Feeling Loved: That Basis of Peace & Happiness    

Human beings are hardwired to feel love. Feeling loved connects us to other people, increases our sense of security, supports our health, and helps us be the best we can be. Sadly, many of us live increasingly isolated and lonely lives. Chronic loneliness has a wide range of adverse physical, psychological, and emotional consequences. Loneliness even increases risk of early death by more than 25%. 

Feeling unloved is not inevitable for any of us. Feeling loved largely comes from our own choices and behaviors. We have the power to feel more loved by creating more moments of “positivity resonance” in our daily lives.  Too often, we think of love as a special experience (like romantic love) but we can experience love in these small, everyday moments of positivity resonance, experiences of shared positive emotion between us and any other person we meet including casual acquaintances, colleagues, and even strangers.  Special loving relationships are important, but feeling loved can be an everyday event that we share with everyone we meet.

This workshop will teach strategies for increasing our sense of feeling loved by teaching strategies for increasing and making the most of moments of positivity resonance in our lives. Drawing on research including work by Sonja Lyubomirski, Barbara Fredrickson, and Arthur Arons each session will share practical approaches for increasing and deepening our connection to those around us, strategies for feeling more loved, at peace, and happier.

Program Objectives:

1. Describe the physical and psychological, emotional, & physical benefits of feeling loved
2. Identify the power of moments of “positivity resonance” and our ability to have more of them
3. Learn practical strategies for increasing positivity resonance and feeling loved. This includes increasing self-disclosure, effective listening, open hearted curiosity, and appreciating differences
4. Develop a personal plan for increase feeling loved