Live Happy Now

If you like your mindfulness served without BS, you’re going to love this week’s episode! Join us as mindfulness coach and yoga teacher Oneika Mays shares insights from her book, Sit with Me: A No-BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation. Oneika explains how yoga helped her reclaim her sense of self; why teaching mindfulness inside Rikers Island transformed her understanding of compassion, justice, and human connection; and how loving‑kindness (or metta) can help us navigate a world that feels heavy and chaotic.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How mindfulness helped Oneika move from reactivity to response — and why that shift changed her life.
Why loving‑kindness (metta) is a powerful antidote to fear, hate, and overwhelm in difficult times.
What meditation is really for — and why it’s not about feeling good.

As we close out our Summer Reading Program, host Paula Felps sits down with cognitive and behavioral neuroscientist Dr. Sydney Ceruto to walk through her book, The Dopamine Code: How to Rewire Your Brain for Happiness and Productivity, which explores one of the most misunderstood forces shaping our motivation, mood, and modern wellbeing. Sydney explains why today’s overstimulated world leaves so many of us feeling restless, stuck, or burned out — and how understanding the true role of dopamine can help us reclaim clarity, satisfaction, and forward momentum.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why dopamine isn’t the “pleasure chemical” but is the “molecule of motivation” that shapes everything from restlessness to burnout.
How modern life overstimulates your reward system, making everyday joys feel flat and pushing you toward unhealthy dopamine defaults.
How to build your own “dopamine menu” to help you shift from cheap dopamine spikes to meaningful, sustaining rewards.

In this week’s episode of Live Happy Now, Paula Felps sits down with author Angelica Glass to explore her remarkable book, Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks, which chronicles her decision to walk every street in Santa Cruz County. What began as a stress‑relief habit unfolded into a profound journey of awe, healing, forgiveness, and rediscovery. Angelica shares how intentionally seeking beauty — one photograph, one street, one quiet moment at a time — opened the door to long‑buried memories, deeper self‑understanding, and renewed connection with her siblings. Through nature, silence, and curiosity, she learned to reframe her past with tenderness and compassion, ultimately transforming her internal landscape and her relationships.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How awe, silence, and slow travel can unlock emotional healing and neuroplasticity.
Why seeking beauty — even in life’s “wreckage” — reshapes how we see ourselves and our past.
How sharing personal stories with loved ones can strengthen connection, change perspectives, and open new conversations.

This week, as part of the Live Happy Summer Reading Program, host Paula Felps sits down with Elizabeth Margulis, a professor of music at Princeton University and director of the Music Cognition Lab, to talk about her book, Transported: The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams.  Elizabeth explains why our minds naturally wander when we listen to music, how those imaginative journeys shape our sense of self, and why these experiences are far more meaningful — and scientifically important — than we realize. Listen as she reveals how reconnecting with this simple, often overlooked way of listening can deepen our relationships, boost our mental health, and bring us back to the joy that first made us fall in love with music.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why unfamiliar songs can trigger similar imagery across listeners.
How music helps us process memories.
Why daydreaming to music may be essential for creativity and emotional well‑being.

The Live Happy Summer Reading Program continues this week as host Paula Felps sits down with author and activist Deborah Santana to talk about Loving the Fire: Choosing Me, Finding Freedom, her powerful memoir about identity, courage, reinvention, and choosing a life aligned with your spirit. In this episode, Deborah candidly shares how she found the strength to leave a life that no longer reflected who she was, the spiritual practices that guided her, and the generational resilience that shaped her path. Listen as Deborah shares how stepping into your truth can transform not only your life, but the lives of those around you.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Deborah found the courage to leave a life that no longer aligned with her spirit.
The role generational strength, family history, and activism built her identity — and continue guiding her work today.
What it means to “walk through the fire” in your own life, and how to recognize misalignment, reclaim your voice, and choose a path rooted in integrity and self‑reflection.

For Week 2 of the Live Happy Summer Reading Program, award‑winning journalist and author Donna Jackson Nakazawa sits down with host Paula Felps to discuss her groundbreaking new book, Mind Drama: The Science of Rumination and How to Outwit Your Inner Defeatist. Donna explains that rumination is an evolution‑wired survival response that has gone rogue in modern life, trapping us in negative “mental movie reels” fueled by the brain’s default mode network. Using neuroscience, personal insight, and research‑backed tools, she shares how we can transform rumination into clarity, creativity, and a renewed sense of belonging.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why rumination happens and how the brain creates vivid “movie reels” of old stories, future fears, and intense emotional and physical reactions.
How the MIST framework works — and how to use it to interrupt rumination and reduce stress chemistry.
How to turn rumination into insight, using neuroscience‑based strategies that help you rewrite outdated beliefs, reclaim your voice, and use your mental energy for more meaningful, joyful pursuits.

This week on Live Happy Now, we launch our Summer Reading Program with Jodi Wellman, whose book You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets invites us to rethink how we spend our days and start living with fewer regrets. Jodi joins host Paula Felps to explain how embracing the reality of our limited time can actually make life feel richer, more vibrant, and more meaningful. Drawing from personal experience, positive psychology research, and her signature humor, she explains why we’re so prone to postponing our lives — and how small, intentional choices can help us feel more “astonishingly alive” every day.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why the concept of memento mori can be a powerful motivator for living more fully.
How Jodi’s personal wake‑up call shaped her mission to help others stop postponing their lives.
Simple, accessible ways to feel more alive — without a dramatic life overhaul.

Summer is here, and so is our very first Live Happy Summer Reading Program. In this episode, Live Happy Now Host Paula teams up with Senior Happiness Editor Chris Libby to unveil six weeks of books designed to inspire, uplift, and spark real‑world joy. From science‑backed guides to deeply personal memoirs, they walk through each pick, explain why it made the cut, and tell you how to join the fun.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How the Live Happy Summer Reading Program works — and how to follow along each week
What’s on this year’s reading list and why these books were chosen
The new book‑lover goodies coming to Live Happy, including Shelf Care and Shelf Care for Kids

This week on Live Happy Now, host Paula Felps sits down with Dr. Sherry Hamby, a leading researcher on trauma and resilience and author of Stronger Than You Think: Building Lifelong Resilience. Drawing from more than three decades of studying violence, healing, and human strengths, Dr. Hamby explains why our biggest misconception about trauma recovery is believing we must “push through” alone — and why resilience is not a trait but a multidimensional journey. She introduces her four-part resilience portfolio, shows how nature and supportive relationships can accelerate healing, and shares why even those with heavy trauma histories can still move toward thriving.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why resilience isn’t about toughness but about building a diverse portfolio of strengths.
The four domains that shape your resilience — and how to use the ones you already have.
How nature, meaning-making, and connection can support healing just as powerfully as regulation strategies.

In a world where fake news and misinformation is rampant, what role does honestly play? This week, Wake Forest philosopher Christian B. Miller dives into the ideas behind his new book The Honesty Crisis, revealing why honesty is far more complex — and essential — than simply telling the truth. In this thoughtful conversation with host Paula Felps, Christian explores why honesty feels harder in today’s world and what’s at stake for our relationships, our well-being, and our society when we abandon it.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why honesty means more than just telling the truth.
How modern technology makes dishonesty easier, more tempting, and harder to detect — especially in classrooms and workplaces.
How honesty supports trust, reduces stress, and allows for genuine connection.