Publications

In a new instalment in the literature on happiness, I was invited to write a more mainstream summary how to achieve external quality of life by building an untouchable internal well-being. 

In the last fifty years there has been a growing scientific interest in what makes up happiness. Life areas such as relationships, work, or money were investigated however it was found that they only partially predicted happiness. Because well-being was based on fluctuating mental states and changing life conditions, it was always unstable, and on average people reported themselves mostly happy but not completely happy. 

In response I ask what it takes to be fully happy. This chapter explores the possibility of whether happiness can be a stable attribute of a fully functional human being. I turn to traditional mindfulness and the ancient wisdom traditions who assert we can achieve lasting happiness and ask what are the psychological mechanisms that can be drawn from them. Their claim that the sense of self is constructed and responsible for the fluctuations in happiness is explored, and a model of robust happiness is considered.

With the emergence of the science of heroism there now exists both theoretical and empirical literature on the characteristics of our everyday hero. I seek to expand this inquiry and ask what the causes and conditions of a superhero could be. To address this I investigate the origins of mindfulness, Buddhist psychology and the assertion that its practitioners who have attained expertise in mindfulness practices can develop supernormal capabilities. I then explore any evidence that mindfulness practices have unfolded the supernormal potential of its practitioners.

I found a growing base of empirical literature suggesting some practitioners exhibit indicators of enhanced functioning including elevated physical health and resistance to disease, increased immunity to aging and improved cognitive processing, greater resilience and fearlessness, more self-less and pro-social behaviors, some control over normally autonomic responses, and possibly some paranormal functionality.

I propose in search of the superhero, that if conventional mindfulness training can already augment mental and physical capabilities, a more serious inquiry and translation of its advanced methods into mainstream psychological theory is warranted.

The field of mindfulness and the science of heroism have a common interest in the causes and conditions of selfless altruism though up to this point there has been little cross-pollination. However, there is increasing evidence that mindfulness training delivers heroically relevant qualities.

Interweaving observations and questions drawn from the science of heroism, the article explores the relevant theory, practices, and scientific outcomes of mindfulness. It finds that there is evidence that heroically relevant qualities are trainable with the suite of mindfulness techniques and that an enduring experience of selflessness and service of others (the enlightened hero) may well be within the grasp of the serious practitioner.

Very happy to be exploring in this article, the psychology of enlightenment. The goal is to extend the mainstream well-being paradigm to include uninterrupted well-being or enlightenment. It includes a deep dive into the ancient traditions behind mindfulness, the modern construct of well-being, and the latest evidence from neuroscience. You can read the full article in the APA journal Review of General Psychology: Mindfulness and Nondual Well-Being – What is the Evidence that We Can Stay Happy?

In this paper on the Mindfulness-based quality of life and well-being program (MQW), I present the results of the program I created to help people build the balance between external quality of life and internal well-being. The program highlighted the importance of getting this balance, and reported a significant impact on well-being versus the control group. You can find the link here.

The article lays out the construction, administration, and evaluation of the new Clinical Quality of Life Scale. It focuses on the combination of both mental state and important life areas like relationships, work, money, health, and leisure. The new scale is a tool for us to assess how well we are doing in achieving the balance between external quality of life, and internal well-being. It can be useful for both consumers and clinicians.