Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

July 7, 2026
Dear Mindful Creators Group,

I thought you might find the summation of Richard Davidson’s new book valuable. (Recently, we discussed a bit of his neuroscientific research with Tibetan monks). His latest work titled, Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving. Dr.Davidson focuses on transformative practices that train our brain to overcome depression, despair, and loneliness. He writes that we are all born with a natural ability to flourish but that ability needs to be trained for us to live a thriving life.

The four transformative practices are:

Awareness: Learn to be fully present with your emotions so that you can embrace all of life’s ups and downs. (We practice this with familiarizing ourselves with physical sensations while practicing body scan)

Connection: Grow meaningful relationships and a sense of belonging by cultivating kindness and appreciation. (At AP we socialize with other residents some of whom become friends. This turns into an opportunity to help friends when they need our help.)

Insight: Learn to know yourself through self-inquiry, so that you can break free from old narratives. (We practice this in mindfulness meditation as we focus on the breath and watch our emotions.) 

Purpose: Connect with our core values and guiding motivation to create clarity and make right choices and sound decisions. (This is a call to tap our inner strengths irrespective of whether we’re married, have children and grandchildren.)

I found this helpful and hope you find it helpful too.