“ Until lions have their historians, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter. ” - African proverb

               Social networks: Dunbar's 5-15-50-150 model (sympathy group & full active network)

key point: 

“ Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. ” - Gandhi

                         Social networks: Dunbar's 5-15-50-150 model (support clique/closest relationships)

key point: 

In this first part of three on Dunbar's 5-15-50-150 personal social network model, I introduce the crucially important inner layer - the 'support clique' of closest relationships.

“ I thank You God for most this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes. ” - E E Cummings

Social networks: social identity & the importance of both formal & informal group memberships (background)

key point: 

The intriguing additional value of understanding social networks through a social identity lens is highlighted and a wealth of emerging research validating the importance of this approach is introduced.

“ Education should be "not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire." ” - William Butler Yeats

                                                                Social networks: an introduction

key points: 

1.)  emerging research is introduced that highlights the great importance of personal social networks for disease prevention, psychological resilience & optimal wellbeing. 

2.)  links are provided to three ways of taking this forward - self-determination theory, social identity theory, and Dunbar's 5-15-50-150 model.

“ Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. ” - Jelaluddin Rumi

                                          Social networks: the value of a self-determination theory lens

key points: 

1.)  I introduce self-determination theory (S-DT) - a serious contender for my favourite approach to understanding how best to build wellbeing. 

These home practice suggestions link with the seventh session of the Compassion, wisdom & wellbeing training.  There are seven home practice requests for the fortnight until our 8th & last evening together.  

“ Any unexplained phenomenon passes through three stages before the reality of it is accepted. During the first stage it is considered laughable. During the second stage, it is adamantly opposed. Finally, during the third stage, it is accepted as self-evident. ” - Arthur Schopenhauer

“

There is nothing the wise man does reluctantly.

” - Seneca

This section contains chapters on Couples, Families, Social Networks, and Mentors, Coaches & Therapists.

Yesterday I wrote the blog post "Paired meditation deepens interpersonal connection: Tania Singer's wonderful ReSource project" which introduced & overviewed the recent, very impressive ReSource Project.  I also discussed the associated JAMA Psychiatry research paper "Effects of contemplative dyads on engagement and perceived social connectedness over nine months of mental training: a randomized controlled trial" with its abstract including the comments "Secularized classical meditation training programs address social cognition, but practice typically occurs alone.

Yesterday I was skimming through the JAMA Psychiatry journal and I got hijacked by Kok & Singer's recent article "Effects of contemplative dyads on engagement and perceived social connectedness over nine months of mental training: a randomized controlled trial".  The abstract reads - "Importance  Loneliness is a risk factor for depression and other illnesses and may be caused and reinforced by maladaptive social cognition. Secularized classical meditation training programs address social cognition, but practice typically occurs alone.