meditation

My Year of Living Mindfully – TEDx Talk

Shannon Harvey
March 11, 2022

In the midst of a global mental health crisis, millions of people have turned to mindfulness. But does it actually make us happier and healthier? For my most recent project, I participated in a world-first experiment, in which a team of scientists to put mindful meditation to the test. But after a 30,000 kilometre journey … Read full article »

Amishi Jha, Amit Bernstein, depression, Jon Kabat-Zinn, meditation, mental training, mindfulness, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness Based Trauma Recovery for Refugees (MBTR-R), trauma

A Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Mindfulness Practice

June 4, 2020

Introduction One of the most frequently asked questions after people have seen my feature documentary My Year of Living Mindfully is: How do I get started on my own mindful experiment? Before you continue reading this guide though, the first thing I’d like to ask you in return is: Do you actually want to start … Read full article »

Lasting Change, meditation, mindfulness

The Mindful Myth: It’s Not Actually About Relaxation

October 23, 2019

As a health journalist who writes about the science of the mind-body-health connection and who’s interviewed countless scientists on the subject, you would have thought that when I started making my new documentary about mindfulness, I would have known a thing or two. But just a few weeks into the endeavour I came across a … Read full article »

Herbert Benson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, meditation, mindfulness, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), relaxation, relaxation response, Sara Lazar

The Surprising Things Said By Four Mind-Body Health Experts

July 12, 2019

When the conference director of Happiness and Its Causes asked me to host a panel discussion between experts on deepening our mind-body connection so that we can lead healthier lives, I was delighted. It’s a topic I’m dedicated to raising awareness about and the lineup was terrific. There was Michael Mosely – the famed English … Read full article »

Amit Bernstein, diet, Elissa Epel, exercise, meditation, Michael Mosley, min, mind-body medicine, mindfulness, Whole health

What Is Mindfulness Anyway? My Year-Long Quest To Find Out

March 27, 2019

For some, mindfulness is a life-saving psychological tool that pulled them out of the depths of depression, for others it’s a way to disentangle from the grip of addiction. Some use mindfulness to face chronic pain or stressful emotions, while others use it to achieve peak performance at work. Some believe that mindfulness is an … Read full article »

meditation, mindfulness, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

How To Clear You Mind In A World Of Too Much

February 28, 2019

It was 5pm and I’d gotten nowhere. I felt as if all the information that had been uploaded into my brain over the last few days had fragmented across my mind and my brain’s neural pathways were jammed. I had writers block; the mental equivalent of the SWOD (Spinning Wheel of Death) that accompanies a … Read full article »

information overload, meditation, mindfulness, stress, techno-stress, technology

I Set Myself A Health Goal And Actually Stuck To It. What Changed?

November 8, 2018

371 days ago things weren’t pretty. I was an anxious insomniac and I never felt as though there was enough time in the day. There were also some troubling signs that my illness, which causes arthritic chronic pain and fatigue when I let my stress get out of control, was going to flare. It’s ironic … Read full article »

habits, Health Goals, if-then planning, Lasting Change, meditation, Peter Gollwitzer

The Power of Purpose and Passion In Dark Times

October 5, 2018

This time last week I found myself weeping in hotel room in the Middle East. I had just spent my day filming in a dusty refugee camp on the border of Syria and Jordan where I had interviewed a single mother of six children who’s answer to my question, “If you could wish for anything … Read full article »

Amit Bernstein, meaning, meditation, mental health, Michael Steger, mindfulness, purpose, refugees, trauma

Mind The Hype: Is Meditation Really All That Great?

August 9, 2018

Around this time last year I found myself in the midst of a professional crisis of conscience. The credibility of my work as a health journalist was being put to the test after I read an academic paper in which a group of 15 well-respected neuroscientists, mindfulness researchers, and meditation teachers warned that mindfulness is … Read full article »

Critical thinking, Journalism, meditation, mindfulness, Science, skeptic

Surprising Truth: Meditation Hasn’t Made Me Happier

May 8, 2018

I looked at the older, bald, robed man across from me and thought, whatever he’s on, I want some. I was interviewing Matthieu Ricard, the renowned Buddhist monk who normally lives in a monastery in Nepal but was in Australia as a keynote speaker at the Happiness and Its Causes Conference. It was eight in … Read full article »

Discomfortable, emotions, happiness, Matthieu Ricard, meditation, mindfulness, neuroscience, Suffering

What’s So Great the Most Popular Meditation Course on The Planet?

April 20, 2018

On a stinking hot summer Sydney afternoon I lay in a room with 15 other people, eyes closed, attempting to focus on the present by paying attention to my sensations, thoughts, emotions, and breath. The person next to me was snoring peacefully but I was far from feeling blissed out and “one with the moment.” … Read full article »

chronic pain, chronic stress, meditation, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), stress

This Is What Happened When I Started Meditating (Again)

November 17, 2017

I loaded up my app and listened to the experienced words of the meditation teacher who invited me to take a comfortable position and begin. She asked me to focus on my breath. In. Out. In. Out. And instructed that when I got distracted, to gently call my attention back to my breath. It was … Read full article »

10% Happier App, Distraction, meditation, Meditation obstacles, Sharon Salzberg

Latest posts from Shannon's blog

My Year of Living Mindfully – TEDx Talk

A Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Mindfulness Practice

The Mindful Myth: It’s Not Actually About Relaxation

The Surprising Things Said By Four Mind-Body Health Experts

What Is Mindfulness Anyway? My Year-Long Quest To Find Out

How To Clear You Mind In A World Of Too Much

I Set Myself A Health Goal And Actually Stuck To It. What Changed?

The Power of Purpose and Passion In Dark Times

Mind The Hype: Is Meditation Really All That Great?

Surprising Truth: Meditation Hasn’t Made Me Happier

What’s So Great the Most Popular Meditation Course on The Planet?

This Is What Happened When I Started Meditating (Again)

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