Positive Psychology Conference to Discuss Terrorism and Mental Health

The world's largest Meaning Conference will meet in Toronto July 28th to 31st 2016 Leading researchers and clinicians will gather at the Novotel North York Hotel to tackle the problem of terrorism and the mental health crisis and explore ways to promote wellbeing.

http://m.marketwired.com/press-release/toronto-conference-to-tackle-terrorism-mental-illness-promote-wellbeing-2144836.htm

Plants Respond to Human Touch and Interaction

We now know that even plants respond to touch!  Scientists are still studying the implications of this finding, but it certainly says a lot about the power of touch.  The plants responded, registered for up to half an hour afterwards, to having a leaf moved or being sprayed.   When asked about how it felt, the test plant, an Arabidopsis said "I feel... "

Nah, just kidding.

Scientists did say plants’ stress response seems to be similar to an immune response in animals and that the response deserves further study.  They have discovered the more the plant is touched, the greater the chance it's flowering will be delayed. 

http://www.sciencewa.net.au/topics/environment-a-conservation/item/4265-plants-respond-to-the-human-touch

Your Life Experience Affects Your DNA and Future Generations

Crazy!  I know from my Positive Paychology studies, that our outlook on life can affect our genetics...  Just as healthy eating and exercise can help moderate a genetic predisposition to heart problems, a positive psychology helps us to be more life carefree Uncle Goforit, and less like careful Aunt StaySafe.

But more than affect our genetics it can affect our children and grandchildren as they are created from the particular twists in your DNA strands du jour!

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/may/13-grandmas-experiences-leave-epigenetic-mark-on-your-genes

Mild Adversity in Life May Make You Happier!

My mother was a modern woman of the '70s. Any thing that could be made convenient, was. Fish now came in over-ready pre-made breaded sticks; throw out the frying pan! Popcorn could now be popped in a tiny microwave oven; puncture all the Jiffy-pop trays and throw them in the river!

But in our quest for ongoing convenience and ease, we may be setting ourselves up to be less happy, since even mild adversities make us happier in the end. The article below speaks of even more serious adversities, such as bullying or having a serious illness... nobody wants these... and it's good to know if you suffer through these, the silver lining may be that you more often see the silver lining. And I don't mean "silver lining the bottom of the river bed" from all the Jiffy pop trays... but I digress.

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/moderate-adversity-can-make-you-a-happier-person-1.2692093