Volunteering Is Good for Your Health – Wellness

 “When you give you ‘glow,” says Dr. Stephen G. Post, President/co-Founder of the Institute for Research on Pure Unlimited Love and as Dir of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

Research shows that people who volunteer have improved mental wellness. Dr. Post has spent decades researching cultural transformation grounded in the integration of scientific research, spiritual philosophical insight and compassionate action.  His new book, PURE UNLIMITED LOVE:  Science and the Seven Paths to Inner Peace blends science with spiritual wisdom.  PURE UNLIMITED LOVE outlines a unique framework based on paths that can transform the mind, body, and spirit, and spark widespread cultural renewal in times of personal or communal chaos and uncertainty:
 
Post offers seven accessible, life mantras that have been proven to generate inner peace and foster connection with others.
 

• May You Give and Glow—Kind Giving enhances our well-being, both emotionally and physically. Glowing is a paradoxical or unintended byproduct of giving with kindness.
• May You Heal with Kindness—Kindness is how we all can heal others in every interaction, whatever our walk of life, because in their own way everyone goes through sufferings. Kindness as “gentle curiosity” and compassionate care also makes a huge difference in clinical settings. It is every healer’s vitamin pill for the patient’s soul, resulting in their lowered stress, reduced anxiety, and enhanced healing. 
• May You Follow Your Callings—Every human being has a unique set of talents that should be used to benefit others. These callings need to be found and followed as the chief goal of education and volunteering. Over the course of a life, be careful not to pull away from your callings. A true friend or teacher helps you, so be true to your callings. Then your whole life can Give and Glow, sustaining inner peace and fulfillment.
• May You Raise Kind Children—There is now a fabulous science to help answer the question that hopefully every parent asks: How can I raise a kind child? This practical and scientifically shaped “how to” guideline responds to this big question. It is designed to help parents, families, teachers, communities, and true friends to raise kids who will succeed and flourish in the dignity of kindness.
• May You Know the One Mind—Ultimate inner peace is derived from turning inward and becoming aware of our oneness with what, for millennia across cultures, has been described in many ways, but perhaps most broadly as the One Mind. When we quietly and mindfully feel and notice this Oneness with our whole selves, Inner- and Outer-Peace always follow, and from this practice biases, hatred, and violence can no longer hold us in their grip. 
• May You Cherish the Gift of Nature—Nature nurtures the soul and eases us into simply being instead of always doing. We escape to nature to experience a healthy renewed feeling of awe and wonder, and this brings peace. 
• May You Honor the Spirit of Freedom—Freedom is a sublime gift of spirit, and needs to be honored as such.  You are free because you love, and you love because you are free. One Mind + One Heart = Inner Peace, and world peace comes closer.
   
  About the Author:
  Stephen G. Post, Ph.D., is the Director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. He founded the Institute for Research on Pure Unlimited Love with initial support from his mentor Sir John Templeton. Dr. Postis the author of several books, including Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Happier, Healthier Life by the Simple Act of Giving, has authored over 400 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has been interviewed by leading newspapers around the world. He is an elected member of the Philadelphia College of Physicians, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the Royal Society of Medicine, as well as a Founding Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion. He lives on Long Island, New York.