May 06, 2013
Patients add meditation to treatment plans
Rachel Weaver, TribLive: Nancy Dolan-Brady felt dreadful.
Weeks into a regime of intense chemotherapy to fight stage 3 colon cancer, she lay in bed, nauseous, aching, sweating, miserable. But then, a light breeze floated through her window carrying a much-needed moment of relief.
Normally, she wouldn’t have even noticed the breeze, which cooled and dried her skin, leaving her calm. But Dolan-Brady had been practicing mindful meditation, allowing her to pay closer attention to her body and environment.
“In the midst of misery, this simple thing became a bright spot when everything was tinged with ugliness and darkness,” says Dolan-Brady, 57, of Mt. Washington. “Something …
May 03, 2013
How meditation can influence gene activity
Lia Steakley,Scope, Stanford Medicine: A growing body of scientific evidence shows that mindful-based therapies, such as meditation, can lower psychological stress and boost both mental and physical health. Now findings recently published in PLoS One suggest that such practices may also change gene activity.
In the small study, researchers recruited individuals who had no prior meditation experience and examined participants’ genetic profile prior to their adoption of a basic daily relaxation practice. The 10- to 20-minute routine included reciting words, breathing exercises and attempts to exclude everyday thought. The New Scientist reports…
May 03, 2013
A mindful writer: An interview with Diana Gould
Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D., PsychCentral: It’s not often that I interview someone on the mindfulness and psychotherapy blog who has put out a novel. However, Diana Gould has had a long career in film and television and in her practice with mindfulness. She currently teaches at InsightLA in Santa Monica, California and has recently released her first novel Coldwater. She has also put out a special Coldwater Challenge contest: Find the Mindfulness! Nestled within the pages of this noir thriller are little nuggets of mindfulness teachings. How many can you find? Make a list, give your reasons, and submit to contest@insightla.org…
May 02, 2013
About Taoist meditation
Kate Bradley, Demand Media: Taoist meditation evolved in China over thousands of years and is one of Taoists’ most important tools for achieving the ultimate goal of inner peace by focusing on the body, mind and breath. While methods and goals vary somewhat, Taoist meditation generally aims to improve the creation, quality, and circulation of internal energy through certain movements, chants, and breathing techniques.
Key Ideas
There are two primary components of Taoist mediation: Jing (meaning “calm” or “still”) and ding (meaning “focus” or “concentration”). Taoist meditators seek internal stillness that will allow them to focus entirely on their purpose…
May 01, 2013
Make gratitude a practice, really
Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D., PsychCentral: When we think of what we’re thankful for we often think of the light in our lives. Who and what represents the light in your life?
The poet Hafiz writes in his poem “It Felt Love”:
How did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
All its beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its being,
Otherwise,
We all remain
Too frightened
This is so true. It becomes easier to open up and reveal our own gifts to this world when we feel positive loving encouragement within…
Apr 29, 2013
Inner truth: Gender equality in Buddhism
Daisaku Ikeda, India.com: The Lotus Sutra teaches that all living beings possess the world of Buddhahood. There is not even a hint of discrimination toward women.
The Lotus Sutra teaches that all living beings possess the world of Buddhahood. There is not even a hint of discrimination toward women. To discriminate against others–in any way–is to discriminate against your own life.
In a fiercely discriminatory society, Gautama Buddha staunchly refused to allow his actions to be coloured by distinctions of class, gender and birth, or of lay practitioner and monk or nun. Whether male or female, being noble…
Apr 29, 2013
Meditation programs teach how to battle pain with brain power
Avis Favaro and Elizabeth St. Philip, CTV News: Doctors in Ontario are taking a new approach in the battle against chronic pain, ditching the prescription pad and teaching sufferers how to harness the healing power of the mind.
St. Michael’s Hospital pain specialist Dr. Jackie Gardner-Nix developed the program targeting pain with mindfulness and meditative techniques. The classes are facilitated at St. Michael’s Hospital and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
“I do nothing but teach chronic pain patients meditation and mindfulness,” she said. “I am so impressed with it.”
The classes, which typically run for nearly three hours, teach participants practical meditation skills…
Apr 29, 2013
Tibet issue is raised by France with China
Examiner.com: On April 26, 2013, the Central Tibetan Administration reported, France Raises Tibet Issue with China. French President Francois Hollande has said he raised the issue of Tibet during his talks with the new leadership in China. The situation in Tibet has been becoming increasingly tragic as 117 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against the Chinese government’s repressive policies in Tibet.
The Tibetan self-immolators have been calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans. President Hollande, who has been on a visit to China, told a press conference that during his talks with …
Apr 29, 2013
A new light on link between Buddhism and Kashmir
Madhur Tankha, The Hindu: To give the people a better understanding of Buddhism and its link with Kashmir, art historian Benoy K. Behl has now made a special documentary titled “The Monasteries of Rinchen Zangpo” which will be screened at Tibet House on Lodhi Road here this coming Sunday.
Describing this film as an extraordinary one, Benoy says he had to make adventurous expeditions to the treacherous mountains of Tibet, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Ladakh. He discovered not only mesmerising unexplored monasteries but also learnt about the artists from Kashmir whose paintings and sculptures are testimony to a great tradition of art…
Apr 29, 2013
Is meditation Buddhism booming or fading…part I
Lewis Richmond, Speaking Tree: I have often written that we are approaching the 50 year mark of Buddhist meditation practice in America. In many ways this style of Buddhism has become well established and familiar to the mainstream culture. Meditation, dharma teachers, retreat centers and monasteries, as well as some core terms (dharma, karma, mindfulness, zazen, bodhisattva and metta, to name a few) have become well known and understood. The influx of Tibetan Lamas has provided a fresh Asian presence to a scene that otherwise is increasingly westernized.
But from another point of view it may seem as though all this activity is…