{"product_id":"the-biology-of-kindness-isbn-9780262547659","title":"The Biology of Kindness","description":"\u003cb\u003eHow kindness—and other prosocial behaviors toward others—can help us live longer and healthier lives.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe science is in: being good is actually good for you. In this bracingly original book, \u003ci\u003eThe Biology of Kindness—\u003c\/i\u003ethe first in a trilogy on the topic of daily wellness—the science of mindfulness and the findings of biology come together to show how kindness and optimism improve overall well-being in profound, organic, and demonstrable ways. Daniel Lumera, an expert in meditation and mindfulness, and Immaculata De Vivo, a preeminent researcher in molecular epidemiology, outline a revolutionary approach to health, longevity, and quality of life—and explain the scientific evidence that supports their work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIdentifying five fundamental values—kindness, optimism, forgiveness, gratitude, and happiness—and describing six essential strategies for cultivating these values—relationships, nutrition, physical activity, meditation, music, and connection with nature—De Vivo and Lumera chart a practical course for pursuing a long, healthy, and happy life. Along the way they provide the scientific data that reveal the impact such behavior has on biology, particularly on telomeres, the parts of DNA that serve as biomarkers of aging. While DNA is mostly immutable, telomeres are influenced by our choices, and \u003ci\u003eThe Biology of Kindness\u003c\/i\u003e offers incontrovertible evidence that what is commonly ascribed to “spiritual” well-being has a clear and direct impact on physical health, helping to buffer premature aging and decrease the incidence of chronic disease.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt a time when life seems to be ruled by a desire to get “everything and immediately,” Lumera observes, there is a compelling case to be made for the discipline of devotion, dedication, and passion—for the good of the body as well as the soul.CONTENTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTO THE READER xi\u003cbr\u003e PREFACE xiii\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI       ATTRIBUTES 1\u003cbr\u003e 1 KINDNESS 3\u003cbr\u003e 2     TELOMERES 13\u003cbr\u003e 3     OPTIMISM 33\u003cbr\u003e 4 FORGIVENESS AND GRATITUDE 43\u003cbr\u003e 5 THE SCIENCE OF FORGIVENESS AND GRATITUDE 59\u003cbr\u003e 6     HAPPINESS 67\u003cbr\u003e 7 THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS 85\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eII      INSTRUMENTS 91\u003cbr\u003e 8 THE QUALITY OF RELATIONSHIPS 93\u003cbr\u003e 9 THE SCIENCE OF RELATIONSHIPS 105\u003cbr\u003e 10 NUTRITION: HEALTH COMES WITH EATING 115\u003cbr\u003e 11 ON THE WAY TO WELL-BEING 127\u003cbr\u003e 12 THE POWER OF THE MIND 135\u003cbr\u003e 13 MEDITATE, PEOPLE, MEDITATE 155\u003cbr\u003e 14 THE SCIENCE OF MEDITATION 169\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 15 MUSIC AND SOUND: HEALTH, WELL-BEING, AND LONGEVITY 177\u003cbr\u003e 16 THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC 189\u003cbr\u003e 17 NATURE HEALS 197\u003cbr\u003e 18 NATURE AND WELL-BEING 215\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eACKNOWLEDGMENTS 219\u003cbr\u003e BIBLIOGRAPHY 221“The overarching message of this earnest book still holds good.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew Scientist \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“The world desperately needs this book right now. As we risk losing our moral compass, De Vivo and Lumera muster hard scientific evidence for the guiding principles that will help us survive and thrive.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Robert J. Waldinger, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; coauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“A wonderful book full of fascinating scientific insights explained with great clarity, inspiring us to let kindness reign in our hearts and thus accomplish the twofold benefit for others and oneself.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Matthieu Ricard, author of \u003ci\u003eAltruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“There is a myriad of books on health, well-being, longevity, and\/or nutrition. However, \u003ci\u003eThe Biology of Kindness\u003c\/i\u003e from De Vivo and Lumera stands out as a superb blending of all these topics orchestrated in a masterful way to provide the reader with evidence-based strategies to live long, happy lives.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Alessio Fasano, Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, and Professor of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Expertly combining fascinating scientific insights and wisdom from contemplative traditions, the book inspires us to love, forgive, and ultimately know our true selves, while proving the benefits to our own health and the world around us.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Elizabeth Hoge, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC\u003c\/b\u003eImmaculata De Vivo\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eis Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her research focuses on how genetic variants interact with the environment to influence susceptibility to hormonal cancers, especially endometrial cancer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDaniel Lumera is a naturalist biologist, an expert in the sciences of well-being and quality of life and a former monk for 11 years who studied with Anthony Elenjimittam, a direct disciple of Gandhi.DOING ONESELF GOOD BY DOING GOOD TO OTHERS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Everything we do in a selfless way, without profit and only aiming at making somebody else feel good, is kindness. It can have various shades, to which we give different names. Sometimes it is altruism, sometimes compassion, and often it is empathy, gratitude, and generosity. All different forms of the same feeling of love toward others, which pushes us to perform actions for the sole pleasure of doing it, without asking for anything in return. We all do it, even when we feel we are too busy with our own needs to pay attention to those of others. We do it in small doses, in negligible events of our day, yet more frequently than it seems to ourselves. And every time there is someone who smiles for our generosity, someone to whom we have done good or transmitted a positive emotion without expecting any counterpart.\u003cbr\u003e It is a profound trait of human beings, useful for evolution because it favors the creation of social bonds and encourages collaboration, making individuals more willing to give up a piece of their selfishness to build something together with others. From small gestures to large solidarity initiatives, kindness is the best way we have to connect with others, communicate, solve problems, and achieve goals. And it is a broad concept, as we said, that includes many nuances but starts from the same spontaneous desire of wanting the good for others, both for the people we know and strangers, out of an instinctive impulse that comes from our deepest humanity.\u003cbr\u003e The whole set of values and tools that we present in this book as strategies to protect health and promote longevity can be contained within the concept of kindness, or rather that of the biology of kindness. Because it is a wealth of practical resources that calls into question our deep feelings, as elusive as emotions are, but that can at the same time satisfy my need, as a scientist, for tangible evidence, solid and clinically relevant data, and credible numbers and percentages. Kindness, with all of its forms, proves itself scientifically valid as a preventive tool, support to therapies, and way to physical and mental health.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302084333797,"sku":"NP9780262547659","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262547659.jpg?v=1767738383","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-biology-of-kindness-isbn-9780262547659","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}