“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

A whole lot of human energy emanated from Madison, Wis. two days ago when global thought leaders, including His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, participated in Change your Mind Change the World 2013, a day of panel discussions on how neuroscience, economics, environments, emotional intelligence and health care can combine to make the world a healthier, happier place. The event was co-hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Richard J. Davidson, founder of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds and Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute.

If you weren’t in Madison, or missed the simulcast, recordings of the morning and afternoon sessions will be posted on the event’s web site next week, perhaps even as early as Monday.

In addition to the Dalai Lama, Davidson and Patz, the other participants include:

• Don Berwick, national leader on health care quality, former CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, recent administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;

• Daniel Goleman, psychologist, science journalist, author of The New York Times bestseller “Emotional Intelligence,” named one of the 25 “Most Influential Business Management Books” by Time magazine;

• Arianna Huffington, author, syndicated columnist, founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post;

• Ilona Kickbusch, director of the Global Health Programme at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva; interdisciplinary advisor on promoting health globally;

• Lord Richard Layard, professor, economist, director of the Center for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, co-author of the United Nations’ “World Happiness Report”;

• Mattieu Ricard, bestselling author, translator, photographer and Buddhist monk, author of “Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill,” dubbed “the happiest person in the world” by popular media. (He also has several awesome TEDTalk presentations. Check out this one.)

And until you can watch the Madison sessions online, check out Action for Happiness, a movement that invites you to be the change, first from within and then outward.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net