2015 January/February
Editor's Note By Rich Simon
Nurturing the seed of the specifically human capacity.
Read more...
The Mindfulness Explosion
The Perils of Mainstream Acceptance
By Mary Sykes Wylie
By replacing the exotic aura of spirituality with the language of science and a down-to-earth self-help approach, mindfulness has brought practices once considered New Age hokum into mainstream acceptance. But as it increasingly becomes a product to be sold in the marketplace, does it risk losing something vital to its transformative power?
The Reluctant Guru
Staying in the Moment with Jon Kabat-Zinn
A Conversation with Jon Kabat-Zinn
Since he first developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn has not only become a key figure in shaping our ideas about physical and mental health, but a cultural icon. Here he talks about handling his public role and being placed on a pedestal.
Read more...
The Fiction of the Self
The Paradox of Mindfulness in Clinical Practice
By Ronald SiegelIf we engage in meditation long enough, we discover that our sense of being a separate, coherent, enduring self is actually a delusion maintained by our constant inner chatter. Seeing ourselves in this light can pull the rug out from under us in alarming—though potentially liberating—ways.
Read more...
A Doorway to Mystery
Jack Kornfield on Creating a Sacred Space in Therapy
A Conversation with Jack KornfieldAs pressures mount to narrow the focus of psychotherapy into a medicalized, evidence-based approach, one of the teachers who first helped integrate mindfulness into psychotherapy argues for recognizing the role of ritual and embracing the sacred in our work.
Read more...
Nature, Pixelated
How the Virtual World Is Rewiring Our Senses
By Diane AckermanFor the first time in history, we’re mainly experiencing nature through intermediary technology that paradoxically provides more detail while flattening our sensory experience. Can becoming entranced by electronic media alter our brains?
