Meditation Reduces Age-related Cognitive Decline
Brain research
Brain researcher Sara Lazar has demonstrated that a serious meditation practice protects against the cortical thinning that normally occurs in old age. This is believed to result in higher cognitive functioning in an age group…
The Slippery Slope of Optimism
Optimism is the single most frequently cited attribute of healthy and happy people. But who is truly optimistic?
Research psychologist Martin Seligman
found that, to be effective, optimism must be embodied. Putting up a false front of optimism…
Who Gets Well?
What science studies the effects of mind on immune function?
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) researchers explore the relationship of cognition and emotion to nervous, endocrine, and immune system functioning. This field was born in the early…
Intentionality and Health
Mindfulness practice allows us to develop the ability to observe and experience our thoughts, sensations, and emotions non-judgmentally, non-analytically, and with complete, unconditional acceptance. This practice is an antidote to…
Loving Self-Care and Health
Loving self-care, as I am using the term, means giving oneself the gift of presence while engaged in the activities of self-care. Some of us who live with chronic illness spend a lot of time engaged in self-care, and our state of mind during…
Improve Health and Happiness by Setting and Pursuing Goals
Goals Energize Us.
During my three years at the Simonton Cancer Center, we always impressed upon patients that energy is essential to healing and that the act of pursuing goals can be extremely energizing. Setting goals helps us conceptualize…
The Fine Line Between Striving and Nonattachment to Outcomes
When living with a chronic debilitating medical condition, it is essential to do everything possible in terms of diet, exercise and rest. It is also essential to do everything possible to find meaning and purpose, to increase social support,…
Why Suffer Unnecessarily?
In Mindfulness-and Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies in Practice, research psychologists Lizabeth Roemer and Susan Orsillo
teach that unnecessary suffering results from three related mechanisms:
1. An unhealthy relationship to our…
Danger: Cognitive Fusion!
Cognitive fusion
is the state of mind in which we are so fused with our thoughts that they appear to be synonymous with fact. Most suffering in the world is the result of being fused to our beliefs. In this state, we have such strong identification…