A Four Part Series from TTBOOK!

Public Radio International

Wisconsin Public Radio

PART FOUR: OUR PEACE OF MIND

Program 09-04-12-A

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Jill Bolte Taylor

Satish Kumar

The happiness industry is booming. And with good reason - everyone wants to be happy. Today, science can light the way. Brain researcher Richard Davidson can sum it up quickly: learn to meditate. Davidson's research studying the brains of longtime Buddhist monks has discovered that most of the time, the brain that meditates is a happy brain. And a Harvard-trained neuro-scientist finds nirvana in the devastation of a stroke.

SEGMENT 1:

Harvard trained brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor found an unusual path to growth. She describes her stroke, the weird euphoria it caused and her long process of recovery in her book, "My Stroke of Insight," and in this conversation with Anne Strainchamps. Also, Richard Davidson is a neuro-psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a longtime friend of the Dalai Lama. He tells Steve Paulson about observing contemplatives with a brain scanner. And we learn what Seneca thought was the secret of happiness.

SEGMENT 2:

We hear a round-up of some of the latest research into happiness, from economist Richard Layard, and psychologists Robert Biswas-Diener and Sonja Lyubormirsky. And an Islamic mystic's take on the secret of happiness. Also, Satish Kumar, a former Jain monk and follower of Ghandi, tells Steve Paulson that the secret to a stress-free life is to take it at a walking pace. Kumar is the author of "The Buddha and the Terrorist" and editor of the eco-spiritual magazine, "Resurgence."

SEGMENT 3:

Richard Schoch is the author of "The Secrets of Happiness: Three Thousand Years of Searching for the Good Life." He tells Jim Fleming that the way we think about happiness today is a thin, watery version of a deep and complex subject. Also, we're giving the last word on happiness to the great American soul singer Al Green. He's spent his life testifying on stage and in the pulpit to the power of grace, love and happiness. Al Green talks with Steve Paulson, and of course, we hear him sing.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 09-04-12-A.

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Books & CDs:

Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener, Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth (Blackwell)
Satish Kumar, Spiritual Compass: The Three Qualities of Life (Green Books)
Richard Layaard, Happiness: Lessons From A New Science (Penguin)
Sonja Lyubomirsky, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want (Penguin)
Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey (Viking)
Richard Schoch, The Secrets of Happiness: Three Thousand years of Searching for the Good Life (Scribner)

Websites:

• Wikipedia article on Satish Kumar
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satish_Kumar
• Jill Bolte-Taylor on Ted.Com
  http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html
• Official site for The How of Happiness
  http://chass.ucr.edu/faculty_book/lyubomirsky/
• Coaching Toward Happiness
  http://www.coachingtowardhappiness.com/archive/biswas-diener.htm

Music:

• -Kronos Quartet – “Our Beginning” on their CD “Pieces of Africa”. (Elektra Nonesuch)
• -Bond – “Hymn,” on their CD “Born” (Decca)
• Man, Charlie Brown.” (1999 Broadway revival cast recording)
• - California Guitar Trio, “Arroyo,” from their CD “Pathways”. (DGM)
• -Kronos Quartet, “ White Man Sleeps,” from the CD “Pieces of Africa”
• -California Guitar Trio, “Kaleidoscope,” from the CD “Pathways”
• -Ustad Usman Khan, “Beauty in Simplicity,” from the CD “Journey in Dream” (New Earth Records)
• -Bobby McFerrin, title track from the CD “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (Collectables)
• -Al Green, selections from his 2008 CD “Lay It Down” (Blue Note Records)

Distribution dates: week of 12/27/2009 - hour 2 week of 04/12/2009 - hour 1 click HERE for timings and cues

Listen!

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

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