Promoting Well-Being

Mindful.org's Editor-in-Chief Barry Boyce interviews Mark Greenberg, Director of The Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State. 

Photo: simaje/Flickr.com

Boyce and Greenberg met up at the International Symposia for Contemplative Studies in Denver, Colorado. Facilitated by the Mind & Life Institute, the symposia brought together a diverse group of researchers and scholars from all over the word to “explore the correlates and consequences of contemplative practice.”

Here, Greenberg talks about his life work and the projects he’s involved in that promote well-being for families, children, teachers and students, including Penn State’s PEACE program (Program on Empathy, Awareness and Compassion in Education).

Greenberg says he expects the interest in mindfulness and contemplative practices to grow, as more young scientists and more Americans in general become engaged and interested in being present and in the moment, especially in relation to others.

“This work belongs in the public health arena for American society,” says Greenberg. “I think we’re going to see an enormous growth over the next 20 years. Because this is going (…) to move from the edge to the center of the public health sciences in America.”