How laughter meditation can bring you peace and joy
Max Christern | August 2009 issue Laughing is a group activity. "It gives you a feeling of solidarity," Dhyan Sutorius had already explained to me on the phone. That’s why he asked if I was interested in doing a short laughing meditation with the staff during his upcoming visit to Ode’s Dutch Read More...
Happiness is overrated
Paulo Coelho | August 2009 issue What is happiness? This is a question that has not bothered me for a long time, precisely because I don’t know how to answer it. I am not the only one. Throughout the years, I have lived with all sorts of people: rich and poor, powerful and mediocre. In the eyes Read More...
Of laughter and land mines
Amy Domini | August 2009 issue Last year I visited a clinic for land mine victims in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, run by an extraordinary organization called Veterans International Cambodia. There you find extreme examples of hope and despair crowded into a small space. The clinic creates individually Read More...
Share your favorite funny videos
Ode Editors | August 2009 issue To share your favorite funny videos, join Ode’s YouTube group at http://www.youtube.com/group/OdeLaughter. Here’s a selection of footage that’s sure to raise a Read More...
Truth is good for you
The best prescription for happiness: To thine own self be true. David Servan-Schreiber | December 2008 issue Sophie is unhappy with her husband, but won’t risk talking to him about it. It’s easier to behave as though everything’s fine. Jack knows the factory waste he disposes of is toxic, Read More...
The walking cure
Taking a stroll not only boosts our health and reduces our weight; it also keeps us happy Jay Walljasper | June 2006 issue Walking is one of the most elemental human acts, essential to our lives in the same way as breathing, eating and sleeping. Putting one foot in front of the other is Read More...
An American dream for the world
An unusual history lesson about happiness Jay Walljasper | May 2006 issue When I became a father 11 years ago, I expected it would lead to many unfamiliar and even unsettling experiences. But I never dreamed that one day I would dress up as the American patriot Thomas Jefferson and field questions Read More...
Professor of happiness
French psychiatrist Christophe Andre a self-confessed pessimist, unlocks the mystery of what makes us happy. Peter Van Dijk | March 2008 issue For the second time in two weeks, I took the train from the Netherlands to Paris, and for the second time in two weeks I missed my connection in Rotterdam Read More...
Giving makes us happy
The longest-running study of our time shows that helping others leads to a beautiful life. Jill Neimark | September 2007 issue Laura Goodall believes she has a great life. But it hasn’t been easy. Her father deserted her mother when Laura was in high school. She suffers from chronic arthritis and Read More...
Survival of the kindest
He may well be the psychotherapist with the simplest recipe: kindness. According to Piero Ferrucci, freedom starts with being kind. To others. And yourself. History provides the proof: "One of the reasons behind the success of evolution is that we've been kind to one another." Tijn Touber | April Read More...