By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Sprinkling “Omm” mantras between “Ooh Rah!” battle cries can pay dividends for members of the Marine Corps and other branches of the military. According to a growing body of research, regular meditation improves the wellbeing of military members — both active duty and those who have previously served.” – Ella […]
“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.” – Henry David Thoreau Science has been a tremendous success. It has produced the knowledge and understandings that have allowed us to control our environment, prevent and […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Concentration relates closely to the final limb, mindfulness. Both are different forms of awareness, but of the two concentration is more deliberate and narrow, mindfulness broader, more spontaneous and more open and receptive.” – Clearvision Mindfulness is an openness to all experiences no matter what comes up. […]
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “People at risk for depression are dealing with a lot of negative thoughts, feelings and beliefs about themselves and this can easily slide into a depressive relapse. MBCT helps them to recognize that’s happening, engage with it in a different way and respond to it with equanimity and […]
“When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.” ~Svatmarama There are two basic forms of meditation, focused meditation and open monitoring. For the beginner, most teachers […]
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha The present day mindfulness movement has made a mantra of the present moment. There are constant calls to be in the “now”, to pay attention to the present, to be aware of our state […]
“That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” – Steve Jobs A sage once said “you can […]
The notion of focusing on the present moment is the essence of mindfulness practice. In common modern usage it refers to an awareness of the sensations and thoughts that are occurring in the immediate moment. But, in more traditional usage coming out of the Judeo-Christian or Buddhist traditions that form of awareness is only one […]