This is a question that is posed to me quite regularly, and I can see the skepticism in people's eyes -- the fear of meditation, and the preconceived ...

By no means is this a comprehensive list of do's and don'ts, or a magic end-all to hate and prejudices. Rather, it's a reminder. It's a reminder that we, as humans, should follow some very simple guidelines to ensure civility among one another.

Here's how you should see your life: know that you will experience high points and low points -- for the sake of argument say 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. And your mind was designed to try to cling to the joys and try to avert the sorrows.

The areas that are exercised when we practice mindfulness have to do with what we call ''direct experience.'' When we're experiencing something directly, we're fully enveloped by whatever we're doing. We are not thinking about the past, the future, or even about ourselves.

The field of positive psychology operates from the premise that we ought to acknowledge both the light and the dark sides of life. It focuses on positive elements of life such as character strengths, positive emotion, resilience, purpose, positive relationships, and creative achievement.

Clinical research often seeks to ask a simple question: Does a treatment work? That is an important question. But an equally important question is: What works for whom, and when?