Peace is in Pieces

Stressed Out? Guided Imagery and Meditation Can Help, Researchers Say

2012-01-27T00:33:00.001-08:00

Stressed Out? Guided Imagery and Meditation Can Help, Researchers Say

Posted Jan 26, 2012 7:31 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Updated: Stress can be good when it spurs peak performance to meet a challenge. But those who are plagued by so much stress that they experience agitation and insomnia need to dial it down.

Researchers and psychologists are offering solutions for the overstressed, the Wall Street Journal reports. They recommend training in meditation and mindfulness, as well as guided imagery.

Stress on the job is also linked to depression, according to a recent study cited by ABC News. A study of middle-aged government workers in Great Britain suggests that those who work long hours are twice as likely to experience a major episode of depression. Those who worked more than 11 hours a day were at greatest risk.

Home builder Carl Weissensee began using guided imagery and deep breathing to deal with stress after experiencing insomnia and a heart attack, the Wall Street Journal says. Weissensee acknowledges his worries, then practices skipping over them and telling himself the problems will work themselves out.

Now, he tells the newspaper, he no longer thinks "I'm doomed" when faced with worries. "My goal is to worry just enough to do my job well," he says.

Updated at 8:50 a.m. to include ABC News coverage.

Feb 9 Community Kirtan in Seattle 8pm

2012-01-25T23:47:00.000-08:00

Event on Facebook: Community Kirtan!

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Time
8:00pm until 10:00pm

Description

Join us each 2nd Thursday evening for a relaxing evening of community kirtan at OmCulture http://www.omculture.com/

(Jan 12, 2012, Feb 9, Mar 8, etc)

8-10pm Community Kirtan facilitated by Jennifer Sundstrom
Doors open at 7:45pm
$5-10 donation requested for space, no one turned away for lack of funds

Kirtan is easy relaxing call-and-response singing the names of Love. No particular spiritual path is necessary to directly experience the bliss of chanting. True community style: anyone can lead, with or without accompaniment. Bring your instruments: drums, guitars, bells, there's a harmonium or 2 you can play, and most importantly bring your heart and voice. Come exactly as you are, and participate as you feel called: sing, dance, meditate, or simply relax in the good vibrations. You are welcome here!

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Be Here Now: Meditation For The Body And Brain

2012-01-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

Be Here Now: Meditation For The Body And Brain

January 20, 2012

Listen to the Story

Talk of the Nation

[21 min 58 sec]

In his book Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World, Oxford University clinical psychologist Mark Williams talks about the brain and body benefits of mindfulness meditation, a cognitive behavioral therapy that can be as effective as drugs at staving off recurring bouts of depression.

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/20/145525002/be-here-now-meditation-for-the-body-and-brain

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Huff Post: The Role of Mindfulness in Education

2012-01-25T16:02:00.000-08:00

Susan Kaiser Greenland

Author, 'The Mindful Child'

The Role of Mindfulness in Education

Google the word "mindful" and you'll find about 24,900,000 entries. Google the word "mindfulness" and there are around 13,600,000 entries. Ever wonder how these ancient, distant, and diverse Asian practices known as mindfulness have made their way into our living rooms today? Quite simply it is thanks to some noteworthy people who clocked hours, days, weeks and years on a meditation cushion. They saw something important and then they showed it to us.
In the United States we have had the benefit of extraordinary Eastern teachers coming west to teach us their native practices. But without a doubt, those who have had the greatest impact translating classical Eastern practices for Westerners, without dumbing them down, have been our own Western teachers. Many of them are Americans who were drawn to Asia fresh out of college in search of meaning and who came home to share what they learned with the rest of us.

From the Theravada tradition Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg have had a remarkable impact through their organizations, the Insight Meditation Society and the Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Around the same time that Jack, Sharon and Joseph were studying in Asia, Alan Wallace with the Santa Barbara Institute, Ken McLeod with Unfettered Mind, and Robert Thurman from Columbia University were sitting formidable three-year retreats with Tibetan teachers to learn Tibetan practice from the inside-out. In the 1960s, Yvonne Rand stayed closer to home, in Northern California, where she was a disciple of Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki Roshi who lived here at the time. Other American teachers followed similar paths at a similar time, but these are the ones who have most influenced me. They are just a few of the dedicated American teachers who have translated classical practice to make it more accessible in the West and more obviously relevant to our modern, everyday lives.

But when it comes to secular mindfulness there is one teacher who has influenced absolutely everyone: Jon Kabat-Zinn. Touched by the same practices and many of the same Adepts as the American Buddhist teachers, Jon approached the translation issue via a different route. In broad terms, he taught adults to hold off for a short while from reacting to or even analyzing a stressful situation in order to pay attention in a particular way. And it worked. This learned skill allowed those who practiced MBSR to better control their reactive emotions, and therefore respond, when they were ready, in a more thoughtful, calm, reasonable way. Armed with a successful, evidence-based program, he was able to successfully integrate, or some might say infiltrate, the medical establishment using MBSR.

Now Jon is interested, really interested, in education and is bringing his considerable experience to bear on the role of mindfulness in education. His first full talk on the subject is happening here in San Francisco at Zellerbach Auditorium on February 17 at 7:30pm. The organizers -- Mindful Schools -- have priced this talk so that it is affordable to everyone with tickets ranging from $15-$250 which can be purchased on their website. All proceeds from this event will benefit Mindful Schools.
Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Vets find ways to de-stress using yoga, meditation

2012-01-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

Vets find ways to de-stress using yoga, meditation

By Lindsay Wise

Army veteran Weldon Holder stood barefoot on a yoga mat and extended his arms straight in front of him, fingers interlaced and palms pushed away from his chest.

"Drink the breath and let the awareness reside in the body," urged his instructor, Pam Johnson. "Long and smooth. Stay with the breath."
The pair slowly raised their arms above their heads, then back to their sides.
"Stay, stay in this place, be present," Johnson said. "Let it happen. … Exhale."
Holder, a burly 37-year-old former Cavalry scout from Houston, started practicing yoga in September at the suggestion of his wife, who heard about free yoga classes for veterans at Heights School of Yoga.

"I was a little hesitant," Holder admitted. "Yoga, it's got a kind of effeminate ring to it to a lot of combat troopers, but it's really not. I'm 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, and I'm breaking a sweat."

He says the relaxation and breathing techniques he's learned help him overcome insomnia and lessen the headaches he gets from a traumatic brain injury he suffered in Iraq.

"It's that hour I get once a week to knock the squirrel off that wheel in his cage going 100 miles per hour and actually relax for an hour without the use of prescription pills," Holder said.

He and other Houston-area veterans looking for ways to de-stress are turning to yoga and meditation classes geared especially to them.

The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston has started offering yoga and meditation classes at the hospital gym and the VA domiciliary several times a week.

The instructors are volunteers from Expedition Balance, a nonprofit founded by Carl Salazar, a 45-year-old Navy veteran from Houston.

The idea is to complement - but not replace - traditional therapies for veterans suffering from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and other injuries, Salazar said.

Mindfulness and relaxation techniques always have been a part of treatment for PTSD, which can make people hypervigilant, said Deleene Menefee, a psychologist for Women's Inpatient Specialty Environment of Recovery, an acute psychiatric in-patient program at DeBakey.

"PTSD hyper-vigilance is specific to the trauma, so if someone has been in combat for example, if they have had an (improvised explosive device) that looked like trash on the side of the road blow up, then when they're back home, any trash on the side of the road could trigger that alert," Menefee said.
The veteran's heart rate and blood pressure instinctively jumps, making it hard to relax, she said.

"Being able to take control of that response and calm their mind and calm their response; that's really what they want," Menefee said. "The goal is to help them lower their autonomic response to what is happening around them, so if they are triggered by something, they have already practiced relaxing, and they can relax and be calm when they're triggered."

Instructors working with veterans modify their classes to work around amputations and other injuries. They're careful not to surprise a veteran with a sudden movement or invade personal space.

"You learn not to touch them or not walk up behind them or if you want to correct them in a pose you have to ask permission," Salazar said.
The hardest part, though, is getting veterans to participate in the first place.
"I was trying to convince a few of my pals to come in here," said Holder, the Army vet. "I have not wrangled them in yet. If they just gave it a shot, I think they'd go for it.

"If they thought of it more as PT (physical training) instead of something metaphysical, I think they'd give it a chance."

The attitude could shift as yoga becomes more of a fixture on military bases. At Fort Hood in Killeen, contractors teach yoga classes every weekday at noon on a campus called the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Center.

"It's at this time the most well-attended class of all things they offer," said spokesman Chris Haug.

The center also offers massages, Tai Chi and Crossfit, he said.
"The whole idea of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Center is to take care of the mind body and soul, and that's to build up resilience, both in our families and our soldiers, so they can endure the many deployments that they've been on," Haug said. "So we call that strong mind, strong bodies."
lindsay.wise@chron.com

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Huffpost: How Does Our Consciousness Change The Structure Of The Brain And Then Our Life?

2012-01-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

How Does Our Consciousness Change The Structure Of The Brain And Then Our Life?

"How we choose to sculpt our minds has actual physical measurable changes etched within the grey matter of our brains. Such practices as meditation and Chi Gong can keep the old mental circuits active and form new ones, leading to a cycle of continual self-improvement. Of course, practitioners of meditation have been saying this for centuries. "

Meditation and Neuroplasticity
After spending time interviewing Tibetan monks while in Beijing, China, at the Lama Temple, correlations between their rituals and how they aligned with modern neuroplastic science began to surface. I was able to spend time with the Dalai Lama himself and found that he was curious about the question "Does consciousness in and of itself, force changes in the structure of the brain? " Does the mind create physiological change in the brain and then thereby alter life situations in the natural? I decided to find out.
In addition to the brain giving rise to thoughts, hopes, beliefs and emotions that add up to this thing we call the mind, could it be that the mind also acts back on the brain to cause physical changes in the very manner they were initiated? If so, then pure thought (our consciousness) would change the brain's activity, its circuits or even its structure. Joe Dispensza suggests in his book "Evolve Your Brain" that if we choose to rely soley on our inherited circuits (DNA) we are stuck with those traits and patterns, good, bad or indifferent.
There are two ways to make new synaptic connections in the brain: to learn new things and to have new experiences. I am suggesting a third, and that is through observation of our thoughts and refining our consciousness. Hence, not only are our brains plastic enough to keep adapting though learning and experiences, but we can choose how to sculpt our minds by altering our perceptions intentionally. This supposition has also led to the discovery that neuroplasticity cannot occur without attention. So, if a skill becomes so routine that you can do it nearly automatically -- like walking, for instance -- then practicing it will no longer change the brain. And if you take up mental exercises to keep your brain young, they won't be as effective if you find yourself able to do them without paying much attention. Like any good exercise, you need to change it up every so often. This, according to researcher Michael Merzenich.
How we choose to sculpt our minds has actual physical measurable changes etched within the grey matter of our brains. Such practices as meditation and Chi Gong can keep the old mental circuits active and form new ones, leading to a cycle of continual self-improvement. Of course, practitioners of meditation have been saying this for centuries. I asked Erdijanzi (age 23) a third-generation Tibetan Monk, "How much time do you spend in mediation per day?" He said he did not know. It turned out that almost any free moment, even in between interview questions, he would turn to his Mala Beads to quiet his mind. This practice was his chosen method of brain sculpting. It also occurred to me that once the mind was quieted and an intention was inserted that the effect of this intention at the quantum level would be magnified and crystal clear, allowing for more effective manifestation.
Professor Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin in Madison has been working with the Dalai Lama and his Buddhist monks for quite some time, hooking some of them up to machines to see how their brain waves differ from those of student volunteers. In such experiments, eight monks and ten volunteers are wired up to an electroencephalograph to record their brain waves. The volunteers had no previous experience in meditating, save a quick crash course as they walked in the door. The type of meditation used is called "nonreferential compassion," and involves the meditator focusing on unlimited compassion and loving kindness toward all living beings. The monks, on the other hand, had decades of experience in the practice. The researchers chose this type of meditation because it focuses on a transformed state of being instead of concentrating on particular objects, memories or images.
For the student volunteers, as they meditated their brain waves began to alter; specifically, their gamma waves showed a slight but significant increase. For the monks, their gamma signal kept rising and rising, which was not surprising given their greater experience with the practice. However, in between the meditation sessions when they were at rest, the gamma signal of the monks never fell. Even when not meditating, the monks' brain waves displayed increased activity associated with perception, problem solving and consciousness. Furthermore, the more hours of meditation a monk had under his belt, the stronger his gamma signal -- his Faith Wave. This sort of response, in which higher doses of a drug or activity lead to a greater effect than for lower levels, is what researchers look for to determine a positive cause and effect. This proved to Professor Davidson that mental training could instill lasting traits into the brain. The way we think actually changes the structure of the brain itself. Observe your thoughts. As you change the way you look at a life situation, you are setting yourself up for the next one. Even your brain is adjusting itself and recreating itself to follow your thinking, in alignment with your desires or not. Approach all human transactions from a point of love, compassion, inspiration, and watch how the movie of your life begins to change accordingly. As you do you etch this into your cerebral hardware and create your future.
For more by Peter Baksa, click here.
For more on consciousness, click here.
Watch Peter Baksa on Youtube
"Think Yourself Young" now for sale - I discuss diet and meditational techniques according to the Tibetan Monks that I was able to interview living amongst them while at the Lama Temple in Beijing China. These folks appear to be able to stop physiological time dead in it's tracks with the net result being a high quality life beyond 120 years.
Peter Baksa has written "The Point of Power," & "It's None of My Business What You Think of Me!" available now on Amazon.
Bonus: Like Peter on Facebook today and receive a free chapter of "The Point of Power."
Follow Peter Baksa on Twitter: @PeterBaksa
Follow Peter Baksa on Facebook.
Follow Peter Baksa's blog. Check out this live interview. Copyright 2011.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Huff Post: Why People Who Pray Are Healthier Than Those Who Don't

2012-01-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

Why People Who Pray Are Healthier Than Those Who Don't

Posted: 1/18/12 10:46 AM ET
by

Richard Schiffman

If you want to achieve maximum health, here are a few things that you should do: exercise regularly, eat nutritious and minimally processed foods, drop those extra pounds -- and pray. That's right, regular prayer and meditation has been shown in numerous scientific studies to be an important factor in living longer and staying healthy.

Prayer is the most widespread alternative therapy in America today. Over 85 percent of people confronting a major illness pray, according to a University of Rochester study. That is far higher than taking herbs or pursuing other nontraditional healing modalities. And increasingly the evidence is that prayer works.

It doesn't matter if you pray for yourself or for others, pray to heal an illness or for peace in the world, or simply sit in silence and quiet the mind -- the effects appear to be the same. A wide variety of spiritual practices have been shown to help alleviate the stress levels, which are one of the major risk factors for disease. They also are powerful ways to maintain a positive outlook and successfully weather the trials which come to all of us in life.

The relationship between prayer and health has been the subject of scores of double-blind studies over the past four decades. Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiovascular specialist at Harvard Medical School and a pioneer in the field of mind/ body medicine discovered what he calls "the relaxation response," which occurs during periods of prayer and meditation. At such times, the body's metabolism decreases, the heart rate slows, blood pressure goes down, and our breath becomes calmer and more regular.

This physiological state is correlated with slower brain waves, and feelings of control, tranquil alertness and peace of mind. This is significant because Benson estimates that over half of all doctor visits in the U.S. today are prompted by illnesses, like depression, high blood pressure, ulcers and migraine headaches, that are caused at least in part by elevated levels of stress and anxiety.

Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study of Tibetan Buddhists in meditation and Franciscan nuns in prayer which showed comparable decreased activity in the parts of the brain that are associated with sense of self and spatial orientation in both groups. He also found that prayer and meditation increase levels of dopamine, which is associated with states of well being and joy.
The effects of spiritual practice appear to be more than just the result of enhanced focus and concentration. Ken Pargement of Bowling Green State University instructed one group of people who suffer migraines to meditate 20 minutes each day repeating a spiritual affirmation, such as "God is good. God is peace. God is love." The other group used a nonspiritual mantra: "Grass is green. Sand is soft." The spiritual meditators had fewer headaches and more tolerance of pain than those who had focused on the neutral phrases.

But are the calming effects of spiritual practice temporary, or do they last even after we get up from the meditation cushion or leave a prayer service to reenter our less than serene lives?

In one National Institutes of Health funded study, individuals who prayed daily were shown to be 40 percent less likely to have high blood pressure than those without a regular prayer practice. Research at Dartmouth Medical School found that patients with strong religious beliefs who underwent elective heart surgery were three times more likely to recover than those who were less religious. A 2011 study of inner city youth with asthma by researchers at the University of Cincinnati indicates that those who practiced prayer and meditation experienced fewer and less severe symptoms than those who had not. Other studies show that prayer boosts the immune system and helps to lessen the severity and frequency of a wide range of illnesses.

A recent survey reported in the Journal of Gerontology of 4,000 senior citizens in Durham, NC, found that people who prayed or meditated coped better with illness and lived longer than those who did not.

But the question remains: By what physiological mechanisms does prayer impact our health? Herbert Benson's most recent research suggests that long term daily spiritual practices help to deactivate genes that trigger inflammation and prompt cell death. That the mind can effect the expression of our genes is exciting evidence for how prayer may influence the functioning of the body at the most fundamental level.

But what about praying for others? On the question of whether intercessionary prayer works, the jury is till out. Slightly over half the research done to date suggests that it helps, wile the rest concludes that there is no measurable effect. Critics of these studies say that there is a big difference between praying more or less mechanically and at a distance for a stranger because a researcher has told you to do so and the heartfelt prayers for friends and relatives which arise spontaneously from within.

Prayer, unlike say the behavior of a rat in a maze, cannot be directly observed, and the subtle effects on self and others are difficult to quantify and assess. Moreover, it would be wrong to view prayer as merely a technique to heal illness and promote physical health.

Spiritual practice aims to connect the individual with God or a Higher Power, to open one to the Divinity dwelling within the self, and to make one fully present to life in the here and now. These are not goals that lend themselves to being measured in double blind experiments. The sense of deep peace and radiant well being that spiritual practitioners in different religious traditions report are also not testable by scientific means.

What science can tell us is that people who pray and meditate trend to be statistically more healthy and live longer than those who do not. Whether these boons are merely unintended side effects of still deeper spiritual benefits remains a matter of faith.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Beyond spirituality: the role of meditation in mental health

2012-01-22T16:01:00.000-08:00

Beyond spirituality: the role of meditation in mental health

http://theconversation.edu.au/

Meditation has traditionally been associated with Eastern mysticism but science is beginning to show that cultivating a “heightened” state of consciousness can have a major impact on our brain, the way our bodies function and our levels of resilience.
Clinicians are increasingly looking for effective, preventative, non-pharmacological options to treat mental illness. And meditation techniques – such as quietening the mind, understanding the self and exercising control – show promise as an alternative tool to regulate emotions, mood and stress.

Body

Meditation influences the body in unexpected ways. Experienced meditators, for instance, can speed or slow their metabolism by more than 60% and raise their body temperature by as much as 8°C.
Even a little training in meditation can make people calmer, less stressed and more relaxed. As little as 20 minutes a day leads to physical changes, such as reduced blood pressure, lower heart rate, deeper and calmer breathing. Improvements in blood pressure as a result of meditation have also been linked to a lower risk of heart attack.
Meditation is also beginning to prove effective as a treatment for chronic and acute pain. One experiment showed that four days of mindfulness meditation substantially reduced the participant’s experience of unpleasantness and the intensity of their pain.

Mind, brain and beyond

Meditation increases left-sided, frontal brain activity, an area of the brain associated with positive mood. Interestingly, this increase in left-brain activity is also linked with improvements in immune system activity. And the more you practise meditation, the greater your immune function is likely to be.
Studies have shown that long-term meditators have increased volumes of grey matter in the right orbito-frontal cortex and hippocampus regions of their brain which are responsible for regulating emotion. Similar changes have also been found in non-meditators who completed an eight-week course in mindfulness training.
So even a limited stint of meditation has the potential to change the structure of the brain.

Ageing

The cortex in the brain usually thins as we age – a type of atrophy related to dementia. Intriguingly, those who have meditated around an hour a day for six years display increased cortical thickness. Older meditators also show decreased age-related decline in cortical thickness compared to non-meditators of the same age.
Meditation may increase longevity by protecting the brain and heart from the damaging effects of stress. One study reported that meditation and yoga help to prevent cellular damage caused by chronic psychological stress. It has even been suggested that meditation may slow cellular aging.

Emotional stability

The causes and effects of emotional experience exist throughout the body and the brain, and as such they are deeply linked to physical and psychological stress.
Meditation enhances positive emotions and mood, and appears to make people less vulnerable to the stresses and upsets of daily life. Research shows that meditators are better at regulating immediate responses to negative stimuli and have reduced activity in the amygdala – a region implicated in response to threat. These findings reflect greater emotional resilience among meditators as well as less psychological distress and anxiety.
Mindfulness, which can be cultivated through meditation, is just one technique that can increase mental health and wellbeing. Several therapeutic techniques have been based on these practices, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. These treatments have had success in treating anxiety and mood disorders.

Next steps in research

Research has shown us that meditation improves our mood, reduces the body’s response to stress and, over time, alters the structure of the brain.
Our team at the University of Sydney is attempting to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of how meditation acts on the mind and the body to calm emotional reactions. We’re currently investigating the effects of meditation on brain and body function during emotional provocation, such as viewing disturbing photographic images.
We want to better understand the effects of short, intensive periods of meditation on brain and body functions associated with regulation of emotional responses. We are also examining the genetic factors that may help determine what types of people benefit most from meditation training.
If we can demonstrate the efficacy of intensive meditation on emotion regulation, and characterise those who will benefit most, we will have established a significant role for meditation in improving mental and physical health.
Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Meditation Apps by Meditation Oasis

2012-01-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

Meditation Apps by Meditation Oasis

http://www.elevatedexistence.com

Meditation Oasis released version 5 of its Relax and Rest Meditations app with three varying length meditations and written tips to help the listener.
First a Breath Awareness Guided Meditation offers a five-minute session to help center and relax the listener – ideal for when time is short! Next is the Deep Rest Guided Meditation, which is 13 minutes long and allows the listener to fall into a deep restful state – ideal for before bedtime. Last is the Whole Body Guided Relaxation, which is 24 minutes long and helps to locate tension in the body and let it go.

Version 5 is optimized for iPhone OS5, offers improved nature sounds with seamless looping, and a gradual fadeout of music and nature sounds at the end of the tracks.

Also available from Meditation Oasis is the “Simply Being” app, which offers voice-guided meditations; the “At Ease: Anxiety and Worry Relief” app; and the “Take a Break: Guided Meditations for Stress Relief” app.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Bringing Mindfulness Meditation to Medicine: Jon Kabat-Zinn

2012-01-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

Mind Reading: Jon Kabat-Zinn Talks About Bringing Mindfulness Meditation to Medicine

Meditation isn't just for hippies any more. And it's not all about saying ommmm

By Maia Szalavitz January 11, 2012

Jon Kabat-Zinn, an MIT-trained molecular biologist, began meditating in 1966, when the practice was primarily the province of hippies and gurus, not scientists. Now, thanks in large part to his efforts, it has become mainstream medicine. Dozens of studies have since shown the benefits of what he termed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in treating cardiovascular disease, depression, addictions, chronic pain and many other conditions.
Kabat-Zinn has authored a new book, Mindfulness for Beginners that aims to introduce meditation to first-timers.

Why did you first get involved with meditation?
The one word answer would be karma. Basically, I always felt in some sense, from the time that I was a little, that something was missing in the way life was unfolding. It was almost as if it was all about ‘out there’ but nothing about ‘in here.’

This is a path that I’ve been walking now for over 45 years. It’s been 32 years since I founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

I was first exposed formally to it at MIT because of Huston Smith, a professor of philosophy and religion there. I started meditating myself when I was 22, in 1966, when I was a graduate student. Almost no one I knew was meditating back then and anyone who was, was considered to be somewhat beyond the lunatic fringe, a drug-crazed hippy communist.

How did you work to bring meditation into medicine?
I started the Stress Reduction Clinic in 1979. The idea of bringing Buddhist meditation without the Buddhism into the mainstream of medicine was tantamount to the Visigoths being at the gates about to tear down the citadel of Western civilization. Partly because I had a PhD from MIT in molecular biology and had studied in the lab of a Nobel Laureate, people projected onto me that ‘He must know what he’s doing.’ So they let me do it, fortunately.” They had no idea how much not-knowing was involved.
MORE: Explaining Why Meditators May Live Longer

What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is often spoken of as the heart of Buddhist meditation. It’s not about Buddhism, but about paying attention. That’s what all meditation is, no matter what tradition or particular technique is used.

In Asian languages, the word for mind and the word for heart are same. So if you’re not hearing mindfulness in some deep way as heartfulness, you’re not really understanding it. Compassion and kindness towards oneself are intrinsically woven into it. You could think of mindfulness as wise and affectionate attention.

MBSR is an outpatient clinic for medical patients in the form of an eight-week long course. This is the vehicle through which mindfulness was first introduced into the mainstream of medicine and science...

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Breast cancer survivors benefit from mindfulness

2012-01-20T15:23:00.001-08:00

Breast cancer survivors benefit from mindfulness
Futurity: Research News
Previous research reports that as many as 50 percent of breast cancer survivors are depressed. Now, University of Missouri researchers in the Sinclair School of Nursing say a meditation technique can help breast cancer survivors improve their emotional ...

Meditation Comes To Facebook

2012-01-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

Social Meditation Comes To Facebook

Posted by David Cohen on January 11th, 2012

meditation is coming to Facebook thanks to Wild Divine, which announced the release of its iOM Online group cyber-meditation system.

The meditation app is compatible with the company’s Lightstone or iOM hardware, and it allows users to use Facebook to form groups, share experiences, and track individual and group progress.

Wild Divine enlightened potential customers on its description page with the following wisdom:

You know how you can play FarmVille by just logging in? Now, connect your iOM, and experience Wild Divine the same way, no install disks! On any computer where you can log in into Facebook, you can now experience Wild Divine active feedback events the exact same way as the desktop.

But that’s not all: Now you can collaborate with your friends, all work toward a common goal, connecting while doing something good for yourself and the world. As shown below, you choose a Wild Divine exercise to complete. Once done, you have contributed to the collaborative goal, as shown in the progress bar on the right. Once the collective Wild Divine community reaches the final goal, Wild Divine is going to contribute to one of five causes as chosen by the participants.

Once you have the iOM, you have everything you need to experience Arcadia. It is Mac- and PC-compatible — all you need is a USB port to plug the iOM into.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

An introduction to easy meditation

2012-01-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

An introduction to easy meditation

Ever wish life felt a little lighter? These four short animations by Headspace will show you how meditation can bring some calm and clarity to life

• These videos are a new updated version of films originally featured by the Guardian in January 2011. The 2012 videos replace their predecessors.

Source: guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/video/2012/jan/06/health-and-wellbeing-fitness?newsfeed=true

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

USA Today: Americans are stressed, but we're getting used to it

2012-01-13T11:06:00.001-08:00

By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY

Americans' stress is down for the first time in five years and at its lowest point since 2007, finds an audit of self-reported stress to be released today.

The USA's average stress level in 2011 was 5.2 on a 10-point scale, down from 6.2 in 2007, says the survey by the American Psychological Association. But that doesn't mean we're not feeling stressed — 39% of those surveyed say their stress rose last year; 17% say it dropped; and 44% say it stayed the same.

So why the decrease? The economic climate has improved little and stressors remain the same as in past years: Money is cited as a concern by 75% of respondents. Two-thirds cite work stress. And more than half say they struggle with relationships or health problems.

What's different, experts say, is the way we approach stress and what it means to be under stress. This decline in reported stress, they add, is likely because stress has become the new normal for life in the USA.

People have been under so much stress in the past few years that they've "adapted to it," says physician Paul Rosch, a clinical professor of medicine and psychiatry at New York Medical College and president of the non-profit American Institute of Stress in Yonkers, N.Y. "We have more or less accepted it as a way of life, and it's not a new or novel source of complaint, compared to a couple of years ago. But that doesn't negate its prevalence."

Tips for handling stress:

Take a break: You can’t avoid stress, but you can momentarily get away from that project at work, a crying baby or mounting bills. If you give yourself permission to step away for even 20 minutes, you can get a new perspective or practice stress-relieving techniques to feel less overwhelmed.

Exercise: The research is growing that exercise benefits your mind as well as your body. Even a 20-minute walk, run, swim or dance session in the midst of a stressful time can give an immediate effect that can last for several hours.

Laugh: Our brains are interconnected with our emotions and facial expressions. Stressed people often hold a lot of the stress in their faces, so laughs or smiles can help relieve some of that tension.

Get support: Sharing your concerns or feelings with another person does help relieve stress, but don’t share those concerns with someone who adds to the stress; talk to someone you trust and who can be supportive.

Meditate: Meditation and prayer practices can help the mind and body to relax and focus. They can help people see new perspectives, develop self-compassion and forgiveness. Meditation can help people release emotions that may have been causing the body physical stress. Research has shown that much like exercise, even meditating briefly can be beneficial.

For more ideas, visit www.apa.org/helpcenter

Source: American Psychological Association

Stress had been rising every year since the APA started tracking it in 2007. But the newest survey of 1,226 adults ages 18 and older not only found the average ranking down to 5.2, but the percentage reporting extreme stress — 8, 9 or 10 on the scale — dropped from 32% to 22%. And 27% of adults say their stress has decreased in the past five years.

Cast Your Vote

"Who's not stressed? That's just life. Life is stress," says Kathleen Hall, founder of the Stress Institute in Atlanta, which promotes stress reduction and work-life balance.

Kim Poer, 51, of Villa Rica, Ga., is among those whose stress has increased. "This past year has been the most stressful year of my entire life," says Poer, a quality technician for a company that makes fiber-optic cable.

Contributing were the loss of her father in February, wanting to sell her new husband's former home in Atlanta, and workforce reductions that resulted in months of 12-hour days and seven-day workweeks.

But now, she says, "I think my personal stress level is actually going down, mostly because I am consciously trying to de-stress my life." In the past six months, Poer transformed her living room into a peaceful area for daily yoga.

She also walks more. Rather than three 20-minute power walks a day, she's now doing one power walk and a longer but more leisurely stroll around her neighborhood to relax and chat with neighbors.

And a weekly one-hour massage is a routine she has kept for the past 18 months.

"Perceptions of stress and what people label as stress is changing," says Rajita Sinha, a clinical psychologist who directs the Yale Stress Center at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

A shift in perception

Being "stressed out" has become trendy and a real part of the culture, suggests Marie Dacey, who has spoken about stress and society at meetings of the Popular Culture Association. "Previously it was seen as something to be fought against. People are not identifying stress as stress but as part of the norm," she says. "Our culture really applauds and rewards that."

Dacey, of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston, also says reality TV has altered our reactions. "Seeing so many people in distress on reality TV has changed perceptions of stress," she says. "It's normalized."

With the greater visibility of stress, the public has also been hearing more about how to manage it, says clinical psychologist Norman Anderson, the APA's chief executive officer.

"We like to think what's happening is better management," he says. "Part of the good news from the study is that a majority of people recognize stress as a problem and something that needs to be attended to. I'm not sure that would have been the case a generation or two ago."

Stress occurs when people perceive that the demands placed on them — such as work, school or relationships — exceed their ability to cope, the APA says. While stress can at times be beneficial — producing an energy boost that can help people get through exams or work deadlines — an extreme amount of stress can bring adverse health consequences, including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system that can lead to major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obesity, the group notes.

Dewey Roen, 38, experienced such reactions in the past few years, having had stroke symptoms related to stress. Roen, of Everett, Wash., served in Iraq in 2003. But the divorced father of a 10-year-old son says that in 2011, he changed his ways.

"I've taught myself not to get too stressed. I've taken stuff away that I know has caused me stress," Roen says, noting he has stopped smoking and drinking.

More open to alternatives

Rosch says Americans today are much more interested in stress-reduction techniques such as jogging, yoga or meditation than in the past. "There's a greater acceptance of so-called alternative approaches as opposed to medication. People are increasingly wary of adverse effects of tranquilizers and antidepressants," he says.

Top 10 Good News of the Week!

2012-01-11T23:59:00.001-08:00

Top 10 Good News Stories of the Week

Thriving North American Start-up Turns Trash into Source of Power
An powerhouse alternative energy start-up is transforming the way North America manages organic materials, turning food and animal waste into renewable energy and other useful products at its plants in British Columbia, Ontario, California and throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Northeastern states.
U.S. Forces Rescue Iranians at Sea for Second Time in a Week

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued six Iranians from sea whose boat had flooded on Tuesday in the Gulf, the second time in less than a week that the American military has come to the aid of Iranians in distress. The earlier rescue involved pirates, with the US Navy boarding a ship to free 13 Iranian fishermen who had been held hostage for weeks by Somalis.
One Big Wish, Boy Blows up Building

A 7-year-old boy had the opportunity to be the one to push the button and implode a massive industrial grain silo in Ohio. The little boy's big dream came true thanks to an organization that brings joy to cancer patients, turning their wishes into realities. (w/ Video)
Teen Collects Books in French for her Second Goodwill Mission to Haiti
Giselle Osborn was among a handful of youth chosen to travel to Haiti last year as part of a delegation to build eco-friendly homes. Working with the local villagers, they not only had to contend with oppressive heat, humidity and mosquitoes, but also the torrential rains of Hurricane Irene. Despite the conditions, the Georgia teen is headed back again this month to help a group of girls orphaned by the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. (w/ Video)
Dog, Buried by Avalanche That Killed Owner, Walks Days to Find Family
A dog, presumed dead after being buried by an avalanche that killed one of his owners, dug himself out and walked for four days to find the rest of his family and their hotel. (Bozeman Chronicle)
Unemployment Rate Dips to 8.5% With 1.6 million New Jobs in 2011

200,000 jobs were added in December, pushing the unemployment rate, down to 8.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The jobless rate continued its downward trend declining by 0.6 percent since August, as 100,000 jobs or more were added in each of the last 6 months, the first time since April 2006.
New Yorkers Give $1.9M for Daughters of Slain Hero

New Yorkers rang in the new year with continued generosity as donations kept pouring in for the scholarship fund for the children of slain NYPD cop Peter Figoski with totals nearing $1.9 million. Figoski, was gunned down on Dec. 12 while backing up other officers at a home-invasion. (NY Post)
Mom Hears First Words From Paralyzed Son in 19 Years: I Love You
A paralyzed man who suffered brain damage in a car crash almost 20 years ago spoke for the first time - and said 'I Love You' to his devoted mother. Doctors said Simon Ellis, now 37, would never be able to talk again. (Daily Mail)
Why A Teen Who Talks Back May Have A Bright Future
If you're the parent of a teenager, you likely find yourself routinely embroiled in disputes. It's a vital part of their growing up. Now researchers suggest that those spats can be tamed and, in the process, provide a lifelong benefit to children. Arguments can be a critical training ground for teens to learn how to resist negative peer pressure. (NPR)
Hero Attorney Who Caught Arsonist: "More Exciting Than My Day Job"
It wasn't a veteran detective or even a full-time cop who finally caught the man suspected of lighting 52 fires in Los Angeles last week. The hero is an Iranian-born real estate attorney by day, who patrols the LA streets by night as a reserve deputy working for the sheriff's office on nearly a volunteer-basis. (LA Times)

Video of the Week: Watch the Joy of Giving - Care Packages for City's Homeless

Trainers at a Texas fitness center, Cindy Rodriguez and Stephen Frazier collected donations throughout December and made goody bags to bring to the homeless in downtown Fort Worth. A camera followed the volunteers documenting the joy on both sides of the giving. (Click to watch inspiring, happy video)

See a web archive of past Top 10 newsletters... Check it out!

Meditation 101 Begins Feb 2nd, Register Now!

2012-01-08T21:56:00.000-08:00

Meditation 101 at the University of Washington

REGISTER on-line Exco.org

or by phone (206) 68-LEARN

Are you curious about Meditation?

Would you like to reduce stress and enjoy life more?

Learn and practice simple techniques from the four basic branches of meditation: Moving Meditation, Sound Meditation, Visualization and Mindfulness.

Modern Research has shown many physiological benefits to meditating. There are numerous styles of Meditation, both ancient and modern. This 4 week course is an introduction to a few techniques and traditions so that you can learn which style is best suited to you.

Class Syllabus

Meditation Hindrances and how to work with them

2011-12-20T00:28:00.001-08:00

Meditation hindrances and how to work with them | Wildmind ...
I remember my first weekend retreat at Aryaloka Buddhist Center in the summer of 1993. I took the weekend off from family and work obligations to learn how to.
www.wildmind.org/.../meditation-hindrances-and-how-to-wor...

Can Meditation Reduce Pain?
A new study on the human brain shows that meditation can reduce pain. The authors measured pain intensity and pain regulation in fifteen volunteers by using a ...
www.nativeremedies.com/blog/can-meditation-reduce-pain/

Scientific American: The Neurobiology of Bliss--Sacred and Profane

2011-12-19T23:35:00.000-08:00

The Neurobiology of Bliss--Sacred and Profane

Sex in the brain, and what it reveals about the neuroscience of deep pleasure

By Nadia Webb | July 12, 2011

Pleasure is also linked to a loss of awareness of the boundaries of our body, and this, too, involves both sides of the brain. Orgasm and meditation dissolve the sense of physical boundary, but the activation patterns are distinct.

Meditation does so in a somewhat cerebral way, altering bodily self-awareness by enhancing activity in specific brain regions, such as right angular gyrus—regions that become most lively during attempts to imagine ourselves from a stranger’s perspective, during out of body experiences or déjà vu, and in a neurologically obscure disorder in which patients lack awareness of their own paralysis or bodily infirmity.

But during orgasm, the cerebellar deep nuclei and vermis, also in the cerebellum, glow. The cerebellum used to be thought of as the “motor bit” tacked onto the back of the brain. The deep nuclei are mysterious, but they seem involved in planning and initiating movement, motor learning, rhythm, synchronizing and smoothing of movement. The vermis tracks the movement of the body through space outside of conscious awareness.

Unlike meditation, orgasm seems a heightened sense of being within one’s body rather than the sense of being outside of it. The disconnected awareness meditation (“I am not my thoughts, I am not this experience”) is antithetical to the self-forgetting of sex in which wallowing in the experience, and the relationship, is precisely the point.

Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about? Please send suggestions to Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist at the Boston Globe. He can be reached at garethideas AT gmail.com or Twitter @garethideas.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Nadia Webb is a double-boarded neuropsychologist practicing at the Children's Hospital of New Orleans. She completed her doctoral training and dissertation research in clinical psychology and neuroscience.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

MedMob this Sunday, Dec 18th Westlake Park

2011-12-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

6pm - 7pm Westlake Park, downtown Seattle

The intention is to unite our hearts in hope for a world where everyone is housed with abundant supply of good food, good friends and loving family.

"We are the most prosperous nation on Earth and yet 1.6 Million of our Children will wake up homeless this coming Christmas morning. Please bring some candles and join us this Sunday night in Westlake Park to help raise awareness about our homeless children. Let's help give these kids some visibility and get as many people as we can thinking about this increasing problem."

Bring a candle in a cup or holder to add to the heart. We will create a heart with the candles and then stand in silence.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Surviving Holiday Blues: Positive Effects from Meditation and Exercise

2011-12-15T00:40:00.000-08:00

Surviving Holiday Blues: Positive Effects from Meditation and Exercise

Week 2 of a series examining winter depression

By Carol Haslam
Email the author
December 7, 2011

http://balacynwyd.patch.com/articles/surviving-holiday-blues-positive-effects-from-meditation-and-exercise

Last week, I began a discussion on depression. Depression can be in response to circumstances or can be an internal state that exists regardless of whether circumstances are pleasant or painful.

Last week, I examined sleep deprivation's effect on our brains as it mimics symptoms of depression, and disables our brains from being able to adequately handle the stresses of life. I argued that when feeling depressed, the first thing someone should consider is whether or not they are getting enough sleep.

This week, I'd like to put forth a few tools additional tools we can use to handle stresses and sadness. When our brains are cared for, they are stronger for the job of life. There are many things we can do to strengthen our brains—not just for intellect, but for emotional state, metabolism regulation, organizational skills, viewpoint on life—everything.

Meditation or Prayer

Brain studies have conclusively shown that meditation and prayer have profound effects on the brain. These effects include increased blood flow to the brain, a decrease in stress hormones and an ability to "detach" from stressful circumstances.

This ability to detach is a tool that is often misunderstood. If one detaches properly, it is like taking a look at ones self from outside of one's self. It is the ability to see our stressful or undesirable circumstances, and think about them, without being swallowed up by them.

For example, there is a significant difference between witnessing a flood from a helicopter, while recognizing the damage you'll have to sort thorough when you return to your house versus being stuck in the house as the deathly waters rise around you. Same situation—but you are positioned differently. This is a tool that meditation and prayer can help you to acquire.

Exercise When you exercise, “feel good” chemicals are produced.

Neurotransmitters are released in the brain that alleviate pain—both physical and mental.
The brain makes new neurons in the hippocampus, which improves memory and the ability to learn.
The production of BDNF is stimulated, which is key to relieving depression, and is what anti-depressants ultimately provide for the body. Getting this chemical naturally through exercise, is far better than through medication.

In an indirect manner, exercise also positively effects a depressed mood because of the pride and increased quality of life that physical fitness provides. When someone is unable to bend down and engage with a grandchild (for example) or walk up a flight of stairs without becoming winded, that can be a depressing fact of their life. Exercise can often change these things thus take some of the reason(s) for depression away.

As Bala Cynwyd mom Jana Baker said about running, “When I run, it's just me out there. When I'm running, I'm not anybody's wife, mother, sister, employee, I'm just me. When I'm running, there are no bills to pay, kids to pick up, supper to make or laundry to fold, it's just me. When I run, I am free.”
This experience of just being "me" and feeling "free" and unattached can be like a re-boot on the computer.

Honestly, this is how I feel when I am in the “Pump” class at the YMCA. Even if I dragged myself to class, miserable even as I walked in the door—by the end I am never miserable. Life looks at least a little better through the beads of sweat trickling over my eye. If there is a lot to be done, then I feel empowered to tackle it, instead of tired and beat up by life.

Yoga

Yoga is where exercise and meditation meet. There are many kinds of yoga practices. With a little research you can discover which kind of class may suit you best. The Roxborough Y offers basic classes that focus on simple movements and meditation. The Yoga Garden offers a wide range of classes from more meditative to more athletic. Focus Fitness offers intense yoga options - some are intense physically and others mentally. Just over the river in Many-Rox, Yoga on the Ridge provides some really unique classes, including one-on-one Yoga Therapy and Yoga for Parkinsons. .

Essentially, if your brain is physically healthy, then your thoughts can be healthy, and you can be empowered to face life instead of beaten up by it. There are many things we can do to increase the health of our brains. If you are depressed, please choose a tool and start using it. It may be awkward at first, but so is just about anything in life that is worth having. No one swings a bat correctly the very first time they try. But, the more one practices, the easier that task becomes. So it is with tasks of health. It takes a little work in the beginning, but gets easier with a little practice.

If we can learn to incorporate some of these tools into our daily lives, then our bodies and minds will be more empowered to deal with the onslaught of things we face. Next week we will look at Vitamin supplementaion, a tool called "killing the A.N.T.S.", and the power of giving and faith.

Note: if you are feeling overwhelmed to the point of being unable to function, or are having suicidal thoughts, contact a medical professional right away.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Huff Post: A Tiny Shift Matters--A Lot

2011-12-13T00:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/meditation-tips_b_1140732.html

Imagine yourself standing at the edge of a pond. The water is calm, placid and smooth like glass. In your hand, you hold a pebble. You drop the pebble into the water, and from the place where the pebble submerges, ripples ruffle the water's surface. The small waves start at the point of the pebble's entry, and they make their way the entire distance to the banks of the pond, touching the earth in waves.

You are the pond, and every thought, action and feeling is a pebble, influencing your body, relationships, future and present moment. In your existence, there is no insignificant moment. The universe is also that pond, and you are that pebble. Your life, energy and love echo energetically to the very edges of all creation. You have that much power.

To help you understand this critical point, we can look to an interesting discovery made in meteorology called the butterfly effect. In 1961, Edward Norton Lorenz entered a figure for wind velocity into a computer in an attempt to predict weather conditions. Taking a shortcut, he entered 0.506 instead of 0.506127. What he found was astounding: That tiny difference of 0.000127 radically altered the ensuing weather scenario. The concept Lorenz developed around his findings became known as the butterfly effect because a wind velocity difference of 0.000127 seems so totally insignificant--much like the difference in velocity that might be caused by the flapping wings of a butterfly.

Lorenz concluded that the slightest and seemingly most insignificant initial condition could drastically modify the weather going forward. That tiny variation could create such a different path or momentum that it might, in fact, initiate a chain of meteorological events--that it could change a sunny day into a tornado. In chaos theory, this is known as sensitive dependence on initial conditions. A tiny shift matters that much. The message is that every action, no matter how small, can cause a huge reaction somewhere else or at some future time. Isn't that exciting?

Read entire post and watch video...

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Kids Get Centered in Meditation Class

2011-12-13T00:35:00.000-08:00

Kids Get Centered in Meditation Class

By MindBodyGreen

Andy Kelley aka, 'The Boston Buddha', teaches meditation to kids at an elementary school just outside of Boston. In the 45-minute class, the children learn about meditation and the 'concept of mindfulness -- being mentally present -- and the difference between observation and judgment', reports the Boston Globe. And it's making a difference.

10-year-old Kate says:

“It’s fun, and it teaches you to calm down when you get frustrated. And it makes you pay attention more and listen more.’’

9-year-old Mayu says:

“Sometimes it’s very hard for me to concentrate in school, and it helps me concentrate.’’

Some of the parents even observe the class and learn about meditation, too. Mayu's mom says “I catch Mayu doing meditation at home, which I never thought I would.’’

Namaste to that!

photo credit: Kayana Szymczak for the Boston Globe

Published December 9, 2011 at 3:45 PM

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Meditation for Kids : Dealing with Anger in Children : Make a Calm-Down Basket!

2011-12-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

Meditation for Kids : Dealing with Anger in Children : Make a Calm-Down Basket!

Posted on 19 October, 2011 by Here We Are Together

We have been having a few problems with anger around here recently,
so we made a calm-down-basket.

Inside our basket are quite a few short books, (No more than 5 minutes.)
some books about feelings, (including “Mad isn’t Bad” , “Hands are Not for Hitting” and “All Kinds of Feelings” ) a bell, the Mind Jar ,a mandala colouring book, a candle to light and a jar full of calm down tasks.

When someone gets angry they have to take a suggestion from the calm down jar.

On the bits of paper we have written these suggestions to help the little ones calm down and avoid an argument:

Take 10 deep breaths.
Close your eyes and imagine your favourite colour.
Think of a beautiful beach.
Think of your favourite song.
Shake the mind jar.
Give Mama a hug.
Sit in lotus position.
Can you do tree pose?
Light a candle (with mamas help) .
Let’s put oil into the oil burner.
Have a cup of tea.
Drink some juice.
Sit down and listen to some relaxing music.
Let’s read a story from the calm basket.
Draw a picture of something calm.
Time to play with the rice box!
Do a puzzle.
Draw a picture of your favourite ice cream.
Light an incense stick and sit calmly while it burns down.
Colour in a mandala.

So far it has been working really well, especially the Rice Box is a huge hit.
It’s a wooden box filled with rice.

We mixed a teaspoon of Lavender essential oil into it, dropped a few shiny marbles, stones and seaglass inside, added a bamboo stick to stir the rice and look for all the hidden loveliness.

We will continue to add things to our calm basket, but for now it is actually going very well and we have already avoided many arguments.

Give it a try!

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Department of Defense Embracing Meditation for PTSD

2011-12-06T12:36:00.001-08:00

Department of Defense embracing alternative medicine
allvoices
The Pentagon has also dedicated five million dollars as grant money to research into some of these methods such as acupuncture and meditation in order to treat PTSD in veterans. Let us not forget the US Army who gave four million dollars in grant money ...

December Violet Flame cancelled, Happy Solstice!

2011-12-01T17:41:00.001-08:00

Transmute, transmute by violet fire, all causes and cores not of God's desire. I am a being of cause alone. That cause is love, the sacred tone.

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Dear Flaming Violets,

Due to general busy-ness, this months meeting will be completely virtual!

We will resume meetings in Greenlake AND West Seattle beginning in 2012!

May your holy days be festive and bright with the violet flame of freedom's love!

For an inspiring day, please read the latest post on the Violet Flame Seattle Blog

Transmute, transmute by violet fire, all causes and cores not of God's desire.
I am a being of cause alone. That cause is love, the sacred tone.

Time to reflect on the multitude of blessings of 2011!

CANCELLLED
Wed Dec 21st,
Winter Solstice
1pm - 3pm

Welcome to 2012!

Announcement of winter dates in January

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Copyright © 2011 Peace is in Pieces, All rights reserved.
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HuffPost : How Your Thoughts and Emotions Can Affect Your Body

2011-11-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

by

Ed and Deb Shapiro

Posted: 11/29/11 07:30 AM ET

Ed remembers having an upset stomach when he was a child and his grandmother asking him if he was having a problem at school. What she knew instinctively we are at last beginning to prove scientifically: that there is an intimate and dynamic relationship between what is going on with our feelings and thoughts, and what happens in the body. A TIME magazine special showed that happiness, hopefulness, optimism and contentment "appear to reduce the risk or limit the severity of cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypertension, colds and upper-respiratory infections," while "depression -- the extreme opposite of happiness -- can worsen heart disease, diabetes and a host of other illnesses."

In Woody Allen's movie "Annie Hall," Diane Keaton is breaking up with Woody and wants to know why he isn't angry. "I don't get angry," Allen replies, "I grow a tumor instead."

However, Deb recently had a burst appendix, and she is immensely grateful for the medical intervention that saved her life. So we know that illness is very real, that accidents happen, and how medicine can help. We aren't trying to convince anyone that the sole reason for illness is in our mind. Nor are we saying that by understanding how the mind and body work together that we'll be able to miraculously cure ourselves.

What we believe is that the role of the mind and emotions in our state of health is a vital one and that by understanding this relationship we can claim a greater role in our own well-being. It is only a part of the overall picture, but it is the part that is invariably overlooked.

If we separate an organism into its component parts it can't function. Each piece has a role to play, even if it is a very small role, so if only one part is malfunctioning it will affect the whole. Recently our car broke down. After it was fixed, we were told that it had been just one small wire that had caused the problem, yet the engine could not function properly without it. In the same way, if we ignore the role our feelings and thoughts play we are ignoring one of the most important parts that make up our whole being. And it may be the one that most needs to get fixed.

Generally speaking, we tend to think of our bodies and minds as separate systems and believe they function, for the most part, independently. Yet instinctively we know that is not the whole story. For instance, can you remember the last time you had an interview for a job? Or went on a first date with someone you were really trying to impress? In either case, no doubt you wanted to appear calm and collected but at the same time you were feeling self-conscious and nervous. Can you recall how your body felt? Self-consciousness can tighten your buttock muscles (so you are literally sitting on your tension), you sweat more than usual, may feel slightly nauseated, and you will probably fluff your words, just when you want to appear suave and confident.

In other words, our emotions affect us physically. It might be easy to understand that a scary thought gets our heart beating faster, but it can be harder to realize that loneliness, sadness or depression can also affect us physically, and when it comes to more complex emotions or illnesses few of us consider our emotions to have any relevance.

Understanding the body-mind relationship won't necessarily cure all our physical difficulties, but by learning the language of symptoms and illness we can discover what is being repressed or ignored in our psyche and emotions, and how this is influencing our well-being. From this vantage point we can discover that there is an extraordinarily intimate two-way communication going on between our body and mind that affects both our physical state and our mental and emotional health. Self-reflection and meditation are ways that help us deepen this understanding.

Can you see a link between the mind and the body? Do comment below. You can receive notice of our blogs by checking Become a Fan at the top.

See our award-winning book: BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman, with contributors Jack Kornfield, Jane Fonda, Father Thomas Keating, Marianne Williamson, Ram Dass and many others.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Contemplative education; math and meditation

2011-11-28T23:24:00.000-08:00

Contemplative education; math and meditation

by

Luke Wolcott

math-math site:
www.forthelukeofmath.com
meta-math site:
www.flavorsandseasons.wordpress.com

Posted by Luke Wolcott on November 23rd, 2011 at 6:57 pm

“The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. . . An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence.”
-William James, 1890

The ability to focus and refocus attention is obviously extremely important for a mathematician working on research, or a student learning in class. There is a growing body of scientific evidence showing that meditation can improve this ability. In fact, there is a range of different meditation techniques, with a range of potential benefits: e.g. increased focus, mindfulness, curiosity and creativity; better control of emotions, and stress reduction; improved interpersonal communication. Sounds great, right?

In the last few decades, empirical evidence has been piling up, supporting the millenia-old subjective claims of meditators. An incomplete but good research bibliography is maintained here; see also here or here. I don’t think this is sketchy science. These studies have been the focus of recurring 5-day workshops hosted in India by the Dalai Lama, bringing together Buddhist scholars and Nobel-prize-winning scientists (like current US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu), and panel discussions at MIT and Stanford, with thousands of academics attending.

The contemplative education movement aims to use meditation and other contemplative practices in the classroom. I recently attended a regional meeting of the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education – an organization of teachers and professors interested in contemplative education. The conference was very diverse – with people from the arts, social sciences, activist programs, and even a few natural scientists. Some talks were detailing success stories, others were participatory and demonstrated specific contemplative practices to use, still others were theoretical and visionary. The organization has produced a fascinating review of research that pertains specifically to the potential benefits of meditation to higher education. They have also been building a database of contemplative pedagogical tools and syllabi.

To be honest, many of the classroom techniques (e.g. “one-minute papers,” or contemplative listening) are more conducive to writing- and discussion-based classes. But you can start any class with a quick three-minute guided meditation. I don’t know any mathematicians that have experimented with contemplative pedagogy, but I know that chemistry professor Michelle Francl at Bryn Mawr College, and physics professor Arthur Zajonc at Amherst College have had success. Personally I haven’t yet had the courage to try something with my students. However, this quarter I’ve been meditating on my own for thirty minutes in the hour before I teach my multivariable calculus class, and the class is my best ever. During lecture I feel very present, relaxed, spontaneous, and receptive to the students.

If contemplative pedagogy in the classroom seems a little out there, you might still consider establishing your own personal contemplative practice. Wouldn’t you love to have a more focused and creative mind, when you sit down to do your research? Or take advantage of techniques to help balance math and life, and deal with grad school stress and anxiety? All you have to do is look up some local meditation classes; they’re usually free. Personally, I’ve been meditating (in the vipassana tradition) for about five years, and probably would’ve dropped out of grad school without the balance, perspective, and richness that meditation contributed. (Incidentally, there’s a chapter in this book, which is free to download, where I talk about my experiences with math and meditation).

Along these lines, I’ve heard two nice analogies for the role meditation might play in a balanced life.

One is hygienic. You keep your body clean, so you should keep your mind clean. You nourish and exercise your body, so you should nourish and exercise your mind. Meditation is a way of clearing out the clutter, of giving wholesome food to your mind, or letting it go for a quiet walk outside.

The second is more scientific. In order to perform experiments, a scientist needs a lab with the right tools. The untrained mind is unwieldy – easily distracted, prone to dullness, never still but always jittery and burdened. Meditation cultivates your mind as a tool – steadies it, sharpens it, gives you practice in controlling it. It allows you to run reliable experiments in your head (which is what math is, sort of). Traditionally the purpose of this was to allow meditators to go deeper into the nature of reality, in order to find the most universal truths and embrace the world with the most expansive compassion. But you can use it to do better math, too.

If anyone has personal experience with, or questions about, math and meditation, in or out of the classroom, I’d love to hear them (here or by email).

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

New Applications for Meditation on Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T02:25:00.000-08:00

A meditation on giving and receiving
AnnArbor.com
Today's meditation is very simple. In your meditation posture, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Allow your mind to float freely over times you've given a gift you're excited about giving. Focus on one of those times and notice how your body feels. ...

Meditation group in Bayside teaches to subtract distractions
TimesLedger
For about three years now, the house, numbered 38-15, has been the neighborhood's center to experience Maum Meditation — a seven-step, guided method that encourages disciples to free themselves of the limitations their past experiences impose on their ...

The Power of Meditation Reaches Troubled Teens
KSEE
By KSEE News Locked up in juvenile detention. There's nothing liberating about it. But these teenagers are learning to set themselves free. "This is a way of regaining your freedom in a space that doesn't feel very free." These visitors. ...

Occupy Consciousness: Healing the Collective Mind
Huffington Post (blog)
The above phrase was coined by David Lynch as the theme of his philanthropic foundation's annual benefit event to support Transcendental Meditation stress-reduction programs for students and at-risk populations -- such as Native Americans, ...

Meditation Research: Meditation Relieves IBS Severity

2011-11-28T02:20:00.001-08:00

Meditation Relieves IBS Severity, Randomized Study Finds
Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News
By David Wild Chicago—Mindfulness meditation is as much as four times more effective than group support in relieving the severity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, according to research presented at the 2011 Digestive Disease Week meeting ...

Veterans learn to use yoga and meditation exercises to reconnect with their emotions

2011-11-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

Research: Veterans learn to use yoga and meditation exercises to reconnect with their emotions

By: SharpBrains

Veterans learn to use yoga and meditation exercises to reconnect with their emotions (Wisconsin State Journal):

“Rich Low of Madison served as an infantry officer in the Army in Iraq in 2005 and 2006, leading some 280 combat missions. When he came back from the service, he didn’t think his experience affected him in any major way. He had nightmares, and he startled easily, but he chalked that up to just something veterans live with.

Then he enrolled in a study he initially wrote off as “just some hippie thing,” where he learned about yoga breathing and meditation. A year later, Low, 30, sums up his experience with two words: “It works.”

That’s the idea behind the study coming from The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, at the Waisman Center on the UW-Madison campus. Researchers there, including associate scientist Emma Seppala, believe something as simple as breathing can change the lives of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Link to Study: The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review (J Consult Clin Psychol).
Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Although mindfulness-based therapy has become a popular treatment, little is known about its efficacy. Therefore, our objective was to conduct an effect size analysis of this popular intervention for anxiety and mood symptoms in clinical samples.
METHOD: We conducted a literature search using PubMed, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and manual searches. Our meta-analysis was based on 39 studies totaling 1,140 participants receiving mindfulness-based therapy for a range of conditions, including cancer, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and other psychiatric or medical conditions.
RESULTS: Effect size estimates suggest that mindfulness-based therapy was moderately effective for improving anxiety (Hedges’s g = 0.63) and mood symptoms (Hedges’s g = 0.59) from pre– to post treatment in the overall sample. In patients with anxiety and mood disorders, this intervention was associated with effect sizes (Hedges’s g) of 0.97 and 0.95 for improving anxiety and mood symptoms, respectively. These effect sizes were robust, were unrelated to publication year or number of treatment sessions, and were maintained over follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that mindfulness-based therapy is a promising intervention for treating anxiety and mood problems in clinical populations.

To learn more, enjoy these related articles on Stress and Meditation.
Source of pic: BigStockPhoto

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Brain Imaging Illuminates Neuro Basis of Meditation

2011-11-26T10:23:00.000-08:00

Brain Imaging Illuminates Neuro Basis of Meditation

By CARRIE GANN (@carrie_gann) , ABC News Medical Unit

Nov. 22, 2011

Sharon Salzberg said her mind might be very different if it weren't for meditation, and new neurologic research suggests that she might be right.
Troubled by a traumatic, stressful childhood, Salzberg traveled to India as a college student and discovered meditation. Not only did it help her deal with her painful past, Salzberg said, but the practice helped change the way her mind worked.

"I hadn't really looked within," said Salzberg, a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and author of seven books on meditation. "I felt much more presence, rather than being distracted. It felt like the whole world opened up for me."

A new study from Yale University suggests that the brains of experienced meditators like Salzberg may actually work differently than brains of those who don't meditate. The study gives scientists a window into the meditating mind, providing evidence that the practice appears to change the way the brain works and could give meditators a leg up when it comes to dealing with mental disorders.

Dr. Judson Brewer, medical director of the Yale Therapeutic Neuroscience Clinic, and his colleagues asked 10 experienced meditators and 13 people with no meditation experience to practice three basic meditation techniques: concentration, loving-kindness, and choiceless awareness.

The team then used functional magnetic resonance imaging to observe the participants' brain activity when they were practicing the meditative techniques and when they were instructed not to think of anything in particular.

In a report published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Brewer and his team report that the experienced meditators had decreased activity in an area of the brain called the default mode network, a region that is usually at work when the mind wanders. Even when the meditators weren't meditating, this region of their brain was much quieter than in their inexperienced counterparts.

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Brewer, who has practiced meditation for 15 years, said experience with meditation also seems to optimize the way the brain communicates with itself. When the default mode networks of the experienced meditators were active, so were brain regions associated with self-monitoring and cognitive control.
"These guys have a different default mode," Brewer said. "They're constantly looking out for mind wandering."

Most people spend a lot of time in mind wandering or daydreaming, and research shows that it comes with cognitive pros and cons. Scientists have shown that daydreaming can be a good thing, providing a boost for creativity, aiding in the processing of social functions, and refining other important psychological processes.

However, recent studies have suggested that a wandering mind is also an unhappy one. In 2010, one study found that people reported being significantly less happy when their minds were wandering than when they were engaged in the task at hand. Researchers suggest that this is because when our minds are wandering, most of us are worrying rather than living in the moment.

Brewer also notes that the psychological hallmark of many forms of mental illness -- anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia -- is a preoccupation with one's own thoughts, specifically the negative ones. A series of studies have linked these disorders with overactivity or faulty neurological wiring in the default mode network, the brain region that was less active in experienced meditators.

"One of the things that meditation and basic mindfulness seems to be doing is quieting down this region of the brain," Brewer said. "It absolutely makes sense, given what we know about the default mode network."

Meditation isn't a cure for mental illness, Brewer said, but he said his study suggests that there may be a neurological basis for the benefits that many meditators report -- increased awareness, improved concentration, and a better ability to deal with the cognitive and emotional stresses of modern life.
Salzberg said she hopes that increased scientific study will continue to document the benefits of meditation for easing a troubled mind.

"It's quite great that in our contemporary time where science is the language of validation, there's evidence showing that in fact this is true," Salzberg said.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

How to Meditate Into Higher States of Consciousness by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

2011-11-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Global Humanitarian, Peace Ambassador and Founder, Art of Living Foundation

How to Meditate Into Higher States of Consciousness

Posted: 11/18/11 09:15 AM ET

Meditation , Spirituality , Achieving Consciousness , Awareness , Consciousness , Higher States Of Consciousness , Meditation And Consciousness , States Of Consciousness , Healthy Living News

We live most of our life through three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming and sleeping.

In the waking state of consciousness, we experience the world through the five senses. We seek elevation and joy from these senses. If any one of the senses is missing, the entire dimension of that sense is lost. One who cannot hear is bereft of the whole arena of sound. Similarly, he who cannot see is deprived of all the beautiful sights and colors. So, the sense is more important and much bigger than the object of the sense.

The mind is higher than the senses. The mind is infinite, its desires are many, but the capacity of the senses to enjoy is limited. Greed is wanting more and more of sensory objects. Even though one can only enjoy a limited amount during a lifetime, one wants all the wealth in the world.

Giving too much importance to sensory objects leads to greed; giving too much importance to the senses leads to lust; and giving too much importance to the mind and its desires leads to delusion.

We hold on to the concepts of the mind and want things to happen in a certain way. Thus, the concepts in our mind impede us from perceiving the infinite consciousness that is a part of us. This is not to say that the senses or the mind are bad. But we must learn to discriminate between things and be aware of what is happening at all times; that is when clarity dawns on us. This is the first step toward the higher state of consciousness.

In the waking state, one is constantly engaged in looking, eating, working, etc. The other extreme is the sleeping state where one is completely cut off and dull. The dullness and heaviness linger even after waking. The more one sleeps, the duller one feels since a lot of energy is expended in sleep. Then there is the dreaming state where one is neither asleep nor awake. Here, you neither feel at rest nor are aware of your surroundings.

Meditation
The higher state of consciousness is somewhere in between the waking, sleeping and dreaming states. Here, we know we "are" but we don't know "where" we are. This knowledge that I "am," but I don't know "where" I am or "what" I am, is called Shiva. This state gives the deepest possible rest that one can experience. And one can achieve this through meditation.

Meditation helps in two ways -- it prevents stress from entering the system and simultaneously releases accumulated stress. With the assimilation of meditation into daily life, a higher state of consciousness called cosmic consciousness dawns within us. Cosmic consciousness perceives the whole universe as part of oneself. When we perceive the world as a part of us, love flows strongly between the world and us. This love empowers us to overcome the opposing forces and the disturbances in life. Anger and disappointments become fleeting emotions that occur momentarily and then vanish.

A higher state of consciousness will not simply happen one fine morning. The sapling of consciousness is within you -- it needs to be nurtured through spiritual practices like meditation. Some coconut trees yield in three years, and some in 10 years. And those that are not nurtured never yield, they simply exist.

Attaining higher states of consciousness does not require any complicated strategy; one just needs to learn the art of letting go. The confluence of knowledge, understanding and practice makes life complete. When you grow into higher states of consciousness, you find that you are no longer thrown off-balance by different situations and disturbances. You become strong yet soft -- a delicate and beautiful individual capable of accommodating different values in life without any conditions. As your consciousness opens and the whole system gets physically, mentally and spiritually elevated, your life truly becomes worth living.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Meditation in the News: Meditation program now at UCLA

2011-11-20T19:42:00.001-08:00

How to Meditate Into Higher States of Consciousness
Huffington Post (blog)
And one can achieve this through meditation. Meditation helps in two ways -- it prevents stress from entering the system and simultaneously releases accumulated stress. With the assimilation of meditation into daily life, a higher state of ...
See all stories on this topic »

Donna Karan expands healthcare business, unveils UCLA yoga, meditation program
FierceHealthcare
Better known for high-end fashion, designer Donna Karan is expanding her healthcare business with its first West Coast yoga and meditation hospital program at Ronald Reagan UCLA, reports Century City Patch. In 2008, DK announced an $850000 donation for ...
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Meditation Makes Love-Making More Pleasurable For Women
MedIndia
by VR Sreeraman on November 18, 2011 at 2:10 PM Lifestyle News A new study has revealed that meditation helps women to train their thoughts while love-making which makes them to experience more pleasure between the sheets. Researchers from the Brown ...
See all stories on this topic »

MedIndia

Huffpost: 10-Minute Meditation For a More Peaceful Holiday Season

2011-11-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

10-Minute Meditation For a More Peaceful Holiday Season

Posted: 11/19/11 08:55 AM ET

Meditation , Meditation Practice , Stress Reduction , Breathing , Holiday Stress , Holidays , Meditation Tips , Stress , Healthy Living News

This is the first article in a monthly series of 10 minute meditations to nourish your body, heart and soul. Each entry will address the physical, psychological and spiritual facets of a unique life challenge. While stressful circumstances can't always change immediately, the ways we relate to them can. No matter what your situation, there is always room for meeting your experiences with a more tranquil mind and compassionate awareness.

While these meditations are intentionally brief, they are also intentionally deep, offering the potential for tapping immediately into experiences and perspectives that sustain a meaningful life. And they are simple, so even if you have never tried meditation or contemplation before, they are easy to do anytime, anywhere. If you are a seasoned meditator, whether part of a tradition or uniquely eclectic, my hope is that these will be touchstones that connect you to your practice in day-to-day moments.

Instructions
Allow 10 minutes for this meditation, a little over three minutes for each section: Body Wise, Heart Wise and Soul Wise. While the Body Wise practices are gentle, always modify any instructions to care for your physical needs. This Body Wise practice can be done sitting or lying down, and the Heart and Soul Wise parts of the meditation that follow are best done sitting. You'll need a pen and paper nearby for the Heart Wise section. Feel free to modify any aspect of the meditation, always honoring what feels appropriate in the moment. All of the meditation themes can be explored in depth, so if you happen to have more than 10 minutes, you are invited to linger.

Body Wise
The holiday season usually asks for even greater demands on our time and energy, so this part of the meditation is for replenishing. Your breath is one of the most potent ways to nourish yourself. The oxygen you breathe travels to every cell in your body and the more oxygen we have in our system, the more energy we produce.

Sit or recline in a comfortable position, fully supported. For about 1 ½ minutes, inhale through your nose to a silent count of 4, and exhale through your mouth making a "shhhhh" sound for about 6-8 counts. Keep the count even, and set a pace that is comfortable for you. Keep your attention tethered to your breath, and focus on emptying out stress and tension. When your mind wanders, simply bring your attention back and refocus again on your breath.

Now devote 1 ½ minutes reversing the rhythm with a sustained in-breath of 6-8 counts and shorter exhalation of four counts, breathing through your nose for both parts. Welcome the oxygen on the inhalation, picturing/sensing it traveling from head to toe, infusing your body with vitality. As you exhale, image the oxygen saturating your cells.

If your breath is compromised by any health concerns, use these three minutes to find the optimal quality of ease for your breathing, keeping the rhythm in your natural, comfortable range.

Heart Wise
Are you pressured to respond to the holidays in ways that other people want or expect? Or perhaps you've establish traditions that no longer serve you or fit your current circumstances. Depression and anxiety around the holidays are often triggered by expectations imposed by what others (or your inner critic) think you should be doing, which gets reinforced by the media.

While there are often many people to take into consideration with holidays, be sure to keep yourself in the equation and factor in what is important to you too.

Create new traditions. Invite those close to you to have a holiday "makeover," finding creative ways to celebrate that are expressive of current interests and budgets.

Stay true to your values. Suggest gifts and activities that support the life you really value and enjoy. For example, what might it be like to make gifts together, like baking bread or assembling wreaths, or simply taking a walk together to enjoy the particular beauty of winter?

Pace yourself. The rhythm of the holidays can easily become an intense flurry of activity. If you enjoy multiple gatherings, spread them out. If you skip a party with friends, invite them to rejuvenate with you on a post-holiday spa day. Grab a pen and paper and brainstorm possibilities for this season for three minutes.

Soul Wise
November and December are concentrated with the well-known and promoted holidays and celebrations of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the New Year. If we expand our cultural vision we also find Rohatsu within Buddhism, Guru Tegh Bahadur of the Sikh tradition, Litha of Wicca, Hijra in Islam, the Baha'i Day of Covenant and Zoroastrian's Zarathosht Diso. And the poet Longfellow described the holiest of all holidays the "... secret anniversaries of the heart." When we strip away the commercialism we can use these opportunities to gather and share the goodness of life with people we love and recommit to our deepest values.

The word holiday originally came from Holy Day, and the root meaning of holy goes back to the Middle English holi, a variation of Old English hālig, hāleg or hāl, which translates to whole. With this perspective, holy days cannot be relegated to a particular time of year. Is it even possible for one day to be more whole, more holy, than the next? St. Francis of Assisi remarked, "No one lives outside the walls of this sacred place, existence." Whether you belong to a faith tradition, or are inspired by the beauty of nature in its fullest expressions, take three minutes in silence releasing all other demands on your attention. Be in awe at the underlying mystery of life itself that is within and around you, and is in essence, you.

Leslie Davenport is the author of the classic book on self-healing "Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery." A pioneer in the health care revolution that recognizes psychospiritual dimensions as an integral part of health, she is a founding member of the Institute for Health & Healing at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, serves on the faculty of John F. Kennedy University and is a clinical supervisor with the California Institute of Integral Studies. Visit Leslie on Red Room, where you can buy her books.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Ex-banker turned Hindu monk urges Wall Street to meditate

2011-11-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ex-banker turned Hindu monk urges Wall Street to meditate

Nov 17, 2011 01:37 EST

banker monk karma yoga bhakti | usa new york occupy wall street protest hindu meditation greed

(Occupy Wall Street protesters pray before going to sleep in Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in New York October 14, 2011.REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

Rasanath Das, a former New York investment banker who gave it all up to become a Hindu monk, was recently spending his Sunday afternoons leading Occupy Wall Street protesters in meditation until police cleared their camp at Zuccotti Park this week.

The 32-year-old monk isn’t sure now where his next session will be. He’ll keep following the protesters to offer meditation sessions, though, convinced they will only roll back the inequality they see around them if they find equanimity deep inside.

“Anger won’t solve anything,” he told Reuters. “We have to work from the heart… there is so much distrust now.”

Das has been a discreet presence at the protests, leading sessions of only 5 to 7 minutes before making way for other religious leaders to preach at a weekly interfaith service. What he doesn’t tell is an unlikely life story that explains how he ended up in Lower Manhattan.

A native of Mumbai, Das studied at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) there and moved to the United States in 2000 to work as a consultant with the accounting firm Deloitte. After earning a masters of business administration (MBA) at Cornell, he started at Bank of America in 2006.

His specialty was the technology, media and telecoms sector and he dealt in so-called structured products, including mortgage-backed securities — “the things that blew up, the toxic products” as he put it in a telephone interview.
Das had studied this market but remained baffled by it even after he began trading. “I saw people I considered much smarter than I was, and they really believed in them, so I didn’t open my mouth,” he said.

(Rasanath Das)

As world markets began to crumble in 2007, a superior told him: “You have to realise this is a game of musical chairs … when the music stops, the person or bank that has the assets sitting on his books loses.”

“The far-reaching consequences for the economy were not something he would foresee,” Das said. His doubts grew until, the following year, he found himself working on a merger and acquisition project for Playboy magazine.

He felt it was absurd trying to sell sex when the economy was collapsing and people were losing their jobs. “It was not that I hated the industry or the people I worked with,” he said. “But I began to see the shallowness in that world. I wanted to be part of something authentic and deep.”

In fact, Das was already linked to that something. Since 2007, he had been living in a Hindu monastery in Manhattan’s East Village. “I was living out of a large closet, with four suits and button-down shirts,” he said. “I slept on the floor and lived the life of a monk.”

Das had been practicing karma yoga, the Hindu path of selfless service to the divine, for a decade before moving into the monastery in 2007. As part of this active service, he used his $170,000 annual salary to help finance the monastery.

“Living in a monastery was a very strong safety belt to make sure I kept my inner core,” he explained. “That association provided a certain balance to the work environment.”

When he quit in late 2008, one Bank of America manager praised his courage and another said he was making the worst mistake of his life. Several colleagues confided their discontent to him and some also quit, he said.
Das admitted it was hard to give up the perks and prestige of the investment banker’s life, but it wasn’t what he wanted.

“It was only after joining the monastery that I began to understand the prison of Wall Street,” he said. “I didn’t hate those people but I began to understand what drives them and how much shallowness and suffering is there inside.”
Das has left Wall Street but not the financial industry. Part of his new work is speaking at corporate retreats about leadership and self-awareness to help managers get beyond the greed he sees driving the financial industry.

After a local newspaper recently profiled him, two high-flyers from the investment bank Goldman Sachs visited him at the monastery to discuss the financial crisis. “They’re coming back again soon,” he said.

Das sees his work as a kind of corporate chaplain who could help build character in managers and help avoid disasterous decisions made when short-term goals prevail. More regulation of the financial industry may be needed, but only a higher consciousness will help in the long term, he said.
Asked if protesters and profiteers could develop this higher consciousness, he said: “I keep my expectations low but at the same time I keep my enthusiasm high… I’ve met so many people who want to make a change. To me, that’s very inspiring.”

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

New Research on Meditation for health, pain and depression

2011-11-18T14:09:00.001-08:00

Dr. Isaac Eliaz Presents Meditation and Healing Workshop at Oncology Conference
MarketWatch (press release)
In fact, published studies show that simple meditation when practiced daily is more effective than anti-depressants in improving mental, physical and emotional well-being. More and more peer-reviewed research on meditation confirms that it is a viable ...
See all stories on this topic »

Want Peace of Mind?
Success Magazine
... in practice," says David Dillard-Wright, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina Aiken and author of Meditation for Multitaskers: Your Guide to Finding Peace Between the Pings. If you're thinking, Research, smesearch. ...
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Success Magazine

Distraction can ease chronic pain
WTOP
New research with brain scans reveals what's going on when different meditation techniques work to ease pain. It boils down to the brain being distracted. Areas of the brain associated with pain don't get as fired up as other areas when someone in pain ...
See all stories on this topic »

6 Ways To Unplug And Recharge (Without Meditating)

2011-11-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

The Huffington Post By Riddhi Shah

With the holidays just around the corner, anxiety levels are already beginning to climb. Stress, if left unchecked, can lead to a host of medical problems -- like stomach issues, headaches, fatigue or even full-fledged depression.

Meditation is commonly cited as the one surefire way to reduce stress without resorting to medication. But what if you just can't meditate? Stress-relief doesn't depend on the actual act of meditation as much on the process of disconnecting from the situation at hand and slowing your thoughts down.

Here's our list of non-meditative activities that will relieve stress:

Read complete list.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Unoccupy Your Mind: Meditation for People Who Think They Can't Meditate

2011-11-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

From Business Insider by Mark Goulston, Xtraordinary Outcomes

Given all the disquieting things around us concerning the volatility of the world economies and stock markets, jobs, etc. and how the powerlessness that people feel has crossed over into anger and rage, I thought it would be a good time to learn how to calm our minds. Now I will admit that I am not someone who has ever been able to do that. In fact I have envied people who seem to be able to do that through meditation.

So I turned to Doc Barham a Los Angeles based multiply certified, transformational coach and one of the best explain ers of treatment methods I have ever met.

Goulston: Doc given all the upset in the world I think this is a time for many people to learn to quiet their minds, because all of the reactivity is serving no one. I include myself in that group and I would love to learn to meditate. What is meditation?

Barham: You can look at meditation in a number of different ways: as a tool, a skill, a discipline, an art and a science. As a transformative practice, meditation is essential to something referred to as Integral Life Mastery. Ultimately though, as you continue to transform and awaken, meditation evolves beyond all these terms into a way of being in the world.

In simplest terms: Meditation is a way of engaging the mind to go beyond the mind.

Goulston: Hm mm... engaging the mind to go beyond the mind. How does that happen?

Barham: As a practice, meditation uses concentration and silent contemplation during deep physical relaxation for experiencing an ever deeper awareness of yourself in such a way that it that gives rise to insight, and eventually, transformation.

Goulston: Where does meditation come from?

Barham: Meditation as a practice has been around in one form or another for a very long time. In terms of recorded history, meditation techniques from different cultures and traditions around the world have been written about and improved upon for more than 5000 years. However, since meditation is really a natural function of the human bodymind - it was almost certainly a practice of prehistory, as well. If you've ever stared into a flickering fire you can just imagine what meditating while sitting before a sacred flame might have been like during shamanic spiritual practices ages ago.

In truth, meditation is an ancient practice that has been highly valued, handed down, rediscovered and innovated upon by generation after generation for millennial.

Goulston: What's the value of doing meditation? What are the benefits?
Barham: Currently there are literally over 2000 scientific studies documenting 100's of physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual benefits you receive from meditation. And while there are far too many to list here, Michael Murphy's book, The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation, is a good place to start. Ultimately, the real value and benefit of meditation is found in your intention, your efforts and what works for you right now which all of which will determine how you do meditation.

Goulston: What does meditation lead to then?

Barham: That depends. Consider that an integral meditation is part of an overall life practice, the purpose of which is to help you evolve, deepen, and awaken in all dimensions of your being.

Certain spiritual traditions have a very interesting notion that before you can know who you are you must first know who you are not. This is known as the Way of Subtraction, Via Negativa or Neti-Neti, and in essence, what it means in part is that due to our years of conditioning and habituation while growing up, we do not really know who or all that we truly are. In a very real sense, we 'suffer' from a case of mis-taken identity.

For example, if you're someone who is fully identified with your thoughts and your thinking - meaning you "think" you are your thoughts - then meditation can help you experience something quite profound by beginning to observe or 'witness' your thoughts. What happens is you realize a very important and life-changing distinction: you are not your thoughts, rather, you have thoughts. Simply put, you can't be what you can witness, therefore, your thoughts are not 'you'. In the same way, in meditation you can realize that you are not your feelings but you have feelings. Another step further, and you can realize you are not your beliefs but have beliefs. And further still, you can realize something that is even more freeing and liberating: you are not your ego but you have an ego, as well. Through regular meditation practice you come to realize each of these insights - not just intellectually as so much information in your head - but through direct experience. And as you do, you are realizing more of who you truly are. By witnessing your thoughts, your feelings, your beliefs, and your ego in a healthy way, you are continuously converting what was originally the subject of your attention into an object of your attention, you then transcend and include each of these in your awareness.

Over time, these states of awareness you experience in meditation become stable and continuous and mature into new higher stages of personal development which give rise to an entirely new 'reality tunnel' or view of the world.

Goulston: Say more about that.

Barham: Through meditation you come to realize that who you are is no longer sourced in your mind or body or even your ego-personality, but in something else, something deeper that exists 'prior' to all of these different aspects of yourself.

Who you are is now sourced in Awareness.

Think about this: Your 'reality' is what you pay attention to.

Goulston: What do you mean that paying attention is your reality?

Barham: If like most people, you spend your whole life and all your time habitually paying attention to your thoughts and feelings you will become totally identified with them, right? Well then who will you think you are? Your thoughts and feelings. As a result, you'll become highly attached to them.

Why? Because quite simply, you think they're you. And anyone or anything that seems to threaten them will be threatening to 'you' and you will get really upset. The same exact thing goes for your beliefs and your ego too. And that's why we jokingly say it's all a case of mis-taken identity.

Goulston: What can you do if you are attached to the what is working against you?

Barham: If you decide to stop and turn your attention away from your thoughts and feelings and back toward your awareness what will happen? If you spend time bringing your attention back to awareness, being aware of awareness, over time, you will realize that you are Awareness itself. And when you begin to rest in that Awareness your body and mind start to integrate and work together in harmony like never before.

Now, since you are truly a multi-dimensional being, you actually contain three primary centers of consciousness: the awareness center which is located in your head, the feeling-awareness center located at your Heart, AND the body intelligence and life force center known as the Hara, located below your navel in your body.

By turning your attention to any one of these centers in meditation you can experience your self from that particular center of consciousness: Awareness, the Heart, or Beingness, shall we say. Eventually, resting in meditation in all three centers of consciousness simultaneously is a profound experience of oneself as a truly multidimensional being.

Goulston: So how do you do this meditation? What do you do?

Barham: In general, in this meditation you'll bring your attention back to Awareness over and over again. You continue to cultivate the meditative state by relaxing more and more deeply while refining your attention back upon Awareness itself.

Also, its good to bring certain positive personal qualities to your practice to help ensure you experience a simpler, easier, more enjoyable, and more fruitful meditation.

The most essential quality is sincerity. Sincerity gives rise to other qualities as a natural expression of your honest intent which include such things as a balance of persistence and patience along with a measure of self-kindness and trust as you surrender to a process that takes time and effort.

Goulston: How about giving us something to try right now to experience what you've been explaining to us?

Barham: Great idea. Sometimes "feeling is believing." Let's try an example that we'll call, The Awareness Of Awareness Meditation

The Awareness Of Awareness Meditation consists of three simple steps:

Step 1: Look at an Object.
Step 2: Become aware of your Awareness.
Step 3: Observe Awareness.

First, find yourself a nice, quiet place where you will be uninterrupted and free from any distractions. It's best to set aside some time - say anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes for starters. Make sure you're wearing comfortable clothing and sitting in a comfortable position where your spine is relatively straight and you won't become tired in that position during the meditation.

Now, allow yourself to relax your entire body with a few nice deep, slow breaths.

Next, to warm up, find an object in the room and notice the following three things: the object you're looking at, the space or distance between you and the object, and you.

Now, let go of the object, shift your attention away from it and notice there is awareness that is 'looking' through your eyes right now. Not thought but awareness. Awareness is not thought. Awareness is that which is aware of thought. Become aware of your awareness.

Now, close your eyes and observe your awareness. There is your attention and there is awareness. Turn your attention to your awareness. Just let go and notice there is awareness. Awareness is empty. You're not trying to observe any object. Its just noticing awareness. Become present to your awareness. Observe awareness and remain with that.

And that's it. Turn your attention away from any thoughts or feelings and directly towards awareness itself and stay with that for the duration of your meditation.

Goulston: Could you repeat those key steps to that meditation?

Barham: The three simple steps to the Awareness of Awareness Meditation:
Step 1: Look at an object.
Step 2: Become aware of your Awareness.
Step 3: Close your eyes and observe Awareness.

And one last thing. Remember, mastery of anything is about practice, consistently putting what you know into action so you can experience the transformation you desire. As you do you'll find the practice of Awareness of Awareness will help you to rest increasingly in an authentic and peaceful state of non-attachment as you realize yourself more fully in body, mind, soul and Spirit.

Goulston: So practice makes perfect.

Barham: Maybe if you let go of "perfection" you could quiet your mind.

Goulston: A very good thing for me to meditate about.

Barham: Now you're talking about contemplation, not meditation and that could be the subject of another conversation.

Goulston: I'll look forward to that. Thank you Doc for helping us all to quiet our minds.

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.
Follow Mark Goulston on Twitter.

Karah Pino, MAcOM is the facilitator of Peace is in Pieces Blog. Please email submissions to: peaceisinpieces@gmail.com How do you create a Piece of Peace?

Meditation Research in the News: PTSD, Reactivity

2011-11-12T17:42:00.001-08:00

Early evidence in OHSU study shows meditation helping vets with PTSD
HealthCanal.com
OHSU is the source of more than 200 community outreach programs that bring health and education services to each county in the state. Note to editors: Participants in the PTSD/meditation study are available for media interviews. Contact Todd Murphy.
See all stories on this topic »

Contemplating to climax: Meditation relieves sex woes
The Brown Daily Herald
Britton encouraged her to find some answers in a data set from a large study on the effects of meditation on college students that is still being analyzed. A unique aspect of the Britton lab is that Silverstein was able to investigate a question of ...
See all stories on this topic »

Is This the Antidote to Reactivity?
Huffington Post (blog)
Scientific research indicates that meditation practice can actually change our brain structure to ameliorate reactivity. But meditation is just one tool for what, at the extreme, is known as impulse control disorder. Cognitive work, medications ...
See all stories on this topic »

(206) 794-7231

Cloud Appreciation Society Newsletter - Mt Rainier

2011-11-12T16:11:00.001-08:00

…what her face was like, I know no longer

I only know I kissed it on that day.

As for the kiss, I long ago forgot it

But for the cloud that floated in the sky

I know that still and shall forever know it.

It was quite white and moved in very high.

It may be that the plum trees still are blooming

That woman's seventh child may now be there

And yet that cloud had only bloomed for minutes.

When I looked up
It vanished on the air.

[Bertolt Brecht, 'Remembering Marie A', from his play 'Baal' (1918).

This translation of the song was recorded in 1981 by David Bowie:

listen here]

.....

Dear Karah Pino (Member No. 7972),

Welcome to one of our occasional Cloud Appreciation Society newsletters. It may take us a while to get around to them, but at least no one can accuse us of spamming. Welcome especially to our many new members. We are pleased to say that we now have 28,214 members in 91 countries around the world.

Cloud of The Month for November

The peak of Mount Rainier, Washington, US, casts a long shadow on to the undulating Altocumulus clouds above, as it bathes in the warm glow of an Autumn sunrise.

Mt Rainier cloud shadows © Nick Lippert

The 13th-Century painter Giotto was a cloudspotter too

We were delighted to learn that the first of the Italian Renaissance master painters Giotto hid a face in the clouds of one of his frescoes in Assisi, Italy. Painted in 1289, it looks like a horned Devil and seems to have remained completely unnoticed by anyone since. We only wish the art historian who noticed it had done so just a couple of weeks earlier. To ready why, see Giotto was a Closet Cloudspotter on our Attention All Cloudspotters page.

We have a brand-new Cloud Shop...

...and it's selling our fantastic 2012 Cloud Calendar. As we keep our membership fee as a low, single payment for life, the main way that the society earns enough money to carry on is by selling the calendar. So please buy one for yourself or your cloudspotting friends!

We have been working hard behind the scenes to redesign our Cloud Shop in order to make it easier to use and more efficient. The new system does mean you'll have to enter your address details afresh, but now you can enter your membership number as you do so. This will help with our future plans to introduce special sections of the website that only logged-in members can access.

The Cloud Shop has a whole host of great Christmas gifts for cloudspotters of all ages, persuasions and intelligences. Here are a few ideas:

Our 2012 calendar

Our DVD

Greetings Cards

Men's Snow Tee

Girl's Snow Tee

CAS Baby Grow

Help us understand the mystery of the dancing storm clouds

We have become fascinated by a string of amateur sightings of strange, shifting light effects in the sky just above Cumulonimbus thunderclouds. Videos have been posted on YouTube of these mysterious phenomena, which appear to be related to the shifting electrical fields in the upper parts of the clouds as lightning strikes down below.

But Something didn't sound right about the explanation that was proposed on a NASA website. So we decided to seek clarification from a member of The Cloud Appreciation Society who is an expert on atmospheric light effects: Les Cowley, Member Number 0014, of the fantastic Atmospheric Optics website.

Read what he had to say about these mysterious light effects and find out how you might help gather more evidence about them here:

The mysterious dancing storm clouds

Gavin Pretor-Pinney is giving a reading in London next week

The Wavewatcher's Companion, my book on the subject of waves, was partly inspired by the many varied and beautiful wave formations found amongst the great ocean of gases that is our atmosphere. I'm very pleased that this book has just been shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. All six shortlisted authors will be giving readings from their books and joining in a panel discussion at the Royal Society in London on Thursday 17 November. Even thought my book is about waves rather than clouds, any society members who'd be interested and at a loose end that night would be most welcome to come and witness me lose. The event is free. There is no booking, just entry on a first-come-first-served basis:

Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, 2011

Thursday 17 November - 6.30pm - 8.00pm

The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG

There are more details on the Royal Society website.

Great new additions to our Cloud Video and Music Pages

What with all our efforts to improve the photo gallery and the shop, we have got very behind on uploading members' Cloud Videos and Cloud Music. But we have just added a bunch of each, and will get down to the rest of them soon. Apologies if you have been waiting for yours to appear.

Watch new Cloud Videos sent in by members

Listen to new Cloud Music composed by our very talented members

Recently Spotted on the Society Gallery

A big fish that is about to eat the Moon

A snail over Anglesey, UK

The Loch Ness monster over Italy

A cloud that wants to be a plane

A snoring man over Birmingham, UK

Father Christmas, or Santa, having a bad-hair day over Cornwall, UK

Until next time, remember to live life with your head in the clouds!

Best wishes,

Gavin Pretor-Pinney,

The Cloud Appreciation Society

Why don't you follow us on twitter and visit our Facebook Page ?

.....

11/11/11 is here! Global Meditations underway, Med Mob in Seattle this evening!

2011-11-11T09:37:00.001-08:00

Join in wherever you are!

11/11/11 Has Arrived

Dear Conscious Breather,

11/11/11 marks our one year countdown to one billion people breathing together!

Tomorrow, throughout the day, join our friends from One Breath, One World, MedMob, PeaceLink Live, Elevate, Tree of Life Celebration, and more, as we celebrate our Oneness!

_______________________________________________________________________

One Breath One World

One Breath One World on Friday, 11/11/11 at 6:30PM PST and 9:30PM EST

Click the above banner to sign up for the FREE live streaming!

________________________________________________________________________

Med Mob Global Meditation Flash Mobs

On 11/11/11 at 11:11AM & 11:11PM, for one hour in each time zone of the world, we are inviting global citizens to join in this massive worldwide silent meditation.

Click HERE to find your local MedMob event.

Log into DoAsOne.com or download Do As One's mobile app below to breathe synchronously with all who are meditating together around the globe!

__________________________________________________________

Peace Link Live!

Log into The Universal Breathing Room on DoAsOne.com

at 8PM PST/11PM EST

__________________________________________________________

Download Do As One's

BreatheTogether iPhone App NOW!

Participate in all the 11/11/11 events from wherever you're at!

Be inspired,

Do As One

Please donate to Do As One and know that

all of your funds go to support our initiatives to

create tools that sustain your health and wellness!

Do As One is a 501(C)3 Non-profit Organization.

(310) 456-4388 | phone

breathe@doasone.com

DoAsOne.com

Meditation Research: ADHD

2011-11-09T21:57:00.001-08:00

3 Natural Ways to Help Treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Huffington Post (blog)
Meditation. In a pilot study in the 2008 issue of Current Issues in Education, transcendental meditation seemed to improve overall attention and behavior in children with ADHD. Reduction of stress and anxiety seemed to lessen symptoms as well by ...
See all stories on this topic »

Kirtan in Seattle

2011-11-09T21:39:00.001-08:00

Chanting (Kirtan) – Ananda Seattle
Join us in devotional kirtans, featuring chants by Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda. As Kriyananda writes in his autobiography, The Path: "As ...
anandaseattle.org/ongoing-services/chanting-kirtan/

Celebrate 11/11/11 with us, Locally and Globally

2011-11-08T12:50:00.001-08:00

11/11/11

Dear Fellow Breather,

The time has come. This Friday, 11/11/11, marks the one year countdown to one billion people breathing together! Do As One is inviting you to become a part of this grand experience. Next year at this time, there will be events all over the planet choosing to synchronize the breath of the many that have come to unite.

Today, like never before, we are utilizing the power of technology to bring the world a little closer together and to remind ourselves that we are more connected than we think. Join our friends from One Breath, One World, MedMob, PeaceLink Live, Elevate, Tree of Life Celebration, and more, as we come together on this glorious day to celebrate our Oneness!

_______________________________________________________________________________

One Breath One World

Join Do As One and iQigong as we celebrate One Breath One World on Friday, 11/11/11 at 6:30PM PST and 9:30PM EST

Click the above banner to register for the FREE Live stream of the 9Breath Prayer Circle and to learn the 9Breath Method in preparation for the event.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Med Mob Global Meditation Flash Mobs

On 11/11/11 at 11:11AM & 11:11PM, for one hour in each time zone of the world, we are inviting global citizens to join in this massive worldwide silent meditation that will impact our inner selves and the course of history.

Log into DoAsOne.com or download Do As One's mobile app below to breathe synchronously with all who are meditating together around the globe!

___________________________________________________________

Peace Link Live!

Click on the above banner to get tickets to the LIVE event at the

Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City, CA

Log into The Universal Breathing Room on DoAsOne.com

at 8PM PST/11PM EST

This night is a celebration and call to action for global citizens to come together, to love together, to breathe together and become a culture of oneness and peace.

___________________________________________________________

Download Do As One's

BreatheTogether iPhone App NOW!

Thousands have requested the application and now it's here! Participate in all the 11/11/11 events from wherever you're at! Launch Do As One's Breathe Together app and breathe synchronously with everyone who is logged into the Universal Breathing Room on DoAsOne.com!

In joy and gratitude,

Do As One

(310) 456-4388 | phone

breathe@doasone.com

DoAsOne.com

Meditation Flash Mob this Friday in Westlake 5:30p, Bring Candles or Lights

2011-11-07T12:48:00.001-08:00

Please forward!!

November is getting colder, so MedMob this month, an idea is to plan for a walking meditation. It will also be dark, so if everyone brought a light to carry, it would be lovely for us to walk in illumination.

Those who are comfortable sitting in the cold could sit in the middle and we could come to the plaza from all directions, turn on our light (the battery powered candles are perfect or a flashlight with a cone of paper at the end) and walk to the meditation to join in.

By request of some Occupiers, there will be meditation courses offered in the sanctuary tent. If you have skills to share, please volunteer to teach!

--
Karah Pino, MAcOM
Meditation 101 - UW Experimental College
Peace is in Pieces - Resource for Meditators in Seattle and Globally
twitter @peaceisinpieces
(206) 794-7231

--
Karah Pino, MAcOM
Meditation 101 - UW Experimental College
Peace is in Pieces - Resource for Meditators in Seattle and Globally
twitter @peaceisinpieces
(206) 794-7231

Peace is in Pieces

Stressed Out? Guided Imagery and Meditation Can Help, Researchers Say

Feb 9 Community Kirtan in Seattle 8pm

Be Here Now: Meditation For The Body And Brain

Huff Post: The Role of Mindfulness in Education

The Role of Mindfulness in Education

Vets find ways to de-stress using yoga, meditation

By Lindsay Wise

Huffpost: How Does Our Consciousness Change The Structure Of The Brain And Then Our Life?

Huff Post: Why People Who Pray Are Healthier Than Those Who Don't

Beyond spirituality: the role of meditation in mental health

Body

Mind, brain and beyond

Ageing

Emotional stability

Next steps in research

Meditation Apps by Meditation Oasis

Bringing Mindfulness Meditation to Medicine: Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mind Reading: Jon Kabat-Zinn Talks About Bringing Mindfulness Meditation to Medicine

Breast cancer survivors benefit from mindfulness

Meditation Comes To Facebook

An introduction to easy meditation

USA Today: Americans are stressed, but we're getting used to it

By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY

Tips for handling stress:

Cast Your Vote

Top 10 Good News of the Week!

Meditation 101 Begins Feb 2nd, Register Now!

Meditation 101 at the University of Washington

or by phone (206) 68-LEARN

Meditation Hindrances and how to work with them

Scientific American: The Neurobiology of Bliss--Sacred and Profane

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

MedMob this Sunday, Dec 18th Westlake Park

Surviving Holiday Blues: Positive Effects from Meditation and Exercise

Surviving Holiday Blues: Positive Effects from Meditation and Exercise

Huff Post: A Tiny Shift Matters--A Lot

Kids Get Centered in Meditation Class

Meditation for Kids : Dealing with Anger in Children : Make a Calm-Down Basket!

Department of Defense Embracing Meditation for PTSD

December Violet Flame cancelled, Happy Solstice!

Time to reflect on the multitude of blessings of 2011!

CANCELLLED Wed Dec 21st, Winter Solstice 1pm - 3pm

Welcome to 2012!

HuffPost : How Your Thoughts and Emotions Can Affect Your Body

by

Contemplative education; math and meditation

by

New Applications for Meditation on Thanksgiving

Meditation Research: Meditation Relieves IBS Severity

Veterans learn to use yoga and meditation exercises to reconnect with their emotions

Brain Imaging Illuminates Neuro Basis of Meditation

Brain Imaging Illuminates Neuro Basis of Meditation

How to Meditate Into Higher States of Consciousness by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Meditation in the News: Meditation program now at UCLA

Huffpost: 10-Minute Meditation For a More Peaceful Holiday Season

10-Minute Meditation For a More Peaceful Holiday Season

Ex-banker turned Hindu monk urges Wall Street to meditate

New Research on Meditation for health, pain and depression

6 Ways To Unplug And Recharge (Without Meditating)

Unoccupy Your Mind: Meditation for People Who Think They Can't Meditate

Meditation Research in the News: PTSD, Reactivity

Cloud Appreciation Society Newsletter - Mt Rainier

11/11/11 is here! Global Meditations underway, Med Mob in Seattle this evening!

Meditation Research: ADHD

Kirtan in Seattle

Celebrate 11/11/11 with us, Locally and Globally

Meditation Flash Mob this Friday in Westlake 5:30p, Bring Candles or Lights

CANCELLLED
Wed Dec 21st,
Winter Solstice
1pm - 3pm