MINDFULNESS WORKS AUSTRALIA

Stanford University Happiness Course Uses Meditation

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Read a San Francisco Chronicle article on a highly popular Stanford University course on happiness.

The course was set up in response to 4 student suicides at the university in 2006.  The course includes discussing research on what leads to happiness and what does not.

Their definition of happiness…?

Fred Luskin, instructor of the Stanford happiness class, said that the simplest definition of happiness is “wanting what you have.” Conversely, the simplest definition of stress is “wanting something to be different.”

The course includes also involve trialling practical strategies to increase happiness sand personal well being such as keeping a daily gratitude journal.  The course also includes a basic meditation practice.  It is proving extremely popular with Autumn class already being full.

From the article:

One important message the instructors hope to convey is that racking up accomplishments won’t necessarily lead to fulfillment.

“Achieving the most for yourself doesn’t lead to the kind of happiness you think it will,” Luskin told a student who questioned how she could reconcile her desire for a balanced life with the expectations that, at Stanford, you need to be “the best.”

He added that people who are in the best position for happiness are the ones who have strong relationships, and “interconnected webs” of people on whom they can depend for fun and support.

 

 

Brain Imaging Illuminates Neuro Basis of Meditation

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Video news item and article from ABC News in America about the latest scientific research suggesting that mindfulness meditation changes the structure of our brains…for the better! Great interviews with meditating children, the Dalai Lama and  member from rock band Weezer!

“Sharon Salzberg said her mind might be very different if it weren’t for meditation, and new neurologic research suggests that she might be right.

Troubled by a traumatic, stressful childhood, Salzberg traveled to India as a college student and discovered meditation. Not only did it help her deal with her painful past, Salzberg said, but the practice helped change the way her mind worked… Read more and/or watch video

Meditation Improves the Immune System Research Shows

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There is already plenty of well researched, scientific evidence showing significant physical and psychological benefits of meditation.  UK newspaper, The Telegraph reports on one of the latest…

Meditation improves the immune system, reduces blood pressure and even sharpens the mind, according to research.

Now scientists have discovered that regular meditation appears to actually increase the size of the brain Photo: GETTY

The practice – an essential part of Buddhist and Indian Yoga traditions – has entered the mainstream as people try to find ways to combat stress and improve their quality of life.

Now new research suggests that mindfulness meditation can have benefits for health and performance, including improved immune function, reduced blood pressure and enhanced cognitive function.

The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, draws on existing scientific literature to attempt to explain the positive effects.

The goal of this work, according to author Britta Hazel, of Justus Liebig University and Harvard Medical School, is to “unveil the conceptual and mechanistic complexity of mindfulness, providing the big picture by arranging many findings like the pieces of a mosaic.”

The authors specifically identify four key components of “mindfulness” – the state of meditation – that may account for its effects: attention regulation, body awareness, emotion regulation, and sense of self. Together, these help us deal with the effects of stress. Read More…