A central challenge in developing an epidemiology of compassion is establishing how to determine that compassion is “present” in an individual or population. To do so requires expanding beyond individualistic conceptions of compassion to consider how compassion might manifest in relationships, in communities, and within societies. This includes agreeing upon a definition that is flexible enough...
In two randomized controlled trials, we tested the effect of two attentional mindfulness meditation practices on positive mental health. We hypothesized that attentional meditation would increase various positive emotions (gratitude, interest, hope, pride, elevation, and awe) via three processes induced by mindfulness (body awareness, meta-awareness, and self-transcendence) and that positive...
Classical psychedelics appear efficacious in improving psychological well-being in randomized clinical trials, but their effects in the population at large are relatively unknown. In the present paper, which includes three studies conducted by online survey with a collective 3,157 participants, classical psychedelic users showed greater psychological strengths and well-being, and lower levels...
Actual/ideal self-discrepancy is the measurable difference between an individual's beliefs about who they think they are (actual self) and their image of the person they would ideally like to be (ideal self).When the self-discrepancy gap is small, higher psychological wellbeing exists.Mindfulness meditation, by means of greater awareness of the continuous fluctuation of thought from one point...