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This book argues for the central role played by absorption in the functioning of the human mind. The importance of absorption makes itself felt in different ways; the two studies combined in this book concentrate on two of them. The first study, 'The Symbolic Mind', argues that, largely as a result of language acquisition, humans have two levels of cognition, which in normal circumstances are simultaneously active. Absorption is a (or the) means to circumvent some, perhaps all, of the associations that characterize one of these two levels of cognition, resulting in what is sometimes referred to as mysitcal experience, but which is not confined to mysticism and plays a role in various "religious" phenomena, and elsewhere. In the second st...
Publisher description: As David White explains in the Introduction to Tantra in Practice, Tantra is an Asian body of beliefs and practices that seeks to channel the divine energy that grounds the universe, in creative and liberating ways. The subsequent chapters reflect the wide geographical and temporal scope of Tantra by examining thirty-six texts from China, India, Japan, Nepal, and Tibet, ranging from the seventh century to the present day, and representing the full range of Tantric experience--Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and even Islamic. Each text has been chosen and translated, often for the first time, by an international expert in the field who also provides detailed background material. Students of Asian religions and general reader...
The human voice is one of the principal conveyers of social and affective communication. Yet relatively little is known about the neural circuitry that supports the recognition of different vocally expressed emotions. We conducted an FMRI study to examine the brain responses to vocal expressions of anger and happiness, and to test whether specific brain regions showed preferential engagement in the processing of one emotion over the other. We also tested the extent to which simultaneously presented facial expressions of the same or different emotions would enhance brain responses, and to what degree such responses depend on attention towards the vocal expression. Forty healthy individuals were scanned while listening to vocal expressions...
Literature Review of Concepts: Psychological Resiliency (Submitted, Journal Article)
Angels in the Details – Schumacher Center for New Economics (Submitted, Website)
A review by Greg Watson ofHealing Earth: An Ecologist’s Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship by John Todd.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on anxiety, depression and quality of life in patients with intrauterine adhesion. Methods: Patients who received therapy for intrauterine adhesion (IUA) were recruited and randomized into MBSR group and Wait-List group (WL group). 71 women who received routine physical examination were recruited as healthy controls. Patients in MBSR group received MBSR training for 8 weeks. Results: There were 76 patients in MBSR group, 75 patients in WL group and 71 subjects in control group. When compared with control group, the scores of anxiety and depression increased significantly and the score of quality of life reduced significantly before intervention. In patients, the scores of quality of life in all the domains were negatively related to the scores of anxiety and depression (P
Empathy’s purity, sympathy’s complexities; De Waal, Darwin and Adam Smith (Submitted, Website)
Yoga and Emotion Regulation in High School Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Submitted, Journal Article)
Middle adolescents (15–17 years old) are prone to increased risk taking and emotional instability. Emotion dysregulation contributes to a variety of psychosocial difficulties in this population. A discipline such as yoga offered during school may increase emotion regulation, but research in this area is lacking. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of a yoga intervention on the emotion regulation of high school students as compared to physical education (PE). In addition, the potential mediating effects of mindful attention, self-compassion, and body awareness on the relationship between yoga and emotion regulation were examined. High school students were randomized to participate in a 16-week yoga intervention (n=19) or regular PE (n=18). Pre-post data analyses revealed that emotion regulation increased significantly in the yoga group as compared to the PE group (F (1,32) = 7.50, p = .01, and eta2 = .19). No significant relationship was discovered between the changes in emotion regulation and the proposed mediating variables. Preliminary results suggest that yoga increases emotion regulation capacities of middle adolescents and provides benefits beyond that of PE alone.
Archives of Neuroscience | Run Regular, Age Slower, Be Neuroplastic (Submitted, Website)
Functional relevance of cross-modal plasticity in blind humans | Nature (Submitted, Website)
Yoga and Mindfulness for Children with Hearing Loss (Submitted, Website)
Recently I came across a blog post about how to teach yoga and mindfulness to children with hearing loss. Since I've worked at a school for the deaf for a number of years I was interested to discover what insights the author might add. Miss Megan of Learning Lotuses joins us for this episode to chat about yoga for children with hearing loss. She'll share insights on what to expect as an instructor and how to navigate some potential hurdles. We'll discuss sensory processing and sensory fatigue, the effective use of FM systems, tips for gesturing (no sign language skills needed), and so much more.
Toward a Theory of Neuroplasticity - Christopher Ariel Shaw - Google Books (Submitted, Website)
How to grow fresh air (Submitted, Website)
Researcher Kamal Meattle shows how an arrangement of three common houseplants, used in specific spots in a home or office building, can result in measurably cleaner indoor air.
Eco-Dharma (Submitted, Website)
Lama Willa Miller and David Loy join host Vincent Horn for Geeks of the Round Table to discuss how Buddhist concerns intersect with ecological & activist concerns.The trio talk about the upcoming Eco-Dharma Conference, examine some ways Buddhist philosophy can contribute to the global ecology discussion, and then discuss the supposed disparities between Buddhism and ecological activism.
Nature, Joy, and Human Becoming (Submitted, Website)
“The sudden passionate happiness which the natural world can occasionally trigger in us,” Michael McCarthy writes, “may well be the most serious business of all.” He is a naturalist and journalist, and this is his delightful and galvanizing call — that we can stop relying on the immobilizing language of statistics and take up our joy in the natural world as our civilizational defense of it. With a perspective equally infused by science, reportage, and poetry, he reminds us that the natural world is where we evolved, where we found our metaphors and similes, and it is the resting place for our psyches.
Understanding motor events: a neurophysiological study | SpringerLink (Submitted, Website)
Join Sara Estelle in the latest Nature Connections show as she is joined by Chris Phillips, Author of "Treating Depression Naturally". Chris shares more about how depression is a uniquely experienced emotion/state of being and how and why it might manifest. Chris also talks about 3 aspects of depression - namely anger, hormonal depression and depression experienced by many young people today - and flower essences that might help
Zach Bush, MD On The Science & Spirituality of Human And Planetary Transformation (Submitted, Website)
“If we don’t reconnect with nature, we will just destroy it again.”Zach Bush MD
In my humble opinion, Zach Bush, MD isn’t just one of the most compelling medical minds currently working to improve our understanding of human and environmental health. He’s a virtuoso healer. A master consciousness. And a gift to humanity.
Today Dr. Bush returns to the podcast (his first appearance was RRP #353 in March of 2018) for a formidable and moving conversation that will leave you rethinking not only how you eat and live, but what it means to be a conscious consumer and engaged citizen of this precious planet we all share.
A pioneer in the science of well-being, Dr. Bush is the founder and director of M Clinic, an integrative medicine center in Charlottesville, Virginia, and one of the only ‘triple board-certified’ physicians in the country, expert in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Hospice/Palliative care.
How we treat the planet impacts human biology. Intuitively, we understand this to be fact. But what distinguishes Dr. Bush from his medical peers is his rigorous application of science, strength of humanity, and the intelligence of nature to his commitment to transforming our world. A man with a deep understanding of the interdependence of macrocosm and microcosm, Dr. Bush’s brilliance truly shines on subjects like soil degeneration and regeneration. The relationship between intensive farming practices and the rise of environmental degradation and chronic disease. And his vision for a more integrated and holistic approach to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.
My initial conversation with Dr. Bush remains one of the most mind-blowing, impactful and popular discourses in the history of this show. Picking up where we left off, today’s episode exceeds all expectations — another conversation for the ages that will permanently alter how you think about everything from health, nutrition, disease, medicine, agriculture and environmentalism to what it means to be a spiritual being in this human experience we collectively share.
It’s 2019 people. It’s time to stop screwing around. It’s time to get educated. And it’s time to once-and-for-all take control of our personal health and that of the planet we inhabit.
I ask only that you listen keenly. Take notes. And no matter what, stick around to the very end. Zach concludes the podcast with what I can only describe as the most poignant and moving closing monologue in the history of this program – a bold statement I don’t make lightly.
If you thought last week’s podcast with David Goggins was peak RRP, think again, Because today, the doctor is in.
Final note: the podcast is now available on Spotify and viewable on YouTube at: bit.ly/zachbush414
Final Final Note: My friend and team member David Kahn “DK” joins us this week for an extended introductory segment to discuss his health goals for 2019. I’m interested in your thoughts on having DK pop in from time to time so we can track his progress. Together, let’s help him transform! Tweet @richroll and @daviddarrenkahn with your suggestions and feedback using the hashtag #DKgoals.
Peace + Plants
“We are part of nature. Nature is part of us. Stardust is in us and we are in stardust. We are all part of this same endeavor which is life and the Universe.”Jared Blumenfeld
The theme of this podcast is conversations that matter with thought leaders making a difference.
My conversation with today’s guest perfectly embodies the best of this ethos.
A man who has spent the last two decades fighting to create tangible benefits for communities and ecosystems alike, Jared Blumenfeld is a former U.C. Berkeley-trained international environmental lawyer with an impressive resume that includes stints at the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) as well as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) before running one of San Francisco’s first city Departments focused entirely on the environment, where he was instrumental in helping transform San Francisco into the “greenest city” in America.
In 2009, President Obama appointed Jared to serve as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator for the Pacific Southwest (Region 9), which includes California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and 148 tribal nations. During his 7-year tenure at EPA, Jared diligently pursued environmental justice and enforcement, focusing on climate change, recycling, tribes, and drinking water. Along the way his team made massive strides in combating corporate polluters, protecting coastal waters, accelerating clean vehicle adoption and advancing tribal community environmental well being.
Then, in 2016, he decided to walk away from his career to pursue a life-long dream of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail – an effort to embrace first hand the environment he has spent his life protecting.
Jared has appeared frequently in The New York Times, BBC, Economist, San Francisco Chronicle, CNN, Los Angeles Times, NPR and recently launched his own podcast entitled, Podship Earth.
As you might imagine, this is a wide-ranging conversation about planetary preservation and ecological conservation.
It’s a gut check on the current status of global climate change — what is contributing to it, the challenges faced in combating it, and the responsibility we all share to steward our precious planet towards a greener future.
It’s also a very frank redress of our current administration’s attempt to deny reality. Right now, we’re facing an indisputably massive and ever growing threat to planetary health. Yet current EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s reversal of long-standing environmental policy buttressed by his refusal to embrace scientifically irrefutable facts related to global climate change, poses a very real threat to the long-term well-being of this spaceship we all share called Earth.
It’s a conversation about what’s required, both on a policy and personal level, to correct past wrongs and steward a healthier, more sustainable path forward.
And finally, it’s the story of one man’s remarkable life and his commitment to ensure a better future for us all (plus awesome stories about his four month quest to conquer the Pacific Crest Trail, and how it made him a better human).
I really enjoyed this one. I hope you do too.
Peace + Plants
Can comedy help us talk about climate change? (Submitted, Website)
Belina Raffy from the comedy project Sustainable Stand Up explains how stand-up can help us to talk about stuff that matters and avoid the doom and gloom mentality surrounding how we treat this planet and each other.
Stoicism as environmental philosophy (Submitted, Website)
How can philosophy help us become better persons whilst improving sustainable development? According to sustainability researcher Kai Whiting, the philosophy of Stoicism, which is based on wisdom, self-control, courage and justice, can help us reach collective societal goals whilst taking care of our environment. This is part 1 of 2 about Stoicism and the environment.
Work out and read a book a week (Submitted, Website)
In the second part of our Stoicism & The Environment crash course I talk with Kai Whiting about societal wellbeing, about how he applies stoicism to his own life and about how you can do the same. All from an environmental perspective.
Sustainability Is Everything! (Submitted, Website)
J. Morris Hicks, author of Health Eating, Healthy Planet, is vegan for every reason, but primarily to save our fragile ecosystem. Meet the man who's working with film director James Cameron, and attempting to bring on board tycoon Ted Turner, to help save the planet in a big way-forks first!
The power of nature's cycles and how to align yourself with them - Craig Richardson (Submitted, Website)
This week's show is with someone we're delighted to introduce you to... Craig Richardson. Craig joins many today who are engaged in asking the question, "What does it mean to be fully and authentically human?" As an advocate of the human rewilding movement he is interested in applying this question to all areas of life, including parenting, nutrition, education, lifestyle, and spirituality. He works both professionally and informally to help individuals to move towards authentic humanity and break free from the domestication model. He and his wife have unschooled their son since birth, and as a family they are interested in camping, hiking, natural family living, fire spinning, organic cooking, ancestral skills, and being as Earth-friendly as possible.In this show we spoke talk about the power that comes from understanding and aligning ourselves with the cycles of the natural world. We explored different kinds of cycles, such as seasonal, lunar and solar, and how they parallel our lives in many ways, revealing truths about life stages, the huge benefits of having a deeper connection to those cycles, and how we can get started.
Gensler Sustainability Discussion with Maria Perez (Submitted, Website)
Maria Perez is a Senior Associate and Director of Sustainable Design for Gensler, an integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting firm of 5,000+ professionals networked across 46 global offices. In this role, she serves as one of the firm’s leading sustainability ambassadors and promoters, engaging staff, clients, and the public on innovative and sustainable design, construction, and operational thinking.
How Do We Design A Eco-Conscious Green Work Place (Submitted, Magazine Article)
With increasing concerns about the environment, people are re-evaluating every aspect of their lives. As we audit our living environments, it is also important that we demonstrate the same commitment in our workplaces. Here are some ways to create an eco-conscious office.
Green fatigue or a case of the blues? (Submitted, Website)
It should be easy for people to be green but instead it’s difficult. A recent survey has found that New Zealanders are supposedly suffering “green fatigue” because of constant warnings of an environmental catastrophe.
Unifying Anthropocentrism and Ecocentrism (Submitted, Thesis)
Environmental political thought, and environmentalism generally, is divided onthe question of whether to ascribe moral standing to nonhuman entities, such as animals
or entire ecosystems. As human activity increasing comes to dominate and reshape our
world, effectively instrumentalizing everything nonhuman, the question becomes: do we
continue with our traditional conception of politics, inclusive only of human interests,
merely modifying our behavior to avoid ecological consequences destructive of our
interests (e.g., Nordhaus and Shellenberger 2007)? Or do we have a moral responsibility
to expand the political community, eschewing an anthropocentric view and instead taking
the interests of nonhuman entities into account (e.g., Eckersley 1995; Ball 2011). If so, is
it even possible to take account of an Other that cannot speak for itself?
7 Ways Yoga Helps Children and Teens (Submitted, Website)
Learn how yoga can improve body image, self-discipline, and even test scores.
40 Years of Radiant Child Yoga (Submitted, Website)
Shakta Khalsa is known the world over as one of the grand mothers of the children's yoga movement. Join her as she looks back on 40 years of teaching children's yoga. From the early years at the ashram to founding Radiant Child Yoga, she has lead the charge to bring peace and joy to children the world over. Inspiring others to share the joy of movement, mindfulness and song with the younger generation, Shakta is a teacher, mentor, mother and an beautiful example of living radiantly.
Case Studies: Transformative and Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (Submitted, Journal Article)
Posthuman Anthropology? Facing up to planetary conviviality in the Anthropocene (Submitted, Journal Article)
Implicit psychology: An introduction to social cognition. | Request PDF (Submitted, Website)
Contemplative Studies Grow At Brown University -- And Beyond (Submitted, Website)
The intelligence of emotional intelligence - ScienceDirect (Submitted, Website)
Pesquisa em Educação Ambiental (Submitted, Journal Article)
For more than two decades, the Invitational Seminar on Research Development in Environmental (and Health) Education series has provided a unique opportunity for participants from around the planet to discuss critical problems, trends and issues in environmental education research (EER) and environmental education (EE). Using a critical realist/materialist ‘history of the present’ method, this brief commentary outlines some of the key principles and purposes of the Seminar series that helped shape the framing, conceptualization, and contextualization of the 13th Invitational Seminar held in Bertioga, Brazil in 2015. The main theme of the 13th Seminar, posed as a researchable question, was: “What is ‘critical’ about critical environmental education research (EER)?”. There are persistent concerns that the early promise and potential of EE in the 1970s is being diminished as the field develops, diversifies and is absorbed into certain dominant logics and/or prevailing practices. The Seminar series is an attractive alternative for researchers historically committed to a critical praxis of EER that promotes environmental ethics and socio-ecological justices. For the first time in the series, environmental education researchers from Brazil (as an indicator of Latin/South America) were invited to give ‘voice’ to their research efforts. In Brazil, there is an emergent ‘body of knowledge’ that serves environmentally as a ‘location of knowledge’. Possibly, this ‘literature base’ represents a distinctive ‘geo-epistemological’ understanding of the local, translocal, national, regional, and transnational achievements and aspirations of the ‘Brazilianess’ of EER. As an evolving history of the present (and future), this commentary concludes with some basic recommendations for the future local and translocal development of ‘post-critical’ framings of inquiry that highlight the importance of sustaining locations of knowledge production in and for critical perspectives of environmental education research.
An Ecology of Happiness (Submitted, Book)
We know that our gas-guzzling cars are warming the planet, the pesticides and fertilizers from farms are turning rivers toxic, and the earth has run out of space for the mountains of unrecycled waste our daily consumption has left in its wake. We’ve heard copious accounts of our impact—as humans, as a society—on the natural world. But this is not a one-sided relationship. Lost in these dire and scolding accounts has been the impact on us and our well-being. You sense it while walking on a sandy beach, or in a wild, woody forest, or when you catch sight of wildlife, or even while gardening in your backyard. Could it be that the natural environment is an essential part of our happiness? Yes, says Eric Lambin emphatically in An Ecology of Happiness. Using a very different strategy in addressing environmental concerns, he asks us to consider that there may be no better reason to value and protect the health of the planet than for our own personal well-being.In this clever and wide-ranging work, Lambin draws on new scientific evidence in the fields of geography, political ecology, environmental psychology, urban studies, and disease ecology, among others, to answer such questions as: To what extent do we need nature for our well-being? How does environmental degradation affect our happiness? What can be done to protect the environment and increase our well-being at the same time? Drawing on case studies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America, Lambin makes a persuasive case for the strong link between healthy ecosystems and happy humans. Unique in its scope and evenhanded synthesis of research from many fields, An Ecology of Happiness offers a compelling human-centered argument that is impossible to overlook when we marvel at murmurations of starlings or seek out the most brilliant fall foliage: nature makes our steps a little lighter and our eyes a little brighter. What better reason to protect an ecosystem or save a species than for our own pleasure?
A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA (Submitted, Website)
Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA -- in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where "the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys."
This country isn't just carbon neutral -- it's carbon negative (Submitted, Website)
Deep in the Himalayas, on the border between China and India, lies the Kingdom of Bhutan, which has pledged to remain carbon neutral for all time. In this illuminating talk, Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay shares his country's mission to put happiness before economic growth and set a world standard for environmental preservation.
How will we survive when the population hits 10 billion? (Submitted, Website)
By 2050, an estimated 10 billion people will live on earth. How are we going to provide everybody with basic needs while also avoiding the worst impacts of climate change? In a talk packed with wit and wisdom, science journalist Charles C. Mann breaks down the proposed solutions and finds that the answers fall into two camps -- wizards and prophets -- while offering his own take on the best path to survival.
At Hemet Elementary School, yoga helps students cope with stress – Press Enterprise (Submitted, Website)
20th WCP: Teaching Meditation to Classes in Philosophy (Submitted, Journal Article)
In alignment with the overall theme of the congress, "Philosophy Teaching Humanity," this paper proposes that teachers of philosophy consider instructing their students in simple techniques of meditation. By meditation I mean the practice of mindfulness which typically begins by paying clear, steady, non-reactive attention to the sensations of one's own breathing, and then extending this attention to embrace all bodily sensations, feelings, moods, thoughts, and intentions. I discuss how to integrate meditation practically in the philosophy classroom and then respond to three objections that have been raised to that practice. I then discuss the potential benefits of the practice, arguing first of all that meditation has academic benefits, especially in courses in Asian philosophy. But of much wider application is the wisdom of non-attachment which the mediation naturally evokes primarily through the experience of impermanence. The potential benefits of the paradigm are then briefly indicated as related to our experience of body, mind, society and nature. I conclude by commending the proposal as a small but important practical step philosophy teachers can take to help our fellow humans navigate the challenging transformation of our time.
Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, PhD - Sharecare (Submitted, Website)
Happy and Green: connecting sustainability and wellbeing (Submitted, Website)
Hosted at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden on Feb 4th 2016, Happy and Green drew connections between Sustainability and Wellbeing in support of individual, institutional and societal resilience – and considered the particular role that culture can play.
How Can We Be More Effective Altruists? (Submitted, Website)
Philosopher Peter Singer's work focuses on "effective altruism" — how to do the most good to make the world a better place. He argues effective giving involves balancing empathy with reason.
MBSR Online Course (Submitted, Website)
MBSR Online Course
Human development and environmental governance: a reality check (Submitted, Book Chapter)
The impacts of the global political economy of oil and the entrenchment of underdevelopment in Africa and parts of Asia are endangering planetary resilience and making many people's livelihoods and wellbeing more precarious. In some resprects, the world has moved further away from sustainable development, not towards it.
What? (Submitted, Website)
If we want to make the biggest difference, what are some actions we can take that really help, what causes do we have the biggest potential to affect, and what is the link between poverty, malaria, and bednets?
Sustainable Development Goals Explained: Good Health and Well-being (Submitted, Audiovisual)
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: What it Is, How it Helps (Submitted, Website)
What is "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction"?
Sex, Empathy, Jealousy: How Emotions And Behavior Of Other Primates Mirror Our Own (Submitted, Website)
De Waal writes about primate empathy, rivalry, bonding, sex and murder in his new book, Mama's Last Hug. The title of the book was inspired by a tender interaction between a dying 59-year-old chimp named Mama and de Waal's mentor, Jan van Hooff, who had known Mama for more than 40 years.
Business Altruism (Submitted, Website)
Commentator Paul Raeburn examines an Exxon-Mobil project to drill oil in the Central African country of Chad. Proceeds are set to go to help the people of the struggling nation, and Raeburn says if the plan works, it could start a new trend for business endeavors with developing countries.
Are We Wired To Be Altruistic? (Submitted, Website)
When Abigail Marsh was 19, a complete stranger risked his life to save her from a car accident. Today, she studies what motivates us to help others — and why some of us are "extraordinary" altruists.
A Guided Walking Meditation from Jon Kabat-Zinn (Submitted, Website)
This 9-minute guided meditation from Jon Kabat-Zinn explores embracing mindfulness with every footfall — varying the practice for speed and distance.
Carpool Q&A on Mindfulness (Submitted, Website)
Mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn answers supporter questions about how to put mindfulness skills into practice and live more wisely and mindfully in response to life's challenges.
Can Altruism Be Learned? (Submitted, Website)
At the prison where Cheryl Steed works, certain inmates are chosen to be caregivers for elderly inmates. The program has made her wonder — can altruism be learned?
Toward a Lifestyle Medicine Approach to Illness Anxiety Disorder (Formerly Hypochondriasis) (Submitted, Journal Article)
Lifestyle medicine may be the most effective way of treating illness anxiety disorder (IAD), formerly hypochondriasis. IAD as defined in the DSM-5 can now be diagnosed using positive symptoms, which means it is no longer a diagnosis of exclusion. Tools used in lifestyle medicine including motivational interviewing and mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) may be particularly useful in the management of IAD.
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