“Brain studies of expert meditators while in ‘peak states’ have become increasingly sophisticated and better controlled,” note a group of researchers whose findings on a distinctly Therevadan Buddhist meditation practice and the brain were published on the WiseBrain.org site. While much of the research on meditation and the brain involves Buddhist or TM practitioners […]

  As I write this, our thoughts are with those in Boston who were affected by the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon. In my 20 years living in the Boston area, I cheered on the runners on many occasions and now, even from far way, these events feel close to home. Experiencing trauma can […]

  In this age of advanced modern medicine, it is a depressing fact that not all people suffering with a depressive illness respond to antidepressants. The mental health charity Mind UK recently highlighted their concern that there is a serious need for a range of therapies to be made available to depression sufferers. According to […]

  An experiment suggests doodling may be more than just a pleasant waste of time and paper. All sorts of claims have been made for the power of doodling: from it being an entertaining or relaxing activity, right through to it aiding creativity, or even that you can read people’s personalities in their doodles. The […]

Most resolutions have a similar trajectory: kick off the first week of January and fade away in February. That’s because most resolutions also have a similar foundation: They start with a “should.” Many of us set resolutions that we think we should. We should lose weight. We should diet. We should make more money. We […]

Reblogged from Going Around Places: “Being awake in a condition such that your conscious awareness does not often lapse, perhaps the most natural reaction is also the most paradoxical: anxiety, verging onto moments of near-panic. To be temporarily lost in the contents of consciousness is really just a kind of comfort blanket, allowing you to forget […]