A group of American Buddhist teachers once met with the Dalai Lama during a conference, and one teacher, Sharon Salzberg, brought up the problem of unworthiness: “What do you think about self-hatred?” I asked when it was my turn to bring up an issue for discussion. I was eager to get directly to the suffering I…
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Analogies are often necessary to describe how depression can escalate; how a mild pain mutates into something more excruciating. This downward spiral process is a lot like adding heavier and heavier weights to your shoulders. The first weight may be unexpected. Perhaps a stressful situation triggers the onset of depressive symptoms, such as fatigue, hopelessness,…
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Hebbian theory is a theory in neuroscience which explains how groups of neurons adapt and grow in the brain. It rests on the assumption of neuroplasticity (the plastic, malleable and flexible nature of the brain). Neuroplasticity covers synaptic plasticity, which refers to the plastic nature of synaptic connections in the brain, as well as non-synaptic…
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Can you be an atheist and a Buddhist? At first glance, it seems like it would be inconsistent to be both, to be someone who does not believe in God but belongs to a religion. But there is now a growing form of Buddhism, in the Western world at least, which is based on humanism…
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