Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (Third Edition) | National Institute on Drug Abuse

Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (Third Edition) | National Institute on Drug Abuse

Work as Antidote to Relationship Needs and Frustrations

In response to my earlier blog post about Dr. Mark Epstein's excellent book, "Open to Desire" (which see here), one reader asked:

"What would you say to someone who chooses to block off mundane existence and focus only on work to survive?"

Great question, in my opinion!

Cultivating Your Personal Creativity by Dr. Bob Weathers

In response to my earlier blog post about Dr. Mark Epstein's excellent book, "Open to Desire" (which see here), a reader asked:

"What would you say to someone who chooses to block off mundane existence and focus only on work to survive?"

Great question, in my opinion! 

Mindfulness, or How to Change Your Brain for the Better… in 8 Weeks or Less

This past week, I asked myself the question: if someone I care about knew something that could significantly reduce my stress --- whether immediately, or over the long haul --- and chose not to share it with me: would I be OK with that?  NO, I wouldn’t be OK!

In that spirit then, I want to explore mindfulness; that is, how each of us can retrain our personal response to stress.  Indeed: how we can change our brain for the better…in 8 weeks or less!

My plan then is to: underscore how mindfulness has captured center stage in psychology and education; define mindfulness; reasons to considering practicing mindfulness; show you how to do it; and tie it into the work of psychotherapists and educators.

Open To Desire

For anyone who has struggled with renouncing anything --- whether a bad relationship, an addictive behavior, or simply a recurring, negative train of thought --- I cannot recommend too highly the wonderfully articulate and powerful book by Buddhist psychoanalyst, Dr. Mark Epstein: “Open to Desire.” Here’s a brief excerpt:

In a recent discussion with Western psychologists on the managing of destructive emotions like anger, greed and envy, the Dalai Lama was asked by one of the participants if there were any emotions that he could think of that might preserve or reinforce the calmness of mind that he thought was so important, and so lacking in today’s world. The question came somewhat out of frustration. The way the Dalai Lama had been talking about emotional experience, it was starting to seem as if he saw all emotions as afflictive. This was puzzling to many of the Western participants, who seemed more likely than their Tibetan counterparts to give value to their emotional lives. Were there no positive aspects of emotional life that the Dalai Lama could think of? 

His answer was very interesting.