Posts

Since then, doctors and healers of all stripes have advised countless (often questionable) treatments to fight inflammation, from diet changes and exercise to drugs, herbs, and supplements. Clearly inflammation is a battle we have yet to win. Yet in this still-new terrain, researchers have also sussed out a possible common denominator in this complex condition: stress. And meditation is showing promise as an accessible and effective way to combat it....

You may or may not have heard by now that our brain is wired to pay attention more frequently, and with greater veracity, to what’s negative. This doesn’t mean that the good moments in life aren’t happening. We’re just not wired to pay attention to them. Why? Because as a human race, we’re wired to survive, not be happy. BUT, I have a theory that in this moment in time we’re going through an evolution as a species....

But wait. Can your love life be a hobby? You bet it can. In fact I teach couples that the best way to strengthen your emotional and sexual connection is to treat your love life like you do your golf game or pottery class. Think about it. What are the key aspects of a hobby? Well, by definition a hobby is supposed to be fun—we look forward to our golf game with happy anticipation....

In this 13-minute video, Tim Ferriss from Big Think shares 11 approaches he has found useful for overcoming procrastination. 11 Ways to Stop Procrastinating for Good 1. Focus on Long-Term Happiness Dan Ariely, a Psychology and Behavioral Economics professor at Duke University, says we often choose to do things that will offer momentary happiness before working on a more long-term goal—a goal that is difficult or complex to achieve. Once we shift our focus on those long-term achievements, we can start the meaningful process of working toward them....

Latha Poonamallee, PhD • Routledge We live in a world that’s diverse, complex, and constantly changing, and with all those changes comes a call to shift our leadership styles. Expansive leadership, as Dr. Latha Poonamallee explains, “is an invitation to explore how to be a leader in an expansive, inclusive, robust, and resilient way.” As Chair of Faculty of Management and University Fellow at the New School in New York City, Poonamallee can help leaders usher in this new era of change with kindness, self-reflection, curiosity, and mindfulness....

This year winners included a “renegade lunch lady” a berry farmer and the CEO of a company that develops environmentally responsible bio-pesticides. The awards recognize farmers, food producers and promoters of sustainable food. Frances Beinecke, the president of the NRDC says she’s seen “an explosion of interest in healthy, sustainable food,” since the launch of the Going Green Awards in 2009. The Growing Green Awards, described as a celebration of sustainable agriculture, are given out in four categories: Food Producer, Business Leader, Knowledge Leader, and Young Food Leader....

While Moyer makes her claim based on one piece of research—which is problematic in any field, let alone science—her claims touch on a huge issue in mindfulness research at this juncture: what’s it doing? Where’s it going? Where are we at? Here’s three points we’d like to make about mindfulness science today. It’s true. We’re not quite there yet, folks. Here’s the thing. Even people working on mindfulness research will admit that research about meditation—its benefits, how it works—is still in the preliminary stages....

The longer exhales signal a state of relaxation by the vagus nerve, which results in further relaxation. This is a breathing exercise that is a basic 1:2 ratio breath that will help with relaxation and sleep. You can do this exercise either sitting or lying down, but I recommend lying down as the goal is to slow you down so that you can fall asleep. A Breathing Practice to Let Your Body and Mind Get Sleepy read more Caren Osten Gerszberg September 9, 2021...

What’s at the heart of this crisis in compassion? Too much screen time, for one. Stress is another factor. The hormone oxytocin, responsible for connecting and bonding us to our kids, giving us that warm, fuzzy feeling during caregiving—that hormone works on the same receptors in the brain as cortisol, the stress hormone. And therein lies the tension: It’s neurologically impossible to be both stressed out, and really loving and kind at the same time....

MLK’s message of tolerance centered around the idea of nonviolence. It’s not enough to avoid physical violence—one must avoid emotional violence as well. MLK once said: “You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.” At the heart of this message is love: Let’s carry his message into the world every day by cultivating compassion through mindfulness. You don’t have to like everybody, or agree with everything they do—but you can open up to the possibility of caring for them, because our lives are inextricably linked....

The good news is that awareness is a skill you can practice and strengthen over time. This two-minute mindfulness practice can be done wherever you are, so you can break out of autopilot and notice how your mind and body feel throughout the day. Explore this three-step practice for cultivating mindful awareness: 1) Brief body scan Start off by taking a single, deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth....

Why does that question make me think of a newcomer to online dating asking “How will I know if he’s the one?” In that case I would say that a good clue will be how you feel when you are with him, and whether his personal grooming habits are up to your standards. In the case of mindfulness med- itation, it will be what you feel when you are practicing, what you are feeling between peri- ods of practice, what you have typically felt prior to meditat- ing, and your grooming habits probably don’t figure into this particular equation....

title: “April 2014 Mindful Store " ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-15” author: “Michelle Snyder”

Cooperation—where individuals work together in order to create a benefit for an entire group—seems at odds with what many people assume are the basic forces of evolution. After all, it’s a jungle out there, only the strongest survive, humans are selfish, etc. But most scientists don’t share that view of evolution. “The role of unbridled violence in evolution is greatly overestimated,” says Danny Grunbaum, an oceanographer at the University of Washington and a pioneer in revealing the ways that ocean life cooperates in order to survive....

“We do think in this way of interdependence,” says Stinchcomb, “We believe the community, our customers, our neighbors, our peers in the business world, our employees, our stakeholders, and the planet are all partners in this enterprise, so we need to be optimizing for all of them.” This web extra provides additional information related to an article titled, “Building Mindful Brands,” which appeared in the October 2014 issue of Mindful magazine....

Nicholas Harp from the Psychology Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln says that our appraisal of stimuli or events is what we call our valence bias, which he explains “really refers to whether you tend to see these kinds of emotional ambiguities or uncertainties in a more positive or negative light.” Harp says that individuals who have a negative valence bias are at a greater risk of developing symptoms of mood and anxiety disorders....

Richard Davidson, Ph.D., a lead expert on the impact of contemplative practices on the brain at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, brings scientific findings to bear on the subject. He asks: “Is [mind control] associated with the development of specific circuits in the brain? To what degree are individual differences in this ability present early in life and what environmental and genetic influences modulate this ability?...

Journaling is not about being a good writer, or even a prolific one. Whether it’s gratitude journaling, bullet journaling, mindful journaling, creative or expressive journaling, stream of consciousness journaling, or keeping a diary, journaling has been recognized to provide multiple mental, physical, and emotional benefits. Research has suggested that the benefits of journal writing include: Improved mood and overall well-being Better management of anxiety and stress Strengthened immunity and physical healingImproved mental sharpness Greater regulation of emotions and emotional processing In addition to these benefits, journaling can be a tool to enhance your state of awareness, increase personal wisdom and insight, encourage feelings of gratitude, assist in self-reflection, and boost your creativity....

When bicycling long distances, you have to pay attention all the time. What kind of a sound is coming from the chain? What do your tires sound like on the road? Are there cars zooming by you? How thirsty are you? Do you have to go to the bathroom? Is there a shoulder to ride on or do you have to navigate a jagged road? Because if you lose concentration and slide off, you’re going to end up on your ass in a cornfield....