Happiness Break: Pause to Look at the Sky, with Dacher Keltner

Take a moment to appreciate the beauty and vastness of the sky. Dacher Keltner guides us through a practice of pausing to turn your gaze to the sky as a pathway to awe, creativity and wonder.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/35b2fsu9

Practice:

Go someplace where you feel safe and also have a nice view of the sky.

First, focus on your breathing. Take a few slow inhales and even slower exhales. As you breathe in and out, relax your shoulders, your hands, and your face.

On the next breath in, look up at the sky. Notice how vast it is.

Breathing naturally, notice everything you can about the sky. What colors are present? Are there any clouds? Do you see any gradation of light?

Expand your gaze to get the fullest view and sense of the sky that you can. Spend a few moments taking it in.

On the final deep breaths in and out, reflect on how doing this practice has made you feel.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Dacher Keltner is the host of the Greater Good Science Center’s award-winning podcast, The Science of Happiness and is a co-instructor of the GGSC’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Check out Dacher’s most recent book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life:  https://tinyurl.com/4j4hcvyt

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Why we Should Look up at the Sky (Podcast): https://tinyurl.com/fn3bttw6

Six Ways to Incorporate Awe into Your Daily Life: https://tinyurl.com/3j5hdtj7

How to Choose a Type of Mindfulness Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/py6b729h

How Nature Can Make You Kinder, Happier, and More Creative:  https://tinyurl.com/2fmpdpkj

Why is Nature so Good For Your Mental Health? ​​https://tinyurl.com/23zavth3

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of looking up. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

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We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.