Strolling along on a crisp fall day last weekend, I found myself completely engaged in
the moment: the arresting beauty of the azure sky, the pops of ruddy and lemon hues
from the turning leaves, my body’s pleasant feeling of mild exertion. I have always liked
to call this feeling “being where you are,” and had long noticed that being aware of the
“present now” made me feel content. I didn’t know until much later that this notion is
part of what we now call cultivating “mindfulness.”The idea that being mindful would increase a state of well-being makes such intuitive
sense, and it seems many of us have are embraced embracing it. But what do the data
show? As Bret Stetka writes in our cover story —“Where’s the Proof that that Mindful-
ness Meditation Works?”—“many many psycholo gists, neuroscientists and meditation
experts are afraid that hype is outpacing the science.” Currently, it’s difficult to compare
studies because of a lack of standardization in the data—a challenge that may be diffi-
cult to solve given that the experience of mindfulness itself is a personal one and thus
richly varied.Elsewhere in this edition, you’ll find lots of other surprises. R. Douglas Fields relates
how cannabis use in teens can hasten the onset of schizophrenia in vulnerable individu-
als; Scott Barry Kaufman delves into humanistic psychology in “There Is No One Way to
Live a Good Life”; Heather A. Butler discusses the difference between critical thinking
and intelligence in “Why Do Smart People Do Foolish Things?” Enjoy!Mindfulness: Does it It work?
FROM THE EDITOR
Mariette DiChristina
Editor in Chief
COVER BY KARELNOPPEGETTY IMAGES;^ THIS PAGE:SPENCER HEYFRON