Led by Professor Mark Williams, the Oxford Mindfulness Center—part of the University of Oxford—has launched a £500,000 crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for research combatting mental illness, in particular depression and anxiety. The area they want to explore is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has recently been regarded as one the newest areas for the treatment of mental illness. Recent studies have show how MBCT is an effective as anti-depressant drugs for patients at high risk of depression....

I recently had the honor of interviewing Rick Hanson, Ph.D. and author of three books, the latest being Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time. As Hanson puts it, mindfulness training is a fundamental kind of literacy. It’s a way of controlling our most fundamental property—our attention. In fact it’s sometimes referred to as “attentional control.” In part, mindfulness can be a gateway to changing the brain, which fortunately has the ability to grow and be rewired....

When doing this meditation, remember that, as always, there’s no need to strive to make anything happen. Simply observe what you find and practice letting things be for a while. When something uncomfortable grabs your attention, like pain or an itch, observe it first and see if it changes. If you find you need to address it, that’s fine. Noticing that, pause and make an adjustment. In this way, the body scan provides an opportunity to practice responsiveness....

A recent study divided people who had completed substance abuse programs into treatments using three different approaches: mindfulness meditation, relapse-prevention, and the 12-step method. The participants were assessed at three intervals over the following year. Twelve months later, fewer meditation participants reported relapsing – in the case of both drug and alchohol use – than participants from the other two treatments. For more about the study, click here. You can also read the report on the trial, here....

MindfulTV exclusive with Jon Kabat-Zinn The most recent news is that our friend and advisor Jon Kabat-Zinn has agreed be our special guest for the Exclusive MindfulTV Broadcast we announced in our Indiegogo mindfulTV campaign! Jon is recognized internationally as the pioneer of the mindfulness movement, and talking with Jon will give us latest in what’s emerging around the world. You can take part in this broadcast and ask Jon questions about the state of the mindfulness movement, gleaned from his work in the UK, Europe, and Asia, as well as North America....

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Take a look to see what you’ve been missing. Then, consider joining to go deeper into the site’s content and community. For more, read Susan Kaiser Greenland’s articles on Mindful.org: The “About to” Moment and Teach your kids awareness with an apple! 08/30/11

When Mindful spoke with Bronnie Ware, nurse and author of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, she said it was meditation that allowed her to overcome burn out and return to the job. “I looked after dying people for eight years, I ended up burning out because I wasn’t looking after me,” says Ware. Ware says her mindfulness practice allowed her to take time for herself, and in turn, better help her patients: I learned through meditation that compassion starts with yourself....

Policing is a stressful job, Winter acknowledges. “So, it’s important to find constructive outlets. It’s easy for anyone, not just police, to fall into less healthy ways of dealing with stress.” Mindfulness is Winter’s constructive outlet. She was introduced to it about seven years ago when her romantic partner took a mindfulness course and came home talking about it. Now, Winter regularly meditates focusing on the breath. Sometimes she practices for just a few moments, sitting at her desk in the middle of her day....

In this course you’ll learn how to: Assess what Dr. Bays calls “the eight hungers” and understand how they influence your eating patterns Tune into your body’s own wisdom about what, when, and how much to eat—which will lead you to a greater sense of satisfaction with every meal Develop a more compassionate attitude toward your relationship with food Deepen your understanding of how childhood conditioning affects the way we relate to food Nourish the heart and discover what you’re really hungry for...

1. Stand with feet spread about the same width as your hips, toes pointed straight ahead. Take a moment to stretch in any way that feels good—arms overhead, leaning to each side, folding at the waist, or swinging your arms side to side in a gentle twist. 2. Return to relaxed standing with arms at your sides and eyes closed. You might sway a little—if it’s too hard to find your balance with eyes closed, keep them open....

He was a professor of psychology at University of Washington and was also the director of the university’s Addictive Behaviors Research Center. Throughout his life, Marlatt labored to bring empathy and compassion into a field that had historically advocated harsh and coercive techniques that were not effective. For more information about his research and his life, visit these sites: University of Washington site Appreciation: G. Alan Marlatt Brought Compassion to Addiction Treatment, by Maia Szalavitz, Time Healthland In Memory of Alan Marlatt’s Passing, by Dr....

Improvisational music relies on our innate ability to listen fully and to let something emerge out of that, in a spontaneous, almost magical way. Perching on the edge of our seat while someone else is playing, trying to figure out how to have our moment on the stage, doesn’t lead to good improvising. To truly listen is one of the hardest skills to cultivate, but it is central to jazz improvisation....

Anger is in itself neither good nor bad—it’s what you do with it that matters. Anger is best viewed as a tool that helps us read and respond to upsetting social situations. Research overwhelmingly indicates that feeling angry increases optimism, creativity, effective performance—and research suggests that expressing anger can lead to more successful negotiations, in life or on the job. In fact, repressing anger can actually hurt you. Dr. Ernest Harburg and his team at the University of Michigan School of Public Health spent several decades tracking the same adults in a longitudinal study of anger....

To read A Scientist’s Journey: Becoming Mindful in Midlife by Aimee Liu on SecondAct, click here. For more, read Suffering is Optional on Mindful.org, by Susan Smalley herself, with Diana Winston, about how meditation practice can ease the mental suffering that often comes with physical pain. 10/18/11

Sharon Salzberg: Do you think it’s harder for kids these days? That’s sort of the common understanding or feeling. Mark Bertin: I would say it’s a mixed bag. I think some of what we’re living with as a culture makes it feel like it’s harder for kids. It makes it really frightening to be a parent in some ways and frightening to be a kid in some ways that aren’t necessarily real....

How do you react to sadness? Do you ever feel sad for no reason? 50% Say they rarely feel sad for no reason, and 39% feel inexplicable sadness somewhat often. 8% say they are never sad for no reason, while 3% are all the time. Do you believe life is inherently sad? What’s one thing you won’t do because it makes you too sad? 23% Say contemplating the fate of the world is too difficult, while 9% can’t read or watch the news, 10% can’t watch a sad movie, 5% struggle to be alone, and 3% can’t read sad books....

Nor, of course, was Brown-Séquard’s the last such discovery. A few decades after his death at age 76 (oh, well) in 1894, other fountain-of- youth fads swept Europe and America. Implants of goat testicles into men’s scrota became all the rage in the 1920s, and the “Steinach operation,” basically a one-side vasectomy, promised to increase vigor, reduce fatigue, and slow aging. Among the recipients was poet William Butler Yeats. I leave to your imagination why these early efforts focused on men and their reproductive organs and ask a different question: Why are some people obsessed with extending life span?...

After the meditation we went around the circle and shared how the week had been with the pain levels and the mindfulness practices we were learning. When it was Josie’s turn, she told us that a new flare-up had just started last night, and she couldn’t sleep because she had such a full workweek ahead and worried how she’d make it through. She was also scared it would get as bad as it had been a couple of months ago, when she had to be hospitalized and put on much stronger medication with heavy side effects....