There’s evidence that mindfulness meditation can improve how we age and even fight disease. Yet, little is known about the brain changes behind the effects.
Making mindfulness a habit seems paradoxical: habits are things that we do automatically and with little attention, whereas mindfulness is about paying attention to the present moment. Yet we can develop a habit of paying attention to the present.
If we look at human history, we find it replete with animals, in legend and lore. Beginning with the oldest cave paintings, and continuing into the print and electronic media of current times, animals are deeply embedded in our stories because they inform our ways of understanding the world. Since humanity’s beginnings, they have helped us to survive and thrive...
The problem that many people have is their misconception of what leads to happiness. They usually point to their successful career, family, and material possessions as evidence of their happiness. But as you’ve probably realized by now, all these things are impermanent and bring only temporary pleasure.
Regular science does not acknowledge the existence of a fifth dimension. In the hardcore factual world of science, there are only three dimensions of space: up/down, left/right, and forward/back. There is a fourth temporal dimension—that of time. However, things in the scientific world are changing.
Most people today cannot relate to mysticism at all, not even when it is described as an inner spiritual instinct. For this reason, I prefer to call those who do pause and reflect, listen, and connect spiritually (and keep as their main focus at all times that special inner Divinity innate to us all) modern mystics.
Our bodies, like our world, reflect our internal dynamics. If we have chaos within our consciousness, we have chaos within our bodies. We must clear out the fear and the junk we’ve carried around for years and learn again what it is to simply be.
In today's world, many people are coming to the realization that searching for happiness through achievements and material possessions simply adds to their rising stress, only bringing them more chaos and unhappiness. As they are forced to re-evaluate the direction of their lives, they begin searching for an alternate road to happiness and inner peace.
Many more patients are now living for years with the diagnosis of terminal illness. The author describes her journey to what she calls "livingly dying" - facing her death by living in the moment with grace and mindfulness.
Older people are nearly twice as likely as young adults to have their memory impaired by distractions such as irrelevant speech or written words.
You stumble along thinking you don't know the way, and then one day you realize you're in the middle of it. I'd always thought that a path was a means to an end. A course of study, a tour of duty. The distance from A to B. The anguished span between wanting and having. The truth is...
The impact we can have on the world we share, if we choose to be kind in every circumstance or even in an occasional situation, simply can’t be overestimated. The shift in how life would feel to everyone is truly beyond description. This may seem far-fetched, but...
Your stories about your past, your current circumstances and future only exist in your mind, not in reality. And once you fully get this, you can more confidently release your grasp on the need to think all the time, start to take your mind less seriously and laugh your way to freedom.
Any place we live must accommodate a number of activities: socializing, sleeping, cooking, eating, bathing, relaxing. But what about quiet alone-time? Renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell insisted we all need a place to "simply experience and bring forth what [we] are and what [we] might be."
The practice of mindfulness entails a careful examination and surgical dissection of what is being presented by reality from what is being projected by us. When we are simply imagining something and we attend with a quiet mind, our projections tend to vanish like mist under a hot sun. On the other hand...
Practicing mindfulness in everyday tasks can transform mundane experiences into moments of awareness and appreciation. By consciously engaging in activities like washing dishes or driving, individuals can enhance their sensory experiences and emotional well-being, ultimately fostering a deeper connection to their daily lives.
People whose “drug of choice” is food have a tendency to cope with stress by over-eating, often bingeing on foods. Unlike drugs or alcohol, it isn’t possible to steer clear of temptation — we all need to eat, several times a day...
Living amid the busyness of our high-tech and low-touch society takes us away from fully experiencing our day-to-day lives. We often live on autopilot, doing without experiencing. We can be quick to judge, react, resist, run away, or retreat when things don’t...
Mindfulness meditation is a wonderful way of turning our attention toward spirit. Mindfulness pays attention to what exists, here and now. It shifts attention away from memory, imagination, ideas and concepts...
We often consider feelings as existing with only positive or negative values. Besides positive and negative feelings, there are neutral feelings. We want pleasure, we don’t want pain, and we relax when we feel indifferent. When a pleasurable feeling arises or is anticipated, the response of most...
We spend our lives immersed in a flood of thoughts, unaware that another dimension of consciousness is available to us. It is a dimension in which we come to know ourselves as something other than thinkers. By taking a step back, we become the witness of our thoughts. This subtle but radical...
September 2026 begins at a powerful turning point as eclipse season winds down and...
Letting go of the past doesn’t mean forgetting what happened. It means releasing the...
How much of yesterday are you still carrying today?
In a world of swipes, matches, texts and disappearing conversations, sometimes the most...
Some temptations don't announce themselves as trouble. They arrive softly, offering...
What if the rules women grew up with were never really rules at all? The Invisible Cage...
What does freedom mean when the nearest emergency room is forty miles away? “Forty Miles...
Fears about the future often stem from past experiences, leading to...
A strong relationship thrives on unconditional surrender, trust, and a commitment to...
Why do we keep doing things we know aren't good for us? The answer may have less to do...
You already know you're tired. You've known it since you hit snooze for the third time...
The concept of hell has evolved significantly from ancient Greek and Roman literature to...