The Path to Well-Being

Non-western approaches to wellness

Paul Stoller Ph.D.

Finding Well-Being When Dealing With Immobility

Throughout the world, steps are a challenge to millions of people who are physically impaired. How do those with immobility face their challenges with grace and dignity?

The Arts Can Propel Us From a Stressful Present to a More Humane Future

A Personal Perspective: In a troubled world, music, poetry, and sensuous prose can show us a way toward a more humane future.

Lessons from the Edge of the African Bush

A Personal Perspective: What can indigenous elders teach us about human survival? Recognizing the importance of indigenous wisdom is an essential lesson in human viability.

The Future Is Looming

What does the future hold for us in times of COVID-19 and the violence of hate? Will we follow the wise teachings of indigenous elders?

Moving Forward: An Anniversary of Love and Reflection

Even in the pandemic, an appreciation of nature and the "little things" can make life a bit sweeter.

Coronavirus and the Wisdom of Others

How a deficit of everyday American altruism is killing us in the age of COVID-19.

The Rewards of Patience in Troubled Times

A touch of West African wisdom to lighten our collective burden.

The Wisdom of Elders

The wisdom of elders can bring peace, harmony, and well-being to our turbulent times.

Masking the Future of Well-Being

In the midst of pandemic suffering, we can learn a great from a gracious woman, a potter who lives on $300 a year in West Africa.

How a Culture of Speed Slows Down

Can the disappearance of fast culture lead to the slow evolution of social life in a new world?

Ties That Bind: The Social Contract in Pandemic Times

How can you cope with the social, economic, and existential challenges during and after the pandemic? The social contract is a good place to start.

Pandemic Hardship/Pandemic Change

Will we lapse back into normal routines or will the pandemic transform our lives?

Ghana on My Mind

West Africans in Ghana, Niger, and Mali are often poor, but rich in life.

End-of-Year Reflections on "Bad Faith"

How personal and social illusions can threaten the future.

Is There Light in the Darkness?

Is the world too much for you in these dark times? Art can help. Immerse yourself in music, film, novels, galleries, museums, and installations.

Climbing the Mountain: Treatment Rituals

Are you fearful of upcoming cancer treatments? They are difficult, but rituals can ease the burden.

Climbing the Mountain: Diagnostic Dilemmas

On the path of cancer, diagnosis is surprisingly difficult to bear.

A Journey on Cancer's Path: Climbing the Mountain

A series of blogs about the journey on cancer's path that conveys insights, both Western and non-Western, about how to confront the physical and emotional challenges of cancer.

Well-being in the Blues

Are the blues a musical path to well-being?

Communitas: A Tonic for Turbulent Times

How the not so uncommon experience of collective joy, communitas, can provide powerful examples of collective hope and well being in difficult times. Communitas in Niger.

Being at Home in a Troubled World

How can American "others" feel at home in a world in which people increasingly say, "Go back where you came from!"

Deep Listening in the Culture of Speed

In times of social turbulence, there is a storytelling-listening practice that can deepen human connection and enhance well-being.

Finding Your Way on the Path of Illness

A few suggestions for following a path that can transform the uncertainty of chronic illness into peaceful social energy.

A Remarkable Convergence

Is the divisiveness of social life making you cynical? Read this story for a glimpse of a better future.

The Transformative Power of Ritual

How ritual can be a way to cope with the challenges of contemporary living.

Illness Is a Great Teacher

How can you adjust to the privations of living with chronic disease, of living between health and illness? Consider a few practical suggestions from West African elders.

You Can't Walk Where There Is No Ground

Can the wise thoughts of a West African elder enable us to live well in a complex and unsettling world?