Learn how the stories we tell and hear shape our relationships, values, and sense of belonging.

Summary: Storytelling is more than entertainment. It shapes how we think, feel, and relate to others. In this episode of The Science of Happiness, we dive into how immersive narratives calm stress, inspire reflection, and foster compassion across differences. We also explore how stories of resilience, joy, and tradition leave lasting impressions that influence our relationships and sense of self.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Choose a meaningful story: Bring to mind a personal memory, family tradition, or moment that carries emotion, care, or learning.
2. Settle the body first: Take a few slow breaths and notice your posture, helping your nervous system feel steady and present.
3. Recall sensory details: Gently remember what you saw, heard, smelled, or felt in the moment, letting the story come alive without forcing it.
4. Notice what matters: As the story unfolds, pay attention to themes of connection, care, resilience, or joy that stand out to you.
5. Reflect on its meaning: Ask yourself what this story has shaped in you—how it influences your values, relationships, or sense of belonging.
6. Share or carry it forward: If it feels right, share the story with someone you trust, write it down, or hold it quietly as a reminder of connection and continuity.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Guests:

SAFA SULEIMAN is an elementary school teacher and author of the new children’s book Hilwa’s Gifts.

Learn more about Safa here: https://www.safasuleiman.com/

MELANIE GREEN is a social psychologist at the University at Buffalo who has published widely on narrative persuasion and the power of storytelling.

See more on Melanie’s work here: https://tinyurl.com/e5fd8bu5

Related The Science of Happiness episodes:

How Thinking About Your Ancestors Can Help You Thrive: https://tinyurl.com/4u6vzs2w
Are You Following Your Inner Compass: https://tinyurl.com/y2bh8vvj
How To Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xc

Related Happiness Breaks:

A Meditation on Love and Interconnectedness: https://tinyurl.com/ye6baxv3
Our Deep Interconnectedness: https://tinyurl.com/jthxkpjd
Pause to Look at the Sky: https://tinyurl.com/4jttkbw3

Tell us about your experience with this practice. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/2tkvdyr8

También tenemos esta meditación en Español.

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/4rjmambm

Take a few minutes to reflect on someone who inspires you, and how you can embody the values you admire in them.

You can also listen to this episode in Spanish here: https://tinyurl.com/4rjmambm

How To Do This Practice:

1. Find a quiet moment and settle your body: Sit or stand somewhere you feel safe and comfortable. Take a few slow breaths and let your body soften, releasing the noise of the day.
2. Bring to mind someone who embodies “moral beauty”: Think of a person whose kindness, courage, humility, or integrity has genuinely inspired you. Choose one specific moment when their character moved you.
3. Visualize an act that inspired you: Recall exactly what the person did. Picture the scene, their actions, their choices. Notice why this moment stood out as meaningful or brave or good.
4. Notice how your body responds: As you hold this image, tune into your body: warmth, openness, tenderness, or even tears. Allow yourself to feel the emotional impact of their moral beauty.
5. Reflect on why this matters to you: Ask yourself: What does this moment reveal about the values that matter most to me? What purpose does it awaken? What did this person teach me about how I want to live?
6. Choose one small aligned action for today: Identify one thing you can do—big or small—that expresses the value or purpose this person embodies. Carry that intention with you into the rest of your day.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Happiness Break Guide:

DIANA PARRA is professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She is also a registered mindfulness and yoga teacher who focuses on sharing these practices with the Latino immigrant community in St Louis.

Learn more about Diana Parra’s work: https://tinyurl.com/4acc7nsv

Related Happiness Break episodes:

Loving Kindness Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2kr4fjz5

How to Do Good for the Environment (And Yourself): https://tinyurl.com/5b26zwkx

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Why We Should Seek Beauty: https://tinyurl.com/yn7ry59j

We want to hear from you! Take our quick 5-minute survey to tell us what you love, what you want more of, and how we can make the show even more inspiring and useful. Everyone who completes the survey can enter a drawing to win a copy of The Science of Happiness Workbook: 10 Practices for a Meaningful Life. Click the survey link in the show notes wherever you’re listening, or go directly to: https://tinyurl.com/happyhappysurvey. Thank you for helping us make the podcast even better!

Follow us on Instagram: @ScienceOfHappinessPod

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/4945b59w