Every once in a while, people are surveyed about what they consider to be the most significant inventions that have taken place in the past century. Cell phones are usually up there in the top ranks along with some of the vaccines and the rockets that enable space exploration – and I suspect that the…
I’m old enough to remember when meditation wasn’t much of a thing – at least not outside of Asia. I never learned about it during my Bachelors, Masters, or Doctoral programs. When meditation began to gain some prominence in the last third of the 20th century, it was initially kind of a fringe practice before…
Whenever people discuss potential calamitous events of the future – like destruction of the planet due to global warming or an intentional or inadvertent nuclear event or the total collapse of the Social Security System or robots who start controlling humans rather than the other way around, you will often get at least one person…
A true measure of emotional strength is the ability to stay calm at a time of crisis or chaos or turmoil. The ability to stay calm is such an empowering skill. Staying calm at a time when others seem unable to do so is such a powerful emotional tool. It permits rational decision-making as well…
Exercise is in fashion these days. When I was growing up, the only gyms that I knew about were in schools or community centers. They tended to be large rooms with very little equipment, no weights, and generally designed for team sports such a basketball, volleyball, or dodgeball. Nowadays, if you live in a city…
When psychologists speak of assertiveness, they typically are referring to being able to express your thoughts and feelings honestly while not impacting on the rights of others. Unassertive people are easily taken advantage of because they don’t stand up for their own rights – and they may make purchases that they don’t need or work…
One of the most widely adapted practices in the psychotherapy field in recent years has been the inclusion of mindfulness in conjunction with more conventional therapies as well as being a distinct treatment modality on its own. While formal Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs (MBSR) have received the most notice, the use of mindfulness in addressing…
When I first learned Mindfulness Meditation, I was immediately impressed by several features of the discipline. Obviously, I found it relaxing and a way to help manage stress. I also began to appreciate being “in the moment” more – which enabled me to attain greater pleasure from my surroundings or the people with whom I…
One of the concepts that I have difficulty relating to is boredom. I’m seldom bored, but I frequently hear others complain that they are. It’s not a subject that I’ve studied a whole lot, but I think that I’ve had enough experience in avoiding boredom to enable me to help others by sharing my thoughts…
Although it marks a transition to shorter days and colder weather, there is no more beautiful time of the year in the northeastern United States than the fall. Whether you take time off, as my wife and I did, to take a trip to do “leaf peeping” with some good friends, or whether you enjoy…
If you are at all into popular or academic psychology, you may be well aware of the fact that the concept of “mindfulness” is one of the hottest topics in the entire field today. Dr. Jan Chozen Bays, who is both a physician and Zen master, has defined mindfulness as “deliberately paying attention to what…