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Learn more about the neural mechanisms of mindfulness at this conference

The University of Massachusetts Medical School's Center for Mindfulness is holding it annual conference in April. From the Web page:

Investigating and Integrating Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society

8th Annual International Scientific Conference for Clinicians, Researchers and Educators

April 7-11, 2010
Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resort, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Turning into the 4th Decade of our Work...

The 2010 Conference will feature more than 75 presentations that include research forums, presentation dialogues, workshops, keynotes, breakfast roundtables, and pre- and post-conference institutes. Conference details and how to register are located below.

We look forward to seeing you in April.

Note: At the Web site of the Center, you can see a bibliography, papers, and major research findings.

Interview about lawyer depression

Click to read an interview (PsychCentral) of lawyer Daniel Lukasik, creator of the Web site LawyersWithDepression.com and owner of the blog Lawyers with Depression. He answers the questions "Why are so many lawyers depressed?" and "What can lawyers do on a daily basis to help their depression?".

I was very happy to see that one of the five recommendations he makes for dealing with depression is

Practice mindfulness.

A lot of attention has been focused recently on the use of mindfulness meditation to help depression. In such meditation, we sit quietly, pay attention to our breath and watch our thoughts float by our stream of consciousness. Usually, we habitually react to all our thoughts and feelings (”I will never get this brief done”). In mindfulness meditation, we learn - slowly - to let the thoughts and feelings float by without reacting to them. What we are really doing is creating a space for ourselves where we don’t have in our doing mode; where our chief objective is to get things done and succeed. Think of it as a restful timeout during your day. I highly recommend reading the best-selling book, “The Mindful Way through Depression” for more guidance and exercises.

If we feel that we don’t have time for meditation, or have a difficult time sitting still, we can anchor ourselves in our bodies. When I am feeling stressed and need to take myself out of my depressive mind, I focus on some simple physical sensations. For example, I will try to pay attention to my walking for a period of time - say 20 minutes. I feel my feet touching the carpet or concrete as a walk. It’s incredibly simple, grounding and calming to our anxious and depressed mind.

Blog Glob: "You Wear Me Out: The Vicarious Depletion of Self-Control"

Abstract:

Acts of self-control may deplete an individual’s self-regulatory resources. But what are the consequences of perceiving other people’s use of self-control? Mentally simulating the actions of others has been found to elicit psychological effects consistent with the actual performance of those actions. Here, we consider how simulating versus merely perceiving the use of willpower can affect self-control abilities. In Study 1, participants who simulated the perspective of a person exercising self-control exhibited less restraint over spending on consumer products than did other participants. In Study 2, participants who took the perspective of a person using self-control exerted less willpower on an unrelated lexical generation task than did participants who took the perspective of a person who did not use self-control. Conversely, participants who merely read about another person’s self- control exerted more willpower than did those who read about actions not requiring self-control. These findings suggest that the actions of other people may either deplete or boost one’s own self-control, depending on whether one mentally simulates those actions or merely perceives them.

Click to read the rest of "You Wear Me Out: The Vicarious Depletion of Self-Control" (Psychological Science) [pdf].

Blog Glob: "Can blocking a frown keep bad feelings at bay?"

Excerpt:

Your facial expression may tell the world what you are thinking or feeling. But it also affects your ability to understand written language related to emotions, according to research that was presented today (Jan. 29) to the Society for Personal and Social Psychology in Las Vegas and that will be published in the journal Psychological Science.

...

"There is a long-standing idea in psychology called the facial feedback hypothesis," says [David] Havas. "Essentially, it says, when you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you. It's an old song, but it's right. Actually, this study suggests the opposite: When you're not frowning, the world seems less angry and less sad."

Click to read the rest of "Can blocking a frown keep bad feelings at bay?" (University of Wisconsin-Madison News).

Interview of David Rock by Michael Bungay Stanier

At the Great Work Blog, ever-wonderful Michael has posted an interview of David Rock. What did they discuss? From the Web page:

• The two fundamental states of the brain – and the impact they have on engagement
• Why the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is flawed
• The SCARF model, which David calls the most important work he’s done
• And why high (but not too high) stress situations can actually bring out your best work.

Click to hear the interview of David, as well as of other people.

How to decide on the story you want the jury to hear: Some tips

Friend and colleague Diane Wyzga has written an article on legal storytelling that I believe many of you will want to read. The beginning:

Imagine the Following: a two-lane road in San Jose, California. Late morning. Skies are clear and the road is dry. Driving on this road from the west is a flatbed truck. And driving on this road from the east is a fire truck. Behind the fire truck is an 18-wheeler we’ll call a ‘semi.’ And behind the semi is a 4-door passenger car. The young man who will become Tommy Malone and Randy Scarlett’s client is seat- belted in the rear as a passenger behind the driver. Now imagine that the flatbed truck begins to drift over the yellow centerline. The captain driving the fire truck notices this and pulls to the right avoiding a collision. But the semi does not take any evasive action. The driver of the semi is talking on his cell phone. And he has been talking on his cell phone for thirty minutes. When does he notice the flatbed drifting over the centerline? When the side view mirror of the flatbed crashes into the side view mirror on the semi. The flatbed peels down the side of the semi before breaking its front axle. Now out of control the flatbed moves in a great arc before coming to rest with a life-shattering T-bone crash into the very spot where the young man sits. Who is to blame for the traumatic brain injury he suffered? And how did you arrive at your position?

Randy Rozek and Gordon Johnson asked me to write about the process of working with the award-winning trial team of Malone and Scarlett to help revise the trial story which ultimately resulted in their $49 million trial verdict. Specifically, Mr. Rozek asked me whether it was possible to expand on my thought process and provide some tips you could use in your own practice. I agreed, although unraveling a thought process is much like recalling a dream. ...

Click to read the rest of “This Is Not a Cell Phone Case” (Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group Newsletter) [pdf].

For those of you into elevator speeches . . .

You might like this one.

Ladder or Jungle Gym?

What do you say to sound fascinating and unique when you are asked to introduce yourself at a quasi-business, quasi-social event? If you are Barbara Marks, graphic designer turned painter, you say, “My life to this point has been less a ladder and more a jungle-gym. Many people have linear careers, knowing exactly what direction they always wanted to pursue, but mine has had many more lateral moves, swinging from one branch to another, maybe more like a jungle, to mix metaphors.”

Click to read the rest of The Metaphor Minute (1/28/10 edition).

Blog Glob: "The Mediation Metamodel: Understanding Practice"

Abstract:

The mediation metamodel provides a systematic framework for under- standing mediation as it is practiced in a variety of professional and cultural contexts. Six mediation practices are introduced within the framework of the metamodel: settlement mediation, facilitative medi- ation, transformative mediation, expert advisory mediation, wise counsel mediation, and tradition-based mediation. The relationships of these different practices to one another are explored and the assump- tions underlying them are examined with reference to the literature. The metamodel provides orientation in the dispute resolution field not only for mediators, parties, and their lawyers, but also for regulators, referring bodies, researchers, and students of mediation.

Click to read the rest of "The Mediation Metamodel: Understanding Practice" (Conflict Resolution Quarterly).

September 24 - 26: The Contemplative Academy

The Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education is holding its annual conference in September. From the Web page:

The Contemplative Academy

September 24-26, 2010
Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

The conference will focus on initiatives in contemplative pedagogy taking place in classrooms and institutions of higher education.  It will explore how contemplative practices cultivate capacities of attention, equanimity, wisdom, and compassion, which are central to the lives of students and educators.

Contributed papers, poster sessions, and artistic presentations as well as plenary talks and contemplative practice sessions will explore the ways that contemplative practice is serving higher education. As educators integrate these practices into classrooms, studios, and co-curricular initiatives, they are learning how they develop greater mindfulness, open heartedness, and insight.

Blog Glob: "Boulder attorney unites Haitian orphans with U.S. parents"

Excerpt:

Hundreds of Haitian orphans who were in the process of being adopted by Americans have been evacuated out of the earthquake-devastated nation and united with their new families, thanks, in large part, to a Boulder attorney.

Since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the island nation on Jan. 12 -- killing upwards of 150,000 people -- attorney Beth Klein has been working with U.S. Department of State, the Pentagon and orphanages to coordinate flights and bring 200 children to the United States.

Her work to expedite Haitian adoptions for Americans who have been verified by reputable agencies started with a call three days after the quake from a man with a child in a Port-au-Prince orphanage. Klein said she believed there had to be a way to get food and security to the orphanages and to bring the children out of the devastation.

"I was talking to everyone I know," said Klein, a trial lawyer who also has worked to free Cambodian girls who've been sold into slavery.

Click to read the rest of "Boulder attorney unites Haitian orphans with U.S. parents" (Daily Camera).