Sublime

out of hundreds of people tested. The research question was obvious: Was this due to meditation practice, or some other difference such as lifestyle? To explore this, the team studied before-and-after brain images on participants who volunteered for an eight-week MBSR class. Davidson and colleagues demonstrated that meditation for forty-five

as exemplified in the pathbreaking work by Tania Singer on compassion and Richard Davidson on neuroplasticity.

You can even see the difference in people’s brain waves.

Importantly, I emphasize the concept of cognitive reserves—mental capacities we can build to buffer against age-related decline and neurodegenerative conditions. These reserves, cultivated through lifelong learning and purposeful engagement, serve as a safety net for maintaining cognitive flexibility as we age.

Long-term high Beta produces an unhealthy cocktail of stress chemicals, which can tip the brain out of balance like a symphony orchestra out of tune.

Reduced brain blood flow in areas that signal anticipation of stress and anxiety Improved heart-rate variability, a marker for resilience and circulatory health Increased immune response, especially in the prevalence of “natural killer cells,” antiviral cells, and anticancer proteins

Douglas Flemons is, in fact, a practicing Taoist, a systemic therapist, and a cybernetic epistemologist (not to mention that he is also an accomplished juggler!).

The evidence that mindfulness works largely by empowering the prefrontal cortex to enhance self-awareness and neocortical integration is consistent with current thinking about insight-oriented and cognitive psychotherapy (Siegel, 2010a). Recent evidence that compassion meditation works by empowering the limbic cortex to enhance self-regulation of