muscles. I was going to play basketball, and I caught it out of the corner of my eye, and I looked at them literally for an instant. Just the way the mom was pushing her on the swing, this young girl, and then her facial configuration. I knew that there was suffering in that family, just by this Darwinian microscope under the human face. What that taught me is, and it really runs through as you'll see the science I'm about to describe to you, is that there are these little forms of mindfulness on the outside. We often direct mindfulness inside, but there's a social mindfulness of looking at other human beings that is fundamental to compassion and to community and the like. O... posted on Nov 4 2016 (30,528 reads)

they have to explain themselves, then no matter how good my questions are, I haven't established a space in which I can be a good listener or really draw them out in a meaningful way. So, it starts with the invitation; it starts with the setting. Then, I am aware that I'm not just there listening with—engaging with my words, with my questions, but I'm present with myself as a human being—as a complicated human being. Just an awareness of that, an attention to that, a mindfulness about that. It still means I'm in there with all of my—whatever preconceived notions I might have unconsciously, however much think I may be in control of them. But as you know, ... posted on Dec 31 2016 (13,077 reads)

of our lives. It may sound somewhat abstract, but a “practice” is anything we do that builds mastery through repetition. Practices offer us a pathway for sustained, incremental growth, and a mode of learning that can result in a “felt sense” regarding the progression of whatever we are trying to develop. Whether it’s the ability to stretch more deeply in a yoga posture, to remind ourselves to breathe rather than react in conversations, or to bring greater mindfulness into our day-to-day activities, practices can support us to move forward in our commitments and intentions. Seeing habits of mind as routinized practices acknowledges that awareness h... posted on May 18 2017 (21,306 reads)

are crucial in the struggle for social change. Classical practices include prayer, yoga and meditation, but music, art and dance can be powerful doorways too, along with loving interactions with other people—solidarity can be a spiritual experience in itself. Over the last ten years it’s become fashionable to use these practices as tools to promote personal health and wellbeing, financial success, sexual conquest and even the corporate bottom line: “mindfulness opens the doorway to loving kindness,” says Google’s ‘head of mindfulness training,’ “which is at the heart of business success.” Spirituality i... posted on Jul 12 2017 (10,772 reads)

always been a Buddhist teacher and a Dharma teacher with EBMC.  My enjoyment has been that it has for me been the dream that I've had for many years of being part of a Dharma based activist community that is trying to create, embody and manifest the values that we are also trying to teach,” she said. Ikeda is also the  guiding teacher of a year-long program at the center called “Practice in Transformative Action” or PITA.  The program teaches secular mindfulness for agents of change and social justice activists.  While creating the program, she realized she did not want the practice to be  “another thing on their list of things to ... posted on Nov 15 2017 (10,898 reads)

being rooted in our true nature. Unaware, we are drowned deeper and deeper in a culture of soulless materialism. At this time I find it more and more important to have outer activities that can connect us to what is more natural and help us live in relationship to the deep root of our being, and in an awareness of the moment which alone can give real meaning to our everyday existence. Over the years I have developed a number of simple practices that bring together action and a quality of mindfulness, or deepening awareness, that can nourish our lives in hidden ways. These activities, like mindful walking, cooking with love and attention, can reconnect us with the web of life, our natu... posted on Nov 25 2017 (25,327 reads)

visit the Dalai Lama. Through slim odds, she was granted an audience with the exiled leader. After listening to her story and hearing about the anger which had motivated her to become a prosecutor, he instructed her to do two things: meditate and contemplate how she viewed her enemies. She told him she’d try the first, but that forgiveness felt impossible. The Dalai Lama smiled and said, “Ok. Then just meditate.” This encounter, and these instructions, inspired her to start a mindfulness meditation practice, which led her eventually to forgive her father, and then to become one of the leading voices and practitioners of Restorative Justice. Our traditional criminal just... posted on Mar 5 2018 (18,311 reads)

the audio program Being True: What Matters Most in Work, Life, and Love, in which she distills her own life, work, and love lessons and reminds us to “remain alive to the inner voice that always encourages each of us to ‘be true.’” Nadia Colburn (NC): You are the founder of Sounds True, one of the largest publishers of spiritual wisdom, especially of original audio programs and online classes. You publish many of the leading teachers in spirituality and mindfulness. I’m interested in how the company came into being and also in the way you conduct Sounds True as a spiritual and conscious business. Tami Simon (TS): Sounds True began in 19... posted on Nov 24 2018 (6,246 reads)

to also take time for withdrawing, reflection, and solitude, part of each day, or one day each week.  Or perhaps it will be a week each year. The combination of alone time to go deeply within and community time to share and connect is very important.    Aryae:   Thank you.  I have another question for you.  As spiritual practices become more mainstream, is there a risk of “spiritual materialism?”  For example, there are people who teach mindfulness practices to help people “get ahead” in the corporate world.   Is there a balance between “spiritual materialism” and valuable practice?  Roger: &... posted on Jan 17 2019 (6,201 reads)

every one of my physical belongings. Is it still in current time? Does it still give me that whole-body “yes to owning it”? Is there anything that needs to be fixed? Is it in the right place? Living in a state of completion, I call it. It’s maximization of my energy. Is there anything we didn’t ask you about that you want to make sure to get to talk about or that you think we should know? DC: Yeah. I want to be provocative for a minute. I want to challenge the mindfulness movement and I want to say that I see a lot of emphasis right now on meditation, sitting on my cushion. I say that is fantastic. I am so thrilled. I think it’s incredibly important. ... posted on Feb 13 2019 (8,364 reads)

Simon: Welcome to Insights at the Edge, produced by Sounds True. My name is Tami Simon, I’m the founder of Sounds True, and I’d love to take a moment to introduce you to the new Sounds True Foundation. The Sounds True Foundation is dedicated to creating a wiser and kinder world by making transformational education widely available. We want everyone to have access to transformational tools, such as mindfulness, emotional awareness, and self-compassion, regardless of financial, social, or physical challenges. The Sounds True Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to providing these transformational tools to communities in need, including at-risk youth, prisoners, vetera... posted on Dec 12 2020 (5,794 reads)

a personality type, too, and I fall into that sometimes. Somehow, that feels like you’re controlling it, like I am gonna bear down and think this through, and if I worry about it, the worst thing won’t happen. You say that that’s one of these inclinations we have that is counterproductive but feels so natural. Runyan:[laughs] Yes. We want to have control. That’s why the uncertainty, the unpredictable nature of this is so hard for us, physiologically. And as a mindfulness teacher and practitioner, I really work at this intersection, too, of metabolizing the reality that there is no control. [laughs] And it’s one thing to know that at an intellectual l... posted on Mar 30 2021 (13,878 reads)

Humans used to have a 12 second attention span but we're now at 8 seconds! Our minds are full. Instead of being mindful, we’re totally overloaded. Today's New York Times has more content than we would encounter in our entire lifespan in 17th century England. What all that content does is over-stimulates our nervous system. That over-stimulation totally leaves us feeling exhausted and dissatisfied. There are many different ways in which we can build our attention capital, and mindfulness meditation is certainly one of them. Megan Cowan is a friend who decided to build this capacity in schools. She set up a curriculum and she’d go classroom to classroom doing various ... posted on Apr 19 2016 (50,845 reads)

prey. It was a crazy, “Hail Mary” line by any standards, but it hit Ferraro like an uppercut. He was unable to continue the beating. That exchange on a wintry night in 1982 is one that Ferraro continues to relive. But these days, as the Teacher Training Director of the Mind Body Awareness Project, it’s Ferraro who is looking into angry young eyes until he finds a glimpse of compassion. Based in Oakland, California, the MBA Project is a nonprofit organization that uses mindfulness and emotional intelligence exercises to equip disadvantaged and underserved youth with the tools to make better decisions and to consider more skillful options than violence, self-harm, dr... posted on Feb 2 2012 (16,317 reads)

energetic, enthusiastic, excited, interested, joyful, and strong, compared to individuals who kept a journal on daily hassles or ways in which one was better off than others (downward social comparison). In addition, individuals who maintained daily gratitude journals were more likely to offer emotional support to others and help someone with a problem7. Contemplative interventions, born from the collaboration of meditation traditions and emotion science, have centered on developing mindfulness to enhance compassion and happiness in the lives of individuals. One recent study provided an 8-week training program in secular meditation to female schoolteachers and measured their resp... posted on Apr 23 2012 (140,007 reads)

wire together, even to the point of being observably thicker. This has also been found among meditators: People who maintain some kind of regular meditative practice actually have measurably thicker brains in certain key regions. One of those regions is the insula, which is involved in what’s called “interoception”—tuning into the state of your body, as well as your deep feelings. This should be no surprise: A lot of what they’re doing is practicing mindfulness of breathing, staying really present with what’s going on inside themselves; no wonder they’re using, and therefore building, the insula. Another region is the frontal regi... posted on Sep 15 2012 (147,807 reads)

published in American Scientist.) Last July the first-ever conference on "The Science of Compassion" was held in Telluride, Colo. The notion of studying compassion scientifically may rub some people the wrong way. Is there anything to be gained by reducing humanism to numbers? Our studies indicate there very well might be. By understanding the conditions that bring out the best in people, we may be able to create more compassionate environments. For more on mindfulness, visit this link. For more by Project Compassion Stanford, click here.... posted on Sep 18 2012 (18,010 reads)

science we cover here on Greater Good—aka, “the science of a meaningful life”—has exploded over the past 10 years, with many more studies published each year on gratitude, mindfulness, and our other core themes than we saw a decade ago. 2012 was no exception. In fact, in the year just past, new findings added nuance, depth, and even some caveats to our understanding of the science of a meaningful life. Here are 10 of the scientific insights that made the biggest impression on us in 2012—the findings most likely to resonate in scientific journals and the public consciousness in the years to come, listed in roughly the order in which they were publ... posted on Mar 13 2013 (19,338 reads)

in whatever forms it takes, doing so with moral courage linked to righteous integrity. Let the most valued private virtues of compassion and empathy be your guiding light, but let readiness to engage in everyday heroic action be your daily goal and your most respected civic virtue. Develop a personal code of honor that you are willing to share with others. Heroism can be developed, can be taught, and can be trained, like other vital individual characteristics, such as assertiveness and mindfulness. Heroism is acting on behalf of others in need or in defense of a moral cause despite potential risks and costs. Thus, it requires a socio-centric orientation rather than an egocentric one... posted on Jul 25 2013 (119,778 reads)

this training to be particularly effective, it should be done in the context of strengthening and expanding our capacity to lead. In the past several years, new leadership training has emerged, one steeped in the knowledge that leaders have the capacity to strongly influence others and our world, for better or worse. It also recognizes that the vast majority of people in leadership roles have strong minds, deep expertise and good hearts. This training is based on the mental discipline of mindfulness practice. It cultivates the mind’s innate ability to be present, and it applies this learning to everyday life. The research results have been startling—both in what people alr... posted on Aug 9 2013 (34,562 reads)