The Science of Happiness

Do you have a hard time calming your nerves? Author Raina Telgemeier tries a practice to get out of her head, one step at a time.
Summary: In this episode of The Science of Happiness, bestselling graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier reflects on growing up with anxiety, panic attacks, and emetophobia—the fear of throwing up—and shares how transforming those experiences into stories helped her feel less alone and inspired young readers to seek support. Through a week-long walking meditation practice, Raina explores what it means to slow down, reconnect with her body, and face discomfort with curiosity rather than avoidance. 
How To Do This Practice:

Choose a small, quiet space: Find a place where you can walk slowly back and forth for about 10–15 steps without interruption. This could be a hallway, living room, backyard, or even a hotel room.

Set a timer for 10 minutes: Giving yourself a set amount of time helps you stop checking the clock and allows you to settle more fully into the practice.

Begin walking slowly and naturally: Walk at a comfortable pace, paying attention to the sensation of each step—your heel touching the ground, the shift of your weight, and the movement of your body.

Focus on your breath: As you walk, gently notice your breathing. You might take a slow breath before turning around at the end of each pass, letting your breath help anchor your attention.

When your mind wanders, return to the movement: Thoughts, worries, memories, or distractions will come up. Rather than judging yourself, simply guide your attention back to your steps and breathing.

Notice how you feel afterward: When the timer ends, pause for a moment before moving on with your day. Take note of any shifts in your body, mood, or pace of mind, even subtle ones can matter.

Try the full practice here: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/walking_meditation
Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
Today’s Guests:
RAINA TELGEMEIER is an American cartoonist and New York Times bestselling author. Her books have received many awards, including multiple Eisner Awards, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor and a Stonewall Honor.
Learn more about Raina Telgemeier here: https://goraina.com/ 
RICHARD DAVIDSON is the founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Learn more about Richard Davidson here: https://www.richardjdavidson.com/
Related The Science of Happiness episodes:  
How to Find Calm Through Walking: https://tinyurl.com/43dr26re
Related Happiness Breaks:
Walk Your Way to Calm, with Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/y8md2759
Message us or leave a comment on Instagram @scienceofhappinesspod. E-mail us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/mrxkfvkj

What happens when you linger and look closely at a piece of art? Nathalie Ryan, an educator from the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., guides us through a slow looking practice shown to help deepen your sense of awe, presence, and connection.
How To Do This Practice:

Choose an image to focus on: Pick a piece of art, photograph, postcard, or even a recent photo from your phone that captures a natural or urban scene. Don’t overthink it—choose something that draws your attention.

Begin with a few slow breaths: Take a moment to settle into the present. Deepen your inhale, lengthen your exhale, and allow your breathing to slow the pace of your day.

Let your eyes wander slowly: Scan the image without rushing. Notice the light, colors, shapes, patterns, textures, and details that begin to emerge as you spend more time looking.

Imagine yourself inside the scene: Engage all of your senses. What might you hear, smell, feel, or taste in this place? Allow yourself to step into the environment with your imagination.

Notice how the scene changes: Picture the image at different times of day and throughout the seasons. Reflect on how the light, colors, atmosphere, and activity might shift over time.

Reflect on what arises: Pause to notice any emotions, memories, thoughts, or sensations that surfaced during the practice. Consider what changed when you gave yourself permission to look more slowly.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
Today’s Happiness Break Guide:
NATHALIE A. RYAN is a Senior Educator at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, where she has led programs for educators, families, teens, and the adult public since 2002.
Related Happiness Break episodes:
How To Ground Yourself in Nature: https://tinyurl.com/25ftdxpm
Pause to Look at the Sky: https://tinyurl.com/4jttkbw3
Experience Nature Wherever You Are, with Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/mrutudeh
Related Science of Happiness episodes:
Cities of Awe Series: https://tinyurl.com/2vyhxvny
How Cities Can Make Space for Awe: https://tinyurl.com/yr7m2zb5
What Humans Can Learn From Trees: https://tinyurl.com/48te84ps
Follow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPod

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/mt4mcw3m

Description:
Sharing a new podcast called Stories from a Stranger, which features portraits of strangers connected by themes of love, loss, regret, inspiration, illness, family connections, and more. In each episode of Stories from a Stranger, host Hunter Prosper shares  raw, intimate, long-form conversations with real people. It’s a show that inspires empathy and connection, proving that “Every stranger has a story.”
In this episode, Hunter meets three strangers at three different stages of life and asks them what love means to them. You’ll hear how love looks and feels different at every age—from the dizzying rush of a first crush to the quiet comfort of a lifelong partner, and the ache of wondering if love will ever come at all. Today, yesterday, and tomorrow, love is in the air.
Listen to Stories from a Stranger at https://lnk.to/storiesfromastrangerSH
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/mu6sn8dp

What happens when we slow down enough to really experience art? We visit a museum to discover how slow looking at art can cultivate awe, empathy, and a greater sense of connection in a distracted world.
Summary: Art has the power to move us emotionally, physically, and socially—but only if we take the time to truly engage with it. As part of our Cities of Awe series, this episode of The Science of Happiness explores what happens when we slow down and really look at a piece of art. We visit the Nevada Museum of Art to look at the science and practice of slow looking—how it can deepen empathy, presence, and everyday meaning.
How To Do This Practice:

Choose One Piece and Commit to Staying With It: Pick a single artwork, photograph, object, or even a scene in nature. Set aside about 15 minutes and put away distractions—especially your phone. The goal is not to “figure it out,” but to stay present long enough for your experience to deepen.

Spend Time Noticing the Form: For the first five minutes, focus only on what you see. Notice the shapes, textures, colors, lines, patterns, shadows, movement, or composition. Let your eyes wander slowly across the piece and observe details you might normally miss.

Pay Attention to Your Emotional Response: For the next five minutes, shift inward. What feelings arise as you look? Curiosity, comfort, sadness, awe, tension, delight, nostalgia? Instead of labeling the experience as simply “I like it” or “I don’t,” explore the full range of emotions and reactions that emerge.

Let Your Mind Make Associations: For the last five minutes, allow the artwork to lead your thoughts elsewhere. What memories, people, places, or ideas come to mind? Does it remind you of something from your own life or spark questions about the world, history, or humanity? Follow the associations without judging them.

Stay Open to Complexity and Discomfort: Some works may bring up conflicting or uncomfortable emotions. Rather than rushing past them, give yourself permission to sit with them. 

Read the full study here.
Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
Today’s Guests: 
COLIN ROBERTSON is the Senior Vice President of Education and Research at the Nevada Museum of Art. 
Learn more about Colin Robertson here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinmrobertson/
DR. ANJAN CHATTERJEE is a professor of Neurology, Psychology, and Architecture and the founding Director of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics. 
Learn more about Dr. Anjan Chatterjee here: https://tinyurl.com/yw2fs364
Related Science of Happiness episodes:
Cities of Awe Series: https://tinyurl.com/2vyhxvny
Follow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPod

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/5b5prh4t

Take a few minutes to reflect on someone who inspires you, and how you can embody the values you admire in them.
How To Do This Practice: 

Arrive and Settle: Find a quiet place to sit or stand. Gently close your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a few slow, steady breaths, allowing your body to relax and the noise of the day to quiet.

Call to Mind Someone Who Inspires You: Think of a person whose character deeply moves you—someone whose courage, kindness, integrity, or compassion stands out. Let one specific moment come to mind when they embodied those qualities.

Replay the Moment: Picture what they did as clearly as you can. What action did they take? What values were they expressing? Stay with the details of that moment and what made it meaningful.

Notice How It Lands in Your Body: As you hold this image, turn your attention inward. What do you feel physically? Warmth, openness, a softening, maybe even emotion rising—just observe without judgment.

Name What Matters to You: Reflect on why this moment resonates so deeply. What value or sense of purpose does it point to—justice, care, truth, courage, love? Let yourself name what feels most true for you.

Ask yourself: What’s one small way I can live this value today? It might be in how you speak to someone, how you show up in your work, or how you care for yourself or others. Carry this intention with you as you move forward.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
Today’s Happiness Break Guide:
DACHER KELTNER is the host of the Greater Good Science Center’s award-winning podcast, The Science of Happiness and is a co-instructor of the GGSC’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Related Happiness Break episodes:
Embodying Resilience: https://tinyurl.com/46383mhx
A Meditation on Becoming a Gift to Life: https://tinyurl.com/yc76n7ur
Visualizing Your Purpose: https://tinyurl.com/3ndn95zr
Related Science of Happiness episodes:
What’s Your “Why” in Life?: https://tinyurl.com/b38kdt68
How To Ground Yourself in Nature: https://tinyurl.com/25ftdxpm
Pause to Look at the Sky: https://tinyurl.com/4jttkbw3
Follow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPod

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/33uyrykc