How can we cultivate agility and adaptivity in our chaotic, shifting times? Dr. Pam King offers a research-backed cycle of practices to incorporate into the rhythms of your daily life—helping you navigate change and work through life’s obstacles. She calls them the 5 A’s of Spiritual Health: Attunement, Awareness, Alignment, Activation, and Assessment.

In this episode, she introduces the 5 A’s, explaining the context, process, and benefits. She comments on the contemplative practices and psychological science that support this cycle of habits and offers reflections on why these simple movements can be so transformative.

ANNOUNCEMENT: With & For Season 2 launches on January 6, 2025!

Show Notes

• With & For Producer Jill Westbrook introduces the episode
• “Why do we need to develop agility as a practice?”
• Developing agility and adaptivity
• What the 5 A’s are: “a cycle of practices synthesizing, research on different contemplative practices from different spiritual traditions …. and psychological research around the efficacy or the impact of different types of spiritual practices on human well being and health.”
• Attuning to our bodies and physiology
• What sensations might mean
• Engaging emotions, thoughts, values, actions, and behaviors that lead to a thriving life
• Dealing with complexity and unpredictability
• Tuning into our sources of meaning and purpose
• How to cultivate more spiritual vitality and sense of purpose
• “At the center of thriving is adaptive growth.”
• “We want to be able to grow in a purposeful direction.”
• “Thriving is living life on purpose.”
• Agility allows us to balance goals, relationships, and values.
• Attunement
• Awareness
• Alignment
• Activation
• Assessment

About the Thrive Center

• Learn more at thethrivecenter.org.
• Follow us on Instagram @thrivecenter
• Follow us on X @thrivecenter
• Follow us on LinkedIn @thethrivecenter

About Dr. Pam King

Dr. Pam King is Executive Director the Thrive Center and is Peter L. Benson Professor of Applied Developmental Science at Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy. Follow her @drpamking.

About With & For

• Host: Pam King
• Senior Director and Producer: Jill Westbrook
• Operations Manager: Lauren Kim
• Social Media Graphic Designer: Wren Juergensen
• Consulting Producer: Evan Rosa

Special thanks to the team at Fuller Studio and the Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy.