extraordinary speakers
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EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKERSHAPPINESS & ITS CAUSES 2014
Weve come a long way since we held our f irst Happiness & Its Causesconference back in 2006, following the success of our first
conference, Mind & Its Potentialin 2005. Thinking then it could be a one-off, although hoping it might sustain for another year or
two, were delighted it has become an annual event. Not only that, it has been a huge hit with the literally thousands of delegates
who have attended due to what many have said are its life changing effects.
If youve attended any of our events, youll understand their appeal. For every conference, we work hard putting together a program
designed to facilitate exploration of and discussion about the things that matter most to YOUhow to be happier, how to find
meaning in your life, how to be more creative, how to maximise your potential and how to contribute to the lives of others.
Of course, we couldnt do any of it without the expertise of the great many speakers we invite to present sessions and workshops at
our events about the amazing work thats being done here in Australia and overseas in the fields of psychology, education,
neuroscience, sociology, conservation, anthropology, spirituality and more.
Our speakers are extraordinary individuals in terms of the information they share and the difference they are making to the
wellbeing of society and our planet. Were delighted to be able to share their messages through our Think & Be Happyblog,
e-newsletterand Happiness & Its Causes Facebook pageand Twitter feed.
We often feature articles about upcoming speakers built around an interview or presentation theyve already given. In our latest
eBook offering, we have compiled eight such posts from our blog, all featuring top notch presenters you will hear at Happiness & Its
Causes2014. If you havent registered yet, I guarantee that after reading these, youll be seriously tempted.
www.happinessanditscauses.com.au
Hear from our speakers
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/https://wired.ivvy.com/event/CNEWS/subscribehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Happiness-Its-Causes/158865482817https://twitter.com/ThinkBeHappyhttp://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/https://twitter.com/ThinkBeHappyhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Happiness-Its-Causes/158865482817https://wired.ivvy.com/event/CNEWS/subscribehttps://wired.ivvy.com/event/CNEWS/subscribehttps://wired.ivvy.com/event/CNEWS/subscribehttp://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/ -
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EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKERSHAPPINESS & ITS CAUSES 2014
PROFESSOR MIHALY CZIKSZENTMIHALYI
IN THE FLOW
If to lose oneself is to experience bliss, what can we do to more
easily cultivate this state? The answer lies in research pioneered
by Professor Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, one of the greatest
psychologists of our time.
When Czikszentmihalyi started on his quest 40 years ago to
better cognise the causes of happiness, he began to look at
creative people trying to understand what made them feel that
it was worth essentially spending their life doing things for which
many of them didnt expect either fame or fortune.
One person he interviewed was a composer who described
feeling ecstatic whenever he composed music. Czikszentmihalyi
was intrigued by his use of the word ecstatic, which in Greek
means simply to stand to the side of something.
Or to put it another way, this composer entered an alternative
reality. Not only that, he claimed to lose all sense of himself in
the process. Czikszentimihalyi says this is, in fact, what literally
happens because our nervous system is incapable of
processing more than 110 bits of information. Thats not very
muchespecially when you consider we apparently need 60
bits per second merely to process what someone is saying.
Given creative endeavours use up even more bits, its no
wonder those poets, writers, painters and musicians who
report experiencing total immersion in their craft dont have
enough attention left over for the usual humanpreoccupations, says Czikszentimihalyi adding that their body
disappears from their consciousness because they dont have
enough attention to do well something that requires a lot of
concentration, and at the same time to feel that they exist.
What we now know about these fully absorbing flow states is
that anyone can get in the zone under the right
circumstancesspecifically when we encounter a challenge
that tests our skills, and our skills and capacities are such that
were able to meet this challenge.
Read the full blog here.
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/flow/http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/flow/ -
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Since the first Happiness & Its Causes conference in 2006,
over 15,000 people have been moved and inspired at
what is now one of the worlds largest and most
important forums on human happiness!
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EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKERSHAPPINESS & ITS CAUSES 2014
MATTHIEU RICARD
THE HABITS OF HAPPINESSEverything anyone does, dreams about, aspires to, whether its
conscious or not, somehow is related to a deep profound desire
for well-being and happiness.
So says French Buddhist Monk, Matthieu Ricard, co-ordinator of
Karuna-Shechen Humanitarian Projects and best-selling author of
Happiness: A Guide to Developing Lifes Most Important Skill. Yet
Ricard also makes the point that because happiness is a
notoriously difficult mind state to define, many of us look for joy in
all the wrong places.
One big problem is we tend to equate happiness with pleasure.
Wrong says Ricard who explains that pleasure is contingent
upon time, upon its object, upon the place. It is something that
changes by nature.
Happiness, on the other hand, is according to Buddhism, a deep
sense of serenity, fulfilment, a state that actually pervades and
underlies all emotional states, and all the joys and sorrows that
can come ones way, says Ricard.
The mistake many of us make in our quest for contentment is we
look to externals: romantic love, material wealth, a younger face.
If we could just nail these wed be happy.
Ricard says, That very sentence already reveals the doom of
destruction of happiness: to have everything. If we miss something it
collapses.
It also doesnt help that we overestimate our control of the outer world
which is limited, temporary and often illusory, says Ricard. His advice
is we look instead at inner conditions. Arent they stronger? Isnt it the
mind that translates the outer condition into happiness and suffering?
Certainly, we know from experience that when we give in to our anger,
jealousy, pride or greed, we feel lousy and so do the people around us.
We also know that when were exuding love, warmth and generosity,
everyone benefits.
But do we know that we can change our negative emotions, traits andmoods or are we simply resigned to living with them because we think
theyre an inevitable part of being human? Ricard says that if we
investigate the nature of mind or consciousness through practices such
as meditation, well discover its primary quality is awareness and that
because of this there is a possibility for change because all emotions
are fleeting. That is the ground for mind training.
Read the full blog here.
SEE MATTHIEU IN
ACTION. LINK.
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/habits-happiness/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WmKT6oRJpchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WmKT6oRJpchttp://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/habits-happiness/ -
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PROFESSOR JEAN TWENGE
THE NARCISSISM EPIDEMICTheres a lot of talk about the rise in unhealthy self-love amongst the millennial generation (those born in the 1980s and 1990s). One factor
often cited as proof of this trend is the heavy use by many young adults of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. For the
first time ever in human history, the opportunity exists to post to literally tens of thousands if not millions of complete strangers utterly banal
information about the minutiae of your everyday life.
One person whos concerned about this relationship between digital technology and what she regards as excessive self-focus in todays
youth is Professor Jean Twenge, a psychologist and leading researcher into narcissism and youth mental health. According to Twenge,
American youth (and by extrapolation their Australian counterparts) are in the grip of a narcissism epidemic. We have risingplastic surgery
rates, we have this obsession with fame and celebrity [and] we have more materialistic values than we used to, she says, add ing that
shes been involved in several within-campus studies trying to find out what the generational change [is] in narcissism. To this end,
approximately 50,000 college students between 1982 and 2009 have filled out the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a commonly used
measure of narcissistic traits in individuals.
What Twenge and her colleagues have found, having analysed this data, is that where previously only about 17 percent of students scored
very high in narcissism, that figure has now leapt to 30 percent bearing in mind that narcissist ic characteristics present in individuals to
varying degrees, with Narcissistic Personality Disorder at one end of the spectrum and good old fashioned vanity at the other. But as
Twenge says, Even if its just at the personality trait level, and not at that clinical [disorder] level, there are a number of problems with it.
And yes, given the increase in narcissism has been most marked since 2005-2006, Twenge has no qualms pointing the finger at what she
regards as the combined effects of Internet technology, in particular social networking sites, with easy credit, celebrity-drenched media and
permissive parenting.
Read the full blog here.
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/narcissism-epidemic/http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/narcissism-epidemic/ -
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PROFESSOR ROY BAUMEISTER
THE SCIENCE OF WILLPOWERSelf-control is a quality most of us take for granted, without which our lives would very quickly descend into chaos. Yet few really
understand self-control or its active ingredient willpower.
Professor Roy Baumeisteris a respected social psychologist who has worked extensively in the area of self-control and self-
regulation, which he defines as the capacity to change and/or control your thoughts, emotions and impulses.
According to Baumeister, we are using our self-control all day every day to resist lots of desires. To break it down, we spendeight
hours a day actively desiring, three to four of those hours resisting what we want and a glorious guilt ridden half an hoursuccumbing
to a yearning we previously resisted.
But whats really interesting is that studies and real-life observations reveal that the basic energy (willpower) we use in self -control is
finite within a set period of time. In other words, after exerting self-control once, if presented with another demand for self-control soon
after, chances are well cave in.
Not only that, making decisions, showing initiative, taking action all seem to draw on the same energy resource. Which perhapsexplains why people in positions of power and responsibility so often become mired in scandal. Politicians, for example, having to
make big decisions every day tend to deplete their store of willpower.
If theres one take home message in all of this, its that people with impressive self-control dont resist desires more often. They avoid
temptation in the first place.
Read the full blog here.
WATCH ROYS PRESENTATION. LINK.
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/science-willpower-2/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibui4M4eitohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibui4M4eitohttp://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/science-willpower-2/ -
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EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKERSHAPPINESS & ITS CAUSES 2014
DR JANE GOODALL
MAKING A DIFFERENCEIt often seems that despite decades and decades of warnings from
those in the know about the dire consequences we all face if our
abuse of the planet continues, nothing ever changes.
But then one encounters individuals like Dr Jane Goodall, an
internationally acclaimed primatologist, environmentalist and UN
Messenger of Peace whos devoted much of her life to protecting
chimpanzees and their habitat, and is reminded of how important it
is not to lose hope in our potential to co-exist peacefully and
sustainably with all of earths inhabitants by choosing to live with
awareness, compassion and generosity instead of ignorance,
hatred and greed.
These days, Goodall spends a lot of time travelling the world to
raise awareness about the desperate plight of chimpanzees whosenumbers have plummeted from around two million at the turn of the
20th century to about 150,000 across all of Africa today.
If anyone is in a position to advocate on behalf of our closest non-
human relatives, its Goodall whos been studying chimpanzees in
Tanzania since 1960. She says that five decades on, technology
has really transformed the way field biologists do their work so
that now thanks to DNA profiling, satellite navigation systems, brain
imaging techniques and other advances, our knowledge about
chimps and other hominids (gorillas and orang-utans) has
exploded.
What weve learned above all is how trulysimilar these creatures
are to human beings. As Goodall points out, chimps are capable of
performances that would have been thought completely impossible
by science when I began.
Goodall lists many of the characteristics chimps share with us
humans. For example, they can make tools, an activity once
thought to be the sole preserve of man. They develop long-term
affectionate and supportive bonds with their young and each other.
Theyre capable of true compassion and altruism.
Over these 40-odd years that I and others have been studying
chimpanzees and other great apes and other mammals with
complex brains and social systems, we have found that, after all,
there isnt a sharp line dividing humans from the rest of the
kingdom, says Goodall.
Read the full blog here.
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/jane-goodall-making-difference/http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/jane-goodall-making-difference/ -
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Inspirational, grounding, uplifting.
Coming here is akin to plugging in to the
main power station of love, joy and
happiness and coming away recharged.Catherine Gunn, QLD Health
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EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKERSHAPPINESS & ITS CAUSES 2014
HUGH MACKAY
THE GOOD LIFEHaving spent decades researching how Australians think and feel about their lives, leading social researcher Hugh Mackay has written
his latest book, The Good Life: What makes a life worth living?, inwhich he posits that our relentless pursuit of happiness has tended,
paradoxically, to lead to depression and misery. He says wed all be much better off thinking less about our own wellbeing and more
about that of others. Hence his definition of a happy life is a good life, namely a life lived for others.
In the last 10 years especially, Mackay says hes become very conscious of what he calls the deep malaise in Australian society
characterised by this dawning realisation that ever increasing material wealth cannot fill the existential feeling of lack that is the human
condition.
Mackay says the good life can only be about engagement and relationships when you consider the following: that love is the source of
goodness in human society and that you cant love all by yourself.
Not that this is an especially novel insight. When Aristotle coined the word eudaimonia, what he was referring to was something that
almost had nothing to with an emotional state It was to do with being an engaged citizen, doing your civic duty, sacrificing yourself to
the common good. One of his phrases translates as entering into the full richness of human love and friendship, says Mackay.
In order to lead a good life based on the golden rule of do unto others as you would have them do to you, Mackay says thereare three
particular disciplines that bring out the best in us and in those around us, what he calls the three great therapies of everyday life.
These are to listen attentively, to apologise sincerely and to forgive generously. He writes in his book, If we were to integrate them into
our way of livingto make them part of who we aremany other manifestations of goodness would naturally flow from them.
Read the full blog here.
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/good-life/http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/good-life/ -
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ANDY GRIFFITHS
HOW ONE AUTHOR CAME TOCAPTIVATE YOUNG READERS
For those parents and kids familiar with the vast oeuvre of Andy
Griffiths which includes the Treehousebooks, the Just!series,
the Badbooks and the Bumseries, it will probably come as no
surprise to learn that the childrens author has always loved the
childish imagination the creativity of trying to make something
totally ridiculous like it could be possible. Even as a kid himself,
he liked nothing better than to write his own stories and cartoons
for no other reason than it was fun.
He obviously had a flair for it because his school mates were his
biggest fans, some of whom joined forces with him to form the
greatest rock and roll band in the world singing parodies of the
most popular songs of the day by the likes of Alice Cooper and
David Bowie. Even while at university, Griffiths continued to play
in punk bands despite what he describes as his lack of musicalaptitude. But I loved entertaining, he says, and the crafting of
words and realised thats where I should really be putting my
efforts.
After graduation, Griffiths taught for a few years at a school in
rural Victoria where he was shocked to discover many of the
students thought reading was boring. Reflecting on his own very
different childhood in this regard, Griffiths had the idea to write
little embarrassing stories about when he was a kid
himself that he would then share with the class in order to kick start
them into writing about their own experiences.
In the process of doing this, Griffiths says he began filling up books
full of memories, then dreams and I was soon creating fiction. Andtaking the best of what I wrote and photocopying [the material] into
little self published books. This eventually gave him the confidence to
quit teaching in 1991 in order to pursue writing full time.
During this next phase, Griffiths continued to self-publish little books
which he sold at markets where a growingalbeit smallfan base
convinced him there was an audience for his nutty sense of humour.
In contrast, those publishers he sent his early manuscripts to just sent
him rejection letters.
Griffiths says he received 12 of these before his fortune took a
dramatic turn after illustrator Terry Denton agreed to illustrate Just
Tricking!, the first volume in the much loved Just!Series. The book
came out in 1994 and was the first of many that went on to sell tens of
thousands of copies and earn the author rave reviews and numerous
awards. Hardly surprising that Griffiths today is a household name
especially if that household has children.
Read full blog here.
.
WATCH ANDYS
PRESENTATION. LINK.
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/andy-griffiths-came-captivate-young-readers/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xtFFL0T68Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xtFFL0T68Ehttp://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/andy-griffiths-came-captivate-young-readers/ -
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PETREA KING
THE GIFT OF SUFFERINGIt might not feel like it at the time but many of us would agree that after
weve emerged from a period of blackness, theres a sense the
experience has changed us in a positive way.
One person whos all too familiar with this suffering-induced
metamorphosis is Petrea King, well-known cancer survivor and
Founding Director of the Quest for Life Foundation, a centre established
to help those facing (according to the website) any of lifes Ds, whether
its a diagnosis, divorce, death, depression or disaster.
King says that its often only through trauma that people take the time to
consider the bigger existential questions. Certainly many can relate to
that wonderful place where [we] get to in life, where we say, Thats it,
somethings got to change and its me.
Hence King defines recovery as ideally a process during which we
deepen our self-understanding (namely through connecting with what she
describes as our first nature) and re-order our priorities. She says,
Youll often hear people say, Its second nature to me to think, feel, react
like this without ever questioning, well, what is your firstnature?
Admittedly, such revelations are often preceded by a crisis but then thats
usually whats needed to divert us from the worldly and often trite
preoccupations that keep us from turning our attention inward.
King agrees that religious traditions have been a rich source of
wisdom for her, probably ever since she was a child and
experienced what she can only describe as a moment that
occurred quite serendipitously when she was simply running
around the side of the house, and suddenly the whole physical
world seemed to be completely transparent, and there was this
blinding, glorious something that was in everything.
Despite having what sounds very much like a flash of insight
into ultimate reality, King still had her own rocky road to travel
including childhood illness, family suicide and then when she
was in her early 30s, a serious cancer diagnosis that, she says,
brought her face to face with a black hole of painful feelings
shed been resisting to detrimental effecther entire life.
The story she tells of surviving this and other ordeals, how she
was able to explore and discover the heart that can contain
all of the anguish without losing any capacity to love continues
to be an inspiration to all those who flock to Quest seeking out
Kings wisdom and guidance.
Read full blog here.
WATCH PETREA IN
ACTION. LINK.
http://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/gift-suffering/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfsMgoc6s8khttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfsMgoc6s8khttp://www.thinkandbehappy.com.au/gift-suffering/ -
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EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKERSHAPPINESS & ITS CAUSES 2014
Additional speaker information:
PROFESSOR MIHALY CZIKSZENTMIHALYI
Mihaly will present Living in flow the secret of happiness on Day 1 of the conference as well as a half-day post-conference workshop
Flow the psychology of happiness.
MATTHIEU RICARD - THE HABITS OF HAPPINESS
Matthieu will present Cultivating altriusm a path to happiness on Day 1 of the conference as well as the pre-conference workshop
Towards a more altruistic society.
PROFESSOR JEAN TWENGE - THE NARCISSISM EPIDEMIC
Jean will present The narcissism epediemic causes and solutions on Day 1 of the conference as well as a post-conference workshop
on the same topic.
PROFESSOR ROY BAUMEISTER- THE SCIENCE OF WILLPOWER
Roy will present Willpower how to make it work for you on Day 1 of the conference as well as a post-conference workshop
Willpowerrediscovering the greatest human strength.
DR JANE GOODALL MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Jane will present Sowing the seeds of hope on Day 2 of the conference.
HUGH MACKAY
THE GOOD LIFEHugh will present What makes a life worth living on Day 2 of the conference.
ANDY GRIFFITHS - HOW ONE AUTHOR CAME TO CAPTIVATE YOUNG READERS
Andy will present Tour of the treehouse on Day 1 of the conference.
PETREA KING - THE GIFT OF SUFFERING
Petrea will present Peace in practice caring for ourselves and others on Day 1 of the conference.
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EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKERSHAPPINESS & ITS CAUSES 2014
Thank you to our partners for assisting us in distributing this eBook:
http://www.langleygroup.com.au/emotional-intelligence.htmlhttp://www.worldhappinessforum.org/index.stmhttp://www.wellbeing.com.au/http://mindgardener.com/http://www.mentalhealth.asn.au/http://www.thehappinessinstitute.com/ -
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www.happinessanditscauses.com.au www.mindanditspotential.com.au