Author: The Pacific Institute

As the pandemic wears on, and we grow evermore tired of the stress and the strain, it becomes more difficult to deal wit...Read More »

In many places around the world, the pandemic has encouraged a lot of creativity in how to keep each other safe and heal...Read More »

We have talked a lot about happiness lately, but one facet of the subject has been left until today, on purpose. In ligh...Read More »

We hope that you have found these ruminations on happiness to be of value. Happiness is a huge subject, and one with as ...Read More »

It’s always fun to take a short journey through the ancient Greek philosophers. They were a prolific lot, and provided...Read More »

From what we learned yesterday, were you able to observe any of the behaviors described by the Greek philosopher Plato�...Read More »

Sometimes it’s quite the challenge to put a word to a specific feeling. Once we could put a formal name to that feelin...Read More »

The idea of being free has absorbed the thinking of philosophers down through the ages. With a broad brush, the idea of ...Read More »

Toward the end of the movie “The Natural,” the character Iris Gaines says, “You know, I believe we have two lives....Read More »

Famously, the late actor Bette Davis had an embroidered pillow on display for all who came to visit. It said, “Old Age...Read More »

For most of us, we “inhabit” three environments, or worlds. There is our inner circle of family and close friends, t...Read More »

As we celebrate completing our 50th year in business, we at The Pacific Institute are looking back on just what it is th...Read More »

The past 18 to 24 months have been a challenge to the human psyche, possibly like none other in recorded history. The sc...Read More »

Today’s subject: Personal Happiness First, a question: How do you define “happiness”? Some people think happine...Read More »

When we judge or disparage behaviors in others, there is more going on beneath the surface. Like pointing the finger of ...Read More »

Stare at an object long enough and your brain builds a blind spot to it. It is constantly repeating sensory input, and t...Read More »

Ancient humans used the stars to help them travel beyond the boundaries of their settlements. Many people who are sight-...Read More »

A placebo, sometimes called a sugar pill, is a substance sometimes given to people who are sick, in pharmaceutical resea...Read More »

One of the challenges of the pandemic, especially early on before vaccines became available, was the need to keep our di...Read More »

With the holidays fast approaching, it’s a sure bet that the classic 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz,” will be broadc...Read More »

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” Well, the actual pen might not be, but the words that the pen writes certainly...Read More »

Our relationships are vital to our mental, emotional and physical well-being. They connect us to the inner workings of o...Read More »

“Is-ness” is not a term that you are likely to see in a textbook. We don’t use it in common conversation very ofte...Read More »

The Smile. It’s a reaction we learn to make as babies, when we begin to recognize the familiar faces that decorate our...Read More »