With the exception of climate change deniers and those with a vested interest in rejecting any notion that the global ecology is under immense pressure from human activity, it should be evident that Earth is undergoing an environmental crisis. It is a crisis of multifaceted dimensions on a truly planetary scale, such as resource depletion, deforestation, climate change, and biodiversity loss.

“It’s not a thrill a minute. You’re not seeing auras and jumping into other dimensions,” says Susan Piver. “Meditation is not a life hack. . . . It’s a way to see clearly.”

We do not like to think that humans are inherently cruel or violent. Even the suggestion that homo sapiens might, as a species, be inclined to violence sits uneasily with all but the most cynical misanthrope. Yet this is what a Spanish team of researchers from the Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA) has suggested. According to the study published in the scientific journal Nature, the team discovered that 2 per cent of our primeval ancestors’ deaths were down to violent means, indicating that at some point in the distant past, humans became accomplished at killing each other for a multitude of reasons. Lethal violence, the researchers say, might be a fundamental part of humanity’s evolutionary history.

While the far-reaching benefits of mindfulness meditation and related practices for improving mental and physical well-being are becoming more widely acknowledged among Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, what is perhaps not as well understood is that mindfulness alone can be ineffective and can even cause discomfort for the practitioner in cases of deep psychological or emotional trauma.

While you may not remember life as a toddler, you most likely believe that your selfhood then - your essential being - was intrinsically the same as it is today.

Psychologists and neuroscientists from Oxford University and University College London (UCL) are planning an unprecedented trial of the influence of mindfulness meditation on mental health, The Guardian newspaper has reported.

January 13 - Oh, no. Incense. There’s a juice bar in the lobby and bhangra music playing, too. It feels like I’ve stepped into some kind of space warp. Outside, London. Inside … well, it’s hard to describe. Because, as I step further into the Light Centre, a “natural health” studio offering everything from acupuncture to yoga, it becomes clear that its clientele is as far from the yogurt-knitting crowd as it’s possible to get.

January 02 - It seems as though every day we grow closer to creating fully conscious and emergent artificial intelligences. As I’ve written about before, this poses a problem for many religions, especially those that ascribe a special place for humanity and for human consciousness in the cosmos. Buddhism stands out as an exception. Buddhism may be the one system of religious thought that not only accepts but will actively embrace any AIs that we produce as a species.

Being a medical student is a very stressful experience which can result in burnout without proper interventions. Natural interventions such as meditation are preferable to drugs in order to avoid potential side effects from tranquilizers. Mayo Clinic writes that meditation is used for relaxation and stress reduction. Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center reported in a news release on Oct. 30, 2013, that medical students are being taught meditation techniques to prevent burnout and improve care.

General-led study shows changes over time in areas associated with awareness, empathy, stress among others.