Her first installment—on the difference between how we talk about mind and how we talk about brain—presents a bit of a sparring match between two different ways of seeing mental activity. In fact, these viewpoints are complexly intertwined. Malin Rosenqvist’s multi-colored chess match with opposing hands reaching onto the board caught both the opposition and the interplay beautifully. I loved it right away. See the full table of contents for Mindful’s April 2013 issue....
Here’s what you need: Candy (Halloween colors or style) Graham Crackers Frosting (I used fudge frosting this year) My husband gave me the, “I don’t know” look the first time I told him, but he was a trooper and did it with me. Now it is his favorite Halloween tradition! Here is our Haunted House for this year! If the cookie is broken or the frosting is messy – it makes it even better!...
The tricky thing about trying to interpret research about mindfulness is that many studies that claim great things for mindfulness are less rigorous than others, even though they may be peer reviewed. Many have poor controls—or, as in one case, the test group may be properly compared to a group doing something else (like exercise), but both groups actually show similar rates of improvement. University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Richard Davidson and I used the most rigorous scientific standards to sift through the sea of publications on mindfulness and other kinds of meditation....
The exponential rate of development in new technologies will revolutionize almost every industry worldwide within the coming decades. Rapid breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, the internet of things, nanotechnology and, biotechnology promise to dissolve the distinction between our physical and digital worlds forever. At the Summit, Uber founder Travis Kalanik predicted that within 5-10 years most taxis will be automated and, rather than calling a driver, we’ll communicate with cars through sophisticated AI....
Keep in mind that sometimes your thoughts tell you important and useful information about yourself. For instance, you might think, Hmmm, I really should get out and exercise. That kind of voice is not the problem. Usually, however, there are other, negative voices attaching a huge amount of judgment to such thoughts—I’m lazy, I’m ugly, I’m bad, and so on. Learning to be less susceptible to these negative voices and cultivating loving-kindness for yourself does not mean ignoring the wisdom that comes from seeing yourself clearly....
