By Anneli Rufus Curling up with a good novel is one of life’s most solitary activities. Yet a raft of new studies suggests that reading fiction actually deepens our ability to connect with others by making us more empathetic. In one series of studies, conducted by researchers at the New School for Social Research and published in the journal Science,…
Watching and being watched are no longer confined to how newborns bond with their mothers or apprentice chefs learn from sushi masters. Watching now changes how we identify ourselves and how others understand us. “Selfies” are not an anomaly; they are personal reflections of a wholesale adoption of the new culture of watching. We are watching so many—and so many…
By Brittany Shoot What is Somatic Experiencing? Somatic Experiencing works from the relationship of the body to the trauma. For example, when we feel threatened or in danger, our bodies respond in a particular way. We mobilize energy to flee, or if we perceive a mortal threat, we’ll collapse. Somatic Experiencing helps people become aware of their bodies’ responses and…
Horror stories. Love stories. True crime. Fairy tale. Myth. Parable. The evening news. Stories help us form our beliefs and values. They shape our fears and dreams. They help us decide how we want to fall in love, what we think is fair, and how to negotiate the world. We are story-making, story-devouring creatures, and our personal stories often rule…
Janine was the biggest bully in my elementary school—and she was assigned to the desk next to mine in fifth grade. Short and obese with cropped black hair and bulging black eyes, she wore a constant sneer beneath her olive complexion. We were complete opposites: I loved school and excelled in it; Janine hated it and did poorly. I wore…
I have many a fond memory of spending summer afternoons and evenings with my dad and neighbors playing Ping-Pong on a regulation table set up in my driveway. Whether competitive tournaments that attracted everyone under the age of 12 on my block or relaxing volleys with my parents, it was always fun. But I never imagined that what seemed like…
I will get to the lovesick goat, but not yet. First, let’s talk about cat videos. A few years ago, I attended a conference on using technology for good. At a session about promoting citizenship through the use of the Internet, someone asked the speaker about YouTube. The man said, despondently, that half of YouTube was videos of cats flushing…
