Episode Description

For episode 190 of the Metta Hour, Sharon welcomes Dr. Barbara Fredrickson. Barbara is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she directs the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory. She is an award-winning teacher and also among the most highly-cited scientists worldwide. Her books, “Positivity” and “Love 2.0” have been translated into dozens of languages. Barbara has been President of the International Positive Psychology Association and the Society for Affective Science.

In this episode, Sharon and Barbara discuss

• How Barbara and Sharon first connected
• The history of the study of emotions in modern psychology
• Experiential states that aren’t recognized as emotions
• The peril of glorifying achievement
• Evolutionary Psychology
• The consilience of contemplative wisdom and science
• The process of creating the Broaden & Build Theory
• How Lovingkindness meditation (Metta) affected Barbara’s work
• Barbara’s definition of “love”
• The contagion of emotions
• The collective creation of positive states
• The application of Lovingkindness (Metta)
• The Brahma Viharas (Four Immeasurables)
• Barbara’s cat Mudita
• The importance of acceptance
• Mindful awareness versus Savoring
• Barbara’s book “Love 2.0”
• “Short Moments, Many Times” study
• The Research of Lovingkindness (Metta) meditation
• What Barbara is working on next