From the presenter’s vantage point as a therapist of color, a teacher of courses on race, and a researcher in multicultural psychology, she has been privileged to bear witness to the human struggle to make sense of oneself in a racialized and gendered world. As old narratives are directly challenged by evidence of structural oppression …
Continue reading “Dismantling Oppression from the Inside Out”
Mindfulness is practiced and cultivated through the training of attention. Not coincidentally, across thought traditions, attention and its (dys)regulation has long been theorized to underlie various mental habits and biases, common forms of suffering, and well-being. Yet, despite this compelling theory, empirical data supporting these foundational ideas about the nature and function of attention are …
This presentation will first explore possible domains of mental habits, including personality, social interaction, identity, emotion, mind wandering, and contemplative practice. From the perspective of grounded cognition, the question will be raised as to how “mental” are mental habits, given that they appear to be strongly grounded in external situations (and conversely that physical habits …
Continue reading “Measuring, Understanding, and Changing Mental Habits”
This half-day retreat is meant to integrate the objects of our research—contemplation, mindfulness, and cultivation of the mind and heart—with our conference experience. It will include guided meditations for those new to meditation practice as well as for more seasoned practitioners, and periods of sitting and walking meditation. The contemplative retreat will provide an opportunity …
Mindfulness and stress-reduction is a connection well established. However, it is important to analyze the specific effects of mindfulness in different professional fields. One such field is academia, where burn-out is pervasive, resulting in increased depersonalization, physical and mental exhaustion and cynicism. In this study, a Mindfulness-based Program will be offered free of cost to …
Mind & Life is excited to share the special issue on Mindfulness, published in Current Opinion in Psychology earlier this month. This compilation showcases the work of many in the Mind & Life academic community. The authors have received grants, served on committees, attended events, presented at conferences, participated as Fellows, and been active with …
Mind & Life is excited to announce our first-ever Mind & Life Fellow Spotlight! The Fellow Spotlight is a new monthly segment where we will highlight the contributions of Mind & Life Fellows to our shared mission, featuring a different Fellow each month. In this month’s spotlight we are pleased to share the work of …
Attending Mind and Life’s first-ever International Research Institute (IRI) in Kyoto, Japan, was a career highpoint. The event bridged my past and present, my current studies in the U.S. with my roots in Japan, and my interest in exploring the connection between mind and body. Quite simply, I felt at home. As a child, I …
Claims abound about the benefits of mindfulness in promoting human health and well-being, making it hard for people to distinguish between hype and hard science. Over the last two decades, hundreds of trials have explored the impact of meditation and mindfulness on mental health in individual studies, but researchers rarely undertake the challenge of investigating …
Continue reading “Meditation for Mental Health: How Does Mindfulness Compare to Other Treatments?”
What role do context and history play in influencing meditation practice and outcomes? How can the contemplative practices of one culture be effectively studied and practiced by another? More than 75 scientists, scholars, contemplatives, and artists from 11 countries recently convened in Kyoto, Japan to explore these and related questions at Mind & Life’s inauguralInternational …
