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Our mission at the Thrive Center for Human Development is to catalyze a movement of human thriving, with and for others. We conduct research and develop resources at the nexus of spirituality and human thriving in order to promote whole individuals and societies.
Our Thrive Model
To thrive is to grow in authenticity with and for others and for a greater purpose. Our research at the Thrive Center has led us to understand thriving from both a spiritual and psychological perspective. Our goal is to provide a rigorous and substantive view of thriving that challenges popular notions of the word.
Latest Posts
Life off Autopilot: The Complexities of Activating into Purpose
This is Part 2 of a 2-part series “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin What’s keeping you from finding your purpose? In Part 1 of this 2-Part series, I discuss how discovering your purpose is a vital part of spiritual health and…
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Thrive Book List – Fall 2023
PURPOSE EDITION The Thrive list for Fall of 2023 focuses on books about purpose – a sense of which evolves over our lifetimes and is at times illusive. We’ve briefly described the books and added questions for reflection. You can click through to purchase the books, but you might want to consider going to your…
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Observing the Body for Understanding
A Practice for Spiritual Health A daily practice of tuning into our bodies can help us discern meaning. We often think of spiritual practices as being “out of body” experiences, but research shows that sitting quietly and observing our breath, bodily sensations, feelings, and our thoughts – is a very useful spiritual practice. Psychologists remind us that…
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Questions to Promote Love and Meaning
Thinking through paths out of anxiety and fear If it rings true for you that you need to train your brain to tone down anxiety and/or discover more about yourself – your sources of love and mattering, and your purposes – find a trusted friend or loved one or a small group and work through…
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Life Off Autopilot: The Power of Purpose
This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. “The meaning of life is discovering our gift, the purpose of life is giving it away.” Pablo Picasso Purpose is a core facet of spiritual health. Healthy spirituality provides more than a sense of connection, feelings of awe, or even an understanding of what is meaningful; spiritual…
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Want to become more present, healthy, and connected? Pay attention to your body (Part 2)
Embodiment is when we feel “a sense of positive connection or being at one with our body.” H. McBride Last month I discussed the importance of attuning to the body and offered a practice of telling the story of your body – past, present, and future. As we pay attention to our bodily needs, we become…
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Want to become more present, healthy, and connected? Pay attention to your body (Part 1).
“If you’re willing to pay attention to and dialogue with what’s happening inside of you, you’ll find that your body already knows the answers about how to live a full, present, connected, and healthy life.” – Dr. Hillary L. McBride Recently, I sat on the beach in Santa Monica on a chilly evening with hopes…
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