Mindful August 2015

On a scale from 1 to 10, how important is creativity to you? 56% OPT FOR THE HEALTHIEST OPTION— a walk in nature, while 22% prefer group conversation, and 17% choose meditation. Less than 1% choose a pack of cigarettes and some Tom Waits (though many readers choose Tom Waits without the cigarettes).STANDOUT ANSWERS: STANDOUT ANSWERS: • Housecleaning • Sex • COFFEE • A little of the finest Herb and good old rock ‘n’ roll • A hot shower Clean desk or cluttered desk? 47% CHOOSE A CLEAN DESK. “I can’t do creative work when I know something needs to be tidied.” That’s a lot of organized people. A few of us at Mindful HQ could use your help! What’s your #1 creative outlet? 43% OF OUR READERS LIKE TO…

Our must-read story this issue: Fear Less, Love More:Uncovering and Counteracting Unconscious Bias on page 44 This week I lost a tooth, my glasses broke, a piece of furniture succumbed to age, and the undercarriage of our car rusted out. And these are only hassles within a relatively secure life. In Nepal, earthquakes took thousands of lives. In Baltimore, riots tore the city apart. In Philadelphia, a train derailment transported passengers from luxury to tragedy in seconds. Life can be so daunting—with both its hassles and its larger challenges and injustices— it can be tempting to try to find an escape, and many people imagine meditation to be just such a way out. The word “retreat” (i.e., a meditation intensive) can conjure the notion of running from “the real world”…

YOGA FOR OUR SOLDIERS In 2015 the Baptiste Foundation teamed up with the YMCA to offer free yoga classes to veterans, active duty soldiers, and their families around the state of New York, and participants don’t have to be members of the YMCA. The Baptiste Foundation, a nonprofit founded by yoga pioneer Baron Baptiste, is committed to bringing yoga to “everyone, everywhere.” One of their primary focuses is military. In April, their initiative called Yoga for American Soldiers launched a free six-week program with The Healthy Living Center in Albany, New York, which is a partnership between the YMCA, Hannaford grocery stores, and the Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan insurance company. They hope to continue offering similar programs throughout the year. SAMPLE SIZE MATTERS Mindfulness research has been plagued by…

KIDS IN NEED Flying Kites is a nonprofit in rural Kenya that runs a school and home for vulnerable youth. At their daily “family meeting,” they often start with meditation, which they use as a tool to support and rehabilitate kids. A MINDFUL PROSPECT Prospect Hill Academy, a charter school in Somerville and Cambridge, Massachusetts, partnered with Ivy Child International to bring mindfulness training to students from fourth to sixth grade as well as teachers and administrators. Right now the program is offered only at their Somerville campus, but they hope to soon bring the program to their Cambridge campus and offer classes to students in all grades. INNER CITY MINDS In Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, the Human Plant Project and Inspire-Corps are partnering to bring a…

Mindfulness could be as effective as antidepressants for preventing depression from recurring. In a recent study, adults who did MBCT had virtually the same rate of relapse into depression as a group who continued taking medication. 3 Extraordinary Acts of Kindness 30 years after a California doctor saved a premature baby at birth, he found himself trapped inside a burning car. The baby, now a paramedic, saved the doctor’s life. Noah Aldrich, 8, completes mini-triathlons with his disabled brother Lucas, 6, so he can feel what it’s like to cross a finish line. When no one from Mackenzie Moretter’s class attended her 10th birthday party, her mom took to social media and 300 people showed up, bearing food and presents.…

“MEDITATION WOMBS,” or sensory deprivation tanks—in which people sit immersed in salt water deprived of light and sound— are making a comeback as popular fixtures in startup offices for increasing creativity and productivity. ORGASMIC MEDITATION, or OM, involves slow and steady stimulation of a woman’s clitoris, and has been around for almost a decade. There are even OM conferences. HUMAN NESTS, like a bird’s nest, complete with large egg-shaped pillows inside a wooden frame, are a “fusion of furniture and playground” designed for “breeding new ideas.” They do look comfy… LOVE THY COWORKER A recent study published in Administrative Science Quarterly suggests that a positive emotional culture at work—what might be dismissed as “touchy-feely”—is associated with both happier employees and healthier patients at long-term care facilities. HOW TO LOVE EVERYONE…