seen how and when this will happen.  Hopefully it will happen soon.

I believe that “kindness” and “strength” can co-exist.  Spiritual/creative/human development can and must continue - for they represent the inexorable upside impulse in Evolution - and the willingness to confront “evil” in the world must simultaneously be accepted as a decision of necessity in order to ensure a safer and freer world that allows the forward movement of consciousness to continue.

I view “evil” as the absence of light and spiritual awareness.   Whatever it is, if it impinges on our right to exist and/or to live as free men and women, it must be fought.

 

I’m glad to announce the launching of two new YouTube videos today.  Part I - “The Power of the Wire Services…and National Publicity”.  Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EEWxX9elh0&feature=related

Part II - “Values in PR” - which articulates the basic values that drive my search for clients.  Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7_op2Bslgo&feature=related

I’d be happy to hear your comments about these YouTube videos.  Indeed, you can rate and comment on each video at YouTube itself; and you can leave your comments here, or write me at:  mikemaven@comcast.net

Thanks and best,

Mike Schwager

Happy Thanksgiving.

“Gratitude” is the key theme of this distinctly American holiday.  A former client of mine, Sir John Templeton, the great financier and investor, believed that “gratitude” was one of the keys to his success.

Sir John also funded many projects through his Templeton Foundation.  The intention of these projects were to advance our understanding of spirituality through science.  In this project, a grant was given to Dr. Robert Emmons from the University of California at Davis, to better understand “gratitude.”  Dr. Emmons conducted eight years of intensive research on gratitude.  His research culminated in a best-selling book, “Thanks! How The New Science of Gratitude Can Make  You Happier.”  Here are his findings, courtesy of his website, GratitudePower.net.

The New Science of Gratitude

Author and researcher Dr. Robert Emmons has discovered what gives life meaning: Gratitude. Emmons found that people who view life as a gift and consciously acquire an “attitude of gratitude” will experience multiple advantages.

Gratitude improves emotional and physical health, and it can strengthen relationships and communities. Some strategies include keeping a gratitude journal, learning prayers of gratitude and using visual reminders.

“Without gratitude, life can be lonely, depressing and impoverished,” said Emmons. “Gratitude enriches human life. It elevates, energizes, inspires and transforms. People are moved, opened and humbled through expressions of gratitude.”

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is tough.

It is, according to Emmons, a “chosen attitude.” We must be willing to recognize and acknowledge that we are the recipients of an unearned benefit.

Emmons’ research indicates that gratitude is not merely a positive emotion; it also improves your health if cultivated. People must give up a “victim mentality” and overcome a sense of entitlement and deservedness.

As a result, he says, they will experience significant improvements in several areas of life including relationships, academics, energy level and even dealing with tragedy and crisis.

Research has also suggested that feelings of gratitude may be beneficial to subjective emotional well-being (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). For example, Watkins and colleagues (Watkins et al., 2003) had participants test a number of different gratitude exercises, such as thinking about a living person for whom they were grateful, writing about someone for whom they were grateful, and writing a letter to deliver to someone for whom they were grateful. Participants in the control condition were asked to describe their living room. Participant who engaged in a gratitude exercise showed increases in their experiences of positive emotion immediately after the exercise, and this effect was strongest for participants who were asked to think about a person for whom they were grateful. Participants who had grateful personalities to begin with showed the greatest benefit from these gratitude exercises. In people who are grateful in general, life events have little influence on experienced gratitude (McCullough, Tsang & Emmons, 2004).

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Highlights from the Research Project on Gratitude and ThankfulnessDimensions and Perspectives of GratitudeCo-Investigators: Robert A. Emmons, University of California, Davis

Synopsis. Gratitude is the “forgotten factor” in happiness research. We are engaged in a long-term research project designed to create and disseminate a large body of novel scientific data on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its potential consequences for human health and well-being. Scientists are latecomers to the concept of gratitude. Religions and philosophies have long embraced gratitude as an indispensable manifestation of virtue, and an integral component of health, wholeness, and well-being. Through conducting highly focused, cutting-edge studies on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its consequences, we hope to shed important scientific light on this important concept. This document is intended to provide a brief, introductory overview of the major findings to date of the research project. For further information, please contact either of the project investigators.

We are engaged in three main lines of inquiry at the present time: (1) developing methods to cultivate gratitude in daily life, (2) developing a measure to reliably assess individual differences in dispositional gratefulness and (3) designing experimental studies that enable us to distinguish the differential causes and consequences of gratitude and indebtedness.

This project is supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation of Radnor, PA.

Gratitude Interventions and Psychological and Physical

Well-Being

In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

A related benefit was observed in the realm of personal goal attainment: Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions.

A daily gratitude intervention (self-guided exercises) with young adults resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to a focus on hassles or a downward social comparison (ways in which participants thought they were better off than others). There was no difference in levels of unpleasant emotions reported in the three groups.

Participants in the daily gratitude condition were more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or having offered emotional support to another, relative to the hassles or social comparison condition.

In a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, a 21-day gratitude intervention resulted in greater amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality, relative to a control group.

Measuring the Grateful Disposition

Most people report being grateful (average rating of nearly 6 on a 7 point scale).

Well-Being: Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress. The disposition toward gratitude appears to enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions. Grateful people do not deny or ignore the negative aspects of life.

Prosociality: People with a strong disposition toward gratitude have the capacity to be empathic and to take the perspective of others. They are rated as more generous and more helpful by people in their social networks (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002).

Spirituality: Those who regularly attend religious services and engage in religious activities such as prayer reading religious material score are more likely to be grateful. Grateful people are more likely to acknowledge a belief in the interconnectedness of all life and a commitment to and responsibility to others (McCullough et. al., 2002).

Materialism: Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods; they are less likely to judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of wealthy persons; and are more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.

Here is the transcript of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations on September 24, 2009.  These words needed to be spoken.  President Ahmadinejad’s lies about the Holocaust needed to be exposed.  There will never be Peace until all nations and all Peoples are accepted as members of the human family.  That’s the premise of the United Nations.  As member-States of the United Nations, all countries have equal status.  But lies such as Ahmadinejad utters must be denounced - and denounced vociferously.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen. Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland.
   
I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people.The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust.  It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events.  Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on the truth. Yesterday the President of Iran stood at this very podium, spewing his latest anti-Semitic rants.  Just a few days earlier, he again claimed that the Holocaust is a lie.
   
Last month, I went to a villa in a suburb of Berlin called Wannsee.  There, on January 20, 1942, after a hearty meal, senior Nazi officials met and decided how to exterminate the Jewish people.  The detailed minutes of that meeting have been preserved by successive German governments.  Here is a copy of those minutes, in which the Nazis issued precise instructions on how to carry out the extermination of the Jews.   Is this a lie?  A day before I was in Wannsee, I was given in Berlin the original construction plans for the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.  Those plans are signed by Hitler’s deputy, Heinrich Himmler himself.  Here is a copy of the plans for Auschwitz-Birkenau, where one million Jews were murdered.  Is this too a lie?This June, President Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp.  Did President Obama pay tribute to a lie? And what of the

Auschwitz survivors whose arms still bear the tattooed numbers branded on them by the Nazis? Are those tattoos a lie?  One-third of all Jews perished in the conflagration.  Nearly every Jewish family was affected, including my own.  My wife’s grandparents, her father’s two sisters and three brothers, and all the aunts, uncles and cousins were all murdered by the Nazis.  Is that also a lie?Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium.  To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you.  You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries. But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame?  Have you no decency?  A mere six decades after the Holocaust, you give legitimacy to a man who denies that the murder of six million Jews took place and pledges to wipe out the Jewish state. What a disgrace!  What a mockery of the charter of the United Nations!  Perhaps some of you think that this man and his odious regime threaten only the Jews.  You’re wrong.  History has shown us time and again that what starts with attacks on the Jews eventually ends up engulfing many others. This Iranian regime is fueled by an extreme fundamentalism that burst onto the world scene three decades ago after lying dormant for centuries.  In the past thirty years, this fanaticism has swept the globe with a murderous violence and cold-blooded impartiality in its choice of victims.   It has callously slaughtered Moslems and Christians, Jews and Hindus, and many others.  Though it is comprised of different offshoots, the adherents of this unforgiving creed seek to return humanity to medieval times. Wherever they can, they impose a backward regimented society where women, minorities, gays or anyone not deemed to be a true believer is brutally subjugated. The struggle against this fanaticism does not pit faith against faith nor civilization against civilization.  It pits civilization against barbarism, the 21st century against the 9th century, those who sanctify life against those who glorify death. The primitivism of the 9th century ought to be no match for the progress of the 21st century.  The allure of freedom, the power of technology, the reach of communications should surely win the day.   Ultimately, the past cannot triumph over the future.  And the future offers all nations magnificent bounties of hope.   The pace of progress is growing exponentially.  It took us centuries to get from the printing press to the telephone, decades to get from the telephone to the personal computer, and only a few years to get from the personal computer to the internet.   What seemed impossible a few years ago is already outdated, and we can scarcely fathom the changes that are yet to come. We will crack the genetic code.  We will cure the incurable.  We will lengthen our lives.  We will find a cheap alternative to fossil fuels and clean up the planet.    I am proud that my country Israel is at the forefront of these advances – by leading innovations in science and technology, medicine and biology, agriculture and water, energy and the environment.  These innovations the world over offer humanity a sunlit future of unimagined promise. 

But if the most primitive fanaticism can acquire the most deadly weapons, the march of history could be reversed for a time.   And like the belated victory over the Nazis, the forces of progress and freedom will prevail only after a horrific toll of blood and fortune has been exacted from mankind.

That is why the greatest threat facing the world today is the marriage between religious fanaticism and the weapons of mass destruction, and the most urgent challenge facing this body is to prevent the tyrants of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Are the member states of the United Nations up to that challenge?  Will the international community confront a despotism that terrorizes its own people as they bravely stand up for freedom?
 
Will it take action against the dictators who stole an election in broad daylight and gunned down Iranian protesters who died in the streets choking in their own blood? Will the international community thwart the world’s most pernicious sponsors and practitioners of terrorism? Above all, will the international community stop the terrorist regime of Iran from developing atomic weapons, thereby endangering the peace of the entire world?
 
The people of Iran are courageously standing up to this regime.  People of goodwill around the world stand with them, as do the thousands who have been protesting outside this hall.   Will the United Nations stand by their side?Ladies and Gentlemen, the jury is still out on the United Nations, and recent signs are not encouraging.  Rather than condemning the terrorists and their Iranian patrons, some here have condemned their victims.  That is exactly what a recent UN report on

Gaza did, falsely equating the terrorists with those they targeted.

For eight long years, Hamas fired from Gaza thousands of missiles, mortars and rockets on nearby Israeli cities.   Year after year, as these missiles were deliberately hurled at our civilians, not a single UN resolution was passed condemning those criminal attacks.
 
We heard nothing – absolutely nothing – from the UN Human Rights Council, a misnamed institution if there ever was one.
     
In 2005, hoping to advance peace, Israel unilaterally withdrew from every inch of Gaza.  It dismantled 21 settlements and uprooted over 8,000 Israelis.  We didn’t get peace.  Instead we got an Iranian backed terror base fifty miles from Tel Aviv.   Life in Israeli towns and cities next to

Gaza became a nightmare.You see, the Hamas rocket attacks not only continued, they increased tenfold. Again, the UN was silent.
 
Finally, after eight years of this unremitting assault,

Israel was finally forced to respond.  But how should we have responded? 

Well, there is only one example in history of thousands of rockets being fired on a country’s civilian population.  It happened when the Nazis rocketed British cities during World War II.  

During that war, the allies leveled German cities, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties.  

Israel chose to respond differently.  Faced with an enemy committing a double war crime of firing on civilians while hiding behind civilians –

Israel sought to conduct surgical strikes against the rocket launchers.

That was no easy task because the terrorists were firing missiles from homes and schools, using mosques as weapons depots and ferreting explosives in ambulances.

Israel, by contrast, tried to minimize casualties by urging Palestinian civilians to vacate the targeted areas.  We dropped countless flyers over their homes, sent thousands of text messages and called thousands of cell phones asking people to leave. Never has a country gone to such extraordinary lengths to remove the enemy’s civilian population from harm’s way.   Yet faced with such a clear case of aggressor and victim, who did the UN Human Rights Council decide to condemn?

Israel.  A democracy legitimately defending itself against terror is morally hanged, drawn and quartered, and given an unfair trial to boot.
 
By these twisted standards, the UN Human Rights Council would have dragged Roosevelt and Churchill to the dock as war criminals.  What a perversion of truth!  What a perversion of justice!Delegates of the United Nations, will you accept this farce?    Because if you do, the United Nations would revert to its darkest days, when the worst violators of human rights sat in judgment against the law-abiding democracies, when Zionism was equated with racism and when an automatic majority could declare that the earth is flat. If this body does not reject this report, it would send a message to terrorists everywhere: Terror pays; if you launch your attacks from densely populated areas, you will win immunity.
 
And in condemning Israel, this body would also deal a mortal blow to peace.  Here’s why.  When Israel left

Gaza, many hoped that the missile attacks would stop.  Others believed that at the very least,

Israel would have international legitimacy to exercise its right of self-defense.  What legitimacy?  What self-defense? 

The same UN that cheered Israel as it left Gaza and promised to back our right of self-defense now accuses us –my people, my country - of war crimes?  And for what?  For acting responsibly in self-defense.  What a travesty!

Israel justly defended itself against terror.  This biased and unjust report is a clear-cut test for all governments.   Will you stand with

Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?  We must know the answer to that question now.   Now and not later.  Because if Israel is again asked to take more risks for peace, we must know today that you will stand with us tomorrow.
 
Only if we have the confidence that we can defend ourselves can we take further risks for peace.Ladies and Gentlemen, all of Israel wants peace.   Any time an Arab leader genuinely wanted peace with us, we made peace.   We made peace with

Egypt led by Anwar Sadat.  We made peace with

Jordan led by King Hussein.  And if the Palestinians truly want peace, I and my government, and the people of

Israel, will make peace.  But we want a genuine peace, a defensible peace, a permanent peace.
In 1947, this body voted to establish two states for two peoples – a Jewish state and an Arab state.  The Jews accepted that resolution.  The Arabs rejected it.   We ask the Palestinians to finally do what they have refused to do for 62 years:  Say yes to a Jewish state.  Just as we are asked to recognize a nation-state for the Palestinian people, the Palestinians must be asked to recognize the nation state of the Jewish people.   The Jewish people are not foreign conquerors in the Land of

Israel.   This is the land of our forefathers.

 
Inscribed on the walls outside this building is the great Biblical vision of peace: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.  They shall learn war no more.”   These words were spoken by the Jewish prophet Isaiah 2,800 years ago as he walked in my country, in my city - in the hills of Judea and in the streets of

Jerusalem.   We are not strangers to this land.  It is our homeland.As deeply connected as we are to this land, we recognize that the Palestinians also live there and want a home of their own.   We want to live side by side with them, two free peoples living in peace, prosperity and dignity. But we must have security.  The Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves except those handful of powers that could endanger Israel.  That is why a Palestinian state must be effectively demilitarized.   We don’t want another Gaza, another Iranian backed terror base abutting Jerusalem and perched on the hills a few kilometers from Tel Aviv.
 
We want peace. I believe such a peace can be achieved.  But only if we roll back the forces of terror, led by Iran, that seek to destroy peace, eliminate Israel and overthrow the world order.
 
The question facing the international community is whether it is prepared to confront those forces or accommodate them.
 
Over seventy years ago, Winston Churchill lamented what he called the “confirmed unteachability of mankind,” the unfortunate habit of civilized societies to sleep until danger nearly overtakes them. Churchill bemoaned what he called the “want of foresight, the unwillingness to act when action will be simple and effective, the lack of clear thinking, the confusion of counsel until emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong.”

I speak here today in the hope that Churchill’s assessment of the “unteachability of mankind” is for once proven wrong.  I speak here today in the hope that we can learn from history — that we can prevent danger in time.
  
In the spirit of the timeless words spoken to Joshua over 3,000 years ago, let us be strong and of good courage.  Let us confront this peril, secure our future and, God willing, forge an enduring peace for generations to come.