NOV 17

21: NOV 17 - 7. Gratitude and Savoring

How much can savoring do given set point theory? (Lykken 2000 - "trying to be happier...") "range" (Recall Emmons study results: effects 6 months later.)
Similar efforts: Fordyce's happiness intervention study: savoring a common feature 200
Savoring in a construct relationship with Coping

Social Support (sharing feelings with others) -- note imp. of having people with whom to share good news. being such a person, as well. building elements of happy community.
Writing about life experiences, (gratitude journals would be a positive example, or log). Pennebaker mentioned here.
Downward hedonic contrast (neg. visualization, but also foregrounding and isolating the positive experience. Recovering a sense that the ordinary is a treat.) (odd effect of volunteering working in absolutely poor countries) --- counterfactual thinking: recalling good things about your circumstances that have slipped into the background; thinking about how a bad outcome could have been worse, how something good might not have happened.
Humor, - Can you cultivate a sense of humor about things? Can you make yourself laugh? (Laughter clubs)
Spirituality & Religion --
Awareness of Fleetingness of Experience -- note connection with buddhism. Could heightening our awareness of the fleetingness of life enhance our savoring of it?

Freedom from Social and Esteem Concerns: explicated largely in terms of mindfulness... (more advice here, 206) (cynical caveat: Unless that's what you're savoring!)?
Present Focus: goes back to what might seem odd about mindfulness as preparatory to savoring.
non-judgmental orientation
openness to seeing something new or as if for the first time.
Attentional Focus: avoid multi-tasking, imagine it's the last time (it usually is -- consider the perfect day. Consider today as having a kind of perfection. Can one extend the judgement to a cloudy day? ), attention to uniqueness of experience aids savoring. (Example of priming: “A perfect day.”

Taking “time out” from a routine. Slowing down time.
Vacation in Daily Life -- (in food studies, "slow culture" (from the slow food movement). Point is to have a proactive approach to savoring. “Happy Hour” could do this.
Life Review -- recalling pleasurable experience, "chaining" - connecting different experiences in a pattern. Example: In your mind go around campus and recall experiences from your time here.
Camera Exercise. (Cell phone cameras now.) Cameras can prime us to notice things that are otherwise in the background.

Additional Issues:

Savoring and wisdom — savoring meaningful experiences (not just “good feels”) can contribute to a sense of having a good life, reinforcing confidence that your life is going well.

Savoring and Connoisseur-ship: Does Savoring require (or is it enhanced by) connoisseur-ship? How does that square with Epicurean simplicity? Note how you might use a modified Epicureanism to include some insights about complex savoring.