Science of the SpiritS


Magic Wand

New study shows meditating before lecture leads to better grades


George Mason University
Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:38 UTC
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© Creative Services Meditation may work especially well for freshmen.
Practicing a little Zen before class can lead to better grades, according to a new experimental study by George Mason University professor Robert Youmans and University of Illinois doctoral student Jared Ramsburg.

The pair of researchers conducted three classroom experiments at a California university to see if meditation might help students focus better and retain information. A random selection of students followed basic meditation instructions before a lecture, and the students who meditated before the lecture scored better on a quiz that followed than students who did not meditate. In one experiment, the meditation even predicted which students passed and which students failed the quiz.

The study was published last month in the journal Mindfulness.

Interestingly, the researchers also showed that the effect of the meditation was stronger in classes where more freshmen students were enrolled, showing that meditation might have a bigger effect on freshmen students. The researchers speculate that freshmen courses likely contain the types of students who stand to benefit the most from meditation training.

"One difficulty for researchers who study meditation is that the supposed benefits of meditation do not always replicate across different studies or populations, and so we have been trying to figure out why. This data from this study suggest that meditation may help students who might have trouble paying attention or focusing. Sadly, freshmen classes probably contain more of these types of students than senior courses because student populations who have difficulty self-regulating are also more likely to leave the university," says Youmans, an assistant professor of psychology.

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Visit the Éiriú Eolas site or participate on the forum to learn more about the scientific background of this program and then try it out for yourselves, free of charge.



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People

Low on self-control? Surrounding yourself with strong-willed friends may help

Anna Mikulak
Association for Psychological Science
Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:21 UTC
We all desire self-control - the resolve to skip happy hour and go to the gym instead, to finish a report before checking Facebook, to say no to the last piece of chocolate cake. Though many struggle to resist those temptations, new research suggests that people with low self-control prefer and depend on people with high self-control, possibly as a way to make up for the skills they themselves lack.

This research, conducted by psychological scientists Catherine Shea, Gráinne Fitzsimons, and Erin Davisson of Duke University, is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

"We all know how much effort it takes to overcome temptation," says Shea, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in Fitzsimons's lab. "People with low self-control could relieve a lot of their self-control struggles by being with an individual who helps them."

To test this prediction, Shea and her colleagues conducted two lab-based studies and one study with real-life romantic partners.
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Magic Wand

The fascinating ways meditation transforms your brain - and why it makes you feel better

George Dvorsky
Alternet
Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:49 UTC
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Scientists have peered in the brains of people who meditate, and have found some happy surprises.

Meditation yields a surprising number of health benefits, including stress reduction, improved attention, better memory, and even increased creativity and feelings of compassion. But how can something as simple as focusing on a single object produce such dramatic results? Here's what the growing body of scientific evidence is telling us about meditation and how it can change the way our brains function.

Before we get started it's worth doing a quick review of what is actually meant by meditation. The practice can take on many different forms, but the one technique that appears most beneficial, and which also happens to be among the most traditional, is called mindfulness meditation, or focused attention.

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  • Release repressed emotions and mental blockages
  • Rejuvenate and Detoxify your body and mind
Éiriú Eolas removes the barriers that stand between you and True Peace, Happiness, and ultimately a successful, fulfilling life.


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People

Stating the obvious: Negative emotions in response to daily stress take a toll on long-term mental health

Anna Mikulak
Association for Psychological Science
Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:54 UTC
Our emotional responses to the stresses of daily life may predict our long-term mental health, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Psychological scientist Susan Charles of the University of California, Irvine and colleagues conducted the study in order to answer a long-standing question: Do daily emotional experiences add up to make the straw that breaks the camel's back, or do these experiences make us stronger and provide an inoculation against later distress?

Using data from two national surveys, the researchers examined the relationship between daily negative emotions and mental health outcomes ten years later.

Participants' overall levels of negative emotions predicted psychological distress (e.g., feeling worthless, hopeless, nervous, and/or restless) and diagnosis of an emotional disorder like anxiety or depression a full decade after the emotions were initially measured.

Comment: In the world full of daily stressors, Éiriú Eolas is a proven technique that can assist you with reducing your stress, calming and focusing your mind, creating better links between body and mind and thus improving quality of life, increasing sense of connection with others in your community.

It will help you to have improved overall health, a stronger immune system, better impulse control and reduced inflammation. It will also help you to heal emotional wounds; anything that may hinder or prevent you from leading a healthy and fulfilling life.

Visit the Éiriú Eolas site or participate on the forum to learn more about the scientific background of this program and then try it out for yourselves, free of charge.



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Eye 2

The psychopathic personality

Waleed Ahmed Fitiahi
Arab News
Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:56 UTC
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A psychopath is considered one of the most complicated personalities and most difficult to diagnose and recognize in a person.

The reason lies in that the psychopath has a great ability to influence others, and even to manipulate their ideas. And despite the fact that the psychopath does not show symptoms of mental illness because he often does not suffer from them, their social behavior is no less dangerous than other mental illnesses if not worse, and poor social adaptation reflects a deeply troubled personality.

Therefore psychopathy is considered one of worst social and psychological problems that badly affects the individual and society and threatens the mental health of anyone located within the psychopath's circle, in addition to the great waste of human life.

Scientific statistics show that 1 percent of the world's population carry genes that lead to this disease, but this proportion has risen to 4 percent in social leaders because of selfishness and excessive ambitions that crush obstacles and even friendships in order to reach their goals. Studies indicate that incidences of psychopathy among men are 10 times higher than in women.

General characteristics and the main features of a psychopath is a surpassing power in influencing others with sweet words and frequent promises that they often do not keep, excess charm and their ability to absorb all of those who deal with them with their temporary acts of decency and bright promises.
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Question

Strange sleep disorder makes people see 'demons'

Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience
Sun, 31 Mar 2013 09:20 UTC
Sleep Paralysis
© Carla MacKinnonA still from an upcoming short film on sleep paralysis by filmmaker Carla MacKinnon about sleep paralysis, a phenomenon where people wake up with frozen muscles and, often, scary hallucinations.
When filmmaker Carla MacKinnon started waking up several times a week unable to move, with the sense that a disturbing presence was in the room with her, she didn't call up her local ghost hunter. She got researching.

Now, that research is becoming a short film and multiplatform art project exploring the strange and spooky phenomenon of sleep paralysis. The film, supported by the Wellcome Trust and set to screen at the Royal College of Arts in London, will debut in May.

Sleep paralysis happens when people become conscious while their muscles remain in the ultra-relaxed state that prevents them from acting out their dreams. The experience can be quite terrifying, with many people hallucinating a malevolent presence nearby, or even an attacker suffocating them. Surveys put the number of sleep paralysis sufferers between about 5 percent and 60 percent of the population.

"I was getting quite a lot of sleep paralysis over the summer, quite frequently, and I became quite interested in what was happening, what medically or scientifically, it was all about," MacKinnon said.

Her questions led her to talk with psychologists and scientists, as well as to people who experience the phenomenon. Myths and legends about sleep paralysis persist all over the globe, from the incubus and succubus (male and female demons, respectively) of European tales to a pink dolphin-turned-nighttime seducer in Brazil. Some of the stories MacKinnon uncovered reveal why these myths are so chilling.
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Magic Wand

Mindfulness from meditation associated with lower stress hormone


Source
Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:16 UTC
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© UnknownThe findings come from the Shamatha Project, a comprehensive long-term, control-group study of the effects of meditation training on mind and body.
Focusing on the present rather than letting the mind drift may help to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggests new research from the Shamatha Project at the University of California, Davis.

The ability to focus mental resources on immediate experience is an aspect of mindfulness, which can be improved by meditation training.

"This is the first study to show a direct relation between resting cortisol and scores on any type of mindfulness scale," said Tonya Jacobs, a postdoctoral researcher at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain and first author of a paper describing the work, published this week in the journal Health Psychology.

High levels of cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal gland, are associated with physical or emotional stress. Prolonged release of the hormone contributes to wide-ranging, adverse effects on a number of physiological systems.

The new findings are the latest to come from the Shamatha Project, a comprehensive long-term, control-group study of the effects of meditation training on mind and body.

Comment: Éiriú Eolas is a proven technique that can assist you with reducing your stress, calming and focusing your mind, creating better links between body and mind and thus improving quality of life, increasing sense of connection with others in your community.

It will help you to have improved overall health, a stronger immune system, better impulse control and reduced inflammation. It will also help you to heal emotional wounds; anything that may hinder or prevent you from leading a healthy and fulfilling life.

Visit the Éiriú Eolas site or participate on the forum to learn more about the scientific background of this program and then try it out for yourselves, free of charge.



Read More...
Family

Study finds mothers tell better, more emotional stories about past experiences which help children develop their emotional skills


Springer Select
Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:09 UTC
Image
© Unknown
The act of talking is not an area where ability is usually considered along gender lines. However, a new study published in Springer's journal Sex Roles has found subtle differences between the sexes in their story-relating ability and specifically the act of reminiscing. The research by Widaad Zaman from the University of Central Florida and her colleague Robyn Fivush from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, discusses how these gender differences in parents can affect children's emotional development.

Previous research in this area has concluded that the act of parents reminiscing with their children enables children to interpret experiences and weave together the past, present and future. There is also evidence that parents elaborate less when talking to sons than daughters.

The primary objective of Zaman's study was to compare the reminiscing styles of mothers and fathers with their pre-school daughters and sons. This included how they elaborated on the story and the extent to which their children engaged with the story while it was being told.

The researchers studied 42 families where the participating children were between four and five years old. Parents were asked to reminisce about four past emotional experiences of the child (happy, sad, a conflict with a peer and a conflict with a parent) and two past play interactions they experienced together. The parents took turns talking to the child on separate visits.
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People 2

Women make better decisions than men

Julia Thomson
McMaster University
Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:01 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Women's abilities to make fair decisions when competing interests are at stake make them better corporate leaders, researchers have found.

A survey of more than 600 board directors showed that women are more likely to consider the rights of others and to take a cooperative approach to decision-making. This approach translates into better performance for their companies.

The study, which was published this week in the International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, was conducted by Chris Bart, professor of strategic management at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, and Gregory McQueen, a McMaster graduate and senior executive associate dean at A.T. Still University's School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona.

"We've known for some time that companies that have more women on their boards have better results," explains Bart. "Our findings show that having women on the board is no longer just the right thing but also the smart thing to do. Companies with few female directors may actually be shortchanging their investors."
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Magnify

Memories of near death experiences: More real than reality?


ScienceDaily
Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00 UTC
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© petarpaunchev / FotoliaResearchers have demonstrated that the physiological mechanisms triggered during near death experiences (NDE) lead to a more vivid perception not only of imagined events in the history of an individual but also of real events which have taken place in their lives.
University of Liège researchers have demonstrated that the physiological mechanisms triggered during NDE lead to a more vivid perception not only of imagined events in the history of an individual but also of real events which have taken place in their lives! These surprising results - obtained using an original method which now requires further investigation - are published in PLOS ONE.

Seeing a bright light, going through a tunnel, having the feeling of ending up in another 'reality' or leaving one's own body are very well known features of the complex phenomena known as 'Near-Death Experiences ' (NDE), which people who are close to death can experience in particular. Products of the mind? Psychological defence mechanisms? Hallucinations? These phenomena have been widely documented in the media and have generated numerous beliefs and theories of every kind. From a scientific point of view, these experiences are all the more difficult to understand in that they come into being in chaotic conditions, which make studying them in real time almost impossible. The University of Liège's researchers have thus tried a different approach.
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