Control Your Emotions with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Feelings are often labelled as positive (happy, confident, joyful, brave, etc) or negative (sad, scared, hurt, angry etc). In mindfulness practice, feelings are not good or bad; they just are what they are – emotions that might be comfortable or uncomfortable, easy […]
Improve Personality and Well-being with a Meditation Retreat By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Even if you’re terrified, even if you have no interest in being a monk and you’re not an extremist by nature, I know that sitting in silence for 10 days will blow your mind.” – MeiMei Fox Retreat […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “smoking is a form of insanity that the logical mind and our own better judgment cannot solve. Many smokers have been helped by mindfulness meditation, a means of slowing down the action and beginning to penetrate the experience of the addiction. Once it is better understood, a rational […]
“I wanted to share the experience of how yoga and meditation have transformed my life, how they have enabled me to observe who I am, first in my body, and then emotionally, and on to a kind of spiritual path.” – Mariel Hemingway Stress is universal. We are constantly under some form of stress. […]
Mindfulness has been repeatedly shown to be beneficial for mental health. Training in mindfulness can decrease stress, anxiety, and depression at every level of severity. It can improve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, suicidality, PTSD, substance abuse, eating disorders, and major mental illnesses. It is as yet unclear how such a relatively simple technique […]
Reduce Psychological Distress by Increasing Emotion Regulation with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “When the chest is opening, the mind is opening, and we feel emotionally shiny and stability comes.” – Vanda Scaravelli Mindfulness practice has been shown to improve emotion regulation. Practitioners demonstrate the ability to fully sense and […]
Mindfulness is Associated with Improved Academic Performance By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. Mindfulness can help all students (struggling or not) be more productive; it can help reduce depression, low moods, low self esteem, and anxiety; it increases well-being, self-compassion, compassion towards others and increases emotional resilience. A powerful tool!” – Rebecca Enderby […]
Reduce Affective Polarization with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Today’s political language is harsh and inflexible, and the volume keeps increasing while neither side is really listening. Mindfulness is a practice of of deep listening, and can be used to decode language without resorting to knee-jerk reactions.” – Pamela Weiss […]
Mindfulness is Associated with Better Medical Students School Performance By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “in medical students . . . mindfulness meditation may be used to elicit positive emotions, minimize negative affect and rumination, and enable effective emotion regulation.” – Michael Minichiello Medical School is challenging both intellectually and psychologically. Stress […]
Mindfulness is Associated with Better Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Given the role of mindfulness in increasing self-efficacy and reducing early maladaptive schemas, mindfulness training interventions are recommended to be used for reducing the destructive effects of early maladaptive schemas and increasing self-efficacy.” – Zohreh Hosseinzadeh Mindfulness training […]