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Mindfulness Matters

There is a basic irony in our health care system (well, probably more than one!). Our doctors, nurses, and physician assistants are some of the most stressed professionals. Medical resident training only recently instituted a rule limiting the number of work hours per week to 80. Can you imagine. Physicians are faced with numerous challenging,…

Ever since I took a neurospsychology course from Dr. Maryanne Wolf at Tufts University (author of Proust and the Squid), I have held a fascination with the human brain. The brain imaging technology discussed in this course lies close to the heart of expanding frontiers in mindfulness research. Part of the explosion of research on…

On 11.11.11 over 100 people gathered in the University of Vermont Davis Center to meditate and chant the ancient sound, “Om.” Other people were doing the same in locations all around the world. This event was sponsored by the UVM Mindfulness Practice Center. Can you find me in the picture? (I’m the one with the…

Acceptance is, in many ways, a synonym for mindfulness. When we are mindful, when we give our full attention to whatever is happening now, and can do so without the usual storytelling, pushing, pulling, and judgment then we are here – in acceptance. But this is not where we typically are. It is rare that…

Dr. Love, as he is affectionately known, Paul Zak discusses his research on the molecule of connection — oxytocin. While this may be an oversimplification, he presents fascinating findings on experiments of trust and trustworthiness, and opines on whether oxytocin may be the biological arbiter of morality. When we feel trust, trusted, and connected our brains release…

There are still green leaves on the trees in Burlington, Vermont at the time of year when the leaves are typically on the ground becoming fertilizer in the cycle of life. Perhaps this late transition of foliage is evidence of climate change. Next week it is predicted to be in the high sixties at a…

Anguish is a pervasive feature of human life. It seems like this has been so for a long time has continued despite all the advancements of 21st century. Siddhartha Gautama, the soon to be Buddha, observed this to be so in his native land of northern south Asia over 2500 years ago. It wasn’t that…

As I’ve mentioned before, I love the look and feel of books. I have yet to buy my first ebook, although that can’t be too far in my future. I am reading the Power of an Open Question: The Buddha’s Path to Freedom  by Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel. It’s a slim, hard-cover volume, approachable and dense with…

MedMob is a variation on Flash mobs with a bit more organization. It’s an international movement to bring meditation to the people. It’s catchy motto is “Inquire Within.” The concept is simple: get people together in one place, meditate in silence and then chant. From their website: “Our intention is to create an environment for…

Every religion has some version of hell. It’s where you might go in the afterlife if you don’t do as you should in this life. As such, it is a means for enforcing morality. The Buddha talked about hell, too. Although I don’t think that he meant it literally. Whether he did or did not,…
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