Thomas Moore is the New York Times bestselling author of Care of the Soul, as well as many other books on deepening soul and cultivating a mature spiritual life, three of which have received the Books for a Better Life Award. At turns he has been a monk, a musician, a university professor, and a psychotherapist. Today he lectures widely on creating a more soulful world and spirituality.

Courtney Carver is one of the world’s top bloggers on the topic of minimalism and author of the new book, Soulful Simplicity. Courtney’s simple experiment to live with less stuff grew into a complete overhaul of her mind, body and spirit. She found that clearing her physical space improved her psychological space, too—and has learned firsthand how ridding ourselves of excess can actually lead to enjoying more of what life has to offer.

Andrea Petersen is a science and health reporter who hasn’t just studied anxiety from a reporter’s standpoint; she has lived with it. Her new book, On Edge: A Journey Through Anxiety gives an honest and heartfelt account of living with anxiety and how she learned to come to terms with it. Andrea looks at how anxiety affected her, how she overcame it, and shows us some of the groundbreaking research that’s being done on anxiety.

Singer BJ Thomas has enjoyed nearly half a century in the music business, selling more than 70 million records and winning multiple Dove and Grammy awards. When Hurricane Harvey devastated his hometown of Houston, he knew he wanted to help, and that his music was the best way to do that. Here’s how he turned a song into a cause, and what it means to him to be able to give back.

Stephen Cope is a Senior Scholar-in-Residence and a Kripalu Ambassador. He is a Western-trained psychotherapist who writes and teaches about the relationship between Western psychological paradigms and the Eastern contemplative traditions. In its 25th anniversary edition, Yoga Journal named him one of the most important innovators in the developing field of American yoga.

Niki Brantmark is the founder and creator of the award-winning daily interior design blog My Scandinavian Home, which was inspired by her move to Sweden from London. Niki has an MA in psychology from the University of Edinburgh and she talks about Lagom (Law-gom) the swedish art of living a balanced, happy life.

Ken Druck, Ph.D., is an award-winning mental health expert specializing in parenting, aging, and resilience training. After some of the nation's worst tragedies. Dr. Druck's many books, including The Real Rules of Life and The Secrets Men Keep, have been featured on Oprah, The New York Times, NPR, CNN, and in countless other media.

Dive into these fun facts on this week's episode of #HappyFacts.

• Smiling baseball players tend to live longer
• Exercise makes you happy, especially if you are old
• Your age helps determine what makes you happy at work

Take a peek into the newest issue of Live Happy magazine and learn more about these fun facts:

• Research shows that spirituality is the leading character strength associated with a meaningful life.
• Practicing gratitude may help you live longer.
• Having purpose in your life every day may result in better sleep.
• When in dire situations, simply expressing gratitude can brighten your outlook!
• When it comes to happiness, your location matters
• Research shows that when children have knowledge of their family history, it can have positive effects on their psychological well-being

Dan Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author. He is an explorer, educator, author, producer, storyteller and public speaker.

Patty Van Cappellen is the director of the Interdisciplinary Behavioral Research center at Duke University. She studies the affective and motivational determinants and consequences of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices.

This week's facts include:

• Being in a good mood while getting a flu shot can boost its effectiveness. A study from the University of Notthingham found that of all the factors researchers looked at, a positive mood is the only factor that was associated with a higher level of antibody with an 8 to 14% variance.
• Boredom can be good for you! So, maybe you're one of those people who would rather staple their tongue to a piece of paper than be bored, but it turns out that boredom has many benefits (beyond not leading you to poke holes in your body).
• Smiles can be used to convey twice as many indifferent to unhappy emotions as they can happy ones.

Sometimes it's not about bad things happening...it's about the good things that are not happening. Like finding a soul-mate, being able to afford a nice vacation, or finally moving into that dream home.

Louisa Jewell holds a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and is the Founder and President of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association. After learning how to permanently overcome depression, she's now focused on what she loves most: helping other people take control of their own happiness and lead a positive, fulfilling life.

Megan Alexander is one of the youngest rising stars in the television news industry. For the past decade she has carved a solid carer as a TV Host, Producer, Speaker and Actress. She can be seen every evening as a correspondent on the longest-running, top rated syndicated national news magazine television show INSIDE EDITION.

Ken Baker, the Los Angeles–based senior correspondent for E! News, has worked in entertainment news for more than twenty years. In between interviews with A-list celebrities amidst the land of fairy tales and double-dealing, Ken came to realize his spiritual cup was evaporating and it was up to him to fill it back up again. His new book The Ken Commandments: My Search for God in Hollywood reveals a world that is deeper and more God-centered than many of us might ever imagine.

What you'll learn in this podcast:

• The most important question that prompted Ken's question in faith
• Advice on creating your own spiritual journey
• A glimpse into the world of spirituality in Hollywood