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Religion & Spirituality

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Slavoj Žižek on Buddhism and the Self. Religion is a potent force for cooperation and conflict, research shows. Can Religion Save Us? A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the Healing Power of Meditation. Questioning God Easier for More Devout. Study finds increase in multi-faith space in UK. The Limits of 'Spirituality' What’s the Big Idea?

The Limits of 'Spirituality'

Words are funny little things – stubbornly rigid in their outward form, yet able to accrue and drag around with them centuries worth of usage and layered meaning. It’s that inflexible exoskeleton, though, that makes words so vulnerable to conceptual lock-in. The words religion, or money, for example, whose complex history earns them several pages each in the Oxford English Dictionary, can easily become mnemonics for a few idiosyncratic personal experiences.

Religion, for me, immediately triggers an unpleasant memory of the deadly dull Catholic church services my mother dragged me to every Sunday until I was too big to be dragged anymore. It takes a bit of reflection and distance to unearth the more sublime, church-free memories of the Biblical Song of Songs or the enigmatic and powerful Gospel of John. Kadam Morten on spiritual discipline: What’s the Significance? Just now I searched "improve your life" on Amazon. Meditation Strengthens The Brain, UCLA Researchers Say. Jonathan Haidt: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence. Could Humans Evolve into a Giant Hive Mind? Yoga Improves Quality of Life for Caregivers. TEDxCambridge - Sara Lazar on how meditation can reshape our brains. Narcissism impairs ethical judgment even among the highly religious, study finds. Jeremy Dahl - Google+ - Golden Rule Is it important to you?

Video games depict religion as violent, problematized, study shows. Dance Ecstacy : Spirituality & Health Magazine. When Mindfulness Is a Bad Idea [VIDEO] 10 things science (and Buddhism) says will make you happy. Valentine's Day: Why Do We Celebrate It? (Hint: Naked Romans) "I Trust You" – More Difficult (and more powerful) than "I Love You"

Valentine’s Day is here.

"I Trust You" – More Difficult (and more powerful) than "I Love You"

Time to think about those we love. Even more importantly, time to consider what it means to truly love another. Have you ever deeply thought about what love is? Have you ever considered where it comes from and why we feel drawn to be with certain people over others? Love is indeed a complex and multidimensional subject . . . We can understand love either from the perspective of what it is or what it is not. We can easily experience spiritual freedom when we close our eyes and let the world disappear, when we contemplate the infinite nature of consciousness. In the utopian paradise of a spiritually enlightened world, “I love you” means much more than the expression of deep affection and attraction. When we permit ourselves to trust deeply, we are letting another human being into our heart and into our soul. Spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen is the author of EVOLUTIONARY ENLIGHTENMENT: A New Path to Spiritual Awakening. Individual ecstasies: the revelatory experience conference.

Mindfulness – could it help you? The God Helmet: Your Brain On Religion. Where Do “Sacred” Values Live in the Brain? Simply being near a church makes people more hostile to outsiders. Polling location may influence how you vote. Why do we still believe when we know it’s probably not true? Study finds religion helps us gain self-control. Beyond spirituality: the role of meditation in mental health. The price of your soul: How the brain decides whether to 'sell out' Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0. Religion and health - a double edged sword. Meditation-The Controlled Psychophysical Self-Regulation Process That Works. Ancient Indians – Satya Samhita. Synchronized physical activities: Is there a dark side to moving in sync?