The successful magazine cover is a combination of artistic and commercial aims. The great photographer Annie Liebovitz says her magazine cover work, therefore, is much different than the work she does inside a magazine. A work of art and an advertisement, a cover will be displayed on a rack next to a variety of images you can’t predict, with the aim of capturing a potential reader’s interest in a split second....
But the opposite is also true. When we experience our partner’s irritation and anger, we get pissed. We feel an instant surge of irritation and anger. It just sort of happens. Psychologists have a name for this phenomenon. They call it “complementary behavior”: the natural human tendency to mirror the emotions of those around us. When we’re in the presence of someone else’s happiness, we feel happy. When we’re in the presence of fear, we feel afraid....
“We know from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s research that in order to have flow you have to have concentrated attention. While our work places are anything but concentrated, how do you have this satisfying experience of deep absorption in what you’re doing if you’re multitasking all day? Recollect Mindfulness is one approach to shift away from distraction. One of the things that we work with in the course is to simply build in a moment—one minute, two minutes—where you just stop and let your attention come back to where you are....
“When I’m at work and listening to someone in a conversation or meeting, half of me is listening and the other half is thinking about what I need to do to prepare for my next meeting.” A product design executive at a tech company in Paris described his interpersonal habits this way at a mindfulness leadership program I facilitated. His experience is common. I hear it from businesspeople in pharmaceuticals, banking, publishing—in every industry, country, and culture....
I took a big awe walk in December 2019, to the National Mall to visit the two newest buildings in the Smithsonian Institution’s 19 museums: the anachronistically named National Museum of the American Indian (opened 2004) and the National Museum of African American History and Culture (2016). I recounted my visit to the latter museum in the Winter issue, and now I pick up the story as I traveled southeast across the mall to visit an area dedicated to celebrating the Indigenous peoples of the Americas....
Quiet Time One Saturday each month from October to December 2022, the Tazewell County Public Library in Virginia has opened exclusively to children with autism and their families for their new program Autism in the Library. “We decided to design a program specifically for children with autism because they’re welcome in their library,” outreach services coordinator Tammy Powers told WVVA. During the event, the library offers story time, a sensory room with kinetic sand, clay, Lego, building blocks, and a quiet room....
That’s because stress primes the brain to take automatic action. Any impulse will be harder to control, whether it’s craving Krispy Kremes, or procrastinating on a project. Neuroscientists sometimes say that we have one brain, but two minds: a mind that makes conscious choices, based on self-reflection and awareness; and a mind that makes automatic responses based on instinct and habit. Each of these “minds” are supported by different neural circuits—different systems of the brain in command of your thoughts, emotions, and actions....
From the interview: Everybody’s got five minutes, nobody is so busy that they can’t do five minutes of meditation. I saw benefits right away, chief among them, I was able to focus on what’s going on right now instead of being lost in memories of the past and fantasies about the future. When asked why meditation only makes you only 10 % happier, Harris adds: It’s slightly tongue in cheek, but anybody on Wall Street will tell you 10 % is a pretty good return on investment, and athletes will tell you, if you can be 10 % more clear and more energetic, you win....
The campaign has already raised more than $25,000 this year—enough for two wells in Ethiopia—before the event has even begun. Last year, funds were collected to dig wells in Rwanda. To get involved, register individually or put a group together. You can be at any stage in your meditation practice, from first timer to seasoned veteran. Mindful in May will provide weekly audio meditations, links to interviews with mindfulness leaders, a meditation journal, and healthy recipes....
Interested in exploring mindfulness with your kids? Scott Rogers shares a four-minute “Be Like Nature” mindfulness practice Drink less with mindfulness Even short sessions of mindfulness meditation may help heavy drinkers imbibe less, according to a team of University College London psychologists that compared mindfulness to simple relaxation. A group of 68 women, who drank an average of 26 units of alcohol a week (14 units is the maximum recommended weekly amount), learned either an 11-minute mindfulness practice—simply noticing cravings, without acting on them—or a relaxation exercise....
VIDEO: What to Expect from Meditation: How can meditation help you deal with whatever is stressing you out? Watch this short animated YouTube video, where clinical meditation consultant Andy Puddicombe tells you what you can expect from meditation. Befriending Fear: Working with Worry and Anxiety: The fear-response is a powerful emotional and physiological reaction that can be triggered by more than just an imminent physical threat. Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, explores the human response to fear, and shows us how mindfulness can help manage it....
“I think what I like most about that video is how normal I’m trying to make mindfulness seem for people who look like me,” Bourne says. Bourne, who is Black, is the founder and CEO of Bourne ANEW, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Black boys and young men develop the skills they need in order to “have a fair shot to lead the purposeful lives we all need them to....
That’s just a sample of what Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan has to say about mindfulness in this new book trailer for his forthcoming book A Mindful Nation. (We’ve included a transcription, below, as well.) Ryan also talks about his own experience with mindfulness and how the practice has the potential of making a tremendous difference for our society. “Growing up I spent about 12 years in Catholic school—Our Lady of Mount Carmel grade school, and John F....
This week try taking some time to explore the possibility of sitting with yourself as if you were your own best friend. Dwelling in the awareness of the breath, allowing thoughts and feelings to come and go, experiment with the possibility of embracing yourself as you would embrace another person who is dear to you and needs to be held. If you like, try silently repeating a phase on your own behalf....
Fred Rogers, of course, went on to create Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which aired nationally for over 30 years. Beginning in 1968 and continuing until (and beyond) the end of production in 2001, untold millions of children grew up under Mister Rogers’ steady gaze and faithful care. Those children now make up much of the American public, and now many of them are flocking to theaters to see the documentary of Misters Rogers’ life, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?...
Before getting into the questions, I want to recognize that not everyone has the privilege to shelter in place, or to do so safely and with financial security. Health care, grocery, transit, and other essential workers are on the frontline of caring for us, often putting themselves and their families at great risk. Thank you. You deserve not just our gratitude and solidarity, but adequate protective equipment and hazard pay....
Not so much. Adam Magyar, a Berlin-based photographer, says we don’t spend much time looking at still photos, since “we’ve gotten used to understanding the message quickly. But we tend to look longer and think more deeply about moving images.” So, to entice us to spend more time appreciating, he has started doing super slo-mo video—using software he developed to capture stunning images with a clarity never before achieved. In his project Stainless, Magyar pointed his camera out the window of subway trains....
Joy is an intrinsic attitude of mind that includes gladness of the heart, softheartedness, and tenderness that supports a capacity for appreciation, contentment, and gratitude. Just as our hearts can tremble in the face of suffering, they can also tremble in the face of happiness and beauty. Its affective tone is gladness, aliveness, and vitality. It is associated with a range of emotions, including contentment, wonder, radiant pride, gratitude, and delight....
