Intro to Meditation
This is an introduction to the method of meditation I am teaching at the moment. I am using the traditional word 'yogi' for meditator, and have included a few vocabulary words in Pali, the ancient language in which these meditation instructions were originally taught. This will be a continuing series. This is a adapted from a lecture given by the late Mahasi Sayadaw, a famous meditation instructor from Burma. Basic Development of Insight The method of developing this Read more...
Read MoreMeditation Improves Decision Making
Over the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in the use of meditation to improve cognitive performance, emotional balance, and well-being. As a consequence, research into the psychological effects and neural mechanisms of meditation has been accumulating. Whether and how meditation affects decision making is not yet clear. Here, we review evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies and summarize the effects of meditation on social and non-social economic decision making. Read more...
Read MoreMindfulness Treats Depression
Depression is not only the most common mental illness, it's also one of the most tenacious. Up to 80 percent of people who experience a major depressive episode may relapse. Drugs may lose their effectiveness over time, if they work at all. But a growing body of research is pointing to an intervention that appears to help prevent relapse by altering thought patterns without side effects: mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or MBCT. A new study on the approach to be published in a forthcoming Read more...
Read MoreMindfulness Meditation Produces Positive Well-Being
Mindfulness meditation has been reported to produce positive effects on psychological well-being that extend beyond the time the individual is formally meditating. Over the last several decades mindfulness meditation practices have been increasingly incorporated into counseling, medical, and psychotherapeutic programs to take advantage of these benefits. A large body of research has established the efficacy of these mindfulness-based interventions in reducing symptoms of a number of disorders, Read more...
Read MoreMindfulness as Powerful Therapy
As research has burgeoned in recent years, mindfulness has migrated from spiritual retreat centers to counseling and medical facilities. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the largest scientific organization in the world dedicated to research on the understanding and treatment of mental illness, is getting serious about investigating mindfulness as a complementary treatment for a range of mental health conditions.Mindfulness helps to train individuals in bringing back the attention Read more...
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