This book presents the latest neuroscience research on mindfulness meditation and provides guidance on how to apply these findings to our work, relationships, health, education and daily lives. Presenting cutting-edge research on the neurological and cognitive changes associated with its practice Tang aims to explain how it reaps positive effects and subsequently, how best to undertake and implement mindfulness practice. Mindfulness neuroscience research integrates theory and methods from eastern contemplative traditions, western psychology and neuroscience, and is based on neuroimaging techniques, physiological measures and behavioural tests. The Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation begins by explaining these foundations and then moves on to themes such as the impact of personality and how mindfulness can shape behaviour change, attention and self-control. Finally, the book discusses common misconceptions about mindfulness and challenges in future research endeavours. Written by an expert in the neuroscience of mindfulness this book will be valuable for scholars, researchers and practitioners in psychotherapy and the health sciences working with mindfulness, as well as those studying and working in the fields of neuroscience and neuropsychology.

The Neuroscience of Meditation: Understanding Individual Differences explores the individual differences in learning and practicing meditation, while also providing insights on how to learn and practice effectively. The book comprehensively covers the research in brain areas and networks that mediate the positive effects of meditation upon physical and mental health. Though it examines how people differ in how they learn and practice meditation, it underscores how underlying mechanisms differ in learning and practicing meditation and how they remain unclear to researchers. This book addresses the research gap and explores the brain science behind meditation. Examines the biological mechanisms that give rise to individual differences Incorporates brain imaging and physiological recordings for further measurement of individual differences Covers the genetic association between meditation learning and practice Explores how meditation changes over the lifespan—from children to seniors

Explore the benefits of a mindful approach to life Cutting-edge studies in neuroscience have in recent years proved what many doctors, therapists and other health professionals had long suspected: simple, repetitive tasks, performed with focus and attention - mindfulness, in other words - can not only quieten our noisy thought processes and help us relax but also improve our outlook on life and protect us against a range of life-threatening illnesses. A cognitive neuroscientist and a leading authority on mental performance, Stan Rodski sets out the science behind these remarkable discoveries in simple terms, and explains how you in turn can benefit from them. As well as examining the potentially pivotal role of mindfulness in alleviating stress and managing energy, Stan highlights the most effective mindfulness activities, guides you through quick and easy exercises, and shows you how to harness the power of mindfulness over the long term to forge mental and physical resilience - and create a happier, healthier, more compelling future.

Neuroscience and Psychology of Meditation in Everyday Life addresses essential and timely questions about the research and practice of meditation as a path to realization of human potential for health and well-being. Balancing practical content and scientific theory, the book discusses long-term effects of six meditation practices: mindfulness, compassion, visualization-based meditation techniques, dream yoga, insight-based meditation and abiding in the existential ground of experience. Each chapter provides advice on how to embed these techniques into everyday activities, together with considerations about underlying changes in the mind and brain based on latest research evidence. This book is essential reading for professionals applying meditation-based techniques in their work and researchers in the emerging field of contemplative science. The book will also be of value to practitioners of meditation seeking to further their practice and understand associated changes in the mind and brain.

The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness is the first of its kind in the field, and its appearance marks a unique time in the history of intellectual inquiry on the topic. After decades during which consciousness was considered beyond the scope of legitimate scientific investigation, consciousness re-emerged as a popular focus of research towards the end of the last century, and it has remained so for nearly 20 years. There are now so many different lines of investigation on consciousness that the time has come when the field may finally benefit from a book that pulls them together and, by juxtaposing them, provides a comprehensive survey of this exciting field. An authoritative desk reference, which will also be suitable as an advanced textbook.

"While we have learned a great deal about mindfulness in the past 30 years, unquestionably the field of mindfulness science is still maturing, and in the chapters herein the authors have taken pains to point out how the current research is limited in its methods and conclusions, and have pointed to specific ways in which future research studies can overcome these limitations. That said, the work represented in this Handbook is among the best conducted to date, measured in terms of scientific creativity, sophistication, and insight. Our hope is that this volume offers readers both a panoramic view of the current science of mindfulness and a compass to help guide its ongoing evolution"--

Drawing on cutting-edge research, friends and Harvard collaborators Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson expertly reveal what we can learn from a one-of-a-kind data pool that includes world-class meditators. They share for the first time remarkable findings that show how meditation - without drugs or high expense - can cultivate qualities such as selflessness, equanimity, love and compassion, and redesign our neural circuitry. Demonstrating two master thinkers at work, The Science of Meditation explains precisely how mind training benefits us. More than daily doses or sheer hours, we need smart practice, including crucial ingredients such as targeted feedback from a master teacher and a more spacious worldview. These two bestselling authors sweep away the misconceptions around these practices and show how smart practice can change our personal traits and even our genome for the better. Gripping in its storytelling and based on a lifetime of thought and action, this is one of those rare books that has the power to change us at the deepest level.

Research on the beneficial effects of mindfulness and meditation has boomed over the last decade. This volume is the first book-length review of this extensive body of research, aimed at the non-specialist reader, examining effects on brain activation, brain structure, attention, stress, and well-being, and how mindfulness works as therapy.

***NATIONAL BESTSELLER*** STOP FOR A MOMENT. Are you here right now? Is your focus on this page? Or is it roaming elsewhere, to the past or future, to a worry, to your to-do list, or to your phone? Whether you’re simply browsing, talking to friends, or trying to stay focused in an important meeting, you can’t seem to manage to hang on to your attention. No matter how hard you try, you’re somewhere else. The consequence is that you miss out on 50 percent of your life—including the most important moments. The good news: There’s nothing wrong with you—your brain isn’t broken. The human brain was built to be distractible. The even better news: You can train your brain to pay attention more effectively. Stay with me a little longer and soon you will be able to: Focus without all the struggle. Take back your attention from the pull of distraction. And function at your peak, for all that truly matters in your life.

Mind, Brain and the Path to Happiness presents a contemporary account of traditional Buddhist mind training and the pursuit of wellbeing and happiness in the context of the latest research in psychology and the neuroscience of meditation. Following the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Dzogchen, the book guides the reader through the gradual steps in transformation of the practitioner’s mind and brain on the path to advanced states of balance, genuine happiness and wellbeing. Dusana Dorjee explains how the mind training is grounded in philosophical and experiential exploration of the notions of happiness and human potential, and how it refines attention skills and cultivates emotional balance in training of mindfulness, meta-awareness and development of healthy emotions. The book outlines how the practitioner can explore subtle aspects of conscious experience in order to recognize the nature of the mind and reality. At each of the steps on the path the book provides novel insights into similarities and differences between Buddhist accounts and current psychological and neuroscientific theories and evidence. Throughout the book the author skilfully combines Buddhist psychology and Western scientific research with examples of meditation practices, highlighting the ultimately practical nature of Buddhist mind training. Mind, Brain and the Path to Happiness is an important book for health professionals and educators who teach or apply mindfulness and meditation-based techniques in their work, as well as for researchers and students investigating these techniques both in a clinical context and in the emerging field of contemplative science.