Hi, this is Dacher Keltner.
Welcome to Happiness Break,
a series from the Science of Happiness where we take a few minutes in the day to do a practice that's been supported by science to find greater meaning and happiness and purpose in our lives.
Today we're going to do a practice that you might call Circle of Care or Support in honor of the philosopher Peter Singer from Princeton University who wrote about expanding the Circle of Care in 1981.
We know from the scientific literature that a sense of support really brings good things to us in terms of well-being.
Just feeling supported, lowers levels of cortisol, it activates regions of the brain that bring us a sense of safety,
and then it helps us handle stress and feel greater purpose.
And expanding the Circle of Care or Support makes us aware of all the people who are supporting us in myriad ways from friends to family members to mentors,
strangers on the streets, acquaintances, and they do it in different ways and give us different things.
And this practice is bringing that into our awareness in this moment,
given all the scientific benefits of being supported.
What I'd like you to do is to find a place where you feel safe and comfortable and settle into a posture of ease.
You may be sitting or standing, but with a nice posture, rest your hands in a comfortable place.
Let's take a nice deep breath in.
And breathing out.
Another nice deep breath in.
And breathing out.
Building on that, let's just shift our awareness around the body.
Breathing in, relax your shoulders and your face, your jaw, your brow.
And breathing out.