The University of Pennsylvania now offers the first Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program in the world. The program provides an important opportunity for psychologists, educators, life coaches, and health and business professionals interested in the application of the science of Positive Psychology. The Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) offers professionals, many of whom are working full-time, the chance to earn a pioneering graduate degree from an Ivy League university. Read more about the program and Positive Psychology on their website.

The idea comes up as a joke. I’m a journalist and a newly single Buddhist mom. Why don’t I investigate the new online “dharma dating” sites, and write about my experiences? I found the idea both intriguing and horrifying. For years I’ve mocked the idea of shopping for a mate the way you’d shop for a book on Amazon.com. But lately, several of my friends have met partners online; several others have had fun going out for dinners, movies and hikes with people they’d never would have known without the Internet. According to Business Week Online, almost 5 percent of the U.S. population is now listed on Match.com. Arranging dates through Buddhist sites promises something novel: a wide assortment of potential friends, all of them single and sharing a primary interest in spiritual practise. As a mating strategy, it probably beats cruising a vipassana retreat.

After my marriage went down in flames, romance was initially the last thing on my mind. (Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that I was still wearing a nursing bra.) And at this point, I’ve been around long enough to know that a romantic partner is not a guaranteed ticket to a dukkha-free life. Love, it seems to me, is a combination of serendipity and hard work. Wouldn’t I be better off using my time and energy rooting out the cause of my suffering— craving—at its source? Shouldn’t I focus on contemplating emptiness and interdependence to the point where I’d get just as much joy from an evening alone sorting socks as from a night making passionate love in front of a fire to Indian sitar music?

Oh, who am I kidding? “Sure,” I tell my editor. “I’ll check it out.”