Part 4 in a weeklong series of blog posts written by undergraduate students from the 2017 spring-semester class, “Mindfulness & Compassion: Living Fully Personally and Professionally” at the University of Virginia. Introduction Sitting on the beach, hearing the waves lap gently against the sand as the stars make their appearance into the sky, it is …
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Mindfulness as a Treatment for Depression and Anxiety
Part 3 in a weeklong series of blog posts written by undergraduate students from the 2017 spring-semester class, “Mindfulness & Compassion: Living Fully Personally and Professionally” at the University of Virginia. Depression and anxiety are two of the most prevalent mental disorders in the United States (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2016). Depression is …
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An Exploration of Nature, Mindfulness and Well-Being
Part 2 in a weeklong series of blog posts written by undergraduate students from the 2017 spring-semester class, “Mindfulness & Compassion: Living Fully Personally and Professionally” at the University of Virginia. Introduction As a second year student at the University of Virginia, I started to notice myself living in a state of frenzy. I was …
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Mindfulness in Periods of Stress
Part 1 in a weeklong series of blog posts written by undergraduate students from the 2017 spring-semester class, “Mindfulness & Compassion: Living Fully Personally and Professionally” at the University of Virginia. Transitioning to new environments is always difficult, especially for young adults entering adulthood. Many students find the transition from middle school to high school …
Building a Humane Science of Intersubjectivity
Philosopher of cognitive science Hanne De Jaegher aims to put the humanity back in the scientific process of studying human experience. Editor’s Note: The 2017 Mind & Life Summer Research Institute took place from June 5 – 11 at the Garrison Institute in New York. This year’s program, focused on the theme of “Intersubjectivity and Social …
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Meditating Together: Tania Singer on the Contemplative Dyad
As part of the work that she’s leading on the ReSource Project—a large-scale multi-methodological secular mental training program—Tania Singer is studying novel forms of intersubjective mental training practices that are performed with a partner. These contemplative dyad practices are aimed at boosting social closeness and perceived interconnectedness. In this video, Singer, who is the Director …
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Is Technology Interfering with Our Most Intimate Relationships?
Psychology professor David Sbarra explores what technology addiction is doing to our in-person relationships from an evolutionary perspective. Editor’s Note: The 2017 Mind & Life Summer Research Institute took place from June 5 – 11 at the Garrison Institute in New York. This year’s program, focused on the theme of “Intersubjectivity and Social Connectivity,” brought together …
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The PhenoTank: A Mind & Life Think Tank on the Microphenomenology of Contemplative Experience
What happens when an experience is described? Does the very effort to find words deepen practice, sharpen awareness, clarify an experience? Imagining a lens through which to deepen access to contemplative experience, these were among the questions that drove the conversation at a Mind & Life-funded Think Tank entitled the “PhenoTank,” held at the École …
An in-depth look at a Mind & Life Think Tank on Abrahamic traditions
To date, the traditions and techniques that have been most substantively researched in the field of contemplative science have largely derived from Buddhism and Buddhist-inspired movements. While there have been tremendous advances and developments due to this collaboration—indeed there would be no field without it—a natural consequence of this specific alliance is that insights from …
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How personal experience as a racial minority led to a career studying compassion meditation in diverse populations
An Interview with Mind & Life Fellow, Helen Weng, PhD. Helen Y. Weng, PhD is a Mind & Life Fellow and a postdoctoral scholar at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Helen is interested in how contemplative practices can improve communication within and between individuals, and how this in turn improves …