{"592844":{"#nid":"592844","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Mindfulness is in the Moment in New Book \u201cPresence\u201d","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA 2,500-year-old meditation practice is back in style, thanks to a renewed interest in mindfulness-based meditation as a way to relieve stress, boost productivity, and make people happier in their daily lives. But what about the science behind all that happiness? That is the focus of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.psychology.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/uploads\/images\/superblock_images\/presence_-_verhaegen_book_-_website_1.png\u0022\u003E\u0026ldquo;Presence: How Mindfulness and Meditation Shape Your Brain, Mind, and Life,\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/a\u003E a new book from \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.psychology.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/429\u0022\u003EPaul Verhaeghen\u003C\/a\u003E, professor and director of graduate studies in the School of Psychology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;An important part of why mindfulness has taken off so steeply in the past few years is that there is indeed accumulating scientific evidence that it works,\u0026rdquo; Verhaeghen says. \u0026ldquo;That may have led more people to try it, which may have led to more people liking it.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to its adoption by meditation and yoga enthusiasts, mindfulness-based meditation is used in a variety of industries and disciplines. Teachers employ it to help children concentrate better in class. The military has adopted its techniques to help soldiers focus in life-or-death situations, while executives have adopted mindfulness as a way to deal with the pressures of the business world. \u0026ldquo;Presence\u0026rdquo; (Oxford University Press) examines how mindfulness-based meditation changes the structure of the brain while affecting health, wellness, and self-esteem.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Mindfulness is first and foremost a training of\u0026nbsp;attention,\u0026rdquo; Verhaeghen says. \u0026ldquo;The main skill you learn when\u0026nbsp;you practice mindfulness is to see where your mind actually is, moment-to-moment, and then relinquish whatever it is you\u0026#39;re doing that you shouldn\u0026#39;t be doing. This seems to have a lasting impact on brain structures that deal with this type of attention.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EVerhaeghen says evidence shows that mindfulness practice is as effective as standard therapies for treatment of depression and anxiety. \u0026ldquo;To me, the most surprising finding was that the effects are so broad, impacting almost every area of life,\u0026rdquo; he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to summarizing the latest research on mindfulness-based meditation, Verhaeghen also uses that data in \u0026ldquo;Presence\u0026rdquo; to offer advice for those wishing to begin a meditation practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EVerhaegen received his Ph.D. in 1994 from the University of Leuven in Belgium. He started at Georgia Tech in 2007. His research for the School of Psychology centers on cognitive aging, memory, and their interfaces, as well as the links between creativity, mood disorders, and rumination. He is also a long-term meditator and occasional mindfulness teacher.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EVerhaegen published \u0026ldquo;The Elements of Cognitive Aging: Meta-Analyses of Age-Related Differences in Processing Speed and Their Consequences\u0026rdquo; (Oxford University Press) in 2014. Verhaegen also writes fiction; his 2004 novel \u0026ldquo;Omega Minor\u0026rdquo; has won awards for its Dutch and English versions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Tech\u2019s Paul Verhaeghen examines the science of mindfulness-based meditation "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDoes science back up the claims that mindfulness-based meditation can boost\u0026nbsp;health, wellness and self-esteem?\u0026nbsp;School of Psychology professor Paul Verhaeghen\u0026#39;s new book, \u0026quot;Presence,\u0026quot; examines the evidence.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"School of Psychology professor Paul Verhaeghen\u0027s new book focuses on whether mindfulness can benefit the body and mind."}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2017-06-20 20:24:31","changed_gmt":"2017-06-21 12:25:04","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-06-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-06-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"592846":{"id":"592846","type":"image","title":"\u0022Presence\u0022 Book Cover","body":null,"created":"1497990483","gmt_created":"2017-06-20 20:28:03","changed":"1497990483","gmt_changed":"2017-06-20 20:28:03","alt":"","file":{"fid":"225971","name":"Presence Book Cover.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Presence%20Book%20Cover.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Presence%20Book%20Cover.png","mime":"image\/png","size":137486,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Presence%20Book%20Cover.png?itok=x_qg_FEg"}},"592845":{"id":"592845","type":"image","title":"Paul Verhaeghen","body":null,"created":"1497990400","gmt_created":"2017-06-20 20:26:40","changed":"1497990400","gmt_changed":"2017-06-20 20:26:40","alt":"","file":{"fid":"225970","name":"Paul Verhaeghen.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Paul%20Verhaeghen.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Paul%20Verhaeghen.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":627970,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Paul%20Verhaeghen.jpg?itok=9FHCIZwU"}}},"media_ids":["592846","592845"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Presence-Mindfulness-Meditation-Shape-Brain\/dp\/0199395608\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\u0026qid=1497973677\u0026sr=8-1\u0026keywords=presence+paul+verhaeghen","title":"\u0022Presence\u0022 at Amazon"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"443951","name":"School of Psychology"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"167710","name":"School of Psychology"},{"id":"174736","name":"Paul Verhaeghen"},{"id":"118891","name":"mindfulness"},{"id":"85121","name":"meditation"},{"id":"174737","name":"mindfulness-based meditation"},{"id":"61521","name":"yoga"},{"id":"398","name":"health"},{"id":"88821","name":"health and wellness"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer\/Science Writer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}