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That’s one of my favorite expressions from my days working in Washington. It’s a rich image. Yes, the hog is independent. He’s all by himself. Because nobody is going to come to the aid of a hog flailing around on ice, hurting themselves and not helping anybody else in the long run. The image speaks well to the limitations of over-celebrating independence and raising it to the highest of virtues, which we see displayed in the cult of the independent genius and personal freedom at all costs....

“It’s our view that humans pos­sess the capacity for emo­tion because it serves adap­tive pur­poses,” study author David DeSteno said. “That doesn’t mean that some­times emo­tions can’t lead you astray. They can, but so can reason.” To see if patience could be cultivated through emotions, the team studied gratitude. Here’s how the researchers tested gratitude and patience, from Northeastern: To test whether grat­i­tude really does improve our patience, specif­i­cally in the con­text of finan­cial rewards, his team con­ducted a simple exper­i­ment....

The study centered on mindful breath awareness training (M-BAT). Mindful breath awareness involves paying attention to the breath and observing thoughts, feelings, sensations and other experiences that arise without becoming fixated on them. No breath control or manipulation is required. For this study, 21 healthy adults received four hours of mindful breath awareness training and then were asked to practice breath awareness for 10 minutes per day, at least five days per week, for three weeks....

All parents endure stress, but studies show that parents of children with developmental disabilities experience depression and anxiety far more often. They are struggling to obtain support services, coping with the financial strain of various therapies, and worrying about how the future will pan out. Parents Robbie and Nicholas Pinter learned mindfulness techniques to cope with some of that stress. Robbie tells the New York Times that she focused on learning to breathe deeply and talk herself through crises, techniques she credits with helping her become more calm....

Through our chat, we’ll also get to know Elaine a bit more. She tends to face things with a sense of humor, even when she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Armed with laughter, and a lot of resilience, she’s gained a great deal of knowledge about what makes her happy, and what drives her, particularly in moments of uncertainty, discomfort—and even in pain. ST: Elaine, you’ve been practicing mindfulness for over 20 years and you’re on the faculty at the Centre for Mindfulness in Toronto, but you were also in the broadcasting business for awhile....

Identifying distinctive types of intelligence allows us to discover that emotional intelligence is often a blindspot. For example, we could have a friend who is very clever, but has messy relationships; or know someone who has made millions of dollars, but remains unhappy. These people are intelligent in other skill sets, but they lack emotional intelligence. In this animation for the School of Life, philosopher Alain de Botton explains, “Emotional intelligence is the quality that enables us to confront with patience, insight, and imagination the many problems that we face in our affective relationship with ourselves and with other people....

The official theme for Black History Month this year is Black Health and Wellness. According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, “This theme acknowledges the legacy of not only Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing (e.g., birthworkers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) throughout the African Diaspora. The 2022 theme considers activities, rituals and initiatives that Black communities have done to be well....

For some, the inner critic is a specific voice from the past—your mother, your aunt, a child, the boss who fired you. My friend Joseph Goldstein still remembers the first-grade teacher who gave him a big red F in cutting and pasting. (This was in the days when you mixed flour and water to make paste, and Joseph’s work was apparently very messy.) A friend or stranger may make an offhand remark that we take so deeply into our bodies and minds that they become part of our identities....

From damage recovery treatments to small, yet effective, tweaks in your current wash-and-care regimen you’ll be able to help nurse your strands back into shape. Read on to find out how to prevent hair damage and treat your locks at home: Signs of Heat Damage If you use heat on your hair often, but honestly aren’t quite sure if your hair is damaged from it, here are some signs to look out for....

How to Use a Curling Iron To learn how to bring this look to life, keep reading to find our step-by-step guide on how to use a curling iron on tresses of any length: 1. Be conscious of curling iron sizes. Not all curling irons are created equal. That said, depending on the type of curls you’re trying to achieve, you need to be cognizant of the different sizes and how they relate to your finished look....

If you want more natural-looking, beachier waves, then the learning how to use a wand curling iron is imperative. The absence of a clamp makes hair form around the barrel more seamlessly. And although you can’t exactly tug and manipulate a wand with the same precision as a clamped iron, the hair also achieves a more natural twist around it, and achieves that defined S-formed spiral that’s a trademark of sexy waves and loose curls....

Heather Hurlock: How is happiness connected to mindfulness? Sharon Salzberg: “One of my meditation teachers said that the most important moment in your mediation practice is the moment you sit down to do it. Because right then you’re saying to yourself that you believe in change, you believe in caring for yourself, and you’re making it real. You’re not just holding some value like mindfulness or compassion in the abstract, but really making it real....

The culture there is all about connection, but the connections are forced and superficial. She has no room to examine her choices, as she’s mindlessly absorbed into a corporate culture where people don’t cultivate their own attention. They only seek it from others: see me, see me, like me, like me, share me, share me. It’s a fictional account, but the concern about over-controlling workplaces is very real. Back east, Michael Lewis’ chronicles of Wall Street collapses—in The Big Short and Liar’s Poker—portray a culture of disconnection....

Living in the moment is often a challenge, even for those who practice mindfulness regularly. In this animation from School of Life, Alain de Botton shares four ways you can reconnect with the present experience. 1. Recognize you may not always feel how you’re meant to—and that’s ok. De Botton explains that life is full of moments where we are expected to feel certain things towards certain situations. On birthdays, we’re meant to feel happy....

What’s Included?! Italy Cover Page Italian Dinner Menu Invitation Italian Recipe Cards Italian Landmarks Game Bedroom Dessert Basket BONUS Ideas Page We asked the talented Cassia, from Cassia Leigh Designs, to design these date night kits for us and she just blew us away! Wait until you see what she’s created for you! Country Cover Page Italy Date Night Cover Each of our “Around the World” Dates comes with a fun Country Cover Page....

It’s no small thing to take on the responsibility of teaching others how to work with their minds, no less teaching teachers to do that. (It’s not like teaching, say, tennis; it’s the mind, after all. Nothing is subtler or more elusive). A meditator since she was a teenager, a meditation teacher for decades, and a teacher of teachers for quite a while, Diana Winston—director of mindfulness education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center—writes from direct experience....

I first noticed Donald’s style convention about a year ago, not long after he’d told me about his other e-mail practice. “As I sit at my computer answering my mail,” he said, “I pause before I open each one. I take a breath, and make the intention, ‘May I open this e-mail and respond for the benefit of myself and for all beings.’ Then I read the message and respond....

To people who’ve already been practicing, this may not be such an unusual story; they’ve likely sensed such effects in themselves. What is unusual is that this story’s caught the attention of news sources like Boing Boing (one of the most-read and linked-to blogs in the world), Business Week, and even the gossip site, Gawker. This means that more and more people will be looking for more information on bringing the benefits of mindfulness into their lives....

He would know. He’s been teaching mindfulness to the inmates at Folsom Prison outside of Sacramento California for the past four years. He was invited to teach mindfulness to the staff at Folsom and then, when they decided to start offering it to prisoners 4 years ago, he switched to teaching inmates. He works with people in the general population and also the men who are kept in what the prison calls therapeutic modules....