Episodes

  • Activating the Science of Happiness: Healthy Habits, Self-Compassion, and Meaning, with Dr. Laurie Santos

    Activating the Science of Happiness: Healthy Habits, Self-Compassion, and Meaning, with Dr. Laurie Santos
    Jan 6 2025
    Science can change your life. The more we study what makes people develop, grow, learn, and flourish—the more we see how the practical application of scientific findings can help us transform our life and experience—into a life of value, meaning, purpose and true thriving.Yale psychologist Laurie Santos has spent her career investigating the human brain and how it thrives. From her popular Yale course to her podcast, The Happiness Lab, she’s communicating actionable and hopeful lessons for how to build lasting habits, cultivate self-compassion, manage complex emotions, and realign our lives toward meaningful happiness.In this conversation with Dr. Laurie Santos, we discuss:How the mental health crisis affecting young people changed her, and how she teaches psychologyHow our brains lie to usThe role of positive and negative emotions in a good lifeHow feeling good can lead to doing goodThe psychological and relational benefits of faith and spiritualityAnd she offers practical insights, science-backed guidance, and powerful exercises for managing misalignment and difficult emotions.Laurie Santos on how to activate psychological science for more happiness and meaning (from the episode):“Some of these factors that we know scientifically do work. From simple behavior changes like being more social, doing nice things for others, just healthy habits  like sleeping and moving your body,  to mindset shifts, to becoming a little bit more present, to becoming more other oriented, to becoming more grateful, more self-compassionate, and so on.There are shifts that we can make that can have a huge effect on how we actually interact in the world.We need to understand that we're not perfect, we're just human. And we will mess up a little bit too. But it's really the journey that   matters.”About Laurie SantosDr. Laurie Santos is the Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology at Yale University and host of The Happiness Lab podcast. Dr. Santos is an expert on the science of happiness. Her Yale course, Psychology and the Good Life, teaches students how the science of psychology can provide important hints about how to make wiser choices and live a life that’s happier and more fulfilling. Her course recently became Yale’s most popular course in over 300 years, with almost one of our four students at Yale enrolled. Her course has been featured in numerous news outlets including the New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, GQ Magazine, Slate and O! Magazine. A winner of numerous awards both for her science and teaching, she was recently voted as one of Popular Science Magazine’s “Brilliant 10” young minds, and was named in Time Magazine as a “Leading Campus Celebrity.” Her podcast, The Happiness Lab, has over 100 million downloads.Listen to The Happiness Lab podcastVisit [drlauriesantos.com](http://drlauriesantos.comhttps://www.drlauriesantos.com/)Show NotesHow Laurie got up close with the mental health crisis affecting young peopleSelf-careThe history of The Happiness Course at Yale UniversityThe impact of COVID-19“Things have gotten worse.”Statistics: More than 40% of college students report they are too depressed to functionAnxieties provoked by technology (Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge)Stress levels across the developmental lifespanHow our brains lie to usBehavioral changes and healthy habitsMindset shifts and dispositional transformationsThe importance of science for validating spiritual beliefs, values, and practicesSometimes spiritual traditions get some things right, but can also be wrong, and need empirical studyManifestationImagining the positive outcome isn’t as good as planning out the if-then strategy.“The science can help us with the nuance so we can really get things right.”Laurie Santos defines happinessPsychological approach to happiness: “subjective well-being”Positive vs Negative Emotions and the role they play in a good lifeWhy is happiness helpful to us? Is happiness really the goal?The “feel-good, do-good effect”Any cause-based activism requiresLaurie Santos answers: What is thriving?Mindset and behavioral changeNon-judgmental responseSelf-compassion and curiosity“It’s really the journey that matters.”Helping othersBurnout and Self-careStressors that lead to burnoutThe impact of rest on productivityReligion and Happiness: Are religious people happier than non-religious?Social connectionGrowing up CatholicComparing Beliefs vs Behaviors and MindsetsIt’s less about religious beliefs and more about religious practicesCommunal PracticesTranscendent EmotionsOversimplifying transcendent emotionsAwe and Wonder often come along with a disturbance, such as feeling very small, feeling out of control, feeling disoriented, feeling overwhelmed, etc.Dacher Keltner’s tourist studies “Draw yourself in your scene”Feeling tinier, and yet more connected“I’m part of everything, but I am nothing. How do I deal with that?”Evolution and ...
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Experience Love — Advent Meditation (Week 4)

    Experience Love — Advent Meditation (Week 4)
    Dec 22 2024

    Christmas is about the love of God given to us in Christ. Love compels us forward through darkness and light—enabling us to grow and change, connect and relate, forgive and let go, and make a difference and seek justice.

    This December, we’re celebrating Advent with you by offering four guided meditations by Dr. Pam King—considering how to cultivate the Advent virtues of hope, peace, joy, and love into our lives this year.

    We’d be grateful if you considered the Thrive Center in your year-end giving. To make a year-end tax-deductible gift, visit thethrivecenter.org/contribute.

    Don't forget that Season 2 of With & For launches with all new episodes on January 6, 2025!

    Show Notes

    • Jesus said, "As I have loved you, you must love one another.”
    • “Love compels us forward through darkness and light, with its power to connect and heal.”
    • Love for God, love for others, and love for yourself
    • You are beloved.
    • Breathing practice
    • Attuning to sensations of love in your body
    • What are these feelings of love saying about you, your values, your beliefs?
    • What does love say about your deepest beliefs about what matters most in life?
    • Who needs love from you today?
    • How do you live out love in the world?
    • What is one thing you can do to lean into love or to live out love?

    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.
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    13 mins
  • Embrace Joy — Advent Meditation (Week 3)

    Embrace Joy — Advent Meditation (Week 3)
    Dec 15 2024

    Joy is more than a feeling. It’s a virtue. And it’s something we can cultivate. We live into joy when we encounter who or what matters most to us. It’s associated with our life's deepest yearnings and connection.

    This December, we’re celebrating Advent with you by offering four guided meditations by Dr. Pam King—considering how to cultivate the Advent virtues of hope, peace, joy, and love into our lives this year.

    We’d be grateful if you considered the Thrive Center in your year-end giving. To make a year-end tax-deductible gift, visit thethrivecenter.org/contribute.

    Don't forget that Season 2 of With & For launches with all new episodes on January 6, 2025!

    Show Notes

    • The Shepherd’s Candle—symbolizing joy
    • Joy is more than a feeling. It’s a virtue.
    • Cultivating joy through encountering who and what matters most to us
    • Breathing practice
    • Loving and joyful presence of God
    • How are you experiencing joy in your body?
    • Joy’s insight into our values, opening us up to creativity and connection
    • Does pursuing joy require you to step out of your normal routine?
    • What can you do to bring joy to another?

    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.
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    11 mins
  • Discover Peace — Advent Meditation (Week 2)

    Discover Peace — Advent Meditation (Week 2)
    Dec 8 2024

    Peace can be elusive, but if set an intention to be instruments of peace—both in offering it and experiencing it—it has the power to transform us. Peace is often an indication that life is in balance and going well, either in the immediate or the eternal sense.

    This December, we’re celebrating Advent with you by offering four guided meditations by Dr. Pam King—considering how to cultivate the Advent virtues of hope, peace, joy, and love into our lives this year.

    We’d be grateful if you considered the Thrive Center in your year-end giving. To make a year-end tax-deductible gift, visit thethrivecenter.org/contribute.

    Don't forget that Season 2 of With & For launches with all new episodes on January 6, 2025!

    Show Notes

    • “Peace can be elusive.”
    • Peace is more than a feeling—it’s an indication that “all is well.”
    • Consider the Prince of Peace, who comes to dwell with us this Christmas
    • Breathing practice
    • What brings you peace?
    • Where do you feel peace in your body?
    • What has been preventing peace for you?
    • “Peace is often an indication that life is in balance, and that life is going well, either in the immediate or the eternal sense.”
    • Setting an intention to pursue peace
    • “Peace I give you.”
    • “May the peace of God be with you and pervade your life this week as you anticipate the coming of the Prince of Peace this Christmas.”

    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.
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    12 mins
  • Take Hold of Hope — Advent Meditation (Week 1)

    Take Hold of Hope — Advent Meditation (Week 1)
    Dec 1 2024

    Hope is powerful. It’s more than a feeling. It’s a foundation for getting us through even the darkest of times. The season of Advent provides the opportunity to attune to hope, become aware of our deepest hopes and desires, and then align our lives to hope.

    This December, we’re celebrating Advent with you by offering four guided meditations by Dr. Pam King—considering how to cultivate the Advent virtues of hope, peace, joy, and love into our lives this year.

    We’d be grateful if you considered the Thrive Center in your year-end giving. To make a year-end tax-deductible gift, visit thethrivecenter.org/contribute.

    Don't forget that Season 2 of With & For launches with all new episodes on January 6, 2025!

    Show Notes

    • “Hope has the power to transform and involves our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.”
    • Take hold of hope with simple steps of attunement, awareness, alignment, and activation
    • Breath work
    • Attune, in order to feel sensations of hope in your body.
    • How are you experiencing or feeling hope in your body?
    • Notice, don’t judge.
    • What do the feelings of hope say about your deepest desires?
    • Where does your hope come from?
    • How can you align your day with your hope?
    • How can you align with hope to reflect God's desires for you?
    • What is one thing you can do today to lean forward into hope?

    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.
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    10 mins
  • Season 2 Trailer! Reconnect, Repair, Rebuild in 2025

    Season 2 Trailer! Reconnect, Repair, Rebuild in 2025
    Nov 25 2024

    SEASON 2 is launching January 6, 2025! Subscribe to With & For today!

    How can we reconnect, repair, and rebuild our fractured world?

    We need grounded scientific insight that we connect us with what is good, true, and beautiful. We need wider perspective that guides us toward purpose, community, wisdom, and spiritual health.

    Developmental psychologist, ordained minister, and professor, Dr. Pam King introduces Season 2 of With & For, which launches on January 6, 2025. Inviting guests with expertise in psychology, spirituality, and leadership, this new season will tackle practical questions with courage, openness, and hope—focusing on insights, stories, and exercises for how to reconnect, repair, and rebuild our fractured world. How to find psychological, emotional, and spiritual health, and how to find one another in love.

    This season, episode topics include:

    The power of positive emotions like awe, wonder, curiosity, and transcendence, along with other research backed practices that encourage them.

    The dangers of spiritual and religious abuse, the psychological impact of childhood relational trauma, and how to heal from the wounds of the past.

    The neuroscience behind our emotional health, its impact on how we develop, learn, grow, and make meaning.

    The science behind core human relationships, the emotional vulnerability and power dynamics of intimate romantic relationships, as well as the challenge of parenting and being parented.

    Why and how our moral lives and cultivating virtues are fundamental to joy and thriving.

    The legacies of racial justice and consider the spiritual and moral underpinnings of nonviolent resistance. The healing properties of art, creativity, and beauty, and how they offer comfort and strength beyond words.

    And much more.

    Subscribe to With & For wherever you listen to podcasts and visit us online at thethrivecenter.org/podcast.

    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.
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    5 mins
  • Individual, Relational, Aspirational: The Three Pillars of Thriving with Dr. Pam King and Nada Jones

    Individual, Relational, Aspirational: The Three Pillars of Thriving with Dr. Pam King and Nada Jones
    Nov 18 2024
    Dr. Pam King joins longtime friend, entrepreneur, and inspiring podcast host Nada Jones on for a conversation on thriving and self-discovery in mid-life. Nada Jones is the founder and CEO of Liberty Road, a podcast and organization for entrepreneurial women focused on growth, wisdom, sharing stories, and finding purpose. She has a regular podcast where women in the middle third of their lives share their journeys of self-discovery.Together they discuss Pam’s approach to thriving as a developmental psychologist; the adventure of women entering and exploring the middle third of their lives; Pam’s definition of thriving; and what might get in the way of thriving during this challenging period of life.Pam shares resources from psychology and spirituality that can provide for people to grow and support others, describing three pillars for a thriving life: individual, relational, and aspirational. Show NotesAbout Liberty Road podcast and organization“Pursuing your future doesn't end at 40. In fact, it may mark the beginning of knowing who you are, what you're capable of, and what you really want.”What is the Thrive Center?The intersection of psychological science and spiritual wisdom“The irony of the term of mental health is that it's actually defined by mental illness, or pathology, or depression, or anxiety.”What can go right with people?Explicit interest in spirituality: “There’s gotta be something more.”“A historical rift between religiously or spiritual things and psychological science.”Research-backed spirituality“A thriving life is a life on-purpose.”“It’s not just the journey, it’s the direction.”Thriving at the intersection of three pillars of life: individual, relational, and aspirational.“In the deepest part of my being, I really want to enable people to thrive in a very holistic way. And live more fully into who they are. Living more authentically, living with deeper connection and, and with deeper purpose.”Not just another self-help platform“How do you help us understand purpose or thriving when maybe we haven't put ourselves first?”Balance and moving through extremesLife is fluid and dynamicMiddle age as a period of fluxLooking at opportunities in challengesMotherhood and service for othersFinding joyExamples for each three pillarsStay-at-home mom moving into a new phase of life“Start with loving ourselves and giving ourselves grace.”“Bring out the best in yourself. Love yourself.”What images come to mind as positive memories of competency and strength?Obligations in relationshipsWhat are we actually living out? Is it consistent with our values?Change your environment or change yourself.What is spirituality?“Spirituality is people’s perception and experience of transcendence. … But also our response to transcendence.”Spiritual health and psychology—”Not all spirituality is helpful or healthful.”“I think we're living in a spiritually void time.”“Have we deprived ourselves of something in an effort to not deprive ourselves of anything?”Pam King on life in the “middle third”Reprioritizing and making professional shiftsWhat keeps you grounded? 10 minutes of silence of meditation.What are you currently reading? Open and Unafraid by W. David Taylor / Strength That Remains, by Tracy KidderWhat is a skincare musthave? SBLA Facial WandWhat has surprised you about the good life? There’s more losses than anticipated.What has your work done to liberate you? Reworking and reconsidering purpose; “Diving deep in conversations with people has been liberating and wonderful.”About Nada JonesNada Jones is the founder and CEO of Liberty Road, a podcast and organization for entrepreneurial women focused on growth, wisdom, sharing stories, and finding purpose. Discover more of her work at www.liberty-road.com. About the Thrive CenterLearn more at thethrivecenter.org.Follow us on Instagram @thrivecenterFollow us on X @thrivecenterFollow us on LinkedIn @thethrivecenter About Dr. Pam KingDr. 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 & ForHost: Pam KingSenior Director and Producer: Jill WestbrookOperations Manager: Lauren KimSocial Media Graphic Designer: Wren JuergensenConsulting Producer: Evan RosaSpecial thanks to the team at Fuller Studio and the Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy.
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    47 mins
  • Human Relationality and Growth: Psychological and Theological Perspectives with Dr. Pam King & Evan Rosa

    Human Relationality and Growth: Psychological and Theological Perspectives with Dr. Pam King & Evan Rosa
    Nov 11 2024
    “How do I grow as a fully differentiated person in relationship and increasing intimacy, increasing contribution with the world around me?” (Dr. Pam King, from the episode)Dr. Pam King joins the Yale Center for Faith & Culture podcast, For the Life of the World, for a discussion of human development, purpose, relational intimacy, and spiritual connection—all through the integration of developmental psychology and theology.With host Evan Rosa (Yale Center for Faith & Culture), she reflects on human change and plasticity in the midst of a whole complex life; relational attachment for the sake of intimacy and exploration and ultimate purpose or meaning; the proper place of self-love; God’s enabling and loving presence as the ultimate secure attachment figure; the importance of learning, gaining skills, and the pursuit of expertise; the prospects of regaining emotional regulation through relationships; the game changing impact of deliberate psychological and spiritual practices to move us well beyond surviving to a life of thriving.Announcement! With & For Season 2 is dropping on January 6, 2025! And until then, every Monday from September to December, we’re sharing some shorter clips, practical features, and other talks or interviews featuring Dr. Pam King, to offer insight into what it means to thrive and pursue spiritual health.Show NotesMartin Buber’s I and ThouJohn Bowlby and Attachment TheoryTrolick’s Still Face Experiment (Video)Justin Barrett & Pamela Ebstyne King, Thriving with Stone Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human FlourishingDevelopmental psych as the observational study of human change in the midst of a whole life of complexityPlasticity of the human speciesRelational attachment for the sake of intimacy and explorationThe Impact of environment on genetic expressionLaw if reciprocityFullness of creation, redemption and consummationTheology as establishing ends, and psychology as developing towards gods purposesHow psychology aids in the process of becoming our full selves as selfhoodThe proper place of self-loveGod’s enabling and loving presenceThriving as psychological, vs Flourishing as philosophicalMeaningful life in eudaimonic and hedonistic termsImago dei“Back to the future”—understanding the end toward the beginningReading psychology through a teleological lensLinear stage theories of developmentLife as a series of cyclesWe can have a telos as a dynamic processThriving as pursuing the fullness of selfReciprocity beyond ourselves when life is hardColossians and Jesus as the perfect image of GodConformity is not uniformityParenting as helping children to become their unique selvesTelos as inhabiting the self, the relational, and the aspirational—purpose is found at the intersection of all threeWilliam Damon on purposePurpose as enduring actionable goal, meaningful to the self and contributing beyond the selfLearning, gaining skills, and pursuit of expertiseMeaning making as a dynamic life-long projectOrienting life in the present moment by tethering to a consummate vision of the futureSociality as inherent to human natureGoals: self, expertise acquisition, and what we aspire toRoles: who we are in our social networksSouls: what ideals are most dearly held and most meaningfulThe fundamental rejection of pre autonomy and independence; embrace of our relational selvesHow malleable our brains are through intentional practicesMaking meaning can change your brainsSurviving vs thrivingAttachment and regulationRegaining emotional regulation through relationshipsThe game changing impact of deliberate psychological and spiritual practices—intention, motivation, and goalsPossible cutoff point — The relation of psychological science and theologyPsychology as a God-given tool to enable thriving and flourishingKnown, loved, and loving othersThe role of suffering and loss as part of the thriving processFor the cynical and jaded: thriving that is real to loss, grief, vulnerability, and daring to thriveProduction NotesThis podcast featured Pamela Ebstyne KingEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Macie Bridge and Kaylen YunA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give‍This episode was made possible in part by the generous support of Blueprint 1543. For more information, visit Blueprint1543.org. About the Thrive CenterLearn more at thethrivecenter.org.Follow us on Instagram @thrivecenterFollow us on X @thrivecenterFollow us on LinkedIn @thethrivecenter About Dr. Pam KingDr. 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 & ForHost: Pam KingSenior Director...
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    1 hr and 8 mins