Earlier this month Amishi Jha, an assistant professor in Psychology and Neuroscience was invited to speak to military and civilian staff at the Pentagon. Her work centres on attention and in particular the way stress and mind wandering can impact upon this crucial capacity. Whilst military personal are used to doing physical push-ups, what Jha […]
We all have them – intuitions and gut feelings…. We all have them – intuitive and gut feelings, but whether one should trust them is another matter. There is a fair bit of scientific investigation around this area, and interestingly, two key experts who hail from different schools of thought around this topic, agree on […]
I love to hear about the latest uses of augmented and virtual reality, but when it comes to our own sense of balance and wellbeing there is nothing to beat some ‘real’ reality. And there is nothing more real than getting up close to nature. It’s well documented that much of our time is […]
New claims about the positive effects of mindfulness seem to appear almost daily. So it’s refreshing to encounter a book that seeks to cast a discerning eye over current research. ‘The Science of Meditation’ (by Daniel Goleman of Emotional Intelligence fame, and Neuroscientist Richard Davidson) does just that. It provides a robust appraisal of the […]
With Christmas around the corner – how would it be if we practiced presence, rather than getting busy with presents? There are countless examples around us of those who are so wrapped up in life’s events that all too often they shoot from the hip, eager to press their reactive ‘red button’, or unwittingly allowing […]
Midway through Wimbledon 2017 and Britain’s Joannah Konta is looking assured and focused. It was not always the case – indeed far from it. Back in 2015, Judy Murray (mother of Andy and the then captain of the GB Federation Cup Team), talked of Konta as having ‘really bad performance anxiety’. In a similar vein, […]
Isn’t it sweet when something you know in your bones just keeps being reconfirmed by others. The recent BBC Sports article that revealed that this season F1 driver Nico Rosberg has ‘looked into meditation – mindfulness training… awareness’ is no surprise to me. It’s an odd paradox; that by slowing down to take time to […]
So another cycle of Olympics have come to pass. As ever the physical and mental conditioning of athletes is a sight to behold and witness. A timely study of 160 athletes published by the London School of Economics has indicated that athletes who learn how to become more self aware by training in mindfulness may […]
As a young teacher of geography fieldwork I had the great fortune to work with an inspirational teacher (named Rick Cope, in case you are wondering). As we led groups of ‘A’ level Geography students up damp Cumbrian hills, Rick would gently impart his words and phrases of geographical wisdom. One phrase that sticks in […]
Here’s a question: Are you dictating the day or working with what comes up? Basketball player and 5 times NBA champion Kobe Bryant has just retired after 20 years of playing for the LA Lakers. I’m not a great basketball fan but I’ve been interested in his connection with mindfulness for a while now. For […]
