30 Aug Re-Wiring Your Brain for Happiness: Research Shows How Meditation Can Physically Change the Brain
By Dan Harris from ABC News
A quiet explosion of new research indicating that meditation can physically change the brain in astonishing ways has started to push into mainstream.
Several studies suggest that these changes through meditation can make you happier, less stressed — even nicer to other people. It can help you control your eating habits and even reduce chronic pain, all the while without taking prescription medication.
Meditation is an intimate and intense exercise that can be done solo or in a group, and one study showed that 20 million Americans say they practice meditation. It has been used to help treat addictions, to clear psoriasis and even to treat men with impotence.
The U.S. Marines are testing meditation to see if it makes more focused, effective warriors. Corporate executives at Google, General Mills, Target and Aetna Insurance, as well as students in some of the nation's classrooms have used meditation.
Various celebrities also are known meditators, including shock jock Howard Stern, actors Richard Gere, Goldie Hawn and Heather Graham, and Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer of the band Weezer.
In one study, a research team from Massachusetts General Hospital looked at the brain scans of 16 people before and after they participated in an eight-week course in mindfulness meditation. The study, published in the January issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, concluded that after completing the course, parts of the participants' brains associated with compassion and self-awareness grew, and parts associated with stress shrank.
To read more about re-wiring your brain for more happiness JUST CLICK HERE
Following on from this…
Learning to live in and enjoy the present moment
There are numerous strategies for those interested in learning about and mastering applied relaxation and meditation strategies for more happiness. We're pleased to bring you just a few suggestions which we list below:
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Dr. Sharp has produced his very own, highly acclaimed and very popular relaxation CD. Check it out HERE
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And just finally, our great happiness, positive psychology based workbooks touch on a range of topics and teachings relevant to anyone and everyone keen to learn how to enjoy more happiness. Find out more HERE
Finally, if you have or know of any great resources for meditation or relaxation then feel free to share them with our happiness community on our Facebook Page : )