I had to work late today and I just happened to look at the following article.
Thought I might share part of it with you.

Sue
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.2007...cienceandHealth/home

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

May 3, 2007 at 12:23 AM EDT

What if your doctor told you to take two steps toward being a better person and call him in the morning?

Patients at a California health maintenance organization are being prescribed generous behaviour as part of a program called Rx: Volunteer, one of various new research projects described by Stephen Post in his book Why Good Things Happen To Good People, out next week. Dr. Post chronicles the link between doing good and living a longer, healthier life.

“The science shows that we're hardwired to be giving,” he says. “We're talking here about a one-a-day vitamin for the soul.”

A growing number of researchers are supporting his claim with studies that show how the human body benefits from everything from gratitude to generosity.

Internet Links
The Karma Meter: How good is yours?
Dr. Post, the president of Case Western Reserve University's Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, believes in the scientific equivalent to The Secret, the self-help phenomenon that preaches positivity as a means to personal reward.

No, being a good person won't necessarily get you a new car or help you lose 10 pounds, Dr. Post says, but there is a karma of the brain, where the body physically rewards acts of kindness and forgiveness. “The remarkable bottom line of the science of love is that giving protects overall health twice as much as Aspirin protects against heart disease,” he says.

For example, psychologist Robert Emmons studied organ-transplant recipients and found that the more gratitude they felt, the faster they recovered.

A 2001 study of trauma survivors by psychologist Russell Kolts found that gratitude was associated with lower symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

And a Wellesley College study that has tracked 200 people since the 1920s, interviewing them for five hours every decade, found that people who were charitable in high school had better physical and mental health in late adulthood.

“The connection for mental health is particularly strong, but the physical health results are also highly significant,” psychologist Paul Wink notes.

Helping other people can aid in personal relaxation and stress as well.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that people who offered social support to others in a financial crisis saw a marked reduction in their own anxiety about money.

The movement toward studying human goodness has even spawned its own diagnostic manual, Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification.

It was written to contrast the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, which doctors use to classify human behaviour by pathology.

Dr. Post, whose institute offers funding to many of these studies, believes that people who want to prolong their lives should work on their attitude, the same way they would change their diet or exercise routines.

“The connection for mental health is particularly strong, but the physical health results are also highly significant,” psychologist Paul Wink notes.

Helping other people can aid in personal relaxation and stress as well.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that people who offered social support to others in a financial crisis saw a marked reduction in their own anxiety about money...

Thank you Sue.

I read the article and was thinking of posting it.
I am happy that you did it. It is a wonderful topic.

Here are some additional excerpts from the article:

...people who want to prolong their lives should work on their attitude, the same way they would change their diet or exercise routines...

... we have a duty to be true to ourselves. Smile at people you usually never even looked at talk to people u hated...

Thank you for sharing the article.
I usually take a look at the Globe and Mail, but somehow I missed this section of the paper.

yoko

Take the correct vitamins:


"The science shows that we're hardwired to be giving,” he says. “We're talking here about a one-a-day vitamin for the soul.”

A growing number of researchers are supporting his claim with studies that show how the human body benefits from everything from gratitude to generosity.

I found the picture from the paper that went with the article.

The Buddhist Wheel of Life charts how the karmic actions of individuals contribute to their lives.

Richard L'Anson/Lonely Planet Images

Thank you Sue.
I didn't even have time to look at the paper. I am amazed that the paper even had an article like that.

Love,
Vicky

No, being a good person won't necessarily get you a new car or help you lose 10 pounds, Dr. Post says, but there is a karma of the brain, where the body physically rewards acts of kindness and forgiveness. “The remarkable bottom line of the science of love is that giving protects overall health twice as much as Aspirin protects against heart disease,” he says.

Thank you Sue.

I am also amazed that the paper carries such an article. Usually there is nothing but bad news.
Thanks for posting it.

Sincerely,
Gisele

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I am glad that you posted the image Inda, I don't have a scanner here so I could not do it.

Sue

Yes, helping others makes us feel warm and fuzzy, but new research suggests that doing good deeds can actually help people live longer, healthier lives.



God is within us and cannot be realised anywhere outside. He is close to us, but then physical eyes cannot see Him, nor can these physical ears hear His voice. Only when the seeker receives instruction from a real Adept and listens to the Divine Melody within, does he become capable not only of seeing and hearing Him but also of merging in Him, thereby fulfilling human destiny.

Guru Ji