Let’s take a moment to consider the words of one of America’s most prominent and esoteric philosophers, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau is best known as a New England Transcendentalist when spent the years 1845-47 living on the outskirts of society in a small cabin in...

By Dr. Robert Puff I don't remember how young I was, but I do remember the first ballet I ever went to. It was called The Nutcracker, and it centered on celebrating Christmas with children. I remember sitting in the audience watching the ballerinas, and thinking that...

Did you happen to see the movie A Beautiful Mind? It was released in 2001 to great critical success, and it won four Academy Awards, including best picture. The main character of the film, played by Russell Crowe, is John Nash, a real-life mathematician who actually...

Imagine it’s your birthday, and your friends and family pool their money to get you the best gift you can imagine: tickets for fabulous seats to see your favorite musical act. You get to the venue, you find your place up front, and then you settle in to experience...

As human beings, we have a great capacity to be able to focus. Think about being at a party with people talking all around. You are able to block out the noise and focus on the conversation you’re having with the person in front of you. Or imagine a race car driver,...

Do you have a problem? Maybe it’s a large, vexing problem that causes you to suffer, or maybe it’s a smaller dilemma that nevertheless causes discomfort in your life. My guess is that something isn’t 100 percent the way that you would have it be, or if you’re...

If you want to be at optimal health, you need to become fit. If you want to be at optimal happiness, you also need to be fit, but in a slightly different way. Statistics tell us that Americans have a weight problem. One-third of all Americans are severely obese, by...

There’s an old saying that comes to mind when considering this week’s topic, and it is this: “When you run with the dogs, you start to smell like them.” You may have heard a slightly different version of this bit of folk wisdom: “When you lie down with dogs, you wake...

  It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around will warm up to its glowing …. That old song, called “Pass It On,” used to be a popular one to end campouts and church retreats. Everyone would gather in a circle in the dark with an unlit...

Have you ever wanted to learn something? Think of anything you’ve had a desire to do well at — piano, lacrosse, cooking, yoga. We can learn just about anything if we have a good teacher who knows the subject well. Like that teacher, we, too, can get good at things....