Contemplative Practice

An American Christian Practices Yoga

Rev. Peter Baldwin Panagore | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: Yoga, Christianity, God, Contemplative Practice, Yoga and Christianity, Interfaith, Hinduism, Who Owns Yoga, Religion News

After more than three decades of dedicated practice, for me, yoga is more about prayer than it is about postures, strength building, flexibility, and the right clothes and mat.

Read Post

Lower the Pressure

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | Posted 04.25.2012

Read More: Buddha's Brain, Happiness, Benevolence, Just One Thing, Rick Hanson, Wisdom, Contemplative Practice, Neuroplasticity, Mindfulness, Relationships, Positive Psychology, Buddhism, Brain, Mind Brain, Love, Stress, Healthy Living News

Remind yourself that you can act in competent, honorable and successful ways even when there is no sense of pressure.

Read Post

Reliable Methods: The Future Of Self-Transcendence

Joe Loizzo, M.D., Ph.D. | Posted 03.18.2012

Read More: Mindfulness, Religion and Science, Buddhism, Meditation, Neuroscience and Spirituality, Neuroscience and Religion, Neuroscience, Buddhist Meditation, Contemplative Practice, Buddhism and Psychology, Buddhism and Neuroscience, Contemplative Psychotherapy, Religion News

A vibrant new field blending meditative insights and tools with current neuroscience, contemplative psychotherapy represents a turning of the modern tide away from contemplative methods.

Read Post

Fluidity Consciousness: Understanding The Mind's Tendency To Turn 'Clouds' Into 'Bricks'

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | Posted 03.17.2012

Read More: Happiness, Just One Thing, Rick Hanson, Contemplative Practice, Wisdom, Mindfulness, Love, Mindfulness Training, Mindfulness Exercises, Mindfulness Exercise, Mindful, Healthy Living News

I had a lightbulb moment recently: I was feeling stressed about all the stuff I had to do (you probably know the feeling). After this went on for a while, I stepped back and kind of watched my mind and could see that I was thinking of these various tasks as things.

Read Post

Ecstatic Altruism: The Secret Contemplative Art And Science Of Tibet

Joe Loizzo, M.D., Ph.D. | Posted 02.04.2012

Read More: Mindfulness, Buddhism, Meditation, Tantric Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism, Buddhist Meditation, Contemplative Practice, Religious Ecstasy, Zen Buddhism, Ecstatic Buddhism, Ecstatic Altruism, Religion News

What makes the Tantric Buddhism of Tibet more mysterious than the Buddhist traditions that gave us mindfulness and lovingkindness? This simple question has at least three right answers.

Read Post

Stay Right When You're Wronged

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | Posted 01.17.2012

Read More: Letting Go, Happiness, Positive Psychology, Self-Compassion, Contemplative Practice, Mindfulness, Relationships, Buddhism, Consciousness, Healthy Living News

It's easy to treat people well when they treat you well. The real test is when they treat you badly.

Read Post

Longing For Silence And Solitude

Elizabeth Cunningham | Posted 01.11.2012

Read More: Silence, W. B. Yeats, Contemplative Practice, Solitude, Meditation Retreats, Noise Pollution, Meditation, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, Finding Solitude, Mindfulness Meditation, Urban Noise, Mindful Living News

In most places in our industrialized world it is impossible to be out of range of machine noise. I am homesick for a place that may not exist any longer.

Read Post

Take a Stand.. Be Friendly: Why Friendliness Is Almost Subversive

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | Posted 01.07.2012

Read More: Happiness, Neuroscience, Rick Hanson, Wisdom, Neuroplasticity, Positive Psychology, Mind Brain, Brain, Be Friendly, Buddha's Brain, Just One Thing, Contemplative Practice, Friendliness, Mindfulness, Relationships, Buddhism, Love, Emotional Intelligence, Healthy Living News

In its own quiet way, ordinary friendliness takes a stand that is almost subversive these days: that the world has many more opportunities than threats, that most people want the best for others.

Read Post

Practicing the Compassion Meditation

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | Posted 12.23.2011

Read More: Buddha's Brain, Happiness, Neuroscience, Just One Thing, Rick Hanson, Contemplative Practice, Wisdom, Neuroplasticity, Mindfulness, Relationships, Positive Psychology, Buddhism, Mind Brain, Brain, Love, Consciousness, Healthy Living News

Compassion is natural; you don't have to force it; just open to the difficulty, the struggle, the stress, the impact of events, the sorrow and strain in the other person.

Read Post

Feel Cared About

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | Posted 12.14.2011

Read More: Mind Brain, Relationships, Thoughts and Feelings, Positive Psychology, Neuroscience, Contemplative Practice, Mindfulness, Child Attachment, Meditation, Caring, Love, Healthy Living Mind, Consciousness, Healthy Living Spirit, Healthy Living News

Sometimes we feel embarrassed about our yearnings to be cared about. But they are completely normal. Love has been the primary driver of the development of the brain over the last 80 million years.

Read Post

A Contemplative Life: The Final Stage Of Spiritual Pilgrimage

Jon M. Sweeney | Posted 07.27.2011

Read More: Spiritual Practices, Contemplative Practice, Trappist Monk, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Development, Spiritual Pilgrimage, Spiritual Seeker, Religion News

I am moving beyond spirituality and its program of self by becoming more contemplative. I judge less than I ever have before. I try to listen carefully.

Read Post

See Beings Not Bodies

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | Posted 03.26.2012

Read More: Happiness, Neuroscience, Rick Hanson, Wisdom, Open Your Mind, Neuroplasticity, People Relationships, Positive Psychology, Mind Brain, Brain, Buddha's Brain, Contemplative Practice, Open Mind, Mindfulness, See Person, Relationships, Buddhism, Love, Healthy Living News

When we encounter someone, usually the mind automatically slots the person into a category: man, woman, your friend Tom, the kid next door, etc. Watch this happen in your own mind as you meet or talk with a co-worker, salesclerk or family member.

Read Post