Scientific American Just put out a decent summary of the current neuroscience research on meditation written by friends, Matthieu Ricard, Antoine Lutz, and Richie Davidson. I enjoyed reading the article and thought I’d share it here with some commentary. The article uses the same distinctions in meditation practice we outlined in our S-ART paper – That is…
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Hi all, I wanted to take this space-time to introduce you to an integrative systems-based neurobiological model and theoretical framework for understanding the mechanisms by which mindfulness functions to reduce attention-specific and affective biases related to self processing and creates a sustainable healthy mind. The model attempts to integrate findings from the extant empirical literature…
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The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics is sponsoring an event with His Holiness to confront important issues of contemporary society. Check out the link [Link] or [Link] Some videos related to the talks can be found Here [Link] Event Details: Beyond Religion, Ethics, Values and Well-being | October 14, 1:30pm A Talk by His Holiness…
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Neuroimaging Research has grappled with the concept of a “resting brain”. Researchers interested in Consciousness have grappled with localizing subjective states of awareness and the elusive “self”. It seems that contemplative science is bringing both concepts to the table given the profound interest in tracing neurophenomenological states associated with “the self” and intentional, meditative practices.…
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A new paper has come out in the November issue of Perspectives in Psychological Science [Link] This paper is one of the first to begin deconstructing the concept into component processes for investigation both at the clinical and basic science level. Previous attempts at operationalizing the concept have relied on the most widely cited definition:…
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Hi all, Through my work with the Mind and Life Institute, I kept some statistics on the number and types of grants that were being awarded in the area of contemplative science. I also kept track of publication records. Here are some of those statistics (through 2010) to give you a sense of where this…
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The Mind & Life Summer Research Institute was yet again a successful week-long venture into the depths of contemplative science. For a description of the program and its purpose see [Link]. For pictures see picasa [Link] or Flikr [Link] and a montage with Ottmar Liebert is on youtube [Link]. (photos by Dave Vago and Dave Womack)…
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Can meditation practice eliminate pain? NO, but it can it reduce the emotional intensity in which it is anticipated and experienced! There have been a few studies up to today (jan. 4, 2012) that have investigated the effects of specific meditative practices that involve the state of mindfulness on the experience of pain. Some studies…
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The following list includes Education, Dharma, and research-related centers across the world interested in mindfulness and meditation Contemplative & Mindfulness-related Resources (Centers and websites) 1. Mind and Life Institute [Link] 2. UMASS – center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (JKZ) [Link] 3. UK Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy – [Link] 2. Mindful.org – A…
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A group from Univ. of Oregon in collaboration with the Institute of Neuroinformatics and Laboratory for Body and Mind, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China has found more evidence (see 2007, 2009 and 2010 articles) that short-term meditation in the form of IBMT can improve self-regulation and components of attention. What is IBMT? According to…
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