Mindfulness and meditation

Creativity and the arts Spirituality and transcendence

Altered states Drugs and psychedelics Mindfulness and meditation Prayer and contemplation Rituals and celebrations Sacred places Spirituality and religion Symbols and myth The irrational and uncanny Transcendent experience Visions and mysticism Wonder and the sublime

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Consciousness

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What happens to the brain during consciousness-ending meditation?

Psychologists are studying a form of meditation known as ‘nirodha-samāpatti’ that reportedly ceases all mental function

by Shayla Love

Photo of a person with closed eyes and hands clasped, appearing thoughtful or in prayer, set against a dim background.

Spirituality and religion

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Spirituality is a brain state we can all reach, religious or not

Neuroscience shows that spiritual experiences are correlated with brain states that we can all aim for, religious or not

by Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan

A window with light streaming through sheer curtains, partially covered by a red curtain tied back with a rope tie.

Mindfulness and meditation

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How to find your mindfulness

With so many approaches to mindfulness, it can be difficult to know where to start. Explore these methods to find what suits you

by Gill Johnson & Willem Kuyken

A knitted grey toy mouse holds a needle and repairs its own dress. Three balls of yarn lie nearby, alongside a small blue open book.

Pleasures and pastimes

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A whimsical ode to the reparative power of knitting, rendered in wool

Directed by Samantha Moore

Ancient painting of two figures under a pine tree with mountains in the background, in traditional East Asian style.

Transcendent experience

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To experience Zen-like awakening, try going the headless way

Try to point to your true self as you’d point to a brick wall, and other experiments in Zen-like awakening

by Brentyn J Ramm

Photo of school assembly with pupils in uniform, many faces blurred. One student is in focus in the centre of the image.

Mindfulness and meditation

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It’s time to hear what adolescents think of mindfulness in schools

Mindfulness for adolescents backfires when it imposes moral ideals, stirs up trauma, or fails to treat young people as agents

by Elena Hailwood, William Wannyn & Suparna Choudhury

Painting of a man relaxing against a large leafy tree in a grassy field.

Meaning and the good life

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How to be useless

Follow the Daoist way – reclaim your life and happiness by letting go of the need to produce, strive or serve a purpose

by Helen De Cruz & Pauline Lee

Painting of two musicians standing by bare trees in a snowy landscape with two distant figures and a city skyline in the background.

Mindfulness and meditation

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Everyone is waiting, watching. What for remains captivatingly unclear

Directed by Michelle Kranot & Uri Kranot

Photo of hands nervously fidgeting with fingers in focus, soft background of dark jeans visible.

Worry and rumination

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Here’s how to take back your life from long-term worrying

Long after they’ve gone, stressors can cause harm to your health. These psychological techniques offer a powerful defence

by Dane McCarrick & Daryl O’Connor

Photo of a small Buddha statue sitting on a large green leaf with a soft blurred background.

Mindfulness and meditation

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Modern mindfulness meditation has lost its beating communal heart

Ancestral blessings in meditation are not premodern residue. Attachment theory suggests they’re vital for compassion

by Paul Condon & John Makransky

Photo of a lone tree in a lake with mountains in the background, under a cloudy sky.

Mindfulness and meditation

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How to think like a phenomenologist

Doing Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological reduction will transform your view of the world and your own consciousness

by D J Hobbs

Illustration of legs immersed in water, with the lower half submerged, showing blue hues and ripples on the surface.

Mindfulness and meditation

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A leaf, a bird and a fisherman animate Heraclitus’ aphorism on flux

A film by Michelle Brand