I am sometimes asked by some readers to explain the meaning behind the title of my third Dalai Lama’s Cat book, The Power of Meow. Just as the second title, The Art of Purring is a play on The Art of Happiness – a book closely associated with His Holiness – this third title is a similarly...
Category: Mindfulness and meditation
Suffer from mental fleas when you meditate? Four points to encourage you from The Dalai Lama’s Cat.
In my book, The Power of Meow, the Dalai Lama’s Cat begins with an embarrassing confession: “Living with the Dalai Lama, surrounded by monks at Namgyal Monastery, and constantly encountering the most revered meditation masters in Tibetan Buddhism, one would assume that among my many admirable qualities I am an accomplished meditator. Alas, dear reader, I...
How pets offer us the gift of mindfulness
My office desk overlooks a street on which people in the neighbourhood walk their dogs every day. In the past ten years I’ve noticed a trend that saddens me. Instead of taking their dogs for a walk as they used to, these days many people are more likely to be hunched over their phones while...
The amazing thing most people never discover about themselves
I am often struck by what I think is one of life’s greatest paradoxes: even though our entire experience of reality depends on our mind, most people have no idea what mind actually is. Everything we perceive, think and feel arises only with mind’s participation. That being the case, wouldn’t it be useful to have...
Does meditating slow ageing? What science says.
Many factors that affect the ageing process. But a growing body of scientific research shows how the very gentle practice of meditation can have a powerful impact. A few highlights: Biological age 12 years less than chronological age One of the earliest studies was conducted by Dr Robert Keith Wallace, whose findings were published in...
Why meditating affects you physically
Meditation has so many physical benefits that even Homer Simpson would be keen to benefit from them, if only he could get off the sofa. I’ve already blogged about some of these (http://davidmichie.com/what-are-the-main-physical-benefits-of-meditation/). But why does meditation affect you physically? How is it that, by attaching the seat of your pants to the seat of...
Is meditation the same as hypnosis?
This question sometimes comes up at seminars and is one that interests me having trained as a hypnotherapist before I came to meditation. Since I was a boy I was fascinated by the way that hypnosis provides direct access to the subconscious mind. And so, some years ago while living in London, I learned a...
What is the business case for meditation?
In the words of Clare Goodman, a good friend and colleague, most of us aren’t employed for our good looks. We’re employed for our minds. But how many of us consciously seek out ways to optimise our most important asset? Seems pretty obvious when it’s put that way. And organisations around the world are increasingly...
The 12 psychological benefits of meditation
In my blog about some of the main physical benefits of meditation, I made the point that categorising benefits as ‘physical’ or ‘psychological’ is somewhat artificial. Reducing high blood pressure through meditation may seem a measurable and physiological benefit, but it only happens because of the psychological change that precedes it. Every change in mental...
What are the main physical benefits of meditation?
If meditation was available in capsule form, it would be the biggest selling drug on the planet. As the powerful effects of meditation have been validated by all manner of research teams and institutions, a gathering chorus of scientists are voicing this same theme. Describing the main, physical benefits of meditation in a short blog...