![]() ![]() And as you spend this time appreciating the nature around you, start to be aware of your emotions. Pause to appreciate it, and let it hold your attention for a few moments. ![]() Let yourself be curious about anything that catches your eye and moves you. Just let your eyes wander slowly through your surroundings, the plants, animals and bugs. If you’re wearing headphones, you may want to remove one of them here so you don’t miss out on the natural sounds around you. And as you’re ready, start to look around you. Let your breath start to settle into its natural rhythm. It may take a few moments to adjust to the light. And if you closed your eyes, begin to open them. You might feel air moving through your throat, nostrils, and over your lip. Just a few more breaths like that, and start to notice the physical sensations of the breath without thinking anything about them. As you breathe, feel your belly expanding and your chest rising. You may want to close your eyes for a moment or soften your gaze. When you’re ready, we’ll start by just taking a few slow, deep breaths. Feel free to pause this practice for a moment if you need to find the right natural space for you. Or maybe it’s just a tree on the street outside your window, where you can focus your gaze. Maybe it’s your backyard or your garden, or maybe there’s a nice walk you like to take. To get started, find somewhere where you can focus on the natural environment. And you can certainly save this practice to try somewhere special, but you can probably do it right now and find beauty in nature wherever you are. So nature is one of the great antidotes to the struggles of our times. And our lab has found even nature videos can lead us to see more common ground with people who are really different from us. It gives you a sense of interconnectedness and reduces our feelings of loneliness, sort of shifts activation in the prefrontal cortex and in the default mode network in ways that are good for psychological health. And, there’s a lot of scientific research showing that just a little burst of nature, just noticing nature, it makes you feel positive emotions like awe and inspiration, and makes you more altruistic and kind. ![]() ![]() Essentially, it asks you to take a few minutes to appreciate the natural world in whatever form it is around you, and notice how it makes you feel. Today, I’ll guide you through one of our most popular practices, noticing nature. So we’ll be back with another episode of The Science of Happiness next week. We’ll release new Happiness Break episodes on alternating weeks from The Science of Happiness. And we talk about the science behind the practices, all in about 5 minutes or so. On each episode, we’ll guide you through practices that have been studied in the lab and found to develop more things like empathy, kindness, human connection and resilience distress. Welcome to Happiness Break, a new series by The Science of Happiness. But the truth is, you don’t have to drive hours out of town to take a break in nature. Being out there is like taking a break from the stress of everyday life. I love the clear skies and the bright clouds and the little mountain lakes and big trees and just the feeling up there. Dacher Keltner There’s no place I love more than the High Sierras. ![]()
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