Wildmind's meditation blog
Wildmind's blogs are where you'll find book reviews, commentary, podcasts, and articles that don't fit neatly into the more structured guides to meditation that you'll find on the main part of the site. Articles are arranged below by date, and you can also browse by author and category using the links on the left.
Accessing inner wisdom (part 2)
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Can anyone access inner wisdom? Do you have to be a meditator or a spiritual person? Business trends consultant and founder of Piatkus Books, Judy Piatkus, asks inner wisdom coach, Srimati.
Srimati is a freelance spiritual teacher, writer and co-founder of Thrivecraft Coaching, and a former member of the Western Buddhist Order.
She is currently engaged in publishing her whole body of work via books, … Click to read more »
New York hospital goes zen
ABC: “Zen” is the Japanese word and “Ch’an” is the Chinese word derived from the Sanskrit word “Dhyana” meaning “meditation.” Zen began in China back in the 6th century CE. Zen is practiced all around the world and has recently found a huge following in the United States.
Zen Buddhism focuses on gaining enlightenment through meditation. Zen is a means to reaching enlightenment. Zen declines the study of scriptures, devotional practices and any religious rites (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica). Some of … Click to read more »
Slow breathing may soothe pain
Fox News: The simple practice of slow breathing may help people deal with the physical and emotional reactions to moderate pain, a small study suggests.
Researchers say the findings, published in the journal Pain, offer support for the idea that yoga-style breathing exercises and meditation can help ease chronic pain.
The study gauged pain responses among 27 women with the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia and 25 healthy women the same age.
Researchers found that when they had the women perform slow breathing, it … Click to read more »
Accessing inner wisdom (part 1)
How do we know when our inner promptings are truly wise? Which inner voice do we trust? Judy Piatkus, business trends consultant and founder of Piatkus Books, asks inner wisdom coach, Srimati.
Srimati is a freelance spiritual teacher, writer and co-founder of Thrivecraft Coaching, and a former member of the Western Buddhist Order.
She is currently engaged in publishing her whole body of work … Click to read more »
Moby on meditation
Moby has spoken out in favour of Transcendental Meditation, or TM, as it’s often abbreviated to. He explained that he had avoided it for a long time because it “scared the shit” out of him, saying “I thought that TM involved ritual animal sacrifice and moving to some country and renouncing wealth and materialism”.
He continued: “One of the things that impressed me so much about TM when I finally learned it was its simplicity. It’s a simple practice that calms … Click to read more »
Religion, spirituality not associated with better cardiovascular health
Chicago, IL – Increased religious involvement, including more frequent prayer and meditation, is not associated with an improved cardiovascular risk profile or reduced cardiovascular disease events, a new study shows [1]. The findings do not support past studies suggesting better overall health among the more religious and in fact showed that greater religiosity was linked with higher levels of obesity, report investigators.
“I think we were a little surprised, honestly, because we expected to see, if anything, a little bit … Click to read more »
Can yoga and meditation prevent high blood pressure?
Devoted yogis often extol the virtues of their practice, from better sleep and improved fitness to what only the most devoted call “yoga butt.”
Now researchers at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre want to study if yoga, combined with meditation, can help lower blood pressure and prevent the onset of hypertension.
Dr. Sheldon Tobe and his team have begun the search for 70 patients to participate in the study, which will involve up to a 10-month commitment.
According to … Click to read more »
Group takes to couch for meditation
Binghamton University Pipe Dream
The New University Union was the site for a group of students surrounding a saffron sofa and speakers blasting Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches on Jan. 27, all in an effort to introduce Binghamton University’s Sitting Club.
The Sitting Club is a Student Association-chartered club that began last semester with the goal of encouraging students to take time to just sit in meditation.
The club meets Mondays at 7:30 p.m. above the Susquehanna Room, where each member participates … Click to read more »
Chairgasm in the basement: My intro to tantric meditation
When I went to my first San Francisco Yoga Journal conference in 2009, I mostly found myself wandering around the Hyatt confused, frustrated, physically exhausted, and waiting for lunch. This year, I returned with a strategy, a curriculum of sorts. I’d barely do any physical yoga at all; with that, I’ve become all too familiar. Instead, I’d begin my journey into yoga’s subtler aspects, its deeper mysteries. It was time for an introduction to Tantra.
Most people, … Click to read more »
Matthieu Ricard: Meditate yourself better
How did you become involved in the science of meditation?
The Dalai Lama often describes Buddhism as being, above all, a science of the mind. That is not surprising, because the Buddhist texts put particular emphasis on the fact that all spiritual practices – whether mental, physical or oral – are directly or indirectly intended to transform the mind.
So it wasn’t surprising that when a meeting was held in 2000 with some of the leading specialists in human emotions – psychologists, … Click to read more »
Indian prisoners find yoga is key to getting out of jail
For centuries swamis have peddled yoga as a means of unshackling the mind. Now jail inmates have found that sun salutations and the cobra posture are the keys to a more tangible freedom. Prison authorities in India have agreed to an early release scheme for convicts who regularly practise the ancient exercises.
Inmates in the central state of Madhya Pradesh will have up to 15 days taken off their sentences for every three months that they do yoga. The offer is … Click to read more »
“Doga”, yoga and meditation for dogs and their owners
Dog-owners and yoga-lovers have finally found a way to bring their two passions together: doga. Yoga classes for dogs and their owners are sprouting all around the United States, combining massage and meditation techniques with gentle canine and human stretching. Ludicrous or blissfully relaxing?
Doga aficionados are adamant: there’s nothing like balancing your cocker spaniel on your belly as you stretch to create a bond between you and your canine companion. The practice stems from an unsaid philosophy shared by many … Click to read more »
Facing Samsara, making a difference
Climate change. The economic downturn. Terrorism. And now there’s Haiti. A client and I were conversing recently about the mess our world is in. She was feeling overwhelmed. How do we, as individuals, respond in the face of such huge problems? I won’t be so presumptuous as to claim to know the answers. But I thought you might be interested in hearing what she and I discussed.
When we look at the … Click to read more »
Man accused of ‘meditation’ murder
A British motivational speaker has been indicted in the US on charges he killed a Las Vegas woman during a meditation session and stuffed her body in a rubbish barrel.
Michael Victor Lane’s court-appointed lawyer, Dan Silverstein, said Lane will plead not guilty on Thursday in a Nevada state court to murder and robbery with a deadly weapon charges filed by a grand jury last Friday. A preliminary hearing was cancelled.
The 37-year-old Lane was held in custody over the killing of … Click to read more »
Accident leads to meditation practice
When Chuck St. Romain was granted a new lease on life, he also received a new view of how to live that renewed opportunity more fully.
A hunting accident came perilously close to killing St. Romain, but his traumatic journey through that experience led to an appreciation of meditation and a spiritual awakening.
“I was duck hunting south of here,” St. Romain said. “I slipped, heard a bang, got shot and was bleeding from my head. At first, I was terrified. Then … Click to read more »
Meditation and the false lure of zoning out
Psychology Today: How to change your brain in ways which support healthier, more satisfying relationships.
by Marsha Lucas, Ph.D.
Here’s the polite version of a question I received recently about my support of mindfulness meditation as a practice for well-being in relationships:
Why are you encouraging people to zone out? Sitting around pretending they’re above it all, and avoiding real feelings? Who wants to be in a relationship with a self-involved bliss-ninny?
Wow.
There are an awful lot of … Click to read more »
Buddhists say you aren’t what you eat, but how
With his round cheeks and ample belly, the Buddha may rank somewhere close to sumo wrestlers on most Americans’ list of go-to sources for healthful eating tips.
But the ever-present image of a fat and happy Buddha owes more to China’s ideal of prosperity and ability to mass-produce figurines than to historical accuracy. In Japan and India, the Buddha is depicted as trim and lithe, said the Rev. Jan Chozen Bays, a Zen priest and pediatrician, and his teachings may be … Click to read more »
How to practice mindfulness meditation
Psychology Today: Ancient wisdom from Buddhism for today’s therapists and clients.
by Karen Kissel Wegela, Ph.D.
Cultivating mindfulness is the key to overcoming suffering and recognizing natural wisdom: both our own and others’. How do we go about it?
In the Buddhist tradition and in Contemplative Psychotherapy training, we nurture mindfulness through the practice of sitting meditation. There are many different kinds of meditation. For example, some are designed to help us relax; others are meant to produce altered states of consciousness.
Mindfulness … Click to read more »
Schoolboys getting classes in meditation and stress relief
In what is being described as a ground-breaking school curriculum addition, the school’s pupils aged 14 and 15 are taking part in the courses designed by Oxford and Cambridge psychologists.
The school’s year 10 pupils’ “mindfulness” course, which will last for two months, is said to be one of the first in the country, which was designed to develop skills in concentration and to combat anxiety.
The school also reportedly said it showed teenagers the benefits of silence and helps them … Click to read more »
Techies told to turn to yoga, meditation to beat stress
Turn to yoga and meditation at work place to beat stress levels and fight health blues, says an IT industry veteran to techies.
Impressed by the value yoga adds in his own company in terms enhancing enthusiasm and output, Chairman of city-based IT firm MindTree, Ashok Soota, says the practice certainly helped the firm’s professionals energise themselves.
Asked about the tendency by a section of IT industry to brush under carpet health concerns of young professionals triggered by long hours of … Click to read more »