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MEDITATION: Lessons fit for a good book - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

Director of cult favorites The Favorite and Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimoss Kinds of Kindness is a cruel contemplation on the painful sacrifices we make to get what we want. The film asks: Are we controlled by our desires? And how much control do we give to those who hold the key?

Fittingly, the film opens with the high-synth Eurythmics Sweet Dreams Are Made of These, in which Annie Lenoxs voice calls, Some of them want to use you / Some of them want to get used by you. Kinds of Kindness concludes with Emma Stone dancing feverishly to COBRAHs Brand New Bitch.

In the nearly three hours which connect these two blithely-spirited moments, Lanthimos offers a triptych of stories each with different plots that all use the same set of actors. The cast includes Lanthimoss long-time favorite Emma Stone protagonist of Poor Things Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons and Margaret Qualley, among others.

The first parable, dubbed The Death of R.M.F., follows businessman Robert, played by Plemons, as he grows consumed by the commands of his boss Raymond, played by Defoe. Raymond determines when Robert eats, sleeps and has sex. The audience never quite learns why Robert is so intent on pleasing his boss. Perhaps that is the point: Lanthimos critiques the all-too-common fiending after wealth and status.

R.M.F. is Flying, the second story, trails along as police officer Daniel, also played by Plemons, investigates whether his wife Liz just recently back from being lost at sea has been replaced by an imposter. As a test of her identity, Daniel asks Liz, played by Stone, to complete brutish tasks. In one scene, she chops off her finger to serve as dinner. In another, she cuts out her liver. Chilling, I know.

In the final story, R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich, Andrew, played by Plemons, is a member of a purity-obsessed cult in the bayou. Guided by a prophecy, Andrew along with Emily, played by Stone searches for a girl with the power to bring the dead back to life. The subsequent tale includes bizarre sauna ceremonies, a set of twins played by Qualley and a resurrection.

If these stories packed with rituals, sacrifice and prophetic dreams sound a bit sacramental, thats no accident. Not only does Kinds of Kindness include biblical references, including to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but the entire film is also a rumination of gods and their followers. Several characters become god-like to those around them: the boss, Raymond or the policeman, Daniel. Those in their lives Raymonds employee, Daniels wife are driven mad by a feverishness to satisfy. What will we do to please the people we worship?

In addition to the films religious allegory, there are both visual and conceptual sinews which bind the film together: games of power and control, moments of dark humor. And in each narrative, the surreal is mapped against the ordinary. In the last story, for instance, Stone drives a purple Dodge Challenger to find a veterinarian who has the power to resurrect the dead into the living. Cloaked in everyday clothes, the characters embark on medieval-esque endeavors against the backdrop of New Orleans.

Of course, violence serves as a persistent throughline of the film. The characters treat both sex and violence with a subversive flippancy, while operating in a world that looks remarkably like our own. The absurdity of Kinds of Kindness mirrors our own existence: while the real world may appear more buttoned-up on the outside, it is just as rotten as that of Lanthimoss sick fables. Or so the film posits.

Especially as a fan of Poor Things, it feels tempting to chalk off the films gore and debauchery to some high-brow genius spilled from Lanthimoss imagination. Theres brutal rape, a myriad of naked female bodies notably, very few male ones orgies and faint-inducing violence. But ultimately, its perversion masked as intellectualism. Strip away the biblical references and avant-garde air, and the film is mere bone-chilling depravity.

Perhaps, I told myself, Im approaching Kinds of Kindness all wrong. Maybe Im too uptight. But Lanthimos never properly develops any part of the film. The entire spectacle seems to operate on the surface of a surrealist dream with no real center. The film never pushes past the rather incoherent first unravelings of each story. Its a strange, lurid world not simply without rules or logic, but without depth.

Lanthimos-fans might declare the film as representing a sort of nihilism that resonates with our time. Its a tired story. As our world teeters toward ruin, nothing means anything. We are all savage animals of flesh and bone. Frankly, Im bored of it. I just cant help but feel Kinds of Kindness is ultimately empty.

There are echoes of life, just barely audible, between the borders of Kinds of Kindness. Push deep enough, and you will detect something in the film about love about how desperately and wholly we are committed to being loved that we will do anything to receive it. Stone offers poignant acting throughout, giving a glimpse at what Kinds of Kindness might have been if Lanthimos was able to excavate a bit more of that humanness.

Instead, the film chokes up a dark conclusion. Taken from the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams: everyone is looking for something. Lanthimos makes clear that we never quite find it.

Rating:

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Review: Kinds of Kindness is a bleak, disappointing meditation on control - The Dartmouth

Oftentimes I find myself scrolling on my phone for hours without realizing it, or sitting down to do homework with the urge to check notifications or look at a screen every five minutes.

When those tendencies worsen, I like to take a break from certain apps, deleting them for a few weeks to reset and focus on other things. At first, I think about it intermittently, wondering what Im missing out on or wishing I could share a funny thought online, but after a week its the last thing on my mind. Those hours that used to be for scrolling are divided into productivity or phone calls to connect to loved ones.

The constant digital overload of information leads to a need to be up-to-date with trends and social statuses. There are numerous studies on the effects of blue-light and the addictiveness of social media. When factoring in the instant gratification of short-lived data, people are conditioned to only need attention for fleeting moments before moving on to the next topic. However, there are steps one can take to improve their attention span without a self-diagnosis of ADHD.

Many studies have looked at the attention spans of adults to show an average result of 10-15 minutes of attention for a speech or lecture. A study in 2015 from Microsoft Corp. revealed people have an attention span of eight seconds, lower than a goldfish, with an attention span of nine seconds. The National Library of Medicine also found a correlation between high screen time and low brain development in children.

Considering the addictive features of social media with our societys dependence on it, lowering ones screen time is harder than ever. Social media platforms cause surges in dopamine levels in the brain from things like comments or likes. This activates the brains reward center to show effects similar to gambling and drugs. Its impossible to remove screen use completely from our lives, but with this in mind, the practice of moderation weighs heavily on mental health.

Through a fleet of YouTube videos, I've recently developed a fascination with the long term effects of mediation. Meditation is said to increase ones attention span and ability to focus. To meditate, one sits somewhere comfortable and quiet, closes their eyes and slowly breathes through their nose for a period of time.

The point is to completely clear the mind of any thoughts to rest and reset. The only focus should be on breathing and feeling air fill the lungs. Even five minutes of this is difficult after taking in immoderate loads of information all day, but with practice, one can clear their mind for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. I started to meditate every day and found my ability to focus when studying or listening to lectures in class became significantly easier.

The common knowledge of blue light produced from cell phones is the disruption of brain activity. Blue light disrupts ones circadian rhythm and melatonin production to inhibit sleep quality. This cognitive interference should be taken into higher consideration in regard to its negative effects on attention span without quality sleep. One way to counteract this is by putting away devices 30 minutes to an hour before bed, or strengthening habits like reading before sleep.

Reading and journaling are forms of meditation to calm the mind and wear out leftover mental energy that sits unused when trying to shut down for sleep.Sleep is necessary for both learning and memory. The National Institute of Health reported adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night, and without those hours, ones ability to focus is slim to none. This makes the instant gratification of content from social media even more desirable.

Taking a break from social media altogether is also an option. Many people set a maximum screen time on their phone to limit their use. To replace that time normally spent mindlessly scrolling, practice hobbies with similar passive entertainment like reading, journaling, baking or creating something artistic.

Calm, a wellness brand, claims other ways to improve attention span are giving yourself breaks, organizing your time by writing things down in a planner, playing classical music, creating small, attainable goals to stay motivated and focusing on one task at a time instead of multitasking.

Shifting away from dependency on phones is difficult when they are an important tool in daily life. However, without active practice in separation to improve attention away from the screen, the iPad kids of the world will become iPad adults, and no one wants to see that. What seems hard at first gets easier, then enjoyed, and eventually its the new normal.

Libby Evans is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Libby know by emailing her at le422021@ohio.edu.

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From the Grapevine: How to counteract a shortening attention span - The Post

On day one of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, at 8:45 a.m., as I walked into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans and watched the lines of people form, I could hear the commotion beginning. People were ready. But as I entered inside and walked to the Wellness House activation and inside a curtained space with elevated stages, poufy orange cushions to sit on, sound bowls placed around, and sage being spread, it was a completely different scene and vibe. The practitioners, beautiful Black women from New Orleans who were preparing to teach guided meditation and utilize sound therapy, were dressed in ethereal white ensembles, greeting people with warmth and in a calm voice. They were ready, too. They were there and would be there every morning throughout ESSENCE Fest weekend to help guests heal.

Meditation is not necessarily doing anything, says Dirieal Perkins of Stretch Galore Yoga about the practice, which shes done for about five years. As we talk, her two-and-a-half-month-old son Yiannis, also in white, sleeps on her chest in a carrier. It is more so becoming, not necessarily one with your thoughts, but really just entertaining those thoughts and not so much dwelling on it, but just allowing it to flow and just let it pass. It is not, we have to sit down and only think about good things. Thats literally not what it is. Its kind of impossible in a sense. Your mind works; its all over the place. Its allowed to be that, but just also allow yourself to come back to center at some point. Like I said, entertain it. Then let it pass. Let it fly. But dont dwell on or hold on to those thoughts.

One way to entertain and release those thoughts is through breathwork, which Aries D, one of the practitioners who works at NOLAs Divine Essential Magic, says is essential.

We take breath for granted. Thats something that were born with. Thats the last thing we do when we leave this earth. But at the same token, its the main way that you can allow yourself to release not only oxygen, but different endorphins to help yourself relax, she shares. As challenging as it sounds, we have the ability to tell our minds next. So if its a thought that you dont want to have, say next, push it to the next spot. You have so many things that you encounter on a daily basis, let alone that you endure throughout your whole life. So even though its some unwanted memories or thoughts that pop up, you have a plethora of other ones that you could bring forth to manifest different beautiful realities for yourself.

Practicing meditation and learning the ability to acknowledge and then move on from thoughts that fill our minds has changed the life of lead instructor Shan-coa Burke. She has been doing it since 2016 and guided ESSENCE Fest guests through a stirring experience.

I needed to heal. I needed to do some real healing, the Stretch Galore leader recalls. I was ready to grow, and I saw how the power of manifestation changed my life, and I wanted to bring it to our people because it wasnt big in our community. And I was just this Black girl from New Orleans and thought, I need to bring this to our people. Because our people really need some healing. And one thing I know about God, he aligned it, and he aligned me with every one of these women.

Not only does the practice provide mental clarity, but it can also have physical benefits. This was clear from looking at the very youthful Burke, who one might confuse with a young college student but is actually a soon-to-be 30-year-old mother of three.

Even by me looking so young, thats because Im not letting the stress take me. The meditation is the detachment, Burke says. I envision myself detaching from these situations and pushing the negativity out. Pushing it out, inhaling that light, and exhaling that darkness.

The setting for the guided meditation service was quiet, and they even asked vendors across the way to turn down their music to maintain the sanctity of the space. However, the ladies made clear that such introspection doesnt have to be done only in hushed rooms.

The best way is to just do it no matter what youre doing. Most people feel that they have to be in a certain area or a certain spot, and it has to be quiet. I read a book once where it talks about different meditations. So Ive learned a whole lot. But you can literally sit down and eat and do food meditation, focus on the foods that youre eating. You can meditate while youre walking. You can meditate literally while youre working out, in the tub, sitting at your desk, and working. You can literally meditate anywhere. So this whole ideology that it needs to be peace, quiet, certain surroundings only, its not true. So its about just implementing it in everyday life, no matter what youre doing, just knowing you can do it anywhere, Perkins says.

While the guided meditation started with just a few participants, by the time I opened my eyes at the end, the room was full. People were sitting wherever they could find a spot, whether there was an orange cushion to rest on or the hard floor. But they were centered and at peace, ready to take on the Festival experience in a good headspace. That impact is the purpose behind all of the womens work.

Its how you start your day. You control your day because you can meditate and say, Im going to have this kind of day. I just believe in the power of manifestation and positive thoughts, Burke says. I learned this trick and I want to share it with you so you can see how it transforms your life. If you want balance, ask yourself every day, Why is my life balancing out the way I need it to? Ask yourself that because the why reveals itself. The why reveals answers.

She adds, Anytime you question why, your brain starts to work. It helps you cultivate the answer. It starts to find answers, and it starts to reveal things, too. So I want you to get there. I want everybody to be there. I want, especially our people, to be there because we really, really need this. We do this for our people.

Originally posted here:

The Guided Meditation Space At EFOC Was A Perfect Place To Find Healing - Essence

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Louisville Salt Cave, a meditation and wellness space, to reopen. Here's what to know - Courier Journal

A female client of The Caring Place walked past its newest amenity, the Meditation Garden, and yelled out to volunteers who were constructing it.

It looks good so far, she told them from the parking lot.

Youre gonna love it, replied Jessica Luth, the shelters president and CEO. Its more gorgeous than I ever imagined.

Volunteers from Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso create a Meditation Garden at The Caring Place shelter in Valparaiso on Monday, July 8.

Located on spacious property in a residential neighborhood of Valparaiso, the once-empty field is now a tranquil reprieve from the storm of emotional trauma for clients and their children.

The Caring Place serves people who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as their dependents. It also operates the only 24-hour crisis line and emergency shelter in Porter County.

The Caring Place is a beautiful shelter and we have amazing resources for clients. But it is still communal living, Luth said. This Zen garden is going to be healing for our clients and their children.

Don Spears, a professor at Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso, helps create a Meditation Garden at The Caring Place shelter in Valparaiso on Monday, July 8.

The garden was conceived weeks ago but constructed Monday by students and staff from the Valparaiso campus of Ivy Tech Community College. They arrived at 8 a.m. and stayed through the day, digging and planting, putting together chairs, building a fire pit, and turning nothing special into something beautiful.

Last semester, students in the schools Human Development and Ecological Systems class conducted a literature review to show that exposure to nature is proven to have positive psychological outcomes for individuals who have experienced trauma.

Two studies were even conducted with the samples being residents at domestic violence shelters, said Donald Spears, a professor of human services and the programs chair. With this information, we decided to contact The Caring Place about providing them with a Meditation Garden for parents to enjoy and recharge.

Volunteers from Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso take a needed break while building a Meditation Garden at The Caring Place shelter in Valparaiso on Monday, July 8.

Spears and other volunteers tilled and toiled on a hot, humid day as clients continued to rebuild their lives inside the shelter, which has 12 rooms, 45 beds and countless blessings for clients.

This is a collaboration of several different groups and departments, said Dan Mohamed, a faculty member of design technology at Ivy Tech in Valparaiso.

He created and modified the layout of the garden in AutoCAD, computer-aided design software. He also showed up Monday morning to help guide the projects logistics. (Watch a video and view more photos at NWI.com.)

Rachael Bennett, a life coach at Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso, plants seeds of hope at a new Meditation Garden at The Caring Place shelter in Valparaiso on Monday, July 8.

I know that our clients will use this garden, Luth told Spears and Mohamed. Sometimes we have more kids than adults so it can be loud in there.

As sweat dripped through his green tie-dyed Ivy Life shirt, Spears explained, Theyre envisioning this garden as an escape. Thats what we have created here.

Many clients arrive here with very few possessions, only items of necessity when they fled their home. Some of them were referred to The Caring Place by social service agencies. Other clients found the shelter on the internet by secretly visiting its website.

A tab on the bottom of the website states, Click here to exit quickly, in case any visitors feel endangered by their abusers while researching their next step in life.

Volunteers from Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso put together a table while building a Meditation Garden at The Caring Place shelter in Valparaiso on Monday, July 8.

Many of our clients need to be here longer than 30 or 45 days to get back on their feet, Luth said. Most of them simply need a safe place just to breathe. When youre able to breathe a little easier, its also easier to plan for your future.

Only three other similar shelters are in operation in Northwest Indiana, Luth noted.

We work with all of them but there are still not enough beds for clients, she said. This garden allows our clients to be a part of nature and not be stuck in a room. Or they can come here to spend alone time with their children.

Funds for the project were donated by James Harper, stepson of former Porter County Superior Court Judge David Chidester, who died in March.

Judge Chidester was on our board and he loved this place, Luth said.

Later this month, a park bench in the Meditation Garden will be adorned with a special plaque of appreciation in his honor.

He left his mark here for sure, Luth said as volunteers worked near the bench.

Clients can immediately begin using this peaceful garden to unearth their emotional troubles. Jessica Bates, an intern at the shelter and one of the volunteers, aptly summed it up during a break in the project.

They can bury their old feelings of pain and begin growing new ones of hope, she said.

Chidester, who I greatly admired, discreetly donated luggage to the shelter so clients didnt have to use trash bags to haul around their sparse belongings.

Dignity was important to the judge. He did what he could to provide it to our clients, Luth said.

Clients can immediately begin using this peaceful garden to unearth their emotional troubles. Jessica Bates, an intern at the shelter and one of the volunteers, aptly summed it up during a break in the project.

They can bury their old feelings of pain and begin growing new ones of hope, she said.

Contact Jerry at Jerry.Davich@nwi.com. Find him on Facebook and other socials. Opinions are those of the writer.

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Davich: The Caring Place's new meditation garden blossoms overnight for troubled clients - The Times of Northwest Indiana

You can do a lot of things to help your community. Its just I do yoga," said 9-year-old Michael Thompson.

CEDAR HILL, Texas It is tough being a sibling, but the Thompson brothers manage it well.

Were Black boys and we meditate, said 9-year-old Michael Thompson.

For more than a year, Michael and his younger brothers, 7-year-old Jordan and 4-year-old Jalen, have been coming to their mothers yoga studio in Cedar Hill.

I wanted them to not only see what mom was doing and learn the practices so that they can learn how to regulate their emotions but for them to feel empowered as leaders and create something, said Helsa Thompson,The Aura House.

Me and my brothers help kids feel strong and happy through yoga, meditation, managing our emotions and using positive affirmations, said Michael.

It really focuses on making mindfulness accessible to underserved communities, said Helsa Thompson. I want to make sure that we are able to touch as many kids as possible because theyre dealing with so much right now like social media, the messages that theyre getting, unfortunately suicide rates, depression, anxiety. Those things are increasing, so the younger we can teach kids tools of how to deal with the stressors of just everyday life, its going to help with their mental health.

They use exercises such as their Coloring Calm coloring book and their Affirmation Alphabet. They also teach yoga to adults and other kids.

Each brother does his part, but Saturday, Michael will be stretching out on his own.

He will be recognized during the Kids Choice Awards, which is really awesome because I grew up watching Nickelodeon, said Helsa Thompson.

Michael will be honored for creating Black Boys Meditate. He received a bronze medal for his impact in the community. He's hoping to achieve the gold medal in September.

When I knew about it, I was like, How does a little group in the southwest area get to do stuff with Nickelodeon? said Michael.

The answer is by simply making an impact.

You can do a lot of things to help your community. Its just I do yoga, said Michael.

It is a skill that not only keeps them grounded but helps their community become mentally balanced.

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Thompson brothers help kids achieve mindfulness through Black Boys Meditate - WFAA.com

Looking for good vibrations, brighter auras, in a dark time? Want to refocus from the demented verbiage of contemporary politics? Maybe youre ready for the City of Love Meditation Event on July 17.

Meditate Milwaukee is offering the free, one-hour online event, designed for first timers as well as seasoned meditators. Co-organizer Traci Schwartz says that the idea for the virtual session was inspired by the example of their real time event at the Riverside Theater on New Years Day, 2023. It was meditation with music, a celebration about reconnecting after Covid, she explained.By doing this virtually wed like to reach even more people than we had at the Riverside Theatre, she adds.

Likewise, the City of Love Meditation Event, scheduled for RNC week, is about communitygetting our energy to align, a chance to shift away from the feelings of negativity in our city. Organizers are hoping that the online session will draw participants from across the nation into a more thoughtful mode of thinking. In the City of Loves press release, co-organizer Kaita Bliffert stressed the importance of investing in ourselves in order to invest in each other. We see a real need for people to come together now to create a sense of compassion and understanding.

The City of Love Meditation Event will be live from 6-7 p.m., Wednesday July 17. To register, visit meditatemilwaukee.com.

David Luhrssen lectured at UWM and the MIAD. He is author of The Vietnam War on Film, Encyclopedia of Classic Rock, and Hammer of the Gods: Thule Society and the Birth of Nazism.

Jul. 11, 2024

8:12 a.m.

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Meditating During the RNC - Shepherd Express

Maybe a sense of calm comes with a walk in the woods surrounded by birdsong or during the quiet of your morning meditation or evening prayer. Maybe the rhythm of knitting or the earthy smell of gardening clears your head.

Science backs up what we know intuitively: Time we spend in nature or on calming practices or hobbies can benefit our mental and physical health. These activities rejuvenate us, right down to our bodys living building blocks: our cells.

A UC San Francisco-based team led byAlexandra Crosswell, PhD, andElissa Epel, PhD, has woven together their own research and studies by others in various fields to connect the experience of, say, painting or practicing yoga to shifts in the nervous system and, subsequently, within our cells. To make this transition, our bodies and minds require certain conditions. But once these are met, the result, they say, isdeep rest.

This truly restorative state one never described before confers benefits unattainable through routine rest and relaxation. In putting forward this concept, the team highlights the regenerative biological processes that protect us as we age.

Deep rest is something our bodies need and deserve, says Epel, a professor of psychiatry and vice chair of psychology. With it, we improve our chances for healthy longevity.

To understand the benefits of deep rest, we must confront its counterpoint: stress. Surveys by the American Psychological Association suggest Americans experience plenty of this stomach-churning state. Almost half of adults who responded to a 2023 survey agreed at least somewhat with the statement My stress makes going to work [or] school increasingly difficult.

Stress, though it can interfere with our ability to function, originated in physiological mechanisms to help us meet challenges whether escaping a pack of wolves or facing fallout from a major work mistake. Just like the fear of being eaten, the threat of losing your colleagues respect can put your body on high alert, triggering a cascade of responses.

Your nervous system hands over control of unconscious processes like breathing and digestion to its in-house crisis response coordinator: the sympathetic nervous system. This shift kicks off a series of energy-demanding changes that prime your body and mind for action. Your heart beats faster. Blood flow increases to your skeletal muscles, which tense up. Your production of hormones, such as cortisol and other energizing chemical messengers, surges. Your alertness intensifies.

Together, these and other shifts help ready you to fight or flee even if youre just anxiously awaiting a reply to your apologetic email while imagining dire scenarios.

A certain degree of stress is inevitable in life, Crosswell points out. After years of studying stress, it became clear to us that we have to stop trying to get rid of it, she says. Stressful events are often outside our control, and our bodies response to them is natural and helpful.

Too much stress, however, can cause harm. She and her colleagues argue that many Americans spend most of their waking hours in a moderately stressed-out state, driven by feelings of uncertainty about the future and lack of control. While no surprise to many of us, the idea the team explores that we experience continual stress represents a new direction in scientific thinking, which has traditionally considered relaxation the default human state.

Ideally, a stress-inducing crisis comes to a quick, clear ending. Maybe your apology at work is accepted, the mistake quickly forgotten. But problems in modern life often dont come to quick, complete conclusions. Your boss may repeatedly deny requests for remote work. You and a loved one may frequently argue. You may struggle financially for years. Under such circumstances, stress can attenuate to a more moderate level, but it doesnt stop.

While less taxing, residual stress still drains you. Maintaining an elevated heart rate or pumping out more cortisol than usual requires extra energy. This energy takes the form of molecules known as ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. Cellular organelles called mitochondria make ATP by using oxygen from the air we breathe to harvest energy from fats, proteins, and glucose derived from food we eat.

Mitochondria are the source of the vital force that brings a cell to life and ultimately gives us our conscious mind, our emotions, saysMartin Picard, PhD, director of the Mitochondrial Psychobiology Group at Columbia University and one of Epel and Crosswells collaborators.

Everything we experience is powered by the energy flow inside our cells, he says, and that flow takes place in mitochondria.

While a single cell can contain hundreds of mitochondria, the organelles can generate only so much ATP for reasons that remain unclear. So when your body goes on alert, a cell diverts its limited ATP supply to carry out the urgent functions the stress response demands, such as contracting the heart or synthesizing hormones. This robs it of energy for more routine but necessary tasks.

Whats more, studies have linked diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders, with poor mitochondrial health. Picard suspects psychological stress has a similar effect, with mitochondria sustaining damage and becoming less productive when someone is under chronic strain.

Some prior studies and his own research with mothers caring for children on the autism spectrum, a source of chronic stress, support this idea. In a study led by Epel and described inBiological Psychiatry, Picard and others found that mitochondria in the mothers white blood cells had a reduced ability to transform energy into ATP. Cells face another potential consequence of damaged mitochondria: increased production of a potentially toxic byproduct of making ATP chemicals known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). If not neutralized, ROS can harm our cells.

The effects of chronic stress extend to our genetic material as well. At the tips of chromosomes, repeating segments of DNA form telomeres. With assistance from proteins, telomere caps protect the integrity of these packets of genetic code for as long as they can.

Each time a cell copies its genetic material so it can replicate, its telomeres lose a little DNA and shorten. Research started 20 years ago by Epel, with UCSF colleagues Nobel laureateElizabeth Blackburn, PhD, andJue Lin, PhD, shows that chronic psychological stress further shortens telomeres. This loss is a consequence of exposure to ROS, the release of hormones like cortisol, and inflammation. Molecular studies of cells substantiate this connection: By mimicking long-term exposure to the stress hormone cortisol, Picard has shown that cells respond by revving up their metabolisms, which shortens telomeres and hastens cell death.

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The power of deep rest - University of California

Scientists have found a way to achieve higher levels of concentration when practicing mindfulness through applying non-invasive ultrasound technology to the brain.

Derived from a significant practice in Hindu and Buddhist tradition, mindfulness is recognized by the American Psychological Association as a pathway to stress reduction, improved memory, and greater cognitive flexibility.

Using a technique called transcranial-focused ultrasound (TFUS), a form of low-intensity ultrasound technology, researchers at the University of Arizona were able to modify the brain's default mode network (DMN). The DMN is a network of interconnected brain regions that are particularly active during restful and introspective activities such as daydreaming.

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The impetus of the study came from the hypothesis that more people would engage in mindfulness if their brains were less distracted.

"The best part is you are using a minimal amount of energy to alter brain activity. You are just giving a gentle push to the brain with low-intensity ultrasound," said lead study author Brian Lord, a Cognition & Neural systems researcher, in a statement.

The experiment included 30 participants who received TFUS under supervision. Each person had their brain activity monitored and was interviewed about their mental state afterwards.

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Unlike other non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation, TFUS has the ability to penetrate beneath the cortexthe brain's outermost layerwith pinpoint precision.

In this case, the study targeted a region that contributes to high-level functions such as focus, emotional regulation and self-referential processing. Broadly speaking, it is active during anything that involves reflection or introspection.

Researchers employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor changes in brain activity. During functional scans, subjects were instructed to stare at a fixation cross and allow their thoughts to flow naturally. Scans were produced five minutes and 25 minutes after fMRI application.

Participants were also asked to report their feelings and experiences both before and after the TFUS treatment. Those who had received the real treatment reported an increase in state mindfulness as measured by the Toronto Mindfulness Scale, a questionnaire commonly used in research of this kind.

Stimulating the part of the brain used for activities such as daydreaming, recalling memories and envisioning the future using this method showed meaningful effects in DMN performance in just five minutes. It could make engagement in activities like meditation easier to do, without the mind straying into rumination.

Dysregulation in the DMN can lead to several mental issuesdepression, anxiety, and schizophrenia have all been linked to abnormal DMN activity. The results of this study show a promising pathway to ultrasound-focused treatment techniques to aid brain regulation. By demonstrating the potential of TFUS to alter brain networks, the SEMA Lab is innovating in order to connect our thoughts and feelings with a greater sense of ease and calm.

"We are the first to show that the default mode network can be directly targeted and noninvasively modulated," Lord said.

"Unlike neuroimaging techniques where you can only make correlations with brain activity, noninvasive stimulation tools like TFUS allow you to probe the brain and develop causal models. That's a really powerful thing for the whole field of neuroscience."

This study was published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

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Mindfulness Improved by Firing Ultrasound Into the Brain - Newsweek