Simple Meditation Instruction

October 6, 2009

Sit in a comfortable position, one that you would not need to change duringthe sitting. If you do need to change your position, do so slowly and consciously. You may also lie down, but try to adopt a position that you would not normally sleep in.

Bring your attention to the touch of your hands resting in your lap or on your thighs. But do not try to hold your attention there. Allow thoughts, feelings, and sensations to arise, and let your attention go with them.

If your attention leaves the touch of the hands for a long period of time (several minutes), you can gently bring your attention back. Otherwise, just sit with what comes up. If you encounter an experience that is hard to tolerate, after a while of being with it you can bring your attention back to the touch of the hands. But only hold it there long enough to feel grounded or relaxed, and then, if your mind goes into that kind of experience again, just let it.

People have made rules out of these instructions, and you might too. That is fine. At some point, hopefully, you will become aware of those rules. But, for now, it is enough to know that there is no way to do this wrong, as it is not about following an instruction as much as about allowing your experiences to unfold. Seeing for yourself, from your own experience, what works and what doesn’t is what meditation is all about.

Excerpt from “The Problem with Meditation Instructions” By Jason Siff www.tricycle.com

Bio: Jason Siff is the Head Teacher for the Skillful Meditation Project. He lives in Idyllwild, California, and teaches meditation at various centers in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. His recent novel Seeking Nibbana in Sri Lanka draws upon his experience as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka in the 1980s. His forthcoming book, Unlearning Meditation: What to Do When the Instructions Get in the Way, will be published by Shambhala Publications in 2010.

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A PLACE of PEACE

September 20, 2009

But it’s my job to teach them to use the powers of your mind and awareness to sit in meditation for an hour-and-a-half without being cold. …

AP PHOTO/PATRICK COLLARD -- David Shaner faces the the 'Shomen' inside the Place of Peace Buddhist Temple on the Furman University campus in Greenville, S.C

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Think Happy, Be Happy

September 8, 2008

The mind is a wonderful thing. Even though no one has ever seen it directly, we have all experienced its power. For example, you’ve heard of paranoia—the mistaken belief that people are out to get you. Well, that very same mind can also produce the opposite phenomenon, called pronoia—the mistaken belief that people really love you more than they do. Two opposite phenomena, with two very different consequences, both produced by the same mind. Pretty amazing. Or take the "placebo effect"—you actually get better physically because you believe you will. Once again, your mind can produce just the opposite, too, called the "nocebo effect"—you actually can make yourself sick (or sicker) because you believe you’ll get worse.

Read the complete article by Dr. Tom McDonald, Ph.D….

There are tons of recommendations out there about how to become a happier person. But the greatest tool you have is your very own mind. It’s right there in your head and it costs you nothing. So use it, use it carefully, and use it often. Believe it or not, you can think your way to a happier life. -Dr. Tom McDonald

Keywords: nocebo, placebo, happiness, mind

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‘Slow movement’ wants you to ease up, chill out

June 7, 2008

Edgar S. Cahn is fighting for your right to be lazy.

The slow movement backs random acts of slowness, such as turning off the BlackBerry or spending time with friends.

Other activists might devote their time to reversing global warming or saving the whales. But the 73-year-old attorney is battling to preserve a commodity that he says is more fragile than the environment and more precious than oil — time.

Cahn is a leader in the “slow movement,” a national campaign that claims that speed kills. Its leaders say that Americans are so starved for time, our need for speed is destroying our health, families and communities…

“When you come to the edge of a cliff, the solution is not to run faster, we have to step back.” – Edgar Cahn

Practice random acts of slowness: turning off the BlackBerry, cooking unhurried meals with friends, cultivating a garden and taking long walks.

Read the complete article by John Blake of CNN…

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Can the Mind Shape the Brain?

May 27, 2008

Conventional wisdom holds that the human mind is nothing more than the human brain. This belief derives from materialism. By “materialism” I don’t mean the mania to shop unceasingly at the mall. Rather, I mean the philosophy that material reality is all that there is. Immaterial or spiritual realities are, in this view, simply epiphenomena of the material world.

Read the full article by Dinesh D’Souza …

Books by Dinesh D’Souza include Whats So Great About Christianity and Whats So Great About America

Keywords: Francis Crick, Mario Beauregard, Dinesh D’Souza, Daniel Dennett, ephiphenomenon, neuroscientist, materialism, placebo, nocebo

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The Big Questions

May 25, 2008

The John Templeton Foundation has sponsored three online exchanges on questions that illuminates their philanthropic mission. Read them:

• Does science make belief in God obsolete?
• Will money solve Africa’s development problems?
• Does the universe have a purpose?

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