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Showing posts from July, 2011

Meditation Can Halt Brain Degeneration

Aging is a process that not only reduces physical capability but also slows down mental prowess of a person. However, meditation does help in improving mental capacity, agrees Canada Pharmacy Online. The natural process of aging cannot be reversed, but the brain can be manipulated to be as sharp as ever with the help of basic mental exercises initiated by meditation. Memory and thinking capability is what determines capability of the brain. In fact, research has shown that meditation can actually help people have larger brains as they grow older. Excess brain cells help in the process of stimulation and communication with other parts of the body. In other words, research has proved meditation has the potential to change the actual size of the brain. Study Backs Connection between Brain Regions and Meditation Researchers from the University of Los Angeles (UCLA) Laboratory of Neuro Imaging used a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the structural connection between the various diffe

Get loopy! Feel better fast with feedback loops

Old religious habits can take a long time to die. As churchless as I am these days, sometimes I long for a "revival." The faith to which I previously subscribed was Eastern rather than Western, so my notion of a revival was to attend a weekend meeting where speakers (maybe even the guru himself) would urge devotees to apply themselves to meditation and other spiritual practices/vows more assiduously. I enjoyed feeling that I had a clear-cut spiritual goal, and that if I did this-and-that, such-and-such results could be expected. Maybe not soon; maybe not even in this lifetime; but someday -- after I died, or in another life. So what do I do now when an urge for a revival, a rejuvenation of purpose, strikes me? I get loopy. Meaning, I remind myself that reality is right here, right now. When I feel like something is missing from my life, almost always the cure for my Lack Sickness is to pay better attention to what is in my life. Every waking moment, and also in dreams, we

Graphic proof of America's unusual religious craziness

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This graph says a lot: Belief in evolution versus national wealth . Yeah, the United States is weird. We're an advanced industrialized nation with an unusually high proportion of religious wackos.

Brilliant academics talk about God

Thanks to Pharyngula, I just made a start on watching an interesting You Tube video that features fifty super-smart people talking about why they don't believe in God. So far I've only listened to ten of the fifty academics. I like what I've heard. Some Pharyngula commenters noted that almost all of the people in the video are older white guys. For some reason I'm not offended by this at all. Anyway, they make great good sense. There's so much religious crap being spread around the world these days, it's nice to be exposed to some intelligent, reasonable, rational talk about God. Have a look and listen.

JUSTxTEEEN BITCH ;)

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JUSTxTEEEN BITCH ;) that sounds true From: agameisjee Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 00:43 More in People & Blogs

Asking and Receiving Are Connected

All fulfillment comes from within. This may seem to be one of Jesuss most extravagant promises. We have all asked and not received. To find out what Jesus actually meant, then, we have to answer a few questions: Who is asking? Where is the request going? Whom does it reach?For most people, the asking comes from the ego, with its unending stream of desires. The request is going out into empty space or to a vaguely remembered God from childhood. The receiver of the request is unknown.What this means is that asking and receiving are disconnected. Indeed, they must be, because in everyday awareness the world is separate from us and fragmented into millions of isolated events. When you ask for anything, the One is asking the One, God is asking God. And there is always a response.Learn to ask in a new way, by expecting every wish to bring a response. Take the attitude expressed by the Persian poet Rumi: Ask all of yourself. The mechanics of giving and receiving are inside you. T

For me, "getting real" means getting rid of religion

What are you doing when you feel the most real? What makes you exclaim, "Wow, that was real! " What circumstances lead you to feel, If I were to die now, I'd die content ? Obviously only you can answer those questions. All I want to do is raise them, because I think they're well worth pondering. If life isn't filled with really real moments, are we truly living? For me, reality seems most vibrant, clear, energetic, and alluring when I'm engaged in a physical activity that has an edgy aspect to it. "Edgy" is a term that's hard to pin down. There's an element of dangerousness, though not always in a life-threatening sense. It's like I'm being pushed to do something bodily that takes me closer to some sort of limit, as if what's most real isn't perceived unless I'm jolted out of my usual comfort zone. Which involves getting rid of concepts, thoughts, beliefs, imaginings, anticipations, conjectures -- all of that abstract stu

Effects of Awareness

There is more self-control in letting go than in trying to control ones body by force. Your condition depends on the state of your awareness. Your mind is deeply influencing your body.Imagine that your awareness is like a violin string. The string can play any kind of note, high or low, depending on where you place your finger. In conventional medicine, only the notes counta huge amount of time is spent just killing the abnormal white cells. But you could just change your position on the string. Then you wouldnt be destroying anything; you would be creating a new reality, complete with new notes.Are you saying that feeling good makes my illness regress? If feeling good is part of healing, then yes, that is what I am saying. Its not really a matter of your moods. Naturally your moods swing during the course of a serious illnessyou can feel happy or despondent, hopeful or hopeless without warning.Underlying these unpredictable mood swings is your quantum level of awareness, whic

Do You Create In Consciousness?

Certain states of awareness, such as dreams and imagination, are accepted in our society, but they press close to other states that modern people often relegate to superstition, such as seeing departed spirits and having holy visions.Yet Ive met too many people who tell me soberly of having saints appear to them in meditation, and others who have been visited by gurus, the archangel Michael, Jesus, Buddha, ancient Tibetan lamas, and incarnations of themselves. Access will not be denied.Other cultures have felt more comfortable navigating the subtle dimension that we do; our tendency is to wall this region off from the physical world and to make arbitrary judgments.Yet, to create in consciousness is our greatest gift, and what we create continues to evolve. If you open yourself without judgment to your role as a creator, you gain much more freedom. Genesis doesnt have to be a far-off event that put the universe into play. It can be a constant event that renews at every moment.A grea

Mathematics is both invented and discovered

I'm fascinated by the question of whether the laws of nature are "out there" in an objective external world, or "in here" within the subjective confines of the human brain. A recent post on my other blog about male/female conversation styles mentions how I'd talk about this topic with another philosophically-minded man. When men talk, most of the time they aren't trying to either reveal, or gain access to, inner feelings. My wife and I used to get another with another couple. The other guy and I would converse in one corner of our living room, while the wives huddled on the couch. Our male conversation always focused on Grand Cosmic Subjects, like whether the laws of nature are actually "out there," or whether they're a manifestation of the human mind. We'd learn a lot about each other in this fashion. Just not the same things the women would learn about. After the other couple left, my wife would say something like, "How i

We Are Both Local and Nonlocal

In the vastness of the ocean, there is no ego. Seen from a great distance, from the moon or a satellite, the ocean looks calm and inanimate, a large swath of blue girdling the earth.But as we get closer and closer to the ocean itself, we see that it is in constant motion, roiled by currents and tides, eddies and waves. We see these ocean patterns as distinct entities. As each wave is created, we can watch it crest, break, and race to the shore. Yet it is impossible to separate the wave from the ocean. You cannot take a bucket, scoop out a wave, and bring it home.When we are beginning to understand the soul, the ocean provides a wonderful analogy. Imagine the ocean as nonlocal reality, the field of infinite possibilities, the virtual level of existence that synchronizes everything. Each of us is like a wave in that ocean. We are created from it, and it makes up the very core of who we are. Just as a wave takes on specific shape, we, too, take on intricate patterns of nonlocal r

Unresolved Shadow Events

Shame, guilt and fear cannot be accessed by thinking. The shadow isnt a region of thoughts and words. Even when you have a flash of memory and recall such emotions, you are using a part of the higher brain the cortex that cannot touch the shadow.The journey of descent begins only when you find the doorway to the lower brain, where experience is sorted out not according to reason but according to intense feelings.There is an ongoing drama inside your lower brain (identified with the limbic system, which processes emotions, and the reptilian brain, which reacts in terms of raw threat and survival). In this drama, many issues that would be interpreted reasonably by the higher brain getting stuck in traffic, losing out on a business deal, being passed over at work, having a girl turn you down for a date trigger irrational responses.Without realizing it, everyday events are causing our lower brain to draw the following conclusions: I am so hurt, I will never recover. They put me in

Dorset Retreat with Dr. Naranjo

The first retreat led by Dr. Naranjo will take place in the lovely Gaunts House, an ideal and well-known venue for spiritual and therapeutic retreats, far (but not too far) from the madding crowd. The retreat is set on the 23rd to the 29th of September, wit programs divided into morning, afternoon and evening sessions. The participants will be engaged from early until late in an eclectic set of activities that will provide diverse and complementary perspectives from which to approach, experience and understand the self and the other. As in all of the retreats Dr. Naranjo will be leading the morning sessions, beginning with meditation and moving onto the Enneagram of Personality. The afternoon sessions, will consist of individual and shared exercises for self-exploration chosen by Dr. Naranjo and led by his collaborators, alongside body and movement work known as spontaneous movement'. The evening session will be dedicated principally to the presentation and analysis of films chosen

How Zen's nonduality is confirmed by neuroscience

Every morning I experience in a concrete fashion the tension about science and spirituality. In my meditation area I always have several books available for my morning caffeinated reading. Some are scientific -- about neuroscience, evolution, global warming. Others are spiritual -- mostly books on Buddhism, Taoism, mindfulness. There are days when I start reading a science book and it seems too dryly factual. Others days I'll pick up a spiritual book and find it annoyingly airy-fairy, dogmatic, or preachy. So often I'll bounce back and forth between several titles, searching for science with a poetic soul and for spirituality that is grounded in demonstrable facts about reality. Recently some passages in a Zen book, " The Wholehearted Way ," hit the mark in the factual spirituality category. (I'm pretty sure this book was recommended by a regular commenter, perhaps tAo. Whoever it was, thanks; I'm enjoying it.) "The Wholehearted Way" is a translatio

Touching is sacred, in an ungodly sense

Religious believers often are distrustful of getting too touchie-feelie. Ooh, bodies meeting, melding, melting into each other!That's so, um, bodily. God is all ethereal, otherworldly, spiritual. Bodies, bad. God, good. That's a thoroughly dualistic attitude, of course. Which is more than a little strange, since most religions spout stuff like "God is one," "All is God," and "God is everywhere." I've known true believers who said they couldn't wait to be rid of their body. They imagined that life in a heavenly realm would be so much better than existence in this crude physical world. Even when I was deep into dogma, that struck me as sad. Why pass up bodily delights? If there's more and better to enjoy after death, great. Delight in life while living, then delight in your afterlife (if there is one). This week SF Gate columnist Mark Morford wrote " Get over here and touch me now ." He praises the glory of godless sacred touch

What Is Real Happiness?

What is real happiness? It is being at one with your soul. So, then whats a soul? Its everything that the ego is not. The ego tries to build you up. It makes you feel special and protected. But whats really happening? You wind up being incredible insecure.Im stuck on myself, on my way of doing things. I dont love the way I am, but Im addicted to it, and I dont know how to stop.Your soul and your ego are as invisibly mixed as white wine and water. Thats why people are so confused. They wander through life searching for the soul when its right there. They all believe their soul will go to Heaven after they die, but the soul is everywhere already.In other words, the soul is a mystery. It cant be lost or found. It is neither here nor there. It belongs to you and yet it belongs to God. Without a process, no one would ever get to the bottom of it.Youre searching for a label. Dont. The process cant be named. Its invisible and yet all-powerful. It alters everything you say a

Reiki + Meditation Class

Reiki + Meditation Class: Help Yourself with Basics is set on the 23rd of July at 18 Elsa CourtHamilton, Ontario, to be led by Andrea Thiel Connell. This basic class will give the core teachings of Reiki + Meditation in a single day format. An introduction to the work, there will be an attunement, techniques and practice for self treatment. The class will also teach one to learn skills to lift their energy when they need it most. The class is for those who are dealing with daily stress, chronic pain, or worry. The class will focus on practice of self awareness, mindfulness, meditation and Reiki self treatment, distance healing work on others. Various techniques will also be taught to stimulate patience, calmness and peace in mind and body. For more information, visit www.centreforappliedmetaphysics.com.

Ultimate Ladies Day!

Positive Minds, a center founded by Jane Eastwood, will be conducting an Ultimate Ladies Day, a time for the women to release the stress and de-stress the mind, on the 23rd of July. The event will be held from 10 am to 5 pm at the High Legh Village Hall. The event is aimed at providing an ultimate experience which takes one through a journey to maintain confidence and positive psychological well being. The one-day event includes a Yoga and Meditation class, a session on how to maintain psychological well being using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Techniques and a Principles of Burlesque class to be hosted by Kirsty Allen, Director of Ministry Of Burlesque. Eastwood is a Stress Management Consultant trained through the National Health Service and Manchester University to deliver self-guided Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to those suffering from anxiety, depression and stress. For more information, visit www.positiveminds.co.uk.

India's "godmen" face questions about their wealth

Interesting story in the Washington Post about how spirituality has become a lucrative profession for Indian gurus and yogis. For centuries, their image was as barefoot ascetics who spent their lives in solitary Himalayan meditation. But now Indias gurus, miracle workers and spiritual leaders, often collectively known as godmen, have become savvy, powerful figures who control vast philanthropic and business empires, dabble in politics and manipulate the media. There's no mention of Gurinder Singh Dhillon, guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. But he's another good example of the trend toward making lots of money while preaching detachment from material pursuits. (See here , here , and here .)

Atheism promotes human dignity and truth-seeking

While exercising today I listened to a podcast of the Philosophy Talk program , "Atheism and the Well-Lived Life." The guest philosopher was Louise Antony , who edited Philosophers Without Gods -- one of whom is Ken Taylor , a regular host of the program. For me the most interesting comment of the program came from Anthony. She was asked a question by a woman in the audience that went something like this: As an atheist, what would you say to someone who is suffering, who has serious problems? Excellent question. Religion offers consolations for people who aren't having a pleasant life. Most obviously, the promise of a much better afterlife. Believe in Jesus, Allah, a guru, or some other divine being, and heaven, paradise, union with God, or such awaits you after death. Another form of religious consolation comes from being told that there's a reason for your suffering. And not just a scientific, materialistic, cause-and-effect reason, but a supernatural, moralistic r

Insights on Healing: Unity Consciousness

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Your body is not a structure, it is a process. Your body, the ecosystem, and the universe are all one process . When we look deeply within any structure it becomes obvious that structures are perceptual artifacts. Even a rock is made up of minerals, which are molecules, which are in turn composed of atoms. But the atoms are not solid entities. They are hierarchies of states of information and energy in a huge emptiness. This means that what we perceive as a hard, inert rock is in fact a dynamic process. When we examine biological organisms, we discover a process that is even more dynamic. The human body has 100 trillion cells each performing 100 thousand activities per second and each cell correlating its activity with every other cell faster than the speed of light (non-local correlation). Eating , breathing digestion, metabolism, elimination, sensory experience, thought, emotions, behavior, relationships, speech, biology, and all internal processes, including the regulation of the i

Red Rock Reflections 2011:Mind/Body/Spirit Retreat

A mind/body/spirit retreat will be held from July 29 - 31 at the Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa. The event is a weekend of workshops and lectures on self-discovery, relaxation, yoga, meditation, herbal healing, aquatic relaxation, adventure hiking, journaling, Sedona vortexes and more. Activities and workshops include Rise & Shine Yoga, Alternative Treatments: Journey & Movement, Wheel of Balance, Integrating Mind, Body, Spirit, Energizing Movement, Yoga Nidra, The Natural Way: Herbs & Healing, Hiking Adventure/Meditation, Aquatic Relaxation and Sharing Circle. Participants will be given the opportunity to face some honesty in their lives and relationships and try to do something to make them "complete. The goal is to reach inner peace and balance. The presenters of the 3-day retreat include Janice Jaicks, Donna Adler, Jacque Miller, Kathleen Gould and many more. source: http://fitnessfest.org

Tips for Yoga Pranayama

Yoga Pranayama Tips Tips for Yoga Breathing Exercises One of the best parts of yoga is yogic breathing exercises or yoga pranayamas and you will find a huge collection of them in the following section, Free Online Yoga Breathing Exercises . There you will find detailed instructions as well as videos on how to do these life transforming techniques. In this article I will offer some tips on how to get the most out of these yoga pranayamas The two pranayamas (Yoga Breathing Exercises) which I strongly recommend to all is Kapalbhati Pranayama and Anuloma Viloma (Alternate Nostril Breathing). These two breathing exercises are amongst the best and below are some helpful tips for you to get the most out of them. Note, that the titles below are links to the specific chapters which have complete details about these wonderful techniques. Anuloma Viloma Pranayama Tips : If you really want to feel the tremendous power of this pranayama and the peace it can bestow try the following t

Grief, Yoga and Beyond

A Grief, Yoga and Beyond Practical Workshop on the 23rd of July from 1:30 - 4:30pm. The workshop will be headed by Yi Zao and caters to those currently grieving a loss, have unresolved grief, suffering from anticipatory grief, struggling with the stated pain. The workshop to be held at the San Francisco Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, is also open to yoga practitioners, other mindfulness / body- oriented practitioners and those interested in learning more about somatic / body-oriented psychotherapy especially in its intersection with grief work. A follow-up optional survey on grief and body-oriented movement will be taken home by participants. This is the introductory session of a series of workshops on body-oriented psychotherapy dealing with grief, stress management, and pain management. Yi is a diligent yoga practitioner During a ten-month residency at Sivananda Vedanta Yoga Center, Yi integrated her spiritual practice and her graduate study on somatic psychology. For the past four y

Recovering Your Soul

The soul is best understood not as a wispy ghost but as your true self, present in you at this moment. You dont see it, although when you feel the impulse of love, you have contacted it. There can be no doubt that you have a self, therefore to step onto a new level, that of your true self, is not actually so formidable a task.Each of us has developed a strong belief in a false self built up from the ego. Ego has already come up several times, but let me briefly summarize its value system through a few key words: limited, constricted, clinging, acquisitive, closed-off, and afraid. Just listing them makes it hard to believe that anyone would owe their allegiance to these values, but consider how much behavior is motivated by them.The true self is of immediate value because it can fulfill needs that the ego cannot. These needs are as follows: The need for safety. The need to belong. The need to be acknowledged by others. The need to matter. The need to express yourself freely. T

But the Son of Man or Respite

I wrote this a long time ago. I won an award for it. I picked it for contests because I don't like it. never did. But other people seem to. That's fine. A mystery to me, but I'm ok with that. But, it occurred to me, today, now... now I get this. How odd is that? To write something but not get it for nearly thirty years? I want to lay my head in the curve of someone's lap. Down on someone who isn't going anywhere. I want to rest and close my eyes and be blest by the stroking of my hair. I want to feel the skin against my cheek and lips of someone who will let me in, someone who won't throw me off. I don't care who or what they are or how it appears in others' sight. I'm not asking for a year or even a night, I just want to lay my head in the curve of a lap of someone who isn't going anywhere. (Published in The Phoenix and the Dragon as well as several anthologies.) The Incredulous Traveler: Weight, Work

Meditation & Yoga Mind-Body Medicine Course

Now on its third year, the American Meditation Institute in Averill Park, New York, will be conducting a mind-body medicine course on meditation and yoga for physicians, nurses and the general public. This year, the course will be offered in a weekend retreat format November 3-6, 2011 at the Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club in Lenox, Massachusetts. The course is entitled "American Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga, with the comprehensive training in mind-body medicine to be accredited through the Albany Medical College Office of Continuing Medical Education. The "Heart and Science of Yoga, American Meditation Institute's Comprehensive Training in Holistic Mind/Body Medicine course is an in-depth study of the historical, philosophical and scientific nature of meditation and yoga as taught in both the East and West. Practical skills are taught which positively impact the making of health-affirming lifestyle choices. source: www.prweb.com

Go on a belief diet. You'll feel lighter and happier.

Most of us are concerned about putting on a few (or many ) physical pounds. We correctly recognize that carrying around extra unnecessary weight is unhealthy, unattractive, and unpleasant. But when it comes to psychological excess baggage, such as unneeded religious, spiritual, philosophical, mystical, or New Age'y beliefs, we aren't as worried about how all that "fat" is affecting us. Well, it does. So I'm recommending a belief diet -- paring down our craving for what Michael Shermer terms "patternicity" and "agenticity," two strong appetites in every human brain. The brain is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses these patterns with meaning. The first process I call patternicity: the tendency to find meaningful patterns in both meaningful and meaningless data . The second process I call agenticity: the tendency to infuse patterns with me

The Flash of Insight

Fortunately, higher reality has a way of breaking out unexpectedly. There are moments when the all-knowing nucleus of the self defeats the minds narrow prejudices. We call these flashes insight, and they give us a good sense, at least in passing, of what it must be like to be enlightened.As the Vedas put it, the enlightened mind is like the sun, compared to which all other minds are like candles. But a candle has value, because once it is lit, the darkness cannot be total.In the flash of insight, a corner of the self is revealed for what is really there. One silently exclaims Aha! and a bit of truth is brought out from under wraps.Insight is not always deep or lasting psychiatrists spend huge amounts of time shoring up new insights and making sure that the patient does not lose hold of old ones and regress. Nor does the body always follow the minds lead into a healthier state. Even so, the moment of insight often manages to shift the entire self, and that is the key to its power

Believing comes first, reasons and evidence follow

Most of like to believe that our beliefs are well-founded. It's the other guy who isn't looking at the evidence, is drawing false conclusions, has his or her head in the sand while we're staring straight at reality. Well, that's an unfounded belief. Each of us, everyone on Earth, is prone to making wrong conclusions. Michael Shermer explains why in his new book , "The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and God to Politics and Conspiracies -- How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths." The brain is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses these patterns with meaning. The first process I call patternicity: the tendency to find meaningful patterns in both meaningful and meaningless data . THe second process I call agenticity: the tendency to infuse patterns with meaning, intention, and agency . We can't help it. Our brains evolved to connect the dots of

Do You Make the Most of an Experience?

Make the most of every experience. Dont obsess over right and wrong decisions. Stop defending your self-image. Go beyond risks. Make no decision when in doubt. See the possibilities in whatever happens. Find the stream of joy.Living fully is extolled everywhere in popular culture. Instead of looking for sensory overload that lasts forever, youll find that the experiences need to be engaged at the level of meaning and emotion.Meaning is essential. If this moment truly matters to you, you will experience it fully. Emotion brings in the dimension of bonding or tuning in: An experience that touches your heart makes the meaning that much more personal.Pure physical sensation, social status, sexual attraction, and feeling like a winner are generally superficial, which is why people hunger for them repeatedly.To experience this moment, or any moment, fully means to engage fully. Meeting a stranger can be totally fleeting and meaningless, for example, unless you enter the individuals

Soul Yoga-Soul Meditation

Soul Yoga-Soul Meditation Workshop will be held on Wednesday, July 20, from 7 p.m. onwards at the Tualatin Public Library in Tualatin, Oregon. Say Yes to relaxation, balance, better performance, and bliss! The free event will be headed by Sam Adettiwar in the practice of Soul Yoga-Soul Meditation. Everyone is invited for any of the following practice segments: 7.00 - 7.30pm: Soul Yoga(TM) and Breathing Exercise. 7.30 - 8.00pm: Soul Meditation(TM). 8.00 - 8.30pm: Noble Conversation / Question-Answer. The event will run every Wednesday until the 21st of September. About The Instructor: Sam Adettiwar is a master's graduate of engineering from Auburn University, a successful entrepreneur, a practitioner of yoga and martial arts, a devout meditator, and a spiritual scientist. As the founder and director of Soul Research Institute, he is engaged in spiritual research, writing, and teaching. For more information, visit soulresearchinstitute.org.

How to be happy without a soul

I'm pretty much convinced that I don't have a soul. If it shows up one day like a lost puppy that managed to find its way home, I'll be pleasantly surprised. (At least, if it wags its tail and licks my face.) Quite a while ago I gave up the search for my self, impelled in part by a source of great spiritual wisdom, The Onion, which told the tale of another guy who did the same thing . As neuroscience learns more and more about how the brain functions, my decision appears increasingly wise to me. Of course, what else would I expect? Most of my decisions make a lot of sense to me. After all, I'm me. But is this really true? Is there actually an "I" and a "me"? Is there more than one entity lurking inside my cranium? Heck, is anyone there? And regardless of who or what my brain is, how different is the inside of my head from the outside? These are great questions. I have no intention of answering them with any degree of certainty. I'm simply goin

Roseanne Barr's meditation approach sounds good to me

In a Newsweek story , "Roseanne Mouths Off (Again)," Roseanne Barr's rather untraditional Judaic approach to meditation is described. Barrs hair has gone gray and she has feather hair extensionsshe looks like a hippie (check), grandma (check), stoner (check: every Friday night for Shabbat from sundown until 2 a.m., she gets high, drinks red wine, and does a meditation Rav Berg taught her). Nice. My only question is what proportion of time each activity takes from sundown until 2 am. I could follow this form of Kabbalah if, say, sundown was at 8 pm and the pot-smoking/wine-drinking lasts until 1:40 am, at which point I'd do my usual twenty minutes of meditation. Any longer than that would be a disproportionate amount of meditation. Unless the meditation is getting high and drinking red wine. That could make me convert to Kabbalah.

Meditation in the Park

Now in its third year and Lottery funded, Meditation in the Park is a free community event for all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds which gives participants a chance to relax in an urban woodland sanctuary, win prizes for the best healthy picnics and try out various hands-on workshops related to homemade food, nature, and yoga and meditation. Meditation in the Park is the flagship event of a series including Photography in the Park, Painting in the Park, night time Bat Walks and Ecology Nature Tours. Each event hosts an expert giving free tuition and focuses on various ways of appreciating the woodland. Meditation in the Park is run and organised by local professionals who volunteer their time and skills to give something back to their community. Support and funding are being provided by Lottery's Awards for All Southwark Council Tesco Surrey Quays Surrey Quays Shopping Centre Stallholders from Borough Market RegallyGraceful.com BTCV Many other local and related businesses and ind

Thai Buddhism Forest Meditation Tradition

Thai Buddhist Meditation Thai Forest Meditation Tradition It is always great to learn about various meditation traditions from around the world, and today I would like to present the following guest post from Axel on the excellent Thai Buddhist Forest Tradition. Axel was an actual Buddhist Monk, so it is great to get his views and insights into the Buddhist meditation traditions. You can get more great wisdom and knowledge from his great meditation website, Axel G . If you would like to be a guest author on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga, please email me at anmol@anmolmehta.com. The Thai Forest Tradition Thai Buddhist Meditation At Its Best By Axel Gjertsen Many meditators spend years looking for the right tradition, meditation technique and teacher. In this post youll be introduced to the Thai Forest Tradition, which is the very best Thai Buddhism has to offer meditators that are serious about their meditation practice. Ive stayed in a number of forest monasteries and recommend the T