Also available online at http://www.wildmind.org/newsletter/200507.html

July 2005

Dear Wildmind Subscriber,

Research (see news stories, below) has shown that meditating literally changes the way that we see the world, so that we spend more time appreciating the positive and less time dwelling on the negative.

If you've ever been curious to find out more about meditation's powerful potential for reducing stress, staying healthy, and for encouraging conscious relaxation, sign up for one of our convenient online meditation courses.

Our next courses start next Tuesday, July 5.

These four-week courses offer a rich experience, with online readings, guided meditations in MP3 and RealAudio format that you can download to your computer, a discussion forum, and personal attention in your online journal. And you have access to all these things 24/7.

Our courses are suitable for anyone from complete beginners to more experienced practitioners. You'll learn powerful techniques for reducing stress and developing patience, relaxation, and calmness in a friendly and supportive environment.

Our July courses will be led by Sinhendra, an accomplished teacher who is part of the team at Dharmavastu Buddhist Study Center in northwest England. Sinhendra has a background in theatre arts, and has done post-graduate study in the history of ideas.

Sinhendra

Our next online meditation courses -- from all levels from beginners onwards -- start Tuesday, July 5. Make sure you book your place now.

In this issue:

We have a slimmer edition of our newsletter this month since Bodhipaksa is busy teaching a course at the University of New Hampshire.

• Meditation in the news
• Meditation MP3's
• Retreat opportunity in Montana
• Support our translation project

July 27 Warden orders inmates' meditation garden (The Washington Times)
Warden plans a meditation garden where inmates can sit beside a gurgling fountain amid marigolds, yellow lilies, white roses and scarlet snapdragons.

June 25 Businesses thrive in Vedic City's meditative environment (IndUS Business Journal)
Eric Schwartz relocated his financial services company, Cambridge Research Investment from Washington, D.C., to Iowa in 1992 for the same reason many people did at the time: He wanted to be part of a community that practiced transcendental Meditation.

June 23 Om, sweet om (Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
Daily meditation can improve your health by helping you to relax and relieving the stress that breaks your body down.

June 22 Dharma in the dorm: MIT hires Buddhist chaplain (Science & Theology News)
Tenzin Priyadarshi, a Buddhist monk with a physics degree, is Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s first Buddhist chaplain.

June 21 What's up doc? Meditate on this (MetroWest Daily News, Massachussets)
Question: My neighbor said her doctor recommended she take up meditation to help her medical problems. I am pretty skeptical. Does meditation really help?

June 17 Is religion good for your health? (Newsday)
Nearly 30 medical schools include courses on religion and spirituality, based on the belief that these activities positively impact mental, emotional and physical well-being.

June 17 Demystifying meditation (Newind Press, India)
Article by Sri Sri Ravishankar.

June 16 Health tip: stressing quiet time (Forbes)
Parents should learn to manage their own stress by making time for relaxation, exercise, meditation and fun activities.

June 11 The Presence grows best when we don't try to make it grow (Sun-Sentinel, Florida)
Q. How do I find the silence? A. Stop trying to find it. Let the silence find you.

June 11 Too Wired to Sleep? try Meditation (The Christian Post, California)
One popular non-drug treatment for insomnia is meditation and relaxation techniques.

June 10 Judaism, Meditation and The B-Word (Forward, New York)
Reviews of Mindful Jewish Living: Compassionate Practice; Meditation and Judaism: Exploring the Jewish Meditative Paths; and Beside Still Waters: Jews, Christians, and the Way of the Buddha.

June 9 Meditation relieves chronic pain (Macleans, Canada)
Toronto doctor offers course that cuts stress levels and may reduce reliance on drugs

June 8 Advice makes meditation an easy path to follow (The Plain Dealer, Ohio)
Review of Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment, by B. Alan Wallace.

June 7 Study focuses on effects of meditation (Monsters and Critics, Glasgow, Scotland)
A study by University of Queensland and University of California-Berkeley researchers suggests meditation can strongly affect attention and consciousness.

June 7 Buddhist monks meditation skills provide clues about brain regulation (WebIndia123)
Researchers have uncovered clues to how mental states-and their underlying neural mechanisms-can impact conscious visual experience.

June 7 Meditation changes what monks see (ABC, Australia)
Meditation can literally change the way Buddhist monks see the world, reports a new study. It leads monks to interpret images in a positive way and expert meditators tend to linger on these 'happy' images the longest.

June 2 Meditation group buys island off Mayo coast (Western People, Ireland)
An island off Mayo’s coast is to become the capital of peace after been bought by a meditation guru.

June 1 Students learn meditation, yoga reduce stress (The Republican, Massachussets)
Psychologist Paul C. Roud starts off his substance abuse prevention class at Granby Junior-Senior High School by running a wooden pestle around the edge of a Tibetan singing bowl, filling the library with a soothing, metallic sound.

MP3's available on our online store

We're pleased to announce that all of our CDs are available as MP3 downloads in our meditation supplies store, either as individual tracks or as complete CD downloads.

We even have available Bodhipaksa's new CD, Guided Meditations for Busy People. It's available right now!

Big Sky Mind retreat, September 9-16, 2005

"I have never felt so close to a group of people in such a short period of time." Rob, NH.

"Meditating with others was wonderfully supportive. The experience was an inspirational adrenaline shot to my practice and my life." Rori, ME

"Participating in the Big Sky Mind Retreat is one of the most important things I have ever done. The chatter in my mind slowed enough to really be present to the moment. Sustaining that sweet state for several days was truly amazing." Karen, UT

Wildmind's Big Sky Mind retreat takes place twice a year -- in New England in the spring and in Montana in the fall. Now's a good time to think about booking a place for the September retreat, which runs from the 9th to the 16th, with a weekend option. As you'll see from the quotes from previous participants the retreat is a wonderful opportunity to practice intensive mindfulness meditation in a supportive environment under Bodhipaksa's guidance.

For more information on the retreat, including details on how to reserve a place, visit the website of the Rocky Mountain Buddhist Center, Missoula, Montana.

Support our translation project

Our mission is to benefit the world by promoting awareness and compassion through the practice of meditation.

Join our list of benefactors! If you've benefited from our site and would like to give something back, then making a donation can help us enormously. You can give as little as a dollar, but of course feel free to give as much as you want!

All contributions (which are tax deductible) go to our translation fund, which aims to help us translate Wildmind into other languages in order to help people around the world develop mindfulness and compassion. We now have French and Spanish versions of the site online, and Chinese, Polish, and Russian versions are in preparation.