This Week in Weird Science: Facebook reduces the amount of gray matter in the brain. Dont worry, its not necessarily making you dumber, but rather it has the same effect on your brain as heroin does to addicts. Next, researchers from Germany and Sweden conclude that organic food is actually worse for the environment than the cheap stuff. Finally, a fish the size of a fucking bus was discovered in Russia. Lets not anger the beast.

Facebook reduces gray matter in the brain.

Facebook addicts who spend their days scrolling through the app, passive-aggressively commenting pictures, and playing arm-chair politician tend to have less gray matter in their brains.

The region inflicted with reduced gray matter is the nucleus accumbens, the brains reward centers. Its part of the organs mesolimbic pathway, which activates during pleasurable experiences. Its the region of the brain flooded with dopamine when an addict injects heroin or a sex addict gets whipped by a melanesian hooker.

During a five-week study, researchers from Germanys Ulm University and the University of Bonn tracked the Facebook habits of 46 male and 39 female users. They monitored the time spent on the social network, the number of times they checked in. In coordination with the analysis, the team also used MRI scans to survey the participants brain structures.

It appeared, thathigher daily frequency of checking Facebook on the smartphone was robustly linked with smaller gray matter volumes of the nucleus accumbens, said the study.

Indeed, frequency of Facebook checking can be compared to an energetic SEEKING activity, the researchers wrote, whereas the users of the smartphones are checking their Facebook account in expectation of Likes, nice comments, etc.

This trial is one of many that delve into the psychological repercussions of social media, and it could also explain why heavy social media users tend to be more reclusive and depressive than the rest of the population.

Organic food is worse for the environment than you ever thought.

To all of the organic-only yuppies who subsist on $5 organic apples, just know that the simple farm-to-table lifestyle is only healthy for you, not for the environment. A team of researchers out of Sweden and Germany have noticed that the carbon footprint associated with both conventional and organic diets is pretty much the same, the only difference is that an organic diet requires 40 percent more land.

These results may seem disappointing to those extolling virtues of free-roaming, happy chickens and the freshness of pesticide free strawberries. Sure, an organic lifestyle is significantly healthier than a conventional diet. Organic adherers tend to eat significantly more fruits and vegetables and 45 percent less meat. But, it turns out, that the meat produced at organic farms has a significantly larger carbon footprint that those normal farms. Also, these organic farms not only require more land but they also yield 20 percent less crops.

From a carbon emissions perspective, organic farming is worse for the environment because, perhaps obviously, using more land to produce fewer crops is inefficient and unsustainable. Then again, so is much of the diet of conventional eaters. A hamburger a day aint keeping global warming away.

A fish the size of a fucking bus was just found in Russia.

Fossils of a new species of marine reptile was just found in Russia, and its the size of a fucking bus.

The pliosaur, an ancient sea-dwelling reptile, had a 7 foot skull, teeth the size of bus seats, and extremely powerful jaws that could probably devour a Great White in a single bite.

These swimming reptiles, not dinosaurs but cousins of fucking turtles, possess an unusual, slender body shape with four large flippers, stiff trunk, and, according to the researchers, highly varying neck length. Theyre most known for ferocious fucking appetites.

Researchers found the creature, dubbed Luskhan itilensis, meaning Master Spirit from the Volga, in the Russias Volga River, near the city Ulyanovsk, and the fossils date back 130 million years.

This is the most striking feature, as it suggests that pliosaurs colonized a much wider range of ecological niches than previously assumed, said lead researcher Dr. Valentin Fischer of Liege University in Belgium. The new results suggest that pliosaurs were able to bounce back after the latest Jurassic extinction, but then faced another extinction that wouldthis timewipe them off the depths of the oceans, forever.

Its a shame pliosaurs are supposedly extinct (remember we know virtually nothing about the deep oceans) because Cthulhu could use a rival.

Top photo courtesy of Masahiro Ihara, CC BY 2.0

Tommy Burson is a travel writer, part-time hitchhiker, and hes currently trying to imitate Where in the World is Carmen San Diego but with more sunscreen and jorts.

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Weird Science: Organic Food Is Actually Worse For The Environment - Paste Magazine

Patch.com

Free Food At MOM's Organic Market In DC Sunday Patch.com Founder Scott Nash hand-delivered his first box of organic produce in Rockville on July 2, 1987. Since then, the concept has grown to include stores in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.. "I started this company out of my ... and more »

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Free Food At MOM's Organic Market In DC Sunday - Patch.com

June 21,2017

The food from this farm is rare and valuable, but it should be foreveryone

Fred Lum / The Globe andMail

I love this time of year. After the stress and uncertainty of a cold and miserable spring, the farm is finally starting to fire on all cylinders. Weve been harvesting for a couple of weeks now and as the June sun warms up our fertile soil, the garden is suddenly a riot of growth. For the past few days, weve been cutting hundreds of pounds of baby greens arugula, lettuce, kale and the most perfect, dark green, succulent spinach youve ever seen. Its all beautiful and delicious, and our chef clients are clamouring to get it into theirrestaurants.

Like any good businessperson, I want to charge as much as I can for what Im selling, especially since what Im selling is both rare and valuable. You cant find the kind of organic greens we produce on our farm just anywhere. But one of the most common criticisms of organic food is that its too expensive that its elitist andunaffordable.

I think this argument is bogus. Canadians spend less of their income on food than anyone else on the planet and a big portion of their food budget goes to things such as brewed coffee and soft drinks that they could easily do without. And why should I charge less for my products than the market will bear? Everyone on our farm works very hard and we deserve to be rewarded for our skill andeffort.

Fred Lum / The Globe andMail

While the vast majority of Canadians could afford to switch to organic, there are many who are too mired in poverty to eat well. When Gillian and I started farming more than 10 years ago, we quickly realized there was a disconnect between our need to make money and our desire to make our food more accessible. So we decided to throw aparty.

We asked one of our chef clients to help us cook a big meal, we hired a band to play in the barn and we sold some tickets. We raised a few thousand dollars, all of which went to purchase local, organic food from our farm and others like it for a progressive outfit in Toronto called the Stop Community Food Centre. The idea was to support sustainable farmers and to get really good food into low-incomeneighbourhoods.

Brent Preston

Over the years, our little fundraiser grew. We started inviting more chefs to cook and the bands we booked got bigger and better known. We had Stars, Sam Roberts and Sloan: Two years ago, the Tragically Hip showed up. We brought on sponsors and the amount of money we raised alsogrew.

This years event happened on June 17 and involved chefs from 15 incredible restaurants cooking on the front lawn. Almost 1,000 guests ate and mingled and enjoyed the late afternoon sun. At dusk, Joel Plaskett and the Emergency took the stage and almost rocked the barn down. Theres nothing like good food and good music to unlock goodwill and generosity. We raised more than $110,000 in onenight.

As I wandered through the crowds that Saturday, I couldnt help wondering how it had all come to be: How did so many chefs and foodies and musicians end up all together on our farm? The answer, of course, is that food brings us together, and that making good food available to those who cant afford it is an easy cause to get behind. What organic farmers and chefs and musicians have in common is that they all produce something rare and valuable, something worth paying for and worthsharing.

June 7,2017

The winter was long and lean and the spring cold and wet, but finally our first greens are ready - six months after we last gotpaid

This past winter was long and lean, as it always is on our farm. My wife, Gillian, and I spent our days catching up on bookkeeping, ordering seeds, and taking some time off, while our fields were covered in snow. As the weather began to warm, we started to get excited about the upcoming season. We planted salad greens as soon as the snow melted in early April, and our anticipation grew with ourseedlings.

This spring has been colder and wetter than any we have experienced in our years on the farm, but this week, finally, our first greens are ready. We sent out word to our clients a few days ago, and today we harvested. And not a moment too soon its been almost six months to the day since the last time we gotpaid.

We gave up trying to grow vegetables in the winter a long time ago. Our farm is on top of the Niagara Escarpment, in one of the coldest, windiest spots in Southern Ontario. Our greenhouses get so buried in snow that we often cant even get into them, let alone grow anything in there. So we have to grow all our food, and make all our money, in only half theyear.

Luckily, most of our food gets sold to restaurants, and most of our chef clients are committed to seasonaleating.

Farming was traditionally a seasonal business in Canada, but the big corporations that now dominate our food system have worked hard to convince consumers that they should be able to eat whatever produce they want at any time of the year.

Veggies are grown in massive, climate-controlled greenhouses in the middle of winter, and all manner of fresh fruits are flown from the far corners of the globe. If local asparagus is only available for a few weeks in the spring, why not bring it in from Argentina the rest of thetime?

The answer, for our chefs at least, is flavour. Eating Argentinian asparagus in February is a sad, limp, insipid experience. The chefs who buy from us want local and seasonal produce because it tastes best. They are also fiercely loyal to their local suppliers, looking on their farmers as partners, friends, and fellow artisans. Most of our restaurant clients dont have leafy greens on their winter menu: Instead they use locally grown storage vegetables like cabbage, Brussels sprouts and beets. But even the most committed chefs get tired of cooking out of the root cellar after a while. By this time of year, theyre just as excited as we are to see the first saladgreens.

Now that the first harvest is behind us, the madness truly begins. Tomorrow there will be a second harvest, followed by a third the next day, and so on, five or six harvest days a week until the snow flies in October. Well cut and wash and ship off thousands of pounds of beautiful, fresh, delicious vegetables to dozens of talented and appreciative chefs. Well work 12 hours a day, six days a week, racing against the looming winter, to sell as much as we can, so we can refill our family coffers. Its fun and exhausting and immensely satisfying work. And the vegetables taste especially sweet since I know that in a few months, theyll begone.

May 24, 2017

Youve probably never heard of a Jang, or a push seeder and neither have the vast majority of conventional farmers

Brent Preston

Last Monday morning was a little like Christmas on the farm. Last Monday, our new Jang got delivered.

Whats a Jang, you may be wondering? Ask any small-scale organic farmer that question and shell probably get a wistful look in her eye, as if remembering a passionate love affair from long ago. A Jang is the most elegant of machines, a precision-crafted tool that is both high-tech and radically retro, built from cutting-edge materials but powered entirely by human muscle. Its the kind of implement that organic farmers can talk about for hours on end when they get together the equivalent of the latest iPhone for small-farm geeks. A Jang, you see, is a pushseeder.

Let me guess, you dont know what a push seeder is either thats okay, neither do the vast majority of conventional farmers. They probably assume that the use of hand tools in commercial agriculture died out a century ago. But some of us are bucking the bigger is better trend that has pushed farmers to adopt massive, wildly expensive, diesel-guzzling machinery. Some of us are going oldschool.

On our farm, weve always aimed to be human-powered. Relying on people power rather than machines helps reduce our impact on the environment, preserve our soil, provide more employment and produce higher-quality vegetables. Its also healthier for us our bodies are a lot better off when we work with our hands in the fields, rather than riding a tractor allday.

What our preindustrial farming ancestors understood, and what some of us are rediscovering, is that well-designed hand tools can make human-powered agriculture exponentially more efficient, to the point where we can compete with our petro-powered neighbours. We weed with Swiss-made wheel hoes. We plant our seedlings in soil blocks made in a spring-loaded press imported from Holland. Most of our tools were originally introduced in the 1800s or even earlier, but theyre now made with modern materials and incorporate innovative designtweaks.

The Mac Daddy of our hand tool arsenal is the push seeder. For years, weve used a one-row seeder that looks like a little bicycle with a handle it picks up seeds from the on-board hopper, drops them down a chute into the soil and covers them up, all powered by a drive belt attached to the front wheel. Its a simple and elegant machine, but we now plant almost 15 kilometres of row every week, and pushing that little seeder back and forth all day can gettiresome.

Brent Preston and his wife Gillian Flies on their farm inOntario

Brent Preston

So Gillian and I decided to upgrade to the Jang. Its made in Korea and works on the same principal as our one-row seeder, but it plants six rows at a time. It has interchangeable sprockets in the drive chain so we can fine-tune the seeding rate, and larger, detachable hoppers so we can carry more seed and change seed varieties quickly. Thats why we got so excited when it arrived last Monday we knew we were about to increase our planting efficiency by a factor ofsix.

My tractor-driving neighbours probably think I look ridiculous pushing this little yellow contraption around in my fields, but I dont care. Im getting a good workout, Im not breathing any diesel fumes and the Jang cost me a tiny fraction of what their tractors are worth. The chains and gears on the seeder make a pleasant whirring sound as I push it down the row. Thats the sound ofmoney.

May 8, 2017

This year, our usual stress has been compounded by the weather; weve had one of the wettest Aprils on record

Thanks to a particularly wet April, the barnyard at the Prestons farm is a sea ofmud.

Brent Preston

Ah, spring! The season of possibility, when gentle rains bring forth new life and the bucolic countryside awakens in a burst of verdant green. What ajoke.

Spring is the ugliest season. On our farm outside Creemore, Ont., spring is the season of stress. The seeds we planted more than two weeks ago have barely started to grow. Its been almost six months since we last got paid, but money is flying out of our bank account: a thousand bucks for a new sheet of plastic to replace the one that blew off our greenhouse in a winter storm, more than $10,000 for seeds. Our seasonal employees started working last week, so were burning through almost $1,000 a day in payroll and were still weeks away from our firstharvest.

My wife, Gillian, and I abandoned downtown Toronto more than a decade ago to follow our dream of owning a small, diversified organic farm. That dream often turned into a nightmare in the early years, as we buckled under the pressure of trying to run a farm with no experience, no machinery and not much of a clue. Now, the emotional arc of each growing season seems to mirror the 10-year arc of our career asfarmers.

Spring is the time for anxiety and self-doubt. Will our customers come back after the long winter? Will some unforeseen plague descend on our gardens? Will it ever warmup?

This year, our usual stress has been compounded by the weather; weve had one of the wettest Aprils on record. It has rained almost every day, and last week we had three consecutive days of torrential downpours. The barnyard is a sea of mud, which makes the farm look even worse than it usually does at this time of year. An early snowfall last November covered up all the junk that we had been too exhausted to put away at the end of the season, but its all back in plain view now that the snow isgone.

The nice thing about having a decade of farming experience under our belts is that we know things will get better. The weather will improve. Our veggies will start to grow. The chefs and retailers who buy our produce will all get excited when we send them the first salad greens of the season. The puddles will dry, well tidy the place up, and the farm will once again be green and beautiful: bustling, profitable, and the setting for a happy and meaningful life for ourfamily.

MORE FROM THEFARM:

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Farm diary - The Globe and Mail

Temperature tips for safe grilling

We've said it before, but it's worth saying again as we head into the heydays of summer picnics and grillfests: Food safety saves lives. Actually, it's the USDA that's saying this, after finding that only one in three Americans use food thermometers when cooking hamburgers. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside, and by using a food thermometer you can be sure items have reached the safe minimum internal temperature needed to destroy any harmful bacteria that may be present. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million people suffer from foodborne illness each year, resulting in roughly 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.

Here are the USDA guidelines:

Hamburgers, fresh sausages and other ground meats should reach 160 degrees.

All poultry should reach at least 165 degrees.

Whole cuts of pork, lamb, veal and beef should be cooked to 145 degrees as measured by a food thermometer placed in the thickest part of the meat, then allowed to rest for three minutes before eating.

Fish should be cooked to 145 degrees.

Get food safety questions answered around the clock by visiting AskKaren.gov.

Co-op Farm Tour July 15

The Minnesota Food Association (MFA) will host its annual open house and co-op farm tour on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 15 at Big River Farms in Marine on St. Croix. The event will feature wagon rides, farm tours, live music, kids' activities, a market stand, food and raffle, and will serve as a chance for community members to mingle with farmers and staff. The event is free and open to the public.

MFA operates a land-based training program for immigrant and minority farmers, promotes equitable access to locally grown, healthy organic food via the Big River Farms Food Hub, and educates and advocates for farmer and food justice through community events and programs. For more information or to RSVP, visit mnfoodassociation.org/events.

Correction

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Your best grilling tool? A food thermometer - Minneapolis Star Tribune

New Delhi, Jun 26 () Food regulator FSSAI has come out with a draft regulation for organic food products, seeking to ensure that these food items are actually organic.

Organic foods will have to comply with the provisions under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) administered by the government or the Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India) run by the Agriculture Ministry or any other standards notified by the food authority.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has sought public comments of the draft regulations, which has been prepared in view of rising demand for organic food products, being considered as healthy, in the country.

"Organic food products are either those grown under a system of agriculture without the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides or made from organically produced raw materials ... Currently, a number of food products are being marketed as organic," the FSSAI said.

However, the regulator said that consumers do not have any way to check the authenticity of organic food products due to lack of a regulatory framework. "The draft regulation on organic food is aimed at overcoming this problem and ensuring that what is sold as organic food is really organic," FSSAI said.

The draft regulation mandates that labelling of organic foods should convey full and accurate information on the organic status of the product.

Organic food products should also carry a certification mark or a quality assurance mark given by any of the notified certification bodies.

The FSSAI's draft has exempted organic food marketed through direct sale by the original producer or producer organisation to the end consumer from verification compliance. However, this exemption does not apply to processed organic products.

The FSSAI has defined 'organic agriculture' as a system of farm design and management to create an eco system of agriculture production without the use of synthetic external inputs such as chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides and synthetic hormones or genetically modified organisms.

Excerpt from:

FSSAI issues draft regulations for organic food products - Times of India

I dont buy organic foods. In fact I specifically avoid doing so. Its not my place to tell anyone else what to do, but Id like to lay out three, seriously considered factors that have shaped my personal stance on organic:

For the last 40 years my wife and I have shared the shopping and cooking for our mostly home-based meals. We have always gardened, but also buy much of our fruit- and vegetable-rich diet from stores. When I say I dont buy organic, that involves frequent decisions.

Some delicious conventional Asian Pears

By all rights I should bean enthusiastic advocate and consumer of organic. I was a child of thegeneration influenced by Silent Spring. I was a dues-paying member of the Wilderness Society in high school. I grew up helping my beloved grandfather in his organic garden in the 1960s. Some of our best friends in the late 1970s were pioneers in the development of the commercial organic industry. Ive spent a significant proportion of my career developing biological and natural product-based pesticides which are applicable to organic. I fully appreciate the contribution that the organic movement made in the early 20th century when it highlighted the importance of fostering soil health. My problems with institutional organic are not at all about its founding ideals or about organic farmers, but rather about organicsself-imposed limitations and about the ethics of a sub-set of its promoters.

The USDA, which oversees the foods labeled as Certified Organic,states quite clearly on its websiteabout its role in organic: Our regulations do not address food safety or nutrition. Foods labeled Certified Organic must adhere to certain rules and regulations but arent endowed with any particular nutritional or safety features. However, many consumersbelieve that the Organic label means the food has superior nutrition and is safer, especially in regard to pesticide residues. This is not true. Studies have shown no appreciable difference in nutrition between crops grown either organically or conventionally.

My granddaughter enjoying conventional raspberries (yes, she did then eat them)

As forthe safety issue. When most people hear the word pesticide, they imagine something scary in terms of toxicity to humans and the environment. The reality is that modern agriculture employs an integrated suite of non-pesticidal control measures, and the actual pesticides used today are mostly relatively non-toxic tohumans. Organic farmers also use pesticides, and the products they are allowed to use are constrained with few exceptions by whether they can be considered natural. That is not a safety standard since many of the most toxic chemicals known are natural. Like all pesticides, these natural options are subject to EPA scrutiny, and so the pesticides that organic farmers are allowed to use are safe when used according to the label requirements which is the same standard for synthetic pesticides allowed on conventional crops. When it comes to pesticide residues on our food, there is aUSDA testing program that demonstrates year after year that the pesticide residues on both organic and conventional foods are at such low levels that we need not worry about them. I confidently buy non-organic foods based on thispublic data that demonstrates that our system is working and that we consumers are well-protected.

What the USDA data demonstratesis that theenvironmental movement was not a failure it effected real change over the past 5 decades! We dont have a two-tiered food supply in terms of safety in which only those who can afford the premiums get safe food. I also believe the global scientific consensus that GMO foods are safe, and so I dont need to buy organic to avoid those.

I have always been concerned about the human impact on the environment, and particularly about the impact of farming since that industry has the largest footprint in terms of land area. I spend a lot of time reading the scientific literature concerning agriculture and the environment. Some of the farming practices that are commonly employed on organic farms are very positive from an environmental perspective, but those practices are also used by progressive conventional growers. There are also quite a few farming practices with excellent environmental profiles which are difficult to implement under the organic farming rules (e.g. no-till farming, spoon-feeding of nutrients via irrigation). Compost, which is a major input for organic farms, has ashockingly high carbon footprint because of methane emissions. The carbon footprint of synthetic fertilizer is much smaller.

This no-till field in Illinois is good for the environment and food supply

From an environmental perspective, the biggest issue for organic is that itrequires significantly more land to achieve the same level of production.Were organic to become more than a niche category, this yield gap would be highly problematic from an environmental point of view. I would much rather buy food from land-sparing farming systems.

Organic yields are substantially lower for many major crops

Mythird reason for not buying organic has to do with ethics. Organic exists as a sort of super brand that transcends anyone marketing under that banner. Unfortunately, within the organic realm there are certain major marketers (and advocacy groups they fund) who employ fear-based and falsehood-based messages to demonize conventional foods. They use these methods as a means to promote organic. One of the most egregious examples is the Old McDonald/New McDonald video funded by Only Organic a consortium of very large organic marketers. This bizarrepublicity piece exploits children to depict a completely distorted view of mainstream farming. I consider it to be hate speech for profit. Another example is the organic-industry-fundedEnvironmental Working Group which grossly distorts thattransparent, USDA, public database documenting the safety of the food supply and turns it into adirty dozen list designed to drive organic sales. These are extreme examples, but the organic marketing community as a whole quietly benefits from this sort of propaganda and does nothing to correct the convenient fiction that organic means no pesticides. I realize that only part of the organic industry funds and promotes the most vicious sort of disinformation, but I rarely seeorganic representativesstanding up and objecting to the sort of fear-mongering that ultimately benefits the sales for the entire super-brand.

The fear-based messaging drives the intense social pressure, that parents in particular feel, about whether they need to buy organic. I dont want any part in rewarding this sort of fear/shame based marketing. In theabsence of a significant objection from more of the organiccommunity, I dont want to support the super brand.

So, these are my reasons for not buying organic products. I feel perfectly comfortable buying the alternatives that align withmy practical, idealistic and ethical standards.

Steve Savage you are welcome to comment here and/or to send me an email ([emailprotected] ).

This article originally appearedin Forbes here and was reposted with permission fromthe author.

Steve Savage is an agricultural scientist (plant pathology) whohas worked for Colorado State University, DuPont (fungicide development), Mycogen (biocontrol development), and for the past 14 years as an independent consultant. His blogging website isApplied Mythology. You can follow him on Twitter @grapedoc.

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Why one scientist refuses to buy organic foods - Genetic Literacy Project

Dream: I'm at my piano teacher's house. I hear her say, "If you haven't practiced, then don't play today." (I had been lax in meditations.) I play anyway. I take some of my piano pieces out and flip through them to find an easy one to play.

My teacher plays one of mypiano pieces. The teacher says how beautiful my piece is. It is one of my music pieces. I realize the teacher's playing is beautiful, but I want to play my piece myself instead of listening to the teacher play my piece.

Step 1. Connect previous day (often the day before) events to the dream to discover this dream's theme.

I have been reading and studying wonderful writings of one of my favorite authors. Yet, now I have not been experiencing the depth of meditation as I had been. Theme: Meditation

Step 2. Connect previous day (often the day before) thoughts to your dream to detect which thoughts may have prompted this dream.

Yesterday after reading the inspiring teachings, I wondered why my lack of success with meditation. Obvious thought-question: Why my lack with successful meditation?

Step 3. Define major dream phrases and symbols from your write-up of this dream to discover the dream's personalized meanings.

Answers to my pre-dream thought of why my lack with successful meditation: Practice and listen instead of depending on surface level meditations, even inspiring readings, for effective meditation.

Media Contact: Evelyn M. Duesbury (608) 348-5925 http://www.yourguidingdreams.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/book-reveals-two-critical-parts-of-successful-meditation-300480706.html

SOURCE Evelyn M. Duesbury

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Book Reveals Two Critical Parts of Successful Meditation - PR Newswire (press release)

One ambassador of mindfulness-through-technology is the AI powered meditation app Aura, which was voted Apple's #1 new app in February 2017 and currently has a 5/5 star rating in the iOS App store. It's available for both iOS and Android, and while it normally costs around $100 per year, Engadget readers can get a lifetime subscription today for just $60 - over 80 percent off.

While there are plenty of different meditation apps on the market, Aura stands out from the rest with a host of unique features:

1. Aura fits with your schedule and attention span.

While some competitors offer 10-30 minute meditations, Aura has options that work for anyone's schedule. Sessions last anywhere from three to ten minutes, depending on your level of comfort, making it great for newcomers and more experienced practitioners alike.

2. It uses Machine Learning to customize your meditations.

Aura is unique in that it's a personal meditation coach that learns from your sessions and customizes your future meditations. Before and after each meditation, Aura asks short questions about your current mood and uses sophisticated machine learning techniques to give you a unique experience that complements your emotional state every time you use it. It even sends you helpful relaxation reminders when you need them most.

3. You can track your progress over time.

Aura also keeps track of your data to paint a detailed picture of the patterns of your mental ebbs and flows. Just like you fitness goals, you can track your mindfulness progress with the help of Aura's gorgeous visual interface.

4. You get 24/7 access for life.

Their premium subscription gives you 24/7 access to all content, so you can have it on hand whenever you need a few moments of silence.

If you're interested in using technology to help relieve stress and anxiety, check out this offer on Aura Premium - you can get a lifetime of just $60, two years for $50, or one year for $30.

Check out these other popular offers from GDGT Deals:

Engadget is teaming up with StackCommerce to bring you deals on the latest gadgets, tech toys, apps, and tutorials. This post does not constitute editorial endorsement, and we earn a portion of all sales. If you have any questions about the products you see here or previous purchases, please contact StackCommerce support here.

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Why Aura is the one meditation app you should be using - Engadget

By 42, life had caught up with Sha Roehm.

"I had to start going to a cardiologist because I thought there was something internal going on. I hit a wall," said the wife and mom who struggled with anxiety.

She's not alone.

According to the American Psychological Association, 75 percent of adults report experiencing moderate to high levels of stress in the past month.

"If your mind is unhealthy, your physical body is going to be unhealthy," said Chelsey Charbeneau of Mastermind in Dallas.

Mastermind is a relatively new concept in boutique fitness: a studio that exclusively offers guided meditation. There are no treadmills or pilates reformers. This is a gym for your brain, designed to quiet your relentless mental chatter.

Meditation classes are guided by trained instructors. You can choose to sit or recline -- whatever is more comfortable for you. There are no phones allowed in the meditation room. No shoes allowed, or talk about religion or politics. All that's required is breathing.

"Even if they know they can do this at home, on an app or with a video, they may not have the peace and quiet that they need or the environment set up to make them feel comfortable," said Charbeneau, 34, who moved from Los Angeles to Dallas to help get the Mastermind concept off the ground in Texas.

"It kind of clears the space a little bit," said Hal Penchan, 32, after his second meditation class.

The husband and father of two young children works in real estate and comes to Mastermind with colleagues from work.

"Whether its the middle of the day or morning or middle of the week its a good reset, refresh," he said.

The effects of meditation on the brain are undisputed.

"It actually stimulates or increases the vagal nerve tone, and it naturally will lower heart rate. It will naturally lower your blood pressure, and it will naturally lower those cortisone levels and bring things back into a normal state," said Dr. Melita Williams of Texas Health Plano.

Roehm has it figured out. She's made meditation a daily habit. Her health has improved and so have her relationships.

"My husband has seen changes in me, my daughter -- Im not yelling or screaming or anything like that now," said Roehm, who is finding time to do everything she wants by setting aside a little time -- first-- for herself.

For more information on meditation classes at Mastermindgo here.

Nicole Cross - Evening News Anchor/Health Correspondent

Read more:

The first 'brain gym' in the ArkLaTex teaches meditation techniques - KTBS

Living life with purpose and fulfillment that is the topic Master Wu Chueh Miao Tien, the 85th patriarch of the Taiwan-based Chan school of meditation, will tackle during his first U.S. public address, Saturday, July 1, at the Irvine Barclay Theater.

Chan,a spiritual practice that focuses on cultivating inner peace and compassion, is believed to have come to China about 1,500 years ago from India, where it was called dhyan. In an interview via Skype from Taipei, Miao Tien said Chan aims to complement and enhance any religious practice, not to replace it.

Chan now has practice and teaching centers in Irvine, Walnut and Torrance, and thousands of practitioners across the country, as well as in Taiwan, Europe, Japan and mainland China.

Miao Tien, 84, spoke to the Register about his message and the essence of Chan practice:

Members of the Chan Center listen to Chan Master Wu Chueh Miao Tien on the television Friday at the Chan Center in Irvine. ///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 7/19/13 MICHAEL LOPEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER 01.chanmeditation.ml Chan is an ancient form of meditation, which orginated in India and was then exported to China and later to Japan (Zen). This is a story about the Chan Center in Irvine and about the practice, its benefits, etc.

Donna Feng leads the meditation ritual before listening to Chan Master Wu Chueh Miao Tiens video Friday at the Chan Center in Irvine. ///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 7/19/13 MICHAEL LOPEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER 01.chanmeditation.ml Chan is an ancient form of meditation, which orginated in India and was then exported to China and later to Japan (Zen). This is a story about the Chan Center in Irvine and about the practice, its benefits, etc.

Q: What is the goal of this spiritual practice?

A: The ultimate purpose of practicing Chan is for our spirit to be with God. In the process, through this practice, we are also making our physical body healthy, and our hearts and minds joyful. When we gradually purify our body and mind, we can practice Chan in its true sense. This helps connect us with the sacred spirit (God) and enables our spirit to witness God, and that is the highest spiritual state.

Q: What role does kindness and compassion play in Chan practice?

A: It plays a significant role and it starts with cultivating ones heart. We need to cultivate a very beautiful world in our hearts, where we are joyful every day, respect each other and do not create conflicts. Even when conflicts arise, we need to continue to be courteous to others and not get angry. If you can develop this habit through Chan practice, you will cultivate loving kindness, which will help elevate your spiritual practice to a higher level.

Q: What is the key to cultivating this joyful heart?

A: Most importantly, you need to realize life is short at most, 100 years. Within this time, you need to realize the meaning and value of this life. The purpose of life is not to feed our own desires. We need to learn how to contribute our heart and our abilities to benefit mankind. When that realization dawns, naturally, you will be joyful every day and find life to be very fulfilling.

Q: What message do you hope to convey to your audience in the U.S.?

A: I will talk about the difference between religious and spiritual practice. When conflicts arise between different religious groups, it causes war. But, spiritual practice is not about religions. It is about the sacred spirit. Religions are interpreted in different ways according to peoples understanding and perspectives. On the contrary, everyone has the same sacred spirit. What we pursue in Chan is this sacred spirit, not religions. This has the potential to bring peace to the world and end wars.

In the eastern world, people read and recite scriptures. In the western world, you listen to sermons, read the Bible or listen to hymns. These religious practices bring peace to peoples hearts. However, they are not enough to witness God because these are all practices that exist in the conscious mind. The sacred spirit can be reached only by transcending the conscious mind and by entering that spiritual realm through Chan. When you start the practice you will see right away that your body becomes healthier and your mind gets clearer.

Wu Chueh Miao Tien, the 85th patriarch of Chan, will discuss The Secret of Life from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 1, at the Irvine Barclay Theater, 4242 Campus Drive in Irvine. Admission is free, but tickets are required. Information: 714-699-3188 or info@heartchan.org.

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Taiwanese meditation master visiting Irvine to teach approach to living a life of purpose - OCRegister