Background

What makes life worth living, in spite of the transient nature of human existence? The science of meaning in life seeks to answer such questions. This workshop integrates research and evidence-based practices into "hands-on" exercises. Across thousands of studies on meaning in life, several themes in effective practices have emerged. We have integrated practice-focused reviews (Russo-Netzer et al., 2016; Steger, in press; Vos, 2018) and decades of experience presenting workshops to develop a conceptual framework for meaning practices. This framework, Seasons of Meaning, clarifies that meaning is relevant in both joyful and sorrowful times, and when we are clear on our purpose or confused about our goals. Rather than simply consisting of a single practice, this framework can be used to identify or generate multiple practices that are suited to people over time.

Aims

This workshop presents the Seasons of Meaning conceptual framework and leads participants through one specific experiential activity drawn from it.

Method

The activity will be presented in the context of a research review and the conceptual framework that helps position it among the Seasons of Meaning. Specifically, we will be leading participants through an experiential activity from the Spring season, which emphasizes meaning practice that focus on the senses, embodiment, and seeing the world with new eyes. Participants will engage in a brief visualization exercise and then share a story with a partner. We will debrief with participants after this first round of sharing and then help participants re-engage with the story and share it with a new set of instructions and goals. Finally, we will share experiences from the whole group.

Results

Participation in this workshop will result in knowledge of research on meaning practices, the conceptual framework, and increased insight gained from executing an activity.

Conclusion

There is now abundant evidence that meaning practices can be effective. This workshop presents this literature and provides a framework for deploying it in experiential activities.