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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...
Interactive Biofeedback Sensors May be the Future of Treating Chronic Pain (Submitted, Audiovisual)
For those with chronic pain, the most basic movements can be unbearable. Some patients even develop kinesiophobia – a fear of, or aversion to, movement. Using interactive digital interfaces, the chronic pain sufferer Diane Gromala, professor of interactive arts and technology at Simon Fraser University in Canada, is developing new ways to help alleviate symptoms that could serve as a supplement or alternative to pharmaceuticals. Through a biofeedback system, Gromala’s interfaces track users’ physiological responses to different movements and mental states.
How Biofeedback Supports Mindfulness in Stress & Anxiety Management (Submitted, Magazine Article)
Mindfulness is an increasingly popular tool for training the mind, and specifically, attention. Research shows it helps reduce stress, anxiety and depression, and improves focus and other aspects of cognitive and executive function.But if you want to realize these benefits for yourself, you have to commit to consistent (roughly daily) practice, for the longer term. The problem is, that's not easy.
You can take a six or eight week course in mindfulness - there are lots around these days - but what happens after the course has finished? In my experience, a lot of people don't persist with a regular mindfulness practice (and some research bears this out), even when they experienced benefits.
This article looks at why not, and how supporting mindfulness with biofeedback might help.
Being Good and Doing Good: A Conversation with William MacAskill (Submitted, Website)
In this episode of the Making Sense podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Oxford philosopher William MacAskill about effective altruism, moral illusions, existential risk, and other topics.
What Does it Mean to be Human? (Submitted, Website)
Ecologist Steven Harding discusses the need to break away from self-centered consciousness and awaken the "ecological self."
Sustainable Nation (Submitted, Film)
In a world where water is everything, Sustainable Nation follows three individuals who are doing their part to bring sustainable water solutions to an increasingly thirsty planet.
Joanna Macy — A Wild Love for the World (Submitted, Website)
A philosopher of ecology, Joanna Macy’s path wound from the CIA to Tibetan Buddhism, to translating the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. We take that...
Food, Inc. (Submitted, Film)
With Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Richard Lobb, Vince Edwards. An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry.
Mindfulness for Stress Reduction (Submitted, Website)
Would you like to reduce your stress? Very few people would say no to that offer! But what exactly does it mean?
The Science of Doing Good: My Conversation with William MacAskill (Submitted, Website)
In this inspiring interview, William MacAskill, co-founder of The Centre for Effective Altruism and associate philosophy professor at Oxford University, shares how we can be better at doing good and compounding our efforts to make the world we live in a better place.
Why? (Submitted, Website)
In our first episode, we explore the reasons we have to care about other people, why being more effective is so important, and why helping others also makes our own lives better.
Need Stress Relief? Try Mindfulness Meditation (Submitted, Website)
This practice is about paying attention in the present moment.
Persuasive Cities for Sustainable Wellbeing | Agnis Stibe | TEDxBeaconStreet (Submitted, Audiovisual)
How? (Submitted, Website)
If we're trying to do the most good, how should we think about finding out what works, how can experimental methods give us better insights, and how do we face up to evidence that challenges our existing beliefs?
Responding Empathically: A Question of Heart, not a Question of Skin | SpringerLink (Submitted, Website)
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.
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.
60 Minutes Mindfulness featuring Jon Kabat Zinn (Submitted, Website)
Denise Schrier Cetta produces & Anderson Cooper reports on what it’s like to try to achieve “mindfulness,” a self-awareness scientists say is very healthy, but rarely achieved in today’s world of digital distractions.Jon Kabat-Zinn, who is Professor of Medicine Emeritus and creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is interviewed
How Far Would You Go To Help Others? (Submitted, Website)
Larissa MacFarquhar writes about extreme altruists, people who make great sacrifices to help others. She says most of us aren't prepared or willing to do that — which is why we don't give more.
The Chikukwa Project (Submitted, Film)
A feel good film out of Africa. See how 7,000 Shona Africans moved from malnutrition to abundance. Using sustainable farming including permaculture methods they have turned their lives around.
Mama Earth: EcoEcon 101 (Submitted, Film)
Another gloom and doom film? No! Quite the contrary, this film revels in innovation, invention and creativity. An inspiring road map of successful ways to achieve sustainability through reinventing old business methods and finding new paths to healthy communities, protecting natural resources and attaining a more profitable bottom line.
Mother: Caring for 7 Billion (Submitted, Film)
With Esraa Bani, Albert Bartlett, Lester Brown, Martha Campbell. Mother, the film, breaks a 40-year taboo by bringing to light an issue that silently fuels our largest environmental, humanitarian and social crises - population growth. Since the 1960s the world population has nearly doubled, adding more than 3 billion people. At the same time, talking about population has become politically incorrect because of the sensitivity of the issues surrounding the ...
Biofeedback (Submitted, Website)
This podcast hosts John G. Arena, Ph.D., President of the Association for Applied PsychoPhysiology and Biofeedback. Dr. Arena is also the Lead Psychologist at the Veterans Hospital in Augusta, Georgia and Professor of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia. The practice of biofeedback is discussed along with potential health benefits.
Of the Land (Submitted, Film)
Within the last half century, our agriculture and food has changed more than it has changed before in several thousand years. New technologies and scientific ingenuity have given rise to genetically modified organisms (GMO) and other novel foods. Some people have raised concerns about the safety of GMOs in our food supply, given their incredible dominance in the majority of our diet. Traditional,...
Exploring personal practice and contemplative education in higher ed contexts
Hope for All: Unsere Nahrung - unsere Hoffnung (Submitted, Film)
With Joachim Kerzel, Marc Bekoff, Monica Bielenstein, Detlef Bierstedt. A life-changing documentary uncovering and revealing the effects of our typical Western diet on our health, the environment and animals. The film has a clear message: By changing our eating habits, we can change the world.
Finding Joe (Submitted, Film)
With Chungliang Al Huang, Rebecca Armstrong, Deepak Chopra, Alan Cohen. A truly inspirational film, Finding Joe explores the studies of famed mythologist Joseph Campbell. Take a journey through the human psyche and discover the pattern hidden in every story.
Episode 146: Yoga for Kids and Their Grown-Ups with Katherine Priore Ghannam (Submitted, Website)
This week, I talk to Katherine Priore Ghannam all about yoga for kids and her innovative program Headstand, which offered yoga to low-income K-12 schools around San Francisco. We cover some of the lessons Katherine learned from starting her passion project from scratch, and why it’s oh-so-beneficial to introduce yoga and mindfulness in schools. Whether you’re interested in sharing yoga with kids or just need some inspiration to keep working toward your goals, this episode is for you. We talk about: * The story of how Headstand got its start (and why she kept at it despite many of the... Continue Reading
Building a Strong Foundation for Cancer Healing (Submitted, Website)
Fighting cancer isn't easy, but giving up isn't an option. Yoga enhances physical and emotional wellness—and brings a peace many patients thought they lost forever.
Discover Why Kids Need Yoga as Much as We Do (Submitted, Website)
Yoga presented in a child's language can help counter the stress experienced by little ones living in a hurry-up world. Learn the benefits of teaching yoga for kids.
Inviting the World to Transform | The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (Submitted, Website)
Stress Proof (Submitted, Website)
Dr. Mithu Storoni is a Cambridge-educated physician, researcher and author, interested in chronic stress and its implications on mental well-being, decision-making, performance, and brain health. In her latest book STRESS PROOF – the scientific solution to protect your brain and body and be more resilient every day, she takes cutting-edge research findings from over 500 published studies and distills them into hundreds of lifestyle-based tricks to help our brains achieve improved mental clarity, increased tranquility, sharper focus, and heightened performance.In our conversation, Mitthu shares with us:
The physical symptoms of stress
Tips to improve your emotional regulation
The perils of rumination and how to overcome it
The physiological differences between acute and chronic stress
The benefits of different kinds of meditation (mindfulness, open-monitoring, etc.)
The research on how lifestyle interventions (ie. The mind diet, cognitive training) can be used to treat chronic stress
Ed Oral Board (Submitted, Book)
the Amazon, Brazil, where pioneering work taking an ecosystem approach to human health provided a complete new view of the origin of mercury in the environment and its effects on human health. Photo h \ Jean Lebel.
The Science of Meditation (Submitted, Website)
In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson about the current scientific understanding of meditation practice. They speak about the original stigma associated with meditation, the history of introspection in eastern and western cultures, the recent collaboration between Buddhism and western science, the difference between altered states and altered traits, an alternate conception of mental health, “meta-awareness,” the relationship between mindfulness and “flow,” the difference between pain and suffering, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and other topics.
Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing. - PsycNET (Submitted, Website)
Human Resources (Submitted, Website)
Helping employees maximize their potential
What is Altruism? (Submitted, Audiovisual)
Frequently asked questions (Submitted, Website)
Defining and Measuring Human Well-Being | SpringerLink (Submitted, Website)
5 Ways Spending Time in Nature Benefits Your Health (and Your Gut) (Submitted, Website)
Americans spend nearly 90% of their time indoors! Spending time in nature isn’t just a “nice to have,” it’s actually really important for optimal health.
Encyclopedia of Neuroscience | SpringerLink (Submitted, Website)
How Yoga Helps Cancer Patients and Cancer Survivors (Submitted, Website)
Cosmic Kids Yoga (Submitted, Audiovisual)
Yoga, mindfulness and relaxation for kids.Interactive adventures which build strength, balance and confidence - and get kids into yoga and mindfulness early!
The Science of Mindfulness (Submitted, Miscellaneous)
Health and Sustainable Development (Submitted, Journal Article)
Original Instructions: Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future (Submitted, Book)
For millennia the world’s indigenous peoples have acted as guardians of the web of life for the next seven generations. They’ve successfully managed complex reciprocal relationships between biological and cultural diversity. Awareness of indigenous knowledge is reemerging at the eleventh hour to help avert global ecological and social collapse. Indigenous cultural wisdom shows us how to live in peace--with the earth and one another.Original Instructions evokes the rich indigenous storytelling tradition in this collection of presentations gathered from the annual Bioneers conference. It depicts how the world’s native leaders and scholars are safeguarding the original instructions, reminding us about gratitude, kinship, and a reverence for community and creation. Included are more than 20 contemporary indigenous leaders--such as Chief Oren Lyons, John Mohawk, Winona LaDuke, and John Trudell. These beautiful, wise voices remind us where hope lies.
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