This time of year, I’m inclined to look back on days past – the successes and failures, the joys and sorrows great and small. And with life’s shifting circumstances, I try to remind myself to focus on what matters. For me, spirituality is a guiding principle. I know it is for many of us. During the summer, we put together this short video with words from our wisest teachers. I think you’ll find it moving. I know I do. Click here to sign up. If you’d like to hear more, take a look at our Holiday Special – it’s the…

When I think of mindfulness, what often comes to mind is my early morning sitting practice . . . both the struggles and the benefits. My Droid smartphone and my laptop aren’t anywhere in the picture. And yet, perhaps they should be. Technology has given us computer programs and apps for just about everything, so it stands to reason that there would be something helpful for stress reduction and mindfulness, too. I decided to investigate. Here is some interesting mindfulness-based technology that I found (and no, I’m not getting any kind of commission from mentioning these): • Chronicle Books’ The…

We know meditation can change the brain, but can just one month of meditation really make a difference? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Yi-Yuan Tang, PhD and his research team from Texas Tech University looked at the impact that short-term meditation has on the brain’s white matter. White matter is fatty tissue that covers brain axons and helps neurons communicate with one another. The better our neurons communicate, the better our brain functions. Researchers randomly assigned college undergraduates to one of two groups: an integrative mind-body training group, and a relaxation group. Brain scans were taken before and after the…

Has your soul ever felt heavy, lazy, or a little out of shape? Like your body, your soul needs a workout sometimes. When our lives are comfortable, we might not reflect as much. We start to go through our days on auto-pilot. We might stop learning and changing. But when our lives become a little more challenging, sometimes our souls start to wake up. In this video, Thomas Moore, PhD explains how difficult circumstances can potentially recharge our souls. It’s only 3 minutes long, so I don’t want you to miss it. Thomas Moore’s full webinar is a special bonus…

We’re all searching for wisdom. In the latest series, we’ve found it in so many places – in the eyes of a newborn, in a doctor’s dream, in the whispered words of a guru. But if there’s one thing we know about spiritual wisdom, it’s that you can find it anywhere you look. So we couldn’t resist sharing a little more of it with you from the Spirituality in Healing series. Take a look at this three and a half-minute video. I think you’ll find it inspiring. Click here to sign up. These teachers all have more to share. But…

Spiritual healing – we know our patients need it . . . and we want to give it to them. But it can be tough to combine spirituality and practice. If you haven’t talked with your patients about spiritual health before, how do you begin? A pair of researchers in Norway held focus groups with nursing students to hear their experiences integrating spirituality into their education and practice. Their findings contained some illuminating lessons. Many students felt responsible for the spiritual health of their patients, yet they felt that spiritual care was poorly defined and barely focused on professionally. Without…