Apr 30, 2012
Very religious people may be more likely to give even when they don’t feel compassionate
“Love thy neighbor” is preached from many a pulpit. But new research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that the highly religious are less likely to be motivated by compassion when helping a stranger than are atheists, agnostics and less religious people.
In three experiments, social scientists found less religious people’s generosity was consistently driven by compassion. For highly religious people, however, compassion was largely unrelated to how generous they were, according to the findings which are published in the July issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
The results challenge a widespread assumption that acts of generosity and charity are largely driven by feelings of empathy and …
Apr 27, 2012
It’s a sign!
As I arrived at work today, the signmakers were just starting to hang Wildmind’s new sign outside of the mill building that we moved into back in February. We’re very pleased with the way it looks.
Apr 27, 2012
Mindfulness: the altered state of America
Ed Halliwell, the Guardian: Mindfulness meditation was once a tool of the counter-culture. But now it’s transforming the minds of conservative America.
“A quiet revolution is happening in America.” So says Tim Ryan, Ohio congressman and author of A Mindful Nation, which documents the spread of mindfulness meditation across the US, and argues for its widespread adoption as a way to favourably affect the country’s healthcare system, economy, schools and military.
Just published, the book is significant not so much for what’s being said – evidence for the benefits of mindfulness has been piling up in scientific journals over recent years – but …
Apr 27, 2012
Analytic thinking can decrease religious belief, even in devout believers
A new University of British Columbia study finds that analytic thinking can decrease religious belief, even in devout believers.
The study, which will appear in tomorrow’s issue of Science, finds that thinking analytically increases disbelief among believers and skeptics alike, shedding important new light on the psychology of religious belief.
“Our goal was to explore the fundamental question of why people believe in a God to different degrees,” says lead author Will Gervais, a PhD student in UBC’s Dept. of Psychology. “A combination of complex factors influence matters of personal spirituality, and these new findings suggest that the cognitive system related to analytic thoughts is one factor that can influence disbelief.”
Researchers used problem-solving …
Apr 25, 2012
Distinct ‘God spot’ in the brain does not exist, researcher says
Scientists have speculated that the human brain features a “God spot,” one distinct area of the brain responsible for spirituality. Now, University of Missouri researchers have completed research that indicates spirituality is a complex phenomenon, and multiple areas of the brain are responsible for the many aspects of spiritual experiences. Based on a previously published study that indicated spiritual transcendence is associated with decreased right parietal lobe functioning, MU researchers replicated their findings. In addition, the researchers determined that other aspects of spiritual functioning are related to increased activity in the frontal lobe.
“We have found a neuropsychological basis for spirituality, but it’s not isolated to one specific area of the …
Apr 25, 2012
Thailand’s young nuns challenge convention
Amy Sawitta Lefevre: Beam Atchimapon is already three days late for the new school term in her native city, the Thai capital of Bangkok – but for a good cause.
The nine-year-old is part of a small but growing group of Thai girls who choose to spend part of the school holiday as Buddhist nuns, down to having their heads shaven.
The temporary ordination of young men has long been part of Thai culture, with men spending a few days as monks and returning to their normal professions after time at a monastery.
But the ordination of “mae ji” or “nuns” is less common …
Apr 24, 2012
Can meditation help ADHD?
Martica Heaner, Ph.D.: Q. Since meditation helps a person focus, can regular meditation help those with ADHD?
A. It seems as though meditation should help those with ADHD, but proof that it works has been sketchy. That’s because very few well-controlled studies have been conducted.
Meditation is a mental practice where one attempts to clear the mind of distractions through a combination of deep breathing, mental focusing exercise and/or physical relaxation techniques. Although there are different methods of meditation, there is some evidence that practicing it can improve mental focus. So it makes sense to explore how this practice might affect ADHD …
Apr 24, 2012
India golfer Shiv Kapur benefitting from meditation regimen
Learning to meditate seems to be paying off for India’s Shiv Kapur as he prepares for the upcoming Ballantine’s Championship in Korea.
The talented Indian will head to Korea, sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Korean Golf Tour, with his confidence sky high after finishing joint third at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters presented by PNTS on Sunday.
It was Kapur’s best finish on the Asian Tour in nearly 18 months and his cheque of US$41,362 has pushed him up to 16th place on the latest Order of Merit, which is led by South African Jbe Kruger.
“I just want to build …
Apr 24, 2012
Ever mindful: Buddhist monastics practice simple life of meditation in Mississippi
Kristina Goetz: Before dawn, a Buddhist monk stands beneath a tall pine in a long brown robe the color of Mother Earth. He rings a bronze bell suspended from a low-hanging limb to signal it’s time for walking meditation.
By the light of a crescent moon, monks and nuns in the same brown robes walk slowly, silently. The crunch of gravel and the tap of footsteps on blacktop are the only sounds in the cool air. They focus on two things: breathing and walking. They may silently repeat a simple phrase.
Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in. Breathing out, I …
Apr 23, 2012
Tips for Type A’s who can’t meditate
Adriana Barton: Meditation can change the brain from a mass of neurons twitching with anxiety to grey matter humming on a Zen wavelength. And you needn’t be a Buddhist monk to benefit.
Neuroscientists have discovered that after just eight weeks, non-meditators who start a mindfulness practice show decreased brain activity in the amygdala – the brain region that controls anxiety – and increased grey matter in regions involved in perspective-taking and regulating emotions.
Too bad the idea of meditation stresses people out.
People think they have to sit in a formal cross-legged pose and “get rid of their thoughts,” says Dee Willock, the …