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Live Science: The seemingly nonsensical Zen practice of “thinking about not thinking” could help free the mind of distractions, new brain scans reveal. This suggests Zen meditation could help treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (so-called ADD or ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorder, major depression and other disorders marked by distracting thoughts. Read more here.

At Wildmind we’ve been running our very successful online meditation courses since 2001, and our materials were originally developed for an online course at the University of Montana.

Our next round of courses starts Tuesday, September 2.

What you get:

• A four week course of step-by-step readings, instructions, and exercises
• Guided meditations in downloadable MP3 format
• Unlimited personal feedback from an experienced teacher in a group discussion forum
• A private email coaching session with the teacher
• Unlimited … Click to read more »
  

The Courant: The U.S. military is spending $4 million to figure out whether New Age practices and holistic therapies can mend the wounded psyches of its troops. Concerned with the high number of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries, the government is handing out grants to conduct clinical studies on everything from yoga, to Reiki, to animal assisted therapy, to transcendental meditation. Read more here.

National Public Radio: In his 20 years as director of the hypertension program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Randy Zusman has maintained a rather traditional approach. He writes plenty of prescriptions for standard medications to treat high blood pressure. But in recent years, Zusman has gotten more assertive with patients about lifestyle choices. Lately, Zusman has added a new recommendation: meditation. Read more here.

The Earth Times: Who doesn’t know the daily aggravations brought on by work, relationships and the pursuit of one’s own needs, and who hasn’t sometimes wished for more peace and quiet?Meditation is one possible means of achieving them. Lutz Hertel, a psychologist at a German wellness association in Dusseldorf, is convinced of one of its effects: “We see a lot more value in meditation than in massages or wellness packs. When meditating, you are active, which is the opposite of … Click to read more »

The New Straits Times: Meditation is a process by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.
It often involves turning attention to a single point of reference. Meditation is recognised as a component of traditional medicine especially Ayurveda. We know Albert Einstein was keen on spirituality. But did he practise meditation? Could this give us an insight to his genius? Read more here.

Globe and Mail: The patients are sitting still, their eyes closed, meditating, on the floor of a group therapy room at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. It is the fifth week of an eight-week training course in mindfulness meditation for people recovering from depression. Mindfulness-based psychotherapy is growing rapidly in popularity, and these patients are part of a clinical trial to assess whether it can prevent relapses as effectively as antidepressant medications. Read more here.

The Huffington Post: Many of us feel a need to believe in something larger than ourselves. And now researchers are beginning to uncover the biology behind this urge. Scientists say that some people may have a gene that makes them more spiritual, and they are discovering that religious feelings may come from specific areas of the brain. Read more here.

The Huffington Post: To meditate means to examine. It doesn’t mean you have to sit in a lotus position in silence (although you can). It means you are attending to what’s going on within you - perhaps with your breath and senses, your internal thoughts and feelings, or the space in between these objects of attention. This investigation of mind becomes somewhat habitual the more you practice. Read more here.

The Daily Bruin: Sitting back, getting comfortable and concentrating on the breathing patterns of your own body is how some people use mindfulness meditation to focus. People learn from mindfulness meditation to deal more effectively with many aspects of everyday life, including stress, said David Creswell, a research scientist at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA. In recent years, the practice of becoming more mindful and tuning in to ones internal experiences has gained scientific momentum. Multiple research studies … Click to read more »

Medical News Today: A new study from researchers at the American Cancer Society finds many cancer patients use complementary and alternative methods, most often prayer, relaxation, supplements, meditation, and massage. The study confirmed the findings of previous surveys that found cancer patients use the same complementary methods used among the general population and among people with other chronic diseases, such as spiritual practices, relaxation methods, and dietary supplements. Read more here.

The Huffington Post: I read an article recently that drew an analogy of the term ‘meditation’ to ’sports’, a word that describes a large class or family of varying forms of activity such as track, baseball basketball, etc. The general family of meditation was defined as ‘complex emotional and attentional regulatory strategies developed for various ends including cultivation of well-being and emotional balance.’ Read more here.

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News: Researchers at UCLA report that the practice of mindfulness meditation stopped the decline of CD4 T cells in HIV-positive patients suffering from stress, slowing the progression of the disease. The study was just released in the online edition of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. “This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowing HIV disease progression,” said lead study author David Creswell, a research scientist … Click to read more »

The Times Picayune: The ancient discipline of meditation is making a big comeback among brain scientists. Advances in brain imaging and monitoring have made it possible to see inside the brain and explore the biological forces creating and driving conscious thoughts.

“Now we are in a position to ask questions about people’s experience and measure brain activity in close to real time,” says Clifford Saron, a scientist at the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California at Davis. … Click to read more »

Meditation sessions are proving a hit for members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists at their Annual Meeting at Imperial College, London - with a growing number claiming they are turning to the spiritual discipline to combat anxiety and burnout.

Meditation workshops, run by the College’s 2,000-strong Spirituality Special Interest Group, are overbooked. “It seems to be an indication of the need for spiritual nourishment, something that College members are not finding easily in the outside world,” says Dr Sarah Eagger, … Click to read more »

Las Cruces Sun-News: In the past 40-plus years, scientific researchers have begun to study the cognitive, physiological and neurological changes that occur in meditation. These investigations have found significant health benefits for regular practitioners of meditation. Read more here.

Washington Post: Researchers say they’ve taken a significant stride forward in understanding how relaxation techniques such as meditation, prayer and yoga improve health: by changing patterns of gene activity that affect how the body responds to stress. The changes were seen both in long-term practitioners and in newer recruits, the scientists said. Read more here.

San Diego Union Tribune: As far as investments go, Atul Thakkar says nothing provides a greater return than meditation. A former electrical engineer, Thakkar is the co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Attronica, a Maryland-based computer and information technology company. He recently gave a lecture at a Sn Diego coffee house, and expects to continue to spread the word about the benefits of meditation. Read more here.

Gulf Daily News: SPECIAL needs children have taken up yoga and meditation in a bid to relieve stress and make them happier. More than 15 youngsters from the RIA Centre, Adliya, have just concluded a five-day course led by the Art of Living, which also focused on improving self-esteem and their learning abilities. Read more here.

The New York Times: The subject of focus comes up a lot in my discussions with people about work. We talk about the constant interruptions of working in the digital age, of the mistakes we make while multitasking and the efforts to find quiet places to think. Maggie Jackson has been paying attention to these questions for quite some time, and the result is a thoughtful new book, “Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age” (Prometheus). … Click to read more »