Continuing Minds

Shes an English professor who has murder on her mind.

Marie Cox, associate professor of English at Stark State College, has two novellas available as e-books from Amazon.com Murder by Deed and The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth.

Im a big fan of the gothic murder-mystery novel. Its always been a big interest of mine, she said. Theres a darkness to it … but its also about people and relationships.

The e-novels can be downloaded from Amazon.com for 99 cents each.

ABOUT THE BOOKS

Amazon.com offers the following summaries of the books by Cox.

Concerning Murder by Deed, the online bookseller explains that three bizarre and seemingly...

In social relationships, consciously and subconsciously, we are playing “tug-of-war” with others. Exchanges of energy occur at various levels; those with higher social power tend to “steal” energy from those with lower ranks.

By taking energy from those with less social power than us, we actually make them less secure and less trusting. Such abuse of power occurs in any direct and indirect subordination relationships, such as parents-children, governor-governed, manager-managed, employer-employee, etc.

In an ideal world, we all live with mutual respect and don’t “steal” each other’s energy, despite the direct and indirect subordination...

Ottawas Saint Paul University will take a closer look at the idea of love and the complications it brings to human relationships on April 28.

What makes people behave kindly? Is it the result of having been nurtured in an environment of love and kindness that makes you more likely to treat others the same way? Or perhaps personal experiences of threat and deprivation make you more attuned to the suffering of others? Or maybe it’s just a matter of genes?

As with so many human tendencies, displays of kindness are likely to be influenced by both environment and genes. People who have genes that predispose them to empathy and kindness, for example, are steadfast in their charitable behavior, regardless of their current environment, a new study finds. But people with genes that are linked to a weaker inclination toward altruism...

Theres a terrific pair of articles in The Atlantic that explore the impact social media is having on relationships and society at large. While not setup specifically in a he said/she said format, the opinions are polar opposites. Are Facebook and Twitter creating a loner generation, or are these social media tools catalyzing massive (and positive) change, and actually strengthening both on- and off-line relationships?

One the one side, you have the mortified mummy. As in B-movie star Susan Savage of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman fame who was found dead after rotting for a year- the glow of her computer screen still permeating the empty space. This is Stephen Marches dramatic, attention-grabbing...

As a freshman in college, I was having a lot of trouble adjusting. I took a meditation class to handle anxiety. It really helped. Then as a grad student at Harvard, I was awarded a pre-doctoral traveling fellowship to India, where my focus was on the ancient systems of psychology and meditation practices of Asia.

What I learned was that every great Asian religious tradition has at its heart a psychological system, a theory of the mind, and how to develop compassionate awareness.

Why do business leaders need to understand emotional intelligence?

The first two components of EI are self-awareness and self-regulation–basically how to lead yourself. Mastering your own world...

Yes, according to Sherry Turkle, psychologist and professor at MIT. and the author several books, including Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other. In a recent column in the New York Times, Turkle documents what she calls a flight from conversation. Heres how her column begins:

WE live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection.

At home, families sit together, texting and reading e-mail. At work executives text during board meetings. We text (and shop and go on Facebook) during classes and when we’re on dates. My students tell me about an important...