Violence and Peace By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Root out the violence in your life, and learn to live compassionately and mindfully. Seek peace. When you have peace within, real peace with others is possible.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh Over the last few years, senseless violence has become more and more prevalent in […]
Improve Cancer Patient and Caregiver Well-Being with Spiritual Care By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Serious illnesses like cancer may cause patients or family caregivers to have doubts about their beliefs or religious values and cause much spiritual distress. Some studies show that patients with cancer may feel that they are being punished by […]
Spiritual Concerns Decrease Quality of Life in Cancer Patients By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “For some, a cancer diagnosis has the opposite effect on their sense of spirituality. It makes them doubt their beliefs or religious values, challenges their faith, and can cause spiritual distress. Some people become angry with God […]
Help Reduce Psychopathology with Severe Skin Conditions with Spirituality By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Spiritual practices tend to improve coping skills and social support, foster feelings of optimism and hope, promote healthy behavior, reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, and encourage a sense of relaxation. By alleviating stressful feelings and promoting healing […]
Meditate to Pray. Pray to Meditate By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation.” ― Thomas Keating Prayer takes a number of different forms most of which are not meditative. Prayers of adoration are prayers focused on the worship of God, without any reference […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “A common factor in the healing effect of yoga for all of these issues is its ability to develop increased awareness of the body and its inner sensations- called “interoception”–which is central to emotion awareness and emotion regulation and to self-regulation in general.” – Frank Schwoeri Therapists […]
Mindful Memorial Day By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “We who are left how shall we look again Happily on the sun or feel the rain Without remembering how they who went Ungrudgingly and spent Their lives for us loved, too, the sun and rain?” ~Wilfred Wilson Gibson Memorial Day is the […]
“there are certain moral reactions to war and the experience of combat training that indicate a violation of moral conscience in war can have devastating inner consequences in soldiers.” – Rita Nakashima Brock It has been widely reported that there are extremely high levels of suicides among veterans. But these reports are based upon […]