More on Meditation and Your Brain
Friday, October 16th, 2009 | Tags: meditation, mindfulness, neuroscience | Leave a Comment »The last Greater Good post discussed how years of meditation practice can physically alter the brain in ways that help us manage our emotions and boost our skills of attention. But if you haven't already been meditating for years, don't ...
Can Meditation Make Your Brain Stronger?
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 | Tags: aging, meditation, mindfulness, neuroscience | 3 Comments »If we want to build up strong muscles, we assume we’ve got to hit the gym and lift some weights. But what if we want to strengthen our brains? Try meditation, according to a recent study. In the study, published in ...
The Science of Spirituality: A Review of Fingerprints of God
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 | Tags: meditation, neuroscience, religion, self-transcendance, spirituality | 2 Comments »“The question that launched me on this journey could not be more basic: Does God exist? Or, put another way: Is there more than this material reality?” writes Barbara Bradley Hagerty toward the beginning of Fingerprints of God. These are age-old ...
Love Story: A Review of The Chemistry of Connection
Thursday, July 16th, 2009 | Tags: love, marriage, neuroscience, oxytocin, psychology, social intelligence, trust | 1 Comment »In The Chemistry of Connection (New Harbinger Publications, 2009), Berkeley journalist Susan Kuchinskas culls through the last 10 years of brain research to reveal the neurochemical foundations of belonging, love, and intimacy. Kuchinskas zeroes in on oxytocin--the brain’s natural hormone of ...
A Walk in the Park
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 | Tags: health, nature, neuroscience | 7 Comments »It might be more important than you think to take that stroll in the park: A recent study suggests that walking in nature might actually benefit your brain. The study, published in Psychological Science and conducted by University of Michigan researchers, ...
Make yourself breathless: exercise your brain
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 | Tags: development, health, neuroscience | Leave a Comment »It’s no secret that as we age, we’re prone to slow down, both mentally and physically. Scientists have even documented a loss of brain tissue in the aging brain. Yet not all brains deteriorate at the same rate and to ...
Paul Ekman-Dalai Lama book event
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 | Tags: compassion, emotional intelligence, emotional literacy, empathy, events, goodness, happiness, human nature, morality, neuroscience, prosocial behavior, psychology, religion | Leave a Comment »On October 22, Greater Good magazine and the Greater Good Science Center will be hosting a special event with world-renowned psychologist Paul Ekman. Ekman, a Greater Good editorial board member, recently published Emotional Awareness, an extended conversation between himself and ...
Musicophilia
Friday, October 19th, 2007 | Tags: emotional intelligence, emotional literacy, evolution, neuroscience | Leave a Comment »Neurologist Oliver Sacks has written a new book, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, which explores the relationship between music and the mind. I recently listened to his interview with Terry Gross and was glad to hear that he ...
Taxation without Vexation
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 | Tags: altruism, neuroscience | 2 Comments »A new study published in Science suggests that paying your taxes might actually make you feel good. Researchers gave students at the University of Oregon $100, then recorded their brain activity when they were given the chance to make anonymous ...
Cooperation: Humans’ Evolutionary Legacy
Thursday, March 29th, 2007 | Tags: cooperation, evolution, human nature, neuroscience, oxytocin | Leave a Comment »Sharon Begley wrote a fascinating story for Newsweek last week about recent discoveries in the science of human evolution. She explains how technological advances are giving researchers a more precise understanding of when, how, and why humans diverged from the ...
