The Open Book Journey: Revealing the Wisdom of Happiness

What happens when you deeply connect with your sense of spirit and spirituality? Who do you become?

To Emma Loewe, connecting with your spirit means uncovering that inner voice that lives inside us all. It’s discovering who you really are, and what you want…and going after those things. 

Emma Loewe is the co-author of The Spirit Almanac: A Modern Guide To Ancient Self Care, which she wrote alongside Lindsay Kellner. She is the Senior Sustainability Editor at mindbodygreen and received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from...

What happens when we lose the layers of beliefs that cover our true authenticity? 

When we shake that inner critic that keeps telling us, “you are not enough. You just don’t belong. You don’t fit in. You’re not good enough?” 

We emerge as the best versions of ourselves. 

Please, come join us for this special episode of the open book journey where, for the first time, we will be referencing a poem to derive inspiration for something that’s incredibly important on this human journey…to find the best version of ourselves. 

Do you know what's the sweetest sound in the Universe? Yes, it's the sound of your name! Your name has a mystical energy and vibration that makes you feel connected with the world like nothing else does. Names help build the bridges between people and give us an identity that is unmistakably ours...even when you are not very fond of your name. :-) 

In this episode, we will explore the hidden potential of your name that was always uniquely yours. We will use concepts from the science of wellbeing and ancient wisdom to convert names into p...

Do you wish you could uncover your inner potential? Do you sometimes get frustrated with questions like "what's your passion?"  Do you sometimes ask yourself, "What's my life's purpose?" Do you ever wonder how you lost the innocence and light of your childhood? Do you want to discover your inner child? If you answered yes to any of these questions or if they ‘spoke’ to you, then this episode is for you.

In this episode, Arun Sardana, founder of karuna, explains the revelation that came to him in a meditation about how his inner light, his inner poten...

You probably know someone or have personally experienced sexual abuse or sexual assault. The trauma of abuse not only scars our soul but it lives at our cellular level, as explained in the book The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk. Unfortunately, sexual abuse is not only all too common, but also incredibly well hidden in almost every society - almost 90% of sexual abuse and 80% of child abuse is never reported. As shocking as the statistics are about the prevalence of this dastardly and damning act, what is even more surprising is that 93% of the abusers...

We all exist in different states of awareness depending upon our unique experiences and conditions of life. However, we all share one thing in common - we all receive 23,000 daily reminders about how to live our life. Whether we heed them or not and the degree to which we connect with these reminders depends on our state of awareness. 

The good news is that we all have what it takes to become fully aware and connect with our inner child, with our innocence that has the potential to lead us to the peace and joy we are s...

This open book journey podcast episode is the first of a three-part series. In this episode, we unpack and discuss the prologue and first four chapters of the New York Times bestselling book Think Again by Adam Grant. Grant is an organizational psychologist who spends much of his time thinking about how to make people’s lives at work more productive and meaningful. He is willing to challenge the status quo and rethink his thinking, which is why his ideas have stayed so fresh and practical.  

In his book, Adam Grant says that “reconsidering something we believe deepl...

Man's Search For Meaning is one of the most inspirational books of our time. Authored by Viktor Frankl, who survived four death camps and Auschwitz, it's a story of finding meaning and positivity amid chaos, hopelessness and death. In this episode, we derive inspiration from the chapter titled "Tragic Optimism" to identify three practical ways, based on the science of wellbeing and ancient wisdom, that have the potential to give us hope and meaning even during chaotic times like the socio-economic crisis caused by COVID-19.

As Viktor Frankl said, we are not in pursuit of happiness; rather...

What's your greatest fear? Is it the fear of death? Of harm occurring to your loved ones? Of not being able to provide for your family? Or the fear of facing your inner demons? 

Whatever your fears may be, they are nature's way of keeping us alert and safe from danger. But, when fear takes a seat inside us and grips us too strongly, it can become a paralyzing emotion. We cannot function in the face of such fear and we feel completely powerless.

Here's the good news. You can gain control over this immobilizing f...

Do you find yourself engaged in negative self-talk at times? Do you find yourself going in a downward spiral of thoughts, even when you don't want to be? Do you sometimes say to yourself, "I'm not good enough," "I am not sexy enough," "I am not intelligent enough?" If you do, you are not alone. 

This is nature's way of protecting us from danger, but unfortunately, this can also become our narrative. The good news is that such negativity can be diluted and offset by evidence-based wellbeing tools and ancient wisdom. In this episode, Arun Sardana, founder o...

Money has been equated to happiness for time immemorial. However, this is not a straight line relationship. It is staggered at best and jagged at worst. Regardless, what we do know is that money does make people happy, but only to a certain point. 

Recent events such as COVID-19 have potentially changed our relationship with money in ways that have brought meaning and purpose closer to the surface. Does this have something to do with our realization about the impermanence of things? Does money affect our sense of mortality and how we want to be remembered? 

...

"If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles; if you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, suffer a defeat; if you know neither enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." This is the wisdom of Sun Tzu in the oldest military treatise called The Art of War that is still prized today as it was 2500 years ago.

In this 3-part series, we transform 13 chapters of Sun Tzu's wisdom of winning wars in the battleground into 4 Principles and 9 Tactics of defeating your inner...

"If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles; if you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, suffer a defeat; if you know neither enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

 This is the wisdom of Sun Tzu in the oldest military treatise called The Art of War that is still prized today as it was 2500 years ago.

In this 3-part series, we transform 13 chapters of Sun Tzu's wisdom of winning wars in the battleground into 4 Principles and 9 Tactics of defeating y...

"If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles; if you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, suffer a defeat; if you know neither enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." 

This is the wisdom of Sun Tzu in the oldest military treatise called The Art of War that is still as prized today as it was 2500 years ago.

In this 3-part series, we transform 13 chapters of Sun Tzu's wisdom of winning wars in the battleground into 4 Principles and 9 Tactics of d...

The largest segment of the world's population believes in the existence of God, a higher power, a higher consciousness, a higher self, the Universe, or something bigger than ourselves. However, what we have been given to understand about God's message to us is largely defined by the interpretations of those who, for better or for worse, consider themselves the guardians of religion. I

Arun Sardana, founder of karuna, believes that one must try to ‘experience’ this higher power through one's own unique lens. Such an effort has brought Arun new and, at times, deeply transformative understandings of God...

"The best way to activate positive emotion circuits in the brain is through generosity." - Richard J. Davidson.

Compassion and kindness are often thought of as ad-hoc actions that humans engage in from time to time. Science, however, shows that we are born with these traits. Despite this, we somehow become disengaged from this true nature of our mind. While there's a way to activate this circuitry in our brain, it requires work and nurturing to achieve a state of altered traits.

In this episode, we explore this thought and more with multiple award winner...

While the science of positive psychology has identified two primary categories of happiness, namely hedonistic or pleasure-based happiness, and eudaimonic or purpose-based happiness, Arun Sardana believes the actual experience of happiness manifests itself in five different ways depending on a variety of influences in the environment in which we were raised.

After explaining these 5 Happinesses - yes, that's an actual word :-) - Arun, founder of karuna, will discuss the concept of Ikigai, or Way of Being, in Japanese culture and derive inspiration from it. We will then redefine the word HAPPY as an acronym that will...

Positive emotions are something we experience from time to time and, occasionally, we find ourselves in an upward spiral that brings immense joy and inner peace. When it comes to negative emotions, though, the opposite is also true. The resulting downward spiral can sometimes get out of control, causing stress, anxiety, depression and burnout. 

How can we build more upward spirals of love and positive emotions while reducing the incidence of anxiety-triggering downward spirals? Are there simple ways in which we can find happiness more consistently using simple techniques? How can we broaden and build on our p...

Intense grief, anxiety, pain and fear have become commonplace in the COVID-19 world and it is wreaking havoc on our physical and mental health. While we are capable of handling episodic stress and negative emotions, our bodies are not designed to endure long-term chronic stress of the kind we have been experiencing for the last several months. In a similar way, the renowned author, C.S. Lewis, experienced a similar cocktail of emotions when he lost his great love and his soulmate - his wife. He penned his emotions in a journal, which were later published in a book...

The pursuit of happiness is an age-old endeavor, but this positive emotion has eluded much of humankind. Happiness is one of the strongest motivators in our personal and professional lives as it drives many decisions. 

Are successful people happier or are happy people more successful? Should our goal be to be happy with our life or in our life? Can we control the moments that lead us to experiencing joy and happiness? If yes, to what degree can we exercise control over our own happiness?

We explore the answers to these questions and many others i...

The uncertainty we all face today - COVID19 - is not only unprecedented, it is threatening our financial and psychological wellbeing. Uncertainties, though, are a part of life, even if they are likely more short-lived and not as widespread and deadly as what we face today. In this episode, we derive inspiration from Steve Jobs' life, his personal story of getting fired from Apple at 30, and how he used that extreme uncertainty to launch into one of the most creative phases of his life that ultimately led to the creation of companies like the world-renowned Pixar Animation Studio and...

We have all experienced a desire, a vice, or an attraction that was simply too hard to resist...and so we succumbed to its power. Does this mean that we don't possess willpower, dubbed as the greatest human strength, to fend off what may not be good for us? Is moral strength the same thing as willpower and self-control? Are we born with it, and can we strengthen this muscle of willpower or resilience to overcome adversities and "weak" moments?

Join us in exploring these and other important determinants of happiness In this interview with Dr. Roy...

Brené Brown's books Daring Greatly and Gifts of Imperfection had a profound effect on the life of Arun Sardana, founder of karuna. They gave him the courage to become vulnerable so he could face his demons, his deepest fears, and ultimately, find his authentic self. Her writing became the launch pad for Arun’s journey which ultimately revealed the Five Vulnerabilities that allowed him to see his true image.

In this episode, Arun shares these Five Vulnerabilities, and then offers you three practical ways of discovering that you are also worthy of love and belonging. So, join Aru...

The word forgiveness comes from the Latin word perdonare which means 'to give completely, without reservation.' In The Book of Forgiving, Desmond Tutu calls forgiveness the greatest gift we can give ourselves when we have been wronged. However, most of us find forgiving others and ourselves to be one of the most challenging acts in life. 

Why is it so hard to forgive? How can we do so more easily, and what is the greatest gift awaiting us in this act? Can we forgive and forget when we are wronged?

In this interview with D...

Oprah Winfrey had not published either of her books - The Path Made Clear and What I Know For Sure - when she appeared in Arun Sardana’s (founder of karuna) Symbology exercise at Columbia University on July 6th, 2016. It was last month in April, 2020, almost four years later, that she finally ‘spoke’ to him through her books and showed him how to achieve his life's purpose. If you believe in the power of symbols and their manifestations in our lives precisely when you need them, then this is a must-see episode for you. It might just lead you to you...