Outdoors and Out of Reach: Studying the Brain
Todd Braver emerges from a tent nestled against the canyon wall with a slight tan. For the first time in three days in the wilderness, Braver is not wearing his watch. It is the kind of change many vacationers notice in themselves as they unwind and lose track of time. But for Braver and his companions, these moments lead to an important question: What is happening to our brains? A psychology prof... posted on Sep 03 2010, 4,905 reads

Tenzin Palmo: Cave in the Snow
At the age of 20, Venerable Master Tenzin Palmo left her home in London to pursue her spiritual path. She eventually became one of the first Westerners to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. In 1976, seeking more seclusion and better conditions for practice, she found a cave in the Himalayan Valley of Lahaul, where she lived for 12 years, the last three in strict retreat. Now the founder of Don... posted on Aug 26 2010, 5,221 reads

In Pursuit of Silence
When all is silent, what do you hear? The first widely observed national moment of silence occurred in Britain in 1919. For two minutes, switchboard operators declined to connect telephone calls, subway cars and factory wheels ground to a halt, and ordinary citizens held their tongues. Within 10 years, the somber annual tradition had grown so popular that the BBC began to air the sound of the sile... posted on Aug 21 2010, 3,012 reads

How to Live and Die
Death is rarely spoken about in our homes. "I wonder why," remarks Khushwant Singh. At 95, Singh thinks of death very often. But he does not lose sleep over it. A self-described agnostic, Singh states that ultimately, he does "not know what happens to us after we die but one should help a person go in peace--at peace with himself and with the world." From his 95 years of experience, Singh offers e... posted on Aug 15 2010, 5,492 reads

The Beautiful Brain
Elizabeth Jameson found her art when her own brain lost one of its most basic functions. After suddenly finding herself unable to speak, Jameson was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1991. She soon came to know the geography of her own mind through countless MRI sessions. For the anxious patient, the black and grey pixels of MRI images can appear ugly and frightening. With a strong urge to... posted on Aug 12 2010, 5,854 reads

Can You Teach Emotional Intelligence?
"Our kids need a peaceful place," says elementary school Principal Eileen Reiter who works in Harlem, New York. "It has to be a place where kids can come and feel relaxed and feel safe and get a lot of support." Support, in this case, means more than just academic training and a hot lunch. Reiter has embraced a philosophy known as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), which teaches students ways to... posted on Aug 11 2010, 10,698 reads

Meditation Boosts Focus
These days, it seems nearly impossible to pay attention to one thing for a long time. A new study indicates that meditation helps people focus because it enables them to discern small differences between the things they see. The research was inspired by work of Buddhist monks, who spend years training in meditation. "You wonder if the mental skills, the calmness, the peace that they express, if th... posted on Jul 30 2010, 4,850 reads

A Yogi Stumps Science
In hopes to find insights on how soldiers, astronauts, or victims of natural disasters might survive without food or drink, military doctors studied an 83-year-old holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water. Prahlad Jani spent 15 days in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed cir... posted on Jul 25 2010, 3,807 reads

Five Practices for Cultivating Patience
Patience is one of those qualities that doesn't get much consideration -- especially in our fast-paced 21st century. But there is tremendous wisdom in it. Patience is what helps us let go of an unhelpful obsession with outcomes and with our limited identities. It is a recognition that our reality is in flux and we don't always know what is best. Practiced deeply, patience is what dissolves unexami... posted on Jul 06 2010, 21,850 reads

The Brain of a Sociopath
"You see that? I'm 100 percent. I have the pattern, the risky pattern. In a sense, I'm a born killer." An ironic statement, coming from a neuroscientist who studies the brains of killers. After discovering his own lineage to be wrought with murderers, Jim Fallon peered into his own brain and found that, genetically speaking, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He found an empty area in his o... posted on Jul 02 2010, 6,416 reads