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The Science of Thanks Giving
Hugh Pickens writes "This is Americans' big week to give thanks. Now Russell McLendon writes that giving thanks can do wonders for the human brain according to researchers at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center where scientists have developed an easy way for people to do just that and, at the same time, contribute to a national research project and maybe also improve their lives. The project is part of a $5.6 million, three-year national effort called 'Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude,' funded by the John Templeton Foundation. The center has gone live with Thnx4.org, an interactive, shareable gratitude journal and has invited people in the campus community to take part in the Cal Gratitude Challenge by keeping a two-week online 'gratitude journal' and, if they choose, sharing their posts with others. Early research into the power of gratitude journals ended up proving that students who wrote down everything they were grateful for strengthened their overall resilience and became less vulnerable to everyday stresses and complaints like rashes and headaches, says Emiliana Simon-Thomas. 'Thnx4.org wanted to make this spiral notebook very accessible, and to make the research a little more specific than it has been historically,' says Simon-Thomas. Online, anyone can take part — and potentially reap the benefits. The Cal Gratitude Challenge opened November 1 and will remain open throughout November but the project has a three-year grant and participants will be able to maintain their journals for the duration and first results from the data are expected in January. 'We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we've received,' writes Robert Emmons as part of the project. 'This doesn't mean that life is perfect; it doesn't ignore complaints, burdens, and hassles. But when we look at life as a whole, gratitude encourages us to identify some amount of goodness in our life.'"
A few nice words can go a long way. Appreciation is important
for posts like this that give me tips on how to feel better about myself and my life. And for *anything* that reminds me of all I have to be grateful for, because I find it far too easy to forget.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
I thought Thanksgiving was a code word for "take a couple of days off and eat too much in preparation for the Christmas holidays where I'll be required to take some days off and eat too much".
http://www.southernminn.com/st_peter_herald/news/article_a1d7ec03-b5ab-577b-bb6f-11cd1a8b3fd7.html
The photo of that painting of the "Frist Thanksgiving" really creeped me out. Aside from most of the Indians sitting as a group off to the side like they're about to be all shot or marched "to better land", the PIlgrims justmake my skin crawl.
I guess it's the history of what follows next and current Christian fundamentalism in the US that really tainting my perception.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!
I am thankful that being thankful makes me more thankful. Wait, could I get into an endless happy feedback loop?
I am feeling very grateful that I don't have such a myopic world-view that I believe that everyone participates in the same cultural festivals as I do.-- ~~~~
So people feel better about themselves when they say thanks? Perhaps this is part of the reason why so many religions have special prayers before / after meals.
Palm trees and 8
... you eat....
Every now and then Science stumbles across something that people who deal work in matters of the spirit have known for a long time.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Give thanks that you're not subject to that same treatment?
We send a TON of food to other countries. What happens to it?
It sits and rots on the docks
It is hijacked locally and sold on the black market
It is hijacked by the state and sold on the world market
In other words, it falls victim to the very same people/systems that makes and keeps the people of those nations poor and hungry in the first at place. Corruption on a massive scale, violence and anarchy.
So GTF off your high horse because no matter how you look at it, it is almost a sure thing that America sends more food overseas than does your country
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
to that
Thanksgiving isn't about giving thanks - it's about eating lots of food and buying stuff.
First, it's a painting. I know you probably have never been exposed to those before. They proceeded digital cameras and 3D cinema by many hundreds of years. You can find more in museums if you want to learn more about them.
Second, the mistreatment of the American Natives is a sad and terrible chapter in American History. But it is by no means unique to America and was mostly an expression of political policy rather than Christian ideology. They had the land and the politicians wanted it.
The saddest thing is that even today the American Natives are still mistreated by being completely subjugated to the Federal government in the sense that they have to rely on the Feds for everything. The ultimate expression of welfare state you might say.
Only recently have some tribes begun to regain their dignity and increase their standard of living by hosting casinos on their land...something the feds and local government fought against mightily. The arrangement with the Casino operators is not optimal, but each renegotiation results in better and better terms for the tribes as they become more business savvy. Of course, now the tribes have to deal with internal corruption to some degree, but...hey, welcome to the world.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Where are you from? Because regardless of where that is, you have a history of doing the same thing if you you go back far enough.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Is this only for Americans, because we Canadians -- from the TRUE Land of the Free & the REAL Home of the Brave -- had Thanksgiving in early October..?!
Michael
http://s1.sfgame.us/index.php?rec=58163
btw - preceded, not proceded. :-)
I didn't choose to be born and I didn't choose the physical laws on which our world depends.
I exist, but I sure don't thank anything or anyone for it.
The article is basically saying, "Idiots with low standards are more likely to feel content." Well duh.
Also I'm not a yank so I don't celebrate the mass slaughter of natives with the mass slaughter of sitting ducks.
Yeah...it's early.
But duly noted.
And Thanks!
... You are all fat enough already why not send that food to a country that doesn't have as much and you people enjoy a glass of water and walk after your apology.
No one is beyond constructive criticism, the U.S. being no exception. However, are you one of the bigoted culturalists in denial living off of your peoples's misery having a personal interest in maintaining the big lie? Are your parents part of your country's ruling class? It's implied in your last sentence which is classic caste crap.
Agree with everything you say, but also recognise the vast bulk gets to where it is needed.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
There's such a thing as the 'reader' (the human-kind, I mean),
or in a broader sense, the 'consumer' (not meant in its commer-
cial sense).
There's some indication that gripes, cynicism, irony, angst and
all the nefarious psychological categories you can think of that
come with them -- put down in bytes, ink, celluloid or on stage,
provide for greater literature and entertainment.
BTW, I'm thankful that I'm a big enough (& humble too!) person who would like to apologize publicly to you for my nitpicking. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Sir!
Whether it be Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc., the tenets of each teach about being grateful, humble, etc. - and the cited study shows it strengthens us.
In other words, if people were more religious in their everyday lives, and lived basic tenets like being grateful and humble, we'd be stronger societies/countries/cultures as a whole.
Of course this isn't a popular view to have these days, but it sounds like this study shows that religion can be a good thing. It's too bad people will simply excuse themselves from religious discipline by pointing a finger at child molesting priests, TV evangelist scumbags, Islamic terrorists, orthodox Jewish oddities, etc. because as more people dump on religion without question or serious contemplation, it ultimately weakens us.
Thanksgiving History Close this section Observance in North America Other observances known as Thanksgiving See also References Sources External links Read in another language For other uses, see Thanksgiving (disambiguation). Thanksgiving Day Saying grace before carving a turkey at Thanksgiving dinner, Pennsylvania, U.S., 1942 Observed by United States Canada Liberia Puerto Rico Norfolk Island Type National, cultural Date 2nd Monday in October (Canada) 1st Thursday in November (Liberia) Last Wednesday in November (Norfolk Island) 4th Thursday in November (USA) 2012 date October 8, 2012 (Canada); November 1, 2012 (Liberia); November 28, 2012 (Norfolk Island); November 22, 2012 (USA) 2013 date October 14, 2013 (Canada); November 7, 2013 (Liberia); November 27, 2013 (Norfolk Island); November 28, 2013 (USA, Puerto Rico) Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Because of the longstanding traditions of the holiday, the celebration often extends to the weekend that falls closest to the day it is celebrated. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious traditions, but today is celebrated in a more secular manner. Prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are common among almost all religions after harvests and at other times. [1] The holiday's history in North America is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation. It also has aspects of a harvest festival, even though the harvest in New England occurs well before the late-November date of the holiday [1][2] In the English tradition, days of thanksgiving and special thanksgiving religious services became important during the English Reformation in the reign of Henry VIII and in reaction to the large number of religious holidays on the Catholic calendar. Before 1536 there were 95 Church holidays, plus 52 Sundays, when people were required to attend church and forego work and sometimes pay for expensive celebrations. The 1536 reforms reduced the number of Church holidays to 27, but some Puritans, the radical reformers of their age, wished to completely eliminate all Church holidays, including Christmas and Easter. The holidays were to be replaced by specially called Days of Fasting or Days of Thanksgiving, in response to events that the Puritans viewed as acts of special providence. Unexpected disasters or threats of judgement from on high called for Days of Fasting. Special blessings, viewed as coming from God, called for Days of Thanksgiving. For example, Days of Fasting were called on account of drought in 1611, floods in 1613, and plague in 1604 and 1622. Days of Thanksgiving were called following the victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588, and following the deliverance of Queen Anne in 1705. An unusual annual Day of Thanksgiving began in 1606 following the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, and developed into Guy Fawkes Day. [3] In Canada Main article: Thanksgiving (Canada) "There is no compelling narrative of the origins of the Canadian Thanksgiving day." [4] Though there were no permanent English settlements in Canada until the early eighteenth century, the origin of the first Canadian Thanksgiving is often traced back to 1578 and the explorer Martin Frobisher who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. Frobisher's Thanksgiving celebration was not for harvest but was in thanks for surviving the long journey from England through the perils of storms and icebergs. On his third and final voyage to the far north, Frobisher held a formal ceremony in Frobisher Bay in Baffin Island (present-day Nunavut) to give thanks to God and in a service ministered by the preacher Robert Wolfall they celebrated Communion. [5] Oven roasted turkey The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are also sometimes traced to the French settlers who cam
I'm grateful for people like Vi! Turduckenen-duckenen