Deconstructing Yourself

In a recent interview with the APA Monitor, Richie Davidson spoke about the effects of mindfulness meditation on resilience: “…[Speaking of] resilience again, there is a method of meditation that is very popular called mindfulness meditation. And what mindfulness meditation does is teach people to pay attention on purpose, nonjudgmentally. The nonjudgmental piece is very [...]

Last Friday I attended a one-day conference called Practicing Mindfulness & Compassion, put on by Cal’s Greater Good Science Center in Berkeley. The purpose of the day was to look into ways that mindfulness practice and compassion are (or are not) interrelated and help each other. Does practicing mindfulness meditation actually increase your level of [...]

Deconstructing the Self, Part 3 by Michael W. Taft The next time you’re talking to yourself, in your mind, ask yourself this question: Who or what is talking to whom? Are there two people in your head, one that is talking and one that is listening? If not, then it’s kind of weird that you [...]

by Michael W. Taft A hot cup of spicy chai is a fabulous way to start the day: allow no substitutes. It’s also makes a great support to meditation. Getting hopped up on tea before meditating is a traditional practice. Some swear by green tea, which I like, but my favorite by far is Indian [...]

by Michael W. Taft If you cannot focus on one thing at a time, or cannot maintain attention on one thing for as long as you want to, that is distraction. Distraction dilutes brain power, frazzles the nerves, and results in non-optimum outcomes. You end up stressed out and spun around, and don’t even have [...]

by Michael W. Taft I really like to go dancing. In the Bay Area, where I live, there are a lot of rave-inspired dance events, where I go and dance for hours. The DJs are incredible, the music made for movement, and the scene is really friendly and fun. It allows me to let go [...]

In this local Silverlake interview, Altara Michelle of Gobble Green interviews Jessica Graham about her meditation practice and how it has impacted her health. The interview centers on healthy living, as fits with Gobble Green’s gourmet vegan delivery service business.

Welcome to the second installment of Mike Zittel’s amazing graphic mindfulness instruction series. In this part he starts right up where he left off in Part One, talking about various ways of meditating on sensory experience in the body. (In case you missed it,here’s a link to Part One.)

by Michael W. Taft When I first started meditating in the early 1980s, I had a very hard time sitting still. I had read some books on Zen and whatnot, and had a fantasy of myself remaining motionless for hours at a time, probably in full lotus posture, feeling bliss. Upon attempting to sit, I [...]

by Charles Choi Meditation is often thought to help open up the mind, and new findings suggest it can steer people away from the mental traps that drag out problem solving. Meditative techniques could help not only help negotiators and managers find novel solutions to challenges, but perhaps also help people who are depressed or [...]