In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

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The title of this Ted talk is “Helping Others Makes Us Happier” by Elizabeth Dunn.

Research shows that helping others makes us happier. But in her groundbreaking work on generosity and joy, social psychologist Elizabeth Dunn found that there’s a catch: it matters how we help. Learn how we can make a greater impact — and boost our own happiness along the way — if we make one key shift in how we help others. “Let’s stop thinking about giving as just this moral obligation and start thinking of it as a source of pleasure,” Dunn says.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

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*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

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The title of this Ted talk is “Unwavering Focus” by Dandapani.

We become good at what we practice and most of us are experts at practicing distraction. We live in a society that trains us to multi-task and jump from one thing to another in an uncontrolled way. The great panacea for a world plagued by distraction is learning and practicing the art of concentration. Living as a Hindu monk for 10 years Dandapani was trained in understanding the mind. There he learned and practiced the fine art of bringing concentration into everyday life.

In this talk, Dandapani will share spiritual tools to learn to create unwavering focus in our lives and the boundless benefits that result from it. Dandapani is a Hindu priest, speaker on self-development, and entrepreneur.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

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*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

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The title of this Ted talk is “When God Talks Back” by Tanya Luhrmann.

Anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann’s research on the Evangelical relationship with God has led to astonishing discoveries about those who say they hear God speak to them, literally. For some, this intimate relationship with God includes putting out an extra cup of coffee for Him. Luhrmann explores how rational, sensible people of faith experience the presence of an invisible being and sustain that belief in an environment of skepticism. Tanya Marie Luhrmann is the Watkins University Professor in the Stanford Anthropology Department. Luhrmann’s work focuses on the way that objects without material presence come to seem real to people, and the way that ideas about the mind affect mental experience. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003 and received a John Guggenheim Fellowship award in 2007. When God Talks Back was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. It also was awarded the 2014 Grawemeyer Award for the best book in religion, from the University of Louisville and the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

Add This Program to Your Calendar
*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

Listen to the Recording

The title of this Ted talk is “Why Self Help Will Not Change Your Life” by Marianne Power.

Marianne walks us through the year she spent dedicated to, not only reading one self-help book a month, but actually following everything it recommended with some disastrous consequences. Marianne is a writer and freelance journalist who lives in London. Her first book, Help Me!, is about her attempt to sort her life out by following the rules of a different self-help book every month for a year. The book has been translated into 28 languages and has been optioned for television.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Saina Fernandez.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

Add This Program to Your Calendar
*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

Listen to the Recording

The title of this Ted talk is “Overcoming Our Egos” by Craig Manning.

It is not how talented you are or much information you have stored in your mind but how well you use your mind that leads to high performance. The ego is the greatest source of human interference because it is always seeking approval from outside sources. In order to gain this approval, an ego-mind craves outcomes. The opposite of an ego-oriented mind is a task-oriented mind, which brings focus to the skills needed to execute the performance. Dr. Craig Manning is a Human Performance Scientist and the bestselling author of The Fearless Mind. His clients include the US Ski and US Snowboarding teams, Red Bull High Performance, the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, and a roster of companies and professionals worldwide who seek to achieve high performance. He teaches at Brigham Young University, where he is an Adjunct Professor of Performance Psychology and serves as a Mental Performance Consultant for the university’s athletic department. Dr. Manning has found the strongest correlation to human performance in cognitive control, or mental strength: It is how well we use our minds that matters most to human performance. Dr. Manning has played tennis at both the professional and collegiate levels and has been a three-time Conference Coach of the Year at a Division 1 University. He has experienced human performance from the perspective of a player, coach, and applied scientist at the highest levels.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

Add This Program to Your Calendar
*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

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The title of this Ted talk is “Embrace Your Raw, Strange Magic” by Casey Gerald.

The way we’re taught to live has got to change, says author Casey Gerald. Too often, we hide parts of ourselves in order to fit in, win praise, and be accepted. But at what cost? In this inspiring talk, Gerald shares the personal sacrifices he made to attain success in the upper echelons of American society — and shows why it’s time for us to have the courage to live in the raw, strange magic of ourselves.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

Add This Program to Your Calendar
*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

Listen to the Recording

The title of this Ted talk is “The Myth of Authenticity” by Gina London.

Discover why the most valued attribute of a leader is also one of the most misunderstood. Gina London busts the myth and shares three key areas you should embrace to improve positive impact. CEO of Language of Leadership Gina London represents some of the top companies and executives in the world. An Emmy-winning former CNN correspondent and anchor, Gina brings her passion for people and storytelling as she develops leaders to more positively connect and engage with their employees, their board, and themselves. Her Fortune 500 clients include SAP, Salesforce, Facebook, McKesson, Merck, Pernod-Ricard, Deloitte, Daimler, JP Morgan, and the United States Department of State. She provides interactive and motivational training, coaching, and keynote speeches on the power of communicating with purpose and impact. A published author and regular media analyst, Gina has appeared on the BBC, FOX, and CNN. Gina has been interviewed on radio and TV across the world, and currently writes a weekly business leadership column, “The Communicator” in Ireland’s largest circulated newspaper, The Sunday Independent.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

Add This Program to Your Calendar
*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

Listen to the Recording

The title of this Ted talk is “The Hidden Power of Sad Songs and Rainy Days” by Susan Cain.

Have you ever wondered why you like sad music? Do you find comfort or inspiration on rainy days? In this profound, poetic talk, author Susan Cain invites you to embrace the feeling of longing — or the place where joy and sorrow meet – as a gateway to creativity, connection, and love. Accompanied by the splendid sounds of violinist Min Kym, Cain meditates on how heartache unexpectedly brings us closer to the sublime beauty of life.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

Add This Program to Your Calendar
*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

Listen to the Recording

The title of this Ted talk is “Atheism 2.0” by Alain de Botton.

What aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt? Alain de Botton suggests a “religion for atheists” — call it Atheism 2.0 — that incorporates religious forms and traditions to satisfy our human need for connection, ritual, and transcendence.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

Add This Program to Your Calendar
*To add this program to your calendar click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then Copy, and then click Save.

Listen to the Recording

The title of this Ted talk is “The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome” by Lou Solomon.

Answers to the self-doubt experienced by successful people can help anyone build a stronger sense of self. 70% of successful people have experienced the feelings associated with the Impostor Syndrome, such as fear of failure and perfectionism. Whether you have it or know someone who does, there are steps to build a more satisfying and happy life.

Lou Solomon is a CEO, author, and communications expert who is also a survivor of the Impostor Syndrome, a widespread condition that prevents successful people from internalizing and enjoying their accomplishments.

Lou is a member of the adjunct faculty at the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte, and co-founder of the school’s annual TWIST Conference for Women. She released her first book, Say Something Real in 2010 and is currently working on her second book.

Lou’s articles and insights have been published by Fast Company, Entrepreneur.com, CEO.com, HBR and more. She regularly conducts surveys in collaboration with Harris Interactive on leadership and the human connection.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.