I’ve talked a lot about benefits of kindness in other articles. For example, I’ve talked about the impact of kindness on mental health, through how kindness feels as well as how it induces changes in brain regions, plus how kindness impacts the heart, immune system, and even aspects of the ageing process. I’ve even described […]
meditation
Loving kindness slows ageing at the genetic level
I’ve written a lot about the links between kindness and ageing, and part of my focus has been that kindness is the opposite of stress, at least in terms of how it makes us feel and the physiological consequences of those feelings. Just as feelings of stress produce stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenalin), so […]
As one goes up – the other comes down
Kindness and stress are like two people on a seesaw. As one side goes up, the other comes down. As we practice more kindness in our lives, stress tends to come down. Less kindness, on the other hand, often correlates with more stress. That’s certainly what research is showing. In a study led by Emily […]
How a child with Chickenpox stopped itching
As you know, I’m a big fan of visualisation. As I’ve explained before, in many ways the brain doesn’t distinguish real from imaginary. As we imagine something, to the brain, what we imagine is actually happening. In previous blogs I’ve shared scientific evidence of how people have altered physical strength through visualisation, how visualisation can help […]
Mind Over Matter
I’ve written a lot over the years on the subject of the mind-body connection. The origin of my interest actually goes back to when I was 11 years old and I was in the school library. A book fell of the shelf beside me. It was ‘The Magic Power of Your Mind’ by Walter Germaine. […]
7 ways to help you take your time
I’ve had to remind myself of it recently, to take my time. We bought a house in May, an old cottage that needed a lot of renovating. Our plan was to do the renovation work and move in by the end of June. It was a deadline that we were working towards. It didn’t quite […]
How meditation affects the cells of breast cancer survivors
I have written about the benefits of meditation on several occasions, from how it slows ageing, can make us happier, helps us develop and maintain and calm state, and even how it impacts our genes. So I just couldn’t wait to tell you about an amazing new study that can give hope to people who […]
How your mind can affect your strength
I’ve written quite a bit about the mind-body connection in my books and in some of my blogs. Among other things, I’ve written about strength improvements through visualisation, rehabilitation following a stroke, and even how to reduce appetite by tricking the mind into thinking you’ve eaten, so I’m always on the lookout for new pieces […]
Can loving-kindness slow down ageing?
You might have heard of telomeres! They’re the little end-caps on DNA that stops it unraveling, a bit like the little plastic caps on shoelaces that stop them from unraveling. Telomeres have become popular because they’re closely linked with the age of the body. Short telomeres tend to mean faster ageing. Lots of research has […]
The 5 Side-Effects of Compassion
As an ex-pharmaceutical scientist, I enjoy reframing the term ‘side-effects’. We typically think of side-effects in the negative, as in the side-effects of drugs. But many of our positive behaviors also have side-effects. Below are 5 side-effects of compassion. 1) Compassion Wires the Brain In some ways we can think of the brain like a […]