By Laurie Meyers March 24, 2017
The specific biological mechanisms that underpin how people develop as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer (LGBTQ) are still undiscovered, but what many researchers have determined is that neither sexual/affectional orientation nor gender identity is a choice. Rather, they are innate, unchangeable parts of who a person is, much like skin color. And like…continue reading
By Laurie Meyers February 22, 2017
Chinese medicine has always acknowledged the link between the body and the mind. In Western medicine, from the time of the ancient Greeks through the Elizabethan era, the thinking was that four bodily humors (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood) influenced mood, physical health and even personality. Shakespeare built some of his characters around…continue reading
By Laurie Meyers January 25, 2017
When Barack Obama was elected the first African American president of the United States in 2008, some optimistic observers thought that American society had finally reached a post-racial age. As the past two-plus years have highlighted vividly, however, the significance of race and the influence of racism on the American story are far from over.…continue reading
By Laurie Meyers December 21, 2016
In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn, author and professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic, which uses a combination of mindfulness meditation and yoga to promote healing. In the ensuing decades, interest in mindfulness — not just for physical healing but also for emotional healing — has…continue reading
By Laurie Meyers November 21, 2016
“W hat are you?” That is a question commonly asked of individuals who are multiracial. As a society, we have gotten used to checking off a metaphorical — and often literal — “box” when it comes to questions of race. We seem to expect everyone to “just pick one.” But the population of the United States…continue reading