Robin sent me this interesting article from the Well blog in the NY Times: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body (G. Reynolds, 18 Feb 2016). Researchers divided 35 unemployed people into two groups: a meditation group and a control group (note: lack of a job was considered an adequate source of stress). Both groups were “treated” for 3 days, Continue reading
Tag Archives: research
Nature Calls
The earth is slowly waking. Crocuses are stretching towards the sky. The first daffodils have appeared. The scent of winter daphne hovers in the air between Eliot and the lawn. It’s time to get outside again. No more hibernating in my Office Cave.
But what is this urge to go outside, to get back into nature? Is it just a habit or is there something more at work?
Helper’s High
The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, or CCARE, is part of Stanford’s School of Medicine. It was established and directed by Dr. James Doty, Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, with the explicit goal of “promoting, supporting, and conducting rigorous scientific studies of compassion and altruistic behavior.”
Is Mindfulness Useful? Dec ’15 Updates
The American Mindfulness Research Association (AMRA) publishes a monthly newsletter called the Mindfulness Research Monthly that lists recent research publications and studies. Quite a few of these research investigations bear on issues that might be interesting to members of the Reed community so I will start publishing short lists of my top picks from the newsletter.
What follows is a list of articles mentioned in the December ’15 issue that describe how mindfulness interventions affect academic performance, working memory, emotional resilience, and more. (Note: only a few articles are ever available through our library’s subscriptions so be prepared to file interlibrary loan requests.)
Continue reading
Is There An Excuse for Mindlessness?
It’s a fact: not everyone is willing to sit down, much less sit still. But there are other ways to cultivate mindfulness. Attending to how you walk, listen, watch, wash the dishes, even brush your teeth, may provide you with all the opportunities. Here are some interesting links on this topic that Robin recently sent my way:
OPB’s Here and Now on Meditation
Curious about meditation? Having trouble getting past some of the roadblocks that your imagination has set up? Here is a simple way to bring your thoughts back to earth, get some straight facts, and get started: listen to two meditation experts speak with NPR’s Here and Now’s Robin Young.
Andy Puddicombe is the developer of the Headspace meditation app. Here and Now interviewed him on Wed (21 Oct 2015) on Technology Stressing You Out? There’s an App for That.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the developer and moving force behind Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a medically proven therapy for alleviating stress and pain. Here & Now interviewed him today (22 Oct 2015) on The Science of Mindfulness and Meditation.
Do Yourself a Favor
Do yourself a favor and you might just do a favor for everyone around you. How is that possible? Simple. Research shows that you can cultivate positive mental states by slowing down your activity and paying attention to your surroundings.
The Science of Compassion
Geshe Thupten Jinpa is a former Tibetan Buddhist monk, the principal English translator for the Dalai Lama (since 1985), and a Cambridge-educated scholar (BA, PhD). He spoke in Kaul Auditorium this past weekend as the guest of Maitripa College to speak about his new book, “A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives.” He also spoke with OPB’s Think Out Loud about The Science of Compassion (11 May 2015). You can listen to this interview by following the The Science … link.
Can’t fall asleep? Meditate
Getting enough sleep is proving to be a problem for people of all ages and I have written several times about ‘sleep issues’ in this blog (here and here). The NY Times Well blog brought this subject back to my attention today with the post, “Meditation for a Good Night’s Sleep.”
Mindfulness makes your workout more satisfying
The Well section of today’s NY Times contains an article that connects mindfulness and how successful people are at maintaining a physical exercise routine (“How Mindfulness Can Jump-Start Our Exercise Routines,” by G. Reynolds). The emphasis here is on the word ‘routine’ because so many of us take up exercise and then, after a couple of sessions, let it lapse. Continue reading