The DRC in general and the city of Goma in particular, with a majority population that is poor and unemployed, is caught in endless cycles of wars, and the calamity of armed conflicts. This constant exposure to trauma predisposes many to severe psychological distress. Given this level of trauma exposure we expect higher rates of …
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Grant Jones: Showing Up Fully Through Music and Mindfulness
“Music is my first spiritual practice,” says Grant Jones, a musician, activist, contemplative researcher, and the newest member of Mind & Life’s Steering Council. And while the overlap between his music and meditation started as a slow crescendo, now the connection is more explicit. His new collection of songs, “Constellations,” recently released on Spotify, touches …
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Roshi Joan Halifax – Integrity & Moral Suffering in Relation to the Climate Catastrophe and Health
“Integrity and Moral Suffering in Relation to the Climate Catastrophe and Health” with Roshi Joan Halifax. Roshi Joan will speak to some of the psychosocial effects of climate change and the role of moral suffering and integrity as we address health issues related to the climate catastrophe. She will briefly explore four valences of moral …
Mindfulness, Co-benefits, and Behavioral Eco-Wellness
The field of behavioral eco-wellness investigates the choices, behaviors, and habits that contribute to both personal health and environmental sustainability. Eco-wellness can be defined as “living life to maximize health, happiness, and environmental sustainability.” Fortunately, many of the same behaviors that bring mental and physical health also support ecological health (co-benefits). For example, walking or …
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Integrity and Moral Suffering in Relation to the Climate Catastrophe and Health
Roshi Joan will speak to some of the psychosocial effects of climate change and the role of moral suffering and integrity as we address health issues related to the climate catastrophe. She will briefly explore four valences of moral suffering, and then unfold some of the deep health issues related to our climate catastrophe. She …
Continue reading “Integrity and Moral Suffering in Relation to the Climate Catastrophe and Health”
Keynote and Q&A: “Understanding Human Thought Through Dynamic Brain Systems”
Mind-wandering has recently come to occupy a central position in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Most theories and research so far have examined it in terms of task-unrelated or stimulus-independent mental contents that occur at particular moments of time. A defining feature of mind-wandering, however, are its dynamics: how thought moves over time. In this talk, …
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Coping with Loneliness & Stress: The Role of Mindful Acceptance
Even before the coronavirus hit, the United States was considered one of the most stressed out countries in the world. Fear and anxiety brought on by the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem, with 8 out of 10 adults citing the pandemic as a significant source of stress in their lives. Researchers have been studying …
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Developing a Semantic Clustering Approach to Study the Effects of Mindfulness Training on Ruminative Thoughts
In our daily life, we encounter various people, objects, or environmental context that can evoke memories of unpleasant events. Some of us might be able to quickly move on from these memories, whereas others might get stuck repeatedly thinking about them. The tendency to repeatedly think about stressors is called rumination, which is closely linked …
Conscious Connected Breathing for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pilot RCT
Chronic pain is a major source of human suffering, and chronic low back pain (cLBP) is among the most prevalent, costly, and disabling persistent pain conditions. There is an urgent need for safe and effective treatments for cLBP and a greater understanding of the mechanisms whereby these treatments confer their therapeutic effects. Contemplative practices, including …
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Tuned In! A Mindfulness-Based Affirmative Program to Virtually Address the Mental Health Needs of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth
This study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of Tuned In! — A Mindfulness-Based Affirmative Program for LGBTQIA Youth (herein called Tuned In!) with sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY). This project will build upon the promising results from previous community-based research (a pilot feasibility study of the Tuned In! intervention) to test Tuned In! on …
