Figure 1: Meaning Conference Summit on Global Wellbeing Speakers

Leading wellbeing researchers at the Conference provides new ground for hope at a time when people are desperately seeking answers for mental health problems.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, August 19, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Leading happiness researchers at the Global Wellbeing Summit (see Figure 1) shared their latest research and thinking during the recent INPM’s Meaning Conference. Collectively, their work provides new ground for hope at a time when people are desperately seeking answers for their mental health problems.

“Surprisingly, all of their cutting-edge research findings and ground-breaking concepts can be summed up in one phrase: Learn from nature”, says Paul Wong, organizer of the Meaning Conference. “They remind me of the ancient wisdom of Taoism–nature’s dialectical way is to find the light in the darkness, and happiness in suffering; the natural way is the process of transcending Yin-Yang to achieve balance and harmony.”

For example, Robert Emmons, the foremost gratitude researcher and one of the authors of influential Satisfaction with Life Scale, pointed out at the Meaning Conference that “Gratitude is not just a switch to turn on when things go well, it is also a light that shines in the darkness.”

Tim Lomas from the Gallup Global Wellbeing Initiative points out the importance of maintaining peace and harmony within oneself and others. Matthew Lee, Research Director of Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program focuses on the different seasons of life and varieties of wellbeing. According to Lee, a fully flavored life includes happiness in the depth of suffering.

Similarly, Todd Kashdan, Director of the Well-being Laboratory, George Mason University, and the author of bestsellers Curious? and The Upside of Your Dark Side, emphasized the importance of exploring a full range of experiences, both positive and negative. Thus, embracing a wide range of life experiences is one of the overlooked ways to mitigate the negative impact of adversity and to advance wellbeing.

Scott Barry Kaufman, host of The Psychology Podcast and another keynote at the Meaning Conference, spoke of wellbeing in terms of transcendence (see his latest book Transcend); he favored the metaphor of a sailboat leaving the safe harbor for a journey of adventure.

His recent article in the Atlantic continues the conference theme that the “search for meaning during the inevitable tragedies of human existence [is] better for us than avoiding darkness and trying to ‘stay positive’.” Such search for meaning is best captured by Frankl’s concept of meaning in terms of self-transcendence and tragic optimism.

‘No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell,” according to Carl Jung. All the leading researchers on wellbeing are finding empirical support for this revolutionary view of flourishing. Thus, to live fully and meaningfully, the breadth of experience must be accompanied by the vertical dimension of depth. A shallow life may be one mile wide, but only one itch deep. Such a life will not be able to endure the horrors of human existence.

Wong concludes that the take-home message of the Wellbeing Summit (and the entire conference) is this exciting new science on how to transform vulnerability and suffering into resilience and flourishing. “Just image how much stronger and happier one can be, if one devotes one’s time and energy to cultivate depth in faith, hope and love – the timeless spiritual ideals and the natural nutrients for mental health.”

With so many experts and presentations, it’s clear that this Meaning Conference provides valuable mental health resources, notes Tim Yu, INPM’s Executive Assistant to the President. This can benefit both professionals and lay people. One can still register for the Meaning Conference and have full access to all the recordings to all the summits, keynotes, and presentations. Register today!

Tim Yu
International Network on Personal Meaning
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