“Speakers gave advice our mothers told us all along: smile, stand up straight & eat more veggies.”

Conflict mediator Priya Parker talks about the meaning of swasth–to be seated inside yourself–during a talk about mindfulness. (Photo by Justin Ide)

By Lindsey Hoshaw

Sitting in a room of economists, computer scientists and roboticists, I didn’t expect to be told that money can buy happiness or that I should eat more kale.

But such is life when you attend a TEDx event, a locally organized conference that draws inspiration from the annual TED(technology, entertainment, design) events, which aim to present ideas worth spreading.

Past TED speakers include Bill Clinton, Malcolm Gladwell and Jane Goodallamong many other thought leaders, environmentalists, idealists, authors, designers and technologists.

TEDxCambridge is in its second year and multiple TEDx events are held across the world every week. The theme for Saturday’s TEDxCambridge conference was “thrive” and the event had a very touchy feely vibe. There were several instances when I was asked to meet the person sitting next to me, dance or meditate.

Continue reading on the Forbes blog.