Happiness and well-being are actually best regarded as skills.
Meditation gives you the wherewithal to pause, observe how easily the mind can exaggerate the severity of a setback, and resist getting drawn into the abyss.
We need a different conception of happiness, more enduring and more genuine, not dependent on external circumstances.
Most people still don’t think of qualities like happiness as being a skill, that can be enhanced through training.
Our brain is continuously being shaped – we can take more responsibility for our own brain by cultivating positive influences.
I think the messiness and embodied nature of modern life just produces an enhanced signal for our attention.
Resilience is the maintenance of high levels of positive affect and well-being in the face of adversity. It is not that resilient individuals never experience negative affect, but rather that the negative affect does not persist.
Mindfulness – moment to moment non-judgemental attention and awareness.
I wouldn’t consider myself a Buddhist or a card-carrying zealot at all. My first commitment is as a scientist to uncover the truth about all this.
We have no idea how the subjective quality of consciousness emerges from the physical stuff of the brain.
I committed to doing everything I could to put compassion on the scientific map.
Spatial working memory is impaired by stress.
The best way I can mentor and lead those around me is to embody these qualities myself.
We can change the brain by changing the mind.
The key to a healthy life is having a healthy mind.