Diane Dreher

Many of us are feeling distressed by the division and discord around us. If you've been wondering how to heal the painful political polarization, you could take a cue from the Renaissance.

Let me explain. When we're feeling threatened and stressed, we go into survival mode—reacting with fight, flight, or freeze (LeDoux, 1996). Our higher brain centers and creative capacity shut down to focus on the threat, and we fall into the false dilemma of either/or—us or them, win or lose. We see anyone who disagrees with us as the enemy, run away and hide, or freeze into helplessness.

The survival reaction can save our lives in an emergency, but most of the time it limits us. Stuck in the false dilemma, we can't use our innate creative capacity to respond with resilience, to discover new possibilities.

The Renaissance was one of the most creative periods in human history. Theologians began teaching that each person had been given unique strengths as a gift from God, that it was each person's duty to discover, develop, and use them to serve the Lord, fulfill their destiny, and contribute to their community.

When people believed that they had these personal strengths, they began to discover and use them, leading to unprecedented creative contributions to literature, science, leadership, and the arts (Dreher, 2008).

In our own time, positive psychologists have found that each of us has our own personal character strengths and when we discover and use them, we are happier, healthier, and more successful (Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Seligman et al., 2005). You can discover your own top character strengths by taking the free VIA character survey at https://www.viacharacter.org/.

You can connect with your top strengths now by looking back in your memory to a time when you felt a deep sense of joy, energy, and empowerment.

What were you doing—Connecting with a partner? Participating in a sport?  Creating art or music? Solving a problem? Feeling a sense of awe in nature? Or something else? Feel yourself back there now. What were you doing? What did it look like and feel like?  

Now focus on a personal strength you were using. Was it creativity, curiosity, love of learning, bravery, persistence, integrity, love, kindness, fairness, leadership, spirituality, appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, or something else?

What strength stands out for you?

Ask yourself, "What is one step I can take to use more of this strength in my life today?"

Imagine yourself doing this. What would it look like and feel like?

Now you can take the first step in using this strength. You can transcend the limiting false dilemma. By bringing your own creative gifts to the world, you can begin creating a new Renaissance within and around you.

I wish you joy on the path

References

Dreher, D. (2008). Your personal Renaissance. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

LeDoux, J. (1996). The emotional brain. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. E. P, (2004). Character strengths and virtues. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N, & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60, 410-421.

Picture, Renaissance tapestry and Dante candle from Eve Solis. 

Years ago, a friend sent me a prism to hang in my window. Now each morning, dozens of tiny rainbows dance across my walls—waves of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. All these rainbows emerging from the white light—their colors blending into rainbow harmonies.

These days, our nation and our world are too often divided by our differences. Our colors can become polarized—red or blue, right or wrong, us or them—instead of the greater harmony of rainbow colors emerging from the same white light.

Today, I invite you to visualize this greater harmony.

• Take a deep breath to relax and slowly breathe out.
• Breathing in, breathing out, feel your shoulders relax, your mind becoming more peaceful.
• As you continue breathing slowly and deeply, imagine a rainbow before you, with its radiant colors arching over you.
• Feel the colors surround you and feel yourself becoming part of this rainbow harmony.
• As you feel the harmony around you, recognize the different parts within you blending into radiant patterns.
• See the different colors blending into greater harmonies. Realizing that we're all connected in these patterns of light.

Later today, when you go outside or just look out your window at the natural world around you, focus on nature's patterns—the bright blue sky, the green trees, bright colored flowers, and, at the end of the day, the radiant rose and golden sunset. All the colors of nature blending together into patterns of greater harmony.

Then pause to reflect on how all of the colors of your life blend together, and how your life blends these colors into an overarching unity where there is no discord, no division, only a greater harmony that includes us all.

I wish you greater joy, beauty, and harmony in the days to come.

These days there's so much darkness, division, and discord in our world that we can often lose hope. What we need now is the light of inspiration.

Ever since I read her autobiography in my teens, I've been inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt, by how she reached out with courage and compassion to touch the lives of so many people during the Depression and World War II.

As Adlai Stevenson said at her memorial service:

"She would rather light a candle than curse the darkness and her glow has warmed the world."

I invite you to connect with the light of inspiration for yourself.

Take a few moments now to reflect. Relax and center as you slowly breathe in and breathe out. You can put your hand on your heart if you wish.

As you continue breathing slowly and deeply, think of someone who inspires you. This can be someone you know, someone in history, someone whose life you encountered in a book or a movie.

Who is it that inspires you? See this person in your mind. Take a moment to feel their inspiration now as you connect with them in your imagination. 

Now ask yourself, "What do I admire most about this person?" Pause for a moment as you focus on one or two of these qualities. What were they-- courage, compassion, resourcefulness, perseverance, creativity, or something else? Recall how this person expressed these qualities.

Then ask yourself, "How can I bring more of these qualities into my own life?"

What can you do to bring more of these inspiring qualities into the world? Imagine yourself doing this.

Finally, ask yourself, "What is one small step I can take to begin?"

When you're ready, prepare to that that first step.

I wish you joy as you follow the light of inspiration to bring more light to the world.

A lot of us have been feeling stressed and disconnected these days. One reason we can feel this way is  that we're often not present with what we're doing. Research (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010) has found that for nearly 50% of the time most of us are doing one thing while thinking about something else. 

Unless we consciously focus our attention, a nonstop rush of thoughts drones on in our heads like the chatter on a talk radio station. Research reveals that a disconnected mind is a  stressed mind (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010). Even when we're listening to someone else, this inner dialogue will rehearse our answers or rush us into future planning.

As I explain in my new book, Pathways to Inner Peace,  beneath all the incessant planning is often fear--fear of helplessness, loneliness, and losing control (Dreher, 2025). This fear can put us into a stress state, compromising our ability to focus our attention, enjoy what we're doing, think creatively, and solve our problems more effectively (LeDoux, 1996).

Of course, we cannot control everything in life, including the weather, the news, and other people. We can only be present and ready to respond. Yet the more present we are, the more effective is our response.

What about you? Have you found yourself feeling distracted and disconnected lately? If so, I invite you to take a moment now to restore your sense of presence.

• First take a deep, mindful breath and slowly release it. Just pausing to take a deep breath can help you feel more calm, centered, and peaceful.
• Now recall a time in your life when you felt a deep sense of presence. Were you connecting with a friend? Meditating? Experiencing the wonder of nature? Playing a musical instrument? Singing  Or something else?
• Recall how you felt, continuing to breathe slowly and mindfully.
• Now feel yourself becoming more aware of where you are right now. Feel your body connect with the surface of the chair you're sitting on.
• Feel the rhythm of your heart beat, the energy flowing through your body.
• Now open your heart to greater presence and peace of mind as you go about this day.

And remember that whenever you can catch yourself thinking about one thing while doing something else, you can pause, take a deep mindful breath, and slowly release it to return to the present moment.

I wish you joy on the path.   

References

Dreher, D. (2025). Pathways to Inner Peace. Hollister, CA: MSI Press.

LeDoux, J. (1996). The Emotional Brain. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Killingsworth, M.A., & Gilbert, D. (2010,12 November). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330, 932.

There's  so much political polarization these days. With massive cuts in government programs, economic challenges, scapegoating  immigrants, and demonizing the opposition, too many people have been blaming those with different views, seeing them as enemies. This is no way to build a healthy community.

Research has found that having approach goals, striving for what we want, promotes personal well-being while avoidance goals, striving to avoid what we don't want, is associated with anxiety and distress (Emmons, 2003). In our personal, professional, and public lives, having positive approach goals builds greater hope. Psychologist C.R. Snyder discovered that hope involves goals, pathways, and agency—having a positive goal we believe in, pathways or steps toward that goal, and agency, the energy and motivation to reach it (Snyder, 1994).

In my own life, when I experienced disconnection and anxiety from recent challenges, including the Covid, pandemic, career transitions, and political uncertainty, I chose an approach goal: developing a greater sense of connection. My search led me to discover nine powerful pathways to greater connection and peace of mind, practiced through centuries of spiritual tradition and supported by the latest scientific research. I've described them in my new book, Pathways to Inner Peace, discovering greater joy and connection in the process.

What about you? Has something been troubling you in any area of your life? If so, I invite you to join me in this hope practice based on research I did with my friend and colleague Dave Feldman (Feldman & Dreher, 2012).

• First, ask yourself what's been troubling you in any area of your life—from the personal to the political.
• Take a slow, deep breath and release it, as you ask yourself "What is the opposite of this?" "How would I like it to be?" This is your goal. Now write it down.
• Now ask yourself, "What is one small step  I could take toward this goal?" Write it down.
• Then ask yourself what might get in the way, a roadblock for this step. Write down this roadblock beneath the step.
• Next, think of an alternate step you could take if you encounter this roadblock and write it down beneath the roadblock.
• Do this for two more steps--think of a step, a roadblock, and an alternate step and write them down.
• Now take a few moments to close your eyes and imagine yourself taking each step, confronting each roadblock and taking each alternate step, feeling positive momentum as you move toward your goal.
• Then see feel yourself achieving your goal. Breathe in as you feel yourself doing this. Then slowly breathe out, feeling greater hope and a new sense of possibility.

When you are ready, gently open your eyes and prepare to take your first step.

I wish you joy on the path.

References

Dreher, D. (2025). Pathways to inner peace. Hollister, CA: MSI Press.

Emmons, R. (2003). Personal goals, life meaning, and virtue: Wellsprings of a positive life. In C. L. M. Keyes & J. Haidt (Eds.) Flourishing (pp. 105-128). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Society.

Feldman, D. B. and Dreher, D. E. (2012). Can hope be changed in 90 minutes? Testing the efficacy of a single-session goal-pursuit intervention for college students.  Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 745-759, DOI: 10.1007/s10902-011-9292-4.

Snyder, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope. New York, NY: The Free Press.

In our challenging world today, the news and social media too often focus on our problems, and this can bring us constant worry, fear and anxiety, undermining our hope. 

Years ago, a wise woman called Peace Pilgrim said that "instead of stressing the bad things which I am against, I stress the good things which I am for. Those who choose the negative approach dwell on what is wrong, resorting to judgment and criticism" (1981, p. 26).

By focusing on what we don't want, we can become stuck in negativity. Reacting, condemning, attacking, we can be dragged into darkness, division, fear, anger, and resentment. This reaction can trap us in chronic stress, compromising our health and blocking our ability to think clearly.

By focusing on what we do want, we can move from being reactive to being creative, activating the power of hope. History shows this lesson well. In November, 1932, during the dark days of the Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president. By the inauguration, 13 million people were out of work and almost every bank was closed. While former President Herbert Hoover had focused on the problems of the Depression, President Roosevelt focused on possibilities, proposing bold new solutions. In his first hundred days, he proposed, and Congress enacted, a sweeping program to being recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and those in danger of losing their homes and farms. He established the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Works Progress Administration, the Civil Conservation Corps, and other innovative programs, renewing our nation's hope.

You too, can build your hope by looking beyond problems to focus on what you do want.

• First, take a long, deep breath and slowly release it, asking yourself what's been troubling you in any area of your life—from the personal to the political.
• Take another slow, deep, breath to release any tension.
• Then ask yourself "What is the opposite of this?" "How would I like it to be?" Then visualize what it would look like and feel like.
• Breathe in that vision of possibility, feeling a new sense of joy and possibility as you slowly breathe out.
• Then  ask yourself, "What is one small step I could take to move toward this new possibility?" Is there someone you could talk to? Somewhere you could find out more information? Some small action you could take?

When you are ready, prepare to take this first step, moving forward with a new sense of hope.

I wish you joy on the path.

____________________________

Reference

Peace Pilgrim. (1981). Steps Toward Inner Peace. Shelton, CT: Friends of Peace Pilgrim. For more information on Peace Pilgrim, see https://www.peacepilgrim.org/

The tall pine tree outside my window stands serene. Birds nestle in its boughs and sunlight sparkles through the raindrops on its branches. Just looking at it brings me a sense of peace. A few paces beyond, the world is anything but serene. Frantic drivers crowd the roadways, invasive ads urge us to buy the latest device, and negative news of political polarization, heartbreaking wars, and other disasters spews from the media.

In America today, over 48% of adults have suffered from anxiety disorders (Anxiety Checklist, 2025). More than 21 million adults a year are suffering from depression (NIMH, 2023). And in recent months, over 70% of  Americans have experienced stress from politics, the economy, and worries about the future (APA, 2024). For an overview of the rise in anxiety, depression, and stress throughout the world, see the Anxiety Checklist (2025).

The fact that life creates suffering--Buddhism's First Noble Truth--is only too evident today.

But it doesn't have to be. The world's great spiritual traditions remind us that we have a choice. We can mindlessly react to the commotion around us or choose to see things differently, to cultivate greater peace of mind. What brings you peace of mind? Is it:

• Getting or giving?
• Reacting or creating?
• Doing or being?

When you see the difference, what does this mean to you? 

Do you have your own ritual that brings you back to peace? Is it:

• Beginning the day with regular contemplative practice?
• Quiet moments of prayer and spiritual reading?
• Pausing to reflect on the beauty of nature?
• Giving yourself space to breathe amid a busy day?
• Spending a few moments at the end of the day to reflect on three things you're grateful for (Emmons, 2007)?

Today you can choose your own daily ritual of peace, which can make a positive difference not only in your life but in our world. For the peace you cultivate is not just for you. It ripples out to touch all the people you meet for we are all intrinsically connected. Each day the small choices you make can begin to heal our beautiful, but troubled world.

I wish you—and all of us–greater peace in the days to come.

Diane

References

Anxiety Checklist University. (2025). The Anxiety Checklist. https://anxietychecklist.com/anxiety-statistics

American Psychological Association (APA). (2024). Stress in America 2024. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2024

Emmons, R. (2007). Thanks. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH).  (2023). Statistics on Depression. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression#part_2563

I believe that we live on two levels—as our separate self and as connected in an expansive sense of oneness.

Our separate self give each of us our name, personal history, individual identity, and accomplishments. But the separate self can also bring us insecurity, fear of inadequacy, anxiety, and worries about ourself, our appearance, our goals and achievements.

Beneath the layer of our separate self is our underlying unity, our oneness with all of life. We can sense this oneness in moments of awe and inspiration, in the beauty of nature, the power of love, in meditation,  community, and the arts, in times we are so connected to the present moment that we transcend our separation, drawn into a deep state of oneness.

Our former surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy warned that we have an epidemic of loneliness and isolation which compromises our emotional and physical health (2023). For feelings of isolation can produce chronic stress, anxiety, and fear. Advertisers exploit the insecurity of our separate self so they can sell us their products as solutions. And authoritarian leaders seek to divide us from each other and control us with fear.

But we can transcend insecurity and isolation of our separate self by connecting with our essential oneness. We can find transcendence through the power of awe, the sense of inspiration and wonder when we connect with something larger than ourselves. Where do you find this connection?

I invite you to join me now to focus on what connects you.

Recall a time when you felt an expansive sense of connection and oneness with something beyond your separate self—a sense of joy and inspiration.

• Was it experiencing the beauty of nature? Looking up at a tall tree or a radiant sunset?
• Sharing time with a loved one?
• Experiencing a work of art—music, drama, poetry, or the visual arts? Participating in the process of creativity as you became one with the present moment? Or was it something else?

Breathe into that experience now.

Feel the embrace of that expansive, inspiring, and energizing experience of oneness.

In the days ahead, make it a point to connect with the sense of oneness. Take time to experience what inspires you. Make this a regular part of your life, a new habit to bring greater light to your life for your own good and the good of us all.

For experiencing this deeper sense of connection will empower you to take positive action to bring more connection, harmony, and peace to our world.

I wish you joy on the path.

Reference

Murthy, V. H. (2023). Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

Lately, many of us have been living in fear. Current political news can make us feel afraid that we are not safe. Some of my friends say they're afraid to speak up, to disagree, to act on their beliefs for fear of what could happen to them. But while there are disruptive forces out there, surrendering to fear is not the answer.

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in his First Inaugural Address during the dark days of the Depression: "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance" (1933).

In today's challenging times, it is up to each of us to find ways to transform the reductive reaction of fear into the possibility for positive action. For we cannot act wisely when reacting from fear, which plunges us into fight, flight, or freeze—three reactions that reduce our actions to defensiveness, retreat, or passivity.

How do we transform the energy of fear? The Bible tells us that "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John, 4:18). Recent research in positive psychology has found how we can transcend fear with the power of awe, the sense of inspiration and wonder when we connect with something larger than ourselves (Keltner, 2024).

I invite you to join me now in a brief reflection to experience the power of awe.

• Take a deep mindful breath and slowly release it. Then recall a time when you felt a sense of awe, an expansive connection and oneness with something beyond your ego—a sense of joy and inspiration.
• Was it experiencing the beauty of nature—perhaps walking in the woods, seeing a radiant sunset, or gazing at the stars overhead?
• Was it appreciating a work of art—music, drama, poetry, or the visual arts?
• Was it sharing time with a loved one?
• Feeling flow, as you participated in the process of creativity?
• Or something else?

Breathe into that experience now, feeling it in the present moment, expansive, inspiring, and energizing.

In the days ahead, make it a point to restore your inner balance by connecting with awe on a regular basis. Reach out to connect with whatever brings you that joyous, expansive feeling of awe.

Experiencing awe will dispel the fear reaction, bring more light to your life, and enable you to take positive action to bring more light to the world.

I wish you joy on the path.

References

Keltner, D. (2024). Awe: The new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.

Roosevelt, F. D. (1933, March 4). First Inaugural Address. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/froos1.asp

Each night I look up at the stars outside my window. Sometimes I see moving stars, airplanes flying overhead, the miracle of flight as they rise above the earth.

These days, many of us are feeling dragged down in spirit. The endless storms of information, ads, disinformation, and distressing news can trigger our fear, anxiety, worries, and what Shakespeare called "the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to."  But we can take heart from the miracle of flight.

My father, Colonel Frank Dreher, a pioneer in aviation, has always inspired me. Following his example, I took flying lessons. I was amazed to find that when I drove a Cessna 150 down the runway at 55 miles per hour, it would take off, developing lift from the wind beneath my wings.

Like in the poem, "High Flight," by John Gillespie Magee, I'd "slip the surly bonds of earth" to fly high into the bright blue sky.

Now it's your turn to fly. Looking at your own life, what is it that lifts you above the downward drag of worry and anxiety?

What is it that gives you wings?

Think back to a time when you felt your spirit rise above "the surly bonds of earth." When did you feel your heart filled with joy, wonder, and a sense of grace? Recall that time now in your imagination.

• Where were you?
• What were you doing?
• What brought you this lift?
• Was it connecting with nature? Music? A loved one? A moment of unexpected beauty and grace?

Take a deep breath and connect with that feeling now. Know that you have the power to rise above the stresses of mundane reality to feel greater joy, hope, and renewal.

When you are ready, smile and look around you, discovering new opportunities to find your wings and fly.

I wish you joy in the process.