Integral Theory

In what will be absolutely no surprise to practitioners of mindfulness in all traditions, researchers have found evidence that meditation may be able to increase one's compassion.

While meditators have reported this for several millenia, what makes it interesting is that the study is focusing on the neuroscientific aspects of the phenomenon, or what Integral Theorists might call the "upper-right quadrant". Like it or not, meditators, Western culture requires this sort of inquiry, in addition to individual ("upper-left") and collective ("lower-left") reports that validate this finding from the inside of our experience.

As even Snow White knew, good moods in the workplace are to be encouraged.  It is not news, either to Walt Disney or to organizational psychologists, that positive moods not only feel good, but also improve task performance.  What is not fully understood is why that is so.  Why is it that positive mood generally improves performance?  Tsai, Chen, and Lieu think that it is a combination factors both intrapersonal (motivational) and interpersonal (giving help to and receiving help from co-workers) that provide the key link.