Author Archives: Timothy Sheehan

March 18

Is anyone in there?

How can we tell if someone is aware of what is going on around them? One strategy is to look at their eyes. Eye contact and dilated pupils are a good sign someone is actively engaged in a conversation. If they’re staring off into space or flickering open and shut, it’s a good sign they […]

September 12

Your Mind on Trial

The British television series Black Mirror has, at times, been disturbingly prophetic. In season 2’s The Waldo Moment, a crude comedian runs for Parliament to disparage the system only to find himself a front-runner. In April 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had previously played the role of Ukranian President on a popular TV show, […]

February 07

CBD: Believe the Hype?

I first stumbled upon CBD at a farmers market in Solana Beach, CA. A couple of enthusiastic salesmen were promoting their CBD-infused cold brew. Once I heard the claims of how it could reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and increase energy, I mentally put it into the same category as those pads you put on the […]

October 11

The Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation

When I think of meditation, the first image that typically comes to mind is that of a monk in flowing orange robes somewhere in the mountains of Tibet. Meditation has gotten a facelift in the last decade in pop culture, thanks in part to best selling books like 10% happier by the television journalist Dan […]

February 08

Did you do that?

Limited only perhaps by my emotional fortitude and physical abilities, I am unquestionably in control of myself. This sense is perhaps drawn most into question first thing in the morning when I play both sides of an internal civil war: on one side, my bed, on the other, the cold cruel world. Both sides battle […]