"No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."                                                                                                                            John Donne

                                       "The way is not in the sky.  The way is in the heart."           Dhammapada

           "Of all the means which wisdom acquires to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life,                                                                    by far the most important is friendship."           Epicurus

        "Friendship is the single most important factor influencing our health, well-being, and happiness."                                                            Robin Dunbar, Oxford emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology 

I’ve just been to the Farmer’s Market here in Edinburgh and I set myself the challenge of being more chatty than usual to the stallholders I was buying food from.  I ‘pushed’ myself to be friendly & talk more than I’ve ever done before (and I’ve been going to the market intermittently for years) … and it was such fun.  Tender, bubbly, jokey, light.  And I had more of a spring in my step for hours afterwards.  And it didn’t mean that I took much longer doing the shopping than I usually do either.  And as one might have predicted, this ‘good mood’ and happy positivity then splashed over into my actions subsequently (see Barbara Fredrickson's 'Broaden-and-build theory' of the function of positive emotions and her comments about

“

What does not kill me, makes me stronger.

” - Frederick Nietzsche

   Social networks: social identity & the importance of both formal & informal groups (what can we do?)

key points: 

the social identity model highlights the value of group membership (more & less formal) for both psychological & physical wellbeing - are there groups you would like to join (or initiate) and are there helpful ways you can increase the sense of the importance to you of some of the groups you're a member of (for example by increasing your involvement with them).

“ Medical knowledge is a social process: The conversations that occur around artifactual data are always more important than the data themselves. ” - John Lester

                       Social networks: Dunbar's 5-15-50-150 model (assessing how we're doing)

key points: 

1.)  Please would you download a personal community map (see below) and begin to fill it in. 

2.)  While filling in the map and afterwards, answer the items on the associated questionnaire ... and start to jot down possible intentions too.

“ One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.  He said "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.  One is Evil.  It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.  The other is Good.  It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."  The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"  The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed." ” - Anonymous

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

key point: 

“ To stand and stare, to watch the rising sun, fills me with such calm happiness, I am sure I have dwindled away too much time on inessentials. ” - Diana Gault (when dying of cancer)

                         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.

“

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage

” - Lao Tzu

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.

“ The larger the island of knowledge, the greater the shoreline of wonder. ” - Ralph Sockman

                                                                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.