Ten Zen Questions

Exploring the Mind from Within

Susan Blackmore is a British psychologist, writer and broadcaster, and author of The Meme Machine and Conversations on Consciousness. See full bio

June 2, 2009

Mindfulness is infectious

I have just done a live interview for BBC Radio London. This was part of the publicity for my new book Ten Zen Questions for the Sunday morning "In Spirit" show, and to tell the truth I did the interview sitting in bed at 8 a.m. Read More

May 11, 2009

Do you want to meditate but find it too hard?

Author and Psychologst Susan Blackmore gives advice to those wishing to meditate. Read More

April 28, 2009

Being mindful

Mindfulness - usually described as "being in the present moment" - is a really tough discipline! When I first heard of this word, at a conference on Buddhism and psychology, I thought it very strange because surely I was already in the present moment wasn't I? Where else could I be? Read More

March 23, 2009

Going on retreat is a daunting prospect

We meditated for many hours each day, in half hour sessions with brief breaks in between, huddled in blankets in the subzero house. Read More

March 9, 2009

Falling into Zen

My teacher said that our minds should be so calm that we would hear a woodlouse crawling across the floor. The idea made me realise how much turmoil there was in my mind. There was no silence in which to hear such a tiny noise. Read More

February 27, 2009

Exploring my mind in meditation

In this blog spot we'll explore how using Zen meditation can help understand the mind. I've been practicing for decades, but now I hope that others will join in and tell me, and each other, what they find. Are we all learning something similar in meditation or are all minds different? Read More

Books by Susan Blackmore

Ten Zen Questions

Conversations on Consciousness: What the Best Minds Think about the Brain, Free Will, and What It Means to Be Human

Consciousness: An Introduction

The Meme Machine

Test Your Psychic Powers

Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

In Search of the Light: The Adventures of a Parapsychologist

Dying to Live: Near-Death Experiences

Beyond the Body: An Investigation of Out-Of-The-Body Experiences

Spirituality Basics

Spirituality means something different to everyone. For some, it's a personal lord, for others a feeling in the wind. Research shows that even skeptics can't stifle the sense something greater. Humans can't help but ask big questions, even if there's no one there to answer them.

Go to the Spirituality Basics page for more on Spirituality including: