Meditation may increase alertness

Kevin Gengler/Contributing Writer
The Daily Targum
7 Nov, 2006

A study conducted by University of Kentucky researchers found that meditation might be as effective as sleep in raising a person's level of alertness, and members of the University say they agree with the finding.

According to a report of the study published in The New York Times, meditation might improve alertness and even serve as an equivalent of sleep.

The researchers, led by Prashant Kaul of the University of Kentucky, found that one area in which meditation is more effective than other methods is improving one's reaction time.

The study tested students before and after 40 minutes of meditation, napping or exercising or consuming caffeine.

http://www.dailytargum.com/media/storage/paper168/news/2006/11/07/University/Meditation.May.Increase.Alertness-2443148.shtml?norewrite200611092215&sourcedomain=www.dailytargum.com

Meditation debate erupts at Calif. school

Alan Dep
Marin Independent Journal via AP
21 Oct, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Plans for a public high school meditation club evaporated this week after parents caught wind that students would be taught Transcendental Meditation, which critics argue is a form of religion.

Faced with protests from parents, a foundation backed by filmmaker David Lynch on Tuesday withdrew the $175,000 it had pledged to Terra Linda High School in San Rafael.

The grant would have provided funds for 250 students and 25 staffers to practice the meditation style developed by a one-time spiritual teacher to The Beatles, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Lynch, best known as the director of dark, surreal films like "Eraserhead" and "Blue Velvet," has meditated for more than 30 years and credits TM with nourishing his creativity.

"Not only does it reduce stress in the body, but the research shows it wakes up the brain," said Bob Roth, vice president of the David Lynch Foundation.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-10-19-meditation-school_x.htm

Buddhism on the rise

Jane Lampman
The Christian Science Monitor
16 Sept, 2006

Cambridge Massachusetts: That genial face has become familiar across the globe almost as recognisable when it comes to religious leaders, perhaps, as Pope John Paul II.

When in America, the Dalai Lama is a sought-after speaker, sharing his compassionate message and engaging aura well beyond the Buddhist community.

After inaugurating a new Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Tibetan leader has begun a visit to several US cities for public talks, sessions with young peacemakers, scientists, university faculty, corporate executives, and a California women's conference. But he'll also sit down for teach-ins among the burgeoning American faithful.

Buddhism is growing apace in the United States, and an identifiably American Buddhism is emerging. Teaching centres and sanghas (communities of people who practice together) are spreading here as American-born leaders reframe ancient principles in contemporary Western terms.

http://www.gulfnews.com/world/U.S.A/10067777.html

Meditation for Health Purposes

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - National Institute of Health
February 2006

Meditation for health purposes is a mind-body practice in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).a There are many types of meditation, most of which originated in ancient religious and spiritual traditions. Generally, a person who is meditating uses certain techniques, such as focusing attention (for example, on a word, an object, or the breath); a specific posture; and an open attitude toward distracting thoughts and emotions. Meditation can be practiced for various reasons--for example, with an intent to increase physical relaxation, mental calmness, and psychological balance; to cope with one or more diseases and conditions; and for overall wellness. This Backgrounder provides a general introduction to meditation and suggests some resources for finding out more.

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/

Imagine a totally natural treatment that can ease arthritis pain

Arthritis Today Online
2 January 2001

Taken daily, it can untangle tension, fight fatigue and even lower your blood pressure. It can lift your spirits and help you find inner peace. What's more, it costs nothing, has no side effects and doesn't require medical help.

The "treatment" is meditation, an ancient practice that has gained modern medical approval in many quarters.

Research shows meditation can help relieve many arthritis symptoms, such as pain, anxiety, stress and depression, as well as ease the fatigue and insomnia associated with fibromyalgia. It affects many body processes connected with well being and relaxation. Recent studies suggest meditation may balance the immune system to help the body resist disease, and even heal.

http://www.arthritis.org/resources/arthritistoday/2001_archives/2001_01_02_meditation.asp

Positive Influence Of Religion And Spirituality On Blood Pressure

Medical News Today
29 May 2006

A study of more than five thousand African Americans found that individuals who were involved with or participated in religious activities had significantly lower blood pressure than those who were not, despite being more likely to be classified as hypertensive, having higher levels of body mass index (BMI), and lower levels of medication adherence.

The findings, presented today in New York City at the 21st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH 2006), are from the Jackson Heart Study, the largest exclusively African American study sample ever used to ascertain associations among religion, spirituality and blood pressure.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=44202&nfid=rssfeeds

At One With Dual Devotion

`JuBus' blend the communal rituals of Judaism with the quiet solitude of Buddhism. Most adherents are at peace with the paradox.

By Louis Sahagun
LA Times
May 2, 2006,

The altar in Becca Topol's living room carries a statue of Buddha and a garden stone painted with the Hebrew word for peace, shalom.

In April she celebrated Passover with a "Zen Seder" feast that opened with a modified Haggada narrative comparing Israel's exodus from Egypt to Buddha's liberation from suffering.

"I'm a Jewish Buddhist — a JuBu," said Topol, 37. "My Buddhist practice has actually made me a stronger Jew."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jubus2may02,0,3937916.story?page=1&coll=la-home-headlines

Calming the Mind Among Bodies Laid Bare

New York Times, April 29, 2006

By MICHAEL LUO

For centuries in Asia, Buddhist monks have meditated among the dead, contemplating the transience and preciousness of life. The practice typically takes place on charnel ground, among bodies decomposing and festering in the open air.

For obvious reasons, the practice has not made much headway among American Buddhists.

"We sanitize death a lot in the West," said Rande Brown, executive director of the Tricycle Foundation, a Buddhist organization.

But months ago, visiting the cadaver exhibit, "Bodies ... the Exhibition," upstairs from the Baby Gap at South Street Seaport, Ms. Brown, a Buddhist who once traveled to India to meditate among bodies awaiting cremation, had a brainstorm.

"It just quickly came to me," she said. "I called the Bodies exhibit and told them, 'I'd really like to do a meditation in your space.' "

So it was on Tuesday evening that about 180 people, spread out across the nervous system and muscular system galleries, settled on to prayer cushions and the bare carpet to meditate for a half-hour among bodies preserved in silicone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/29/nyregion/29buddhist.html?ex=
1146456000&en=c549e172372aa454&ei=5087%0A

Buddhism and the art of brain science

Paramus Press, Wednesday, April 26 2006

By Bruce Lieberman

In October 2004, neuroscientist Fred Gage took a leap of faith and flew to India to present a lecture to Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama. The religious leader had asked him to participate in a workshop on brain science at his compound in Dharamsala, in the foothills of the Himalayas. The Dalai Lama wanted to learn more about Gage's explorations at the Salk Institute in San Diego into the adult brain's ability to generate new cells.

As the spiritual leader of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama was intrigued that scientists had found evidence that some parts of the brain might renew themselves throughout life.

http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20060425232423267

The New Medicine

March 2006

Episode One: The Science of Emotion

Until fairly recently, medical orthodoxy questioned the notion that something as ephemeral as an emotion or a thought could lead to physical illness or contribute to making us well. Medicine focused on treating illnesses in the body which scientists could see and measure; emotions and their effects on the body mystified medical researchers. Today, scientists have the tools, including neuro-imaging and brain imaging, to see and measure on a molecular level the physical changes in the body caused by the mind. The result is an explosion of research into the mind/ body connection. The first episode of The New Medicine explores some of this leading research and follows several stories of innovative mind/body therapies being used in mainstream hospitals and clinics across the country

http://www.newmedicineinfo.org/about_program.php

Episode Two: Doctors and Healers

In episode two, The NewMedicine looks at the dramatic changes happening in healthcare as a result of the growing acceptance of the mind-body connection—positive changes in areas like physician training, the hospital environment, and the doctor-patient relationship.

Doctors and Healers explores the renewed emphasis coming from the medical community to emphasize some of the skills of pre-modern medicine—a comforting touch, supportive words, willingness to listen. Today, scientists are proving that these “soft” aspects of care can actually make a tangible difference to recovery. Medical Schools, traditionally highly resistant to change, have begun embracing new – or rather old – values on a wide scale. This year, for the first time ever, the Medical Board exams will test would-be doctors not only on their knowledge of anatomy and chemistry and disease, but also on their ability to communicate effectively with patients.

http://www.newmedicineinfo.org/about_program.php

Getting into our minds

CBS Sunday Morning show, April 9, 2006

Every day Americans do virtually nothing in deafening silence. This is the face of modern meditation. A kind of inner contemplation gaining mainstream attention, not necessarily for spiritual enlightenment, but for matters of mind and body.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/09/sunday/main1483025.shtml

How to Get Smarter, One Breath at a Time

Scientists find that meditation not only reduces stress but also reshapes the brain

Time, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006

By LISA TAKEUCHI CULLEN

At 4:30, when most of Wall Street is winding down, Walter Zimmermann begins a high-stakes, high-wire act conducted live before a paying audience. About 200 institutional investors — including airlines and oil companies — shell out up to $3,000 a month to catch his daily webcast on the volatile energy markets, a performance that can move hundreds of millions of dollars. "I'm not paid to be wrong — I can tell you that," Zimmermann says. But as he clicks through dozens of screens and graphics on three computers, he's the picture of focused calm. Zimmermann, 54, watched most of his peers in energy futures burn out long ago. He attributes his brain's enduring sharpness not to an intravenous espresso drip but to 40 minutes of meditation each morning and evening. The practice, he says, helps him maintain the clarity he needs for quick, insightful analysis — even approaching happy hour. "Meditation," he says, "is my secret weapon."

http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/News/Time_Jan06.html

The Science of Meditation

Psychology Today Online

By: Cary Barbor

In the highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, people look at life differently. Upon entering the local Buddhist monastery, there is a spectacular sculpture the size of a large oak. The intricate carving of clouds and patterns are painted in powerful colors. But as soon as winter gives way, this magnificent work will melt to nothing. The sculpture, in fact, is made of butter, and it is one of the highland people's symbols of the transient nature of life.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20010501-000025.html

Loving the Lotus

Psychology Today Online

By: Kathleen McGowan

Summary: Meditation may not be so easy. But decreased heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels are just a few of the many benefits.

I grew up in Southern California during the 1970s, so I've endured just about every New Agey self-helpy spirituality trend you can imagine. (Tony Robbins himself lived right down the street, for crying out loud.) By the time I left for college, my eye-rolling skills were superb, and I had no patience for anything that reeked of mysticism -- or of incense.

So why would I take up meditation? Science has changed my mind. After hearing psychologists extol benefits, I signed up at my friendly, local Buddhist center for a course on "turning the mind into an ally." I wasn't looking for enlightenment -- but if meditation helps me think more clearly and improve my patience and temper, as I've read it can, that's close enough to revelation for me.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20050809-000010.html

You Are What You Think?

How You Use Your Brain May Determine How Healthy -- or Unhealthy -- It Is

ABC News, Dec. 14, 2005

Use it or lose it. We know that about our bodies. But a growing line of research now shows that the same is true for our brains. How we live, and what we do, can actually have a profound impact on the physical structure of the brain.

If we are what we eat, as the old saying goes, we may also be what we think. Or how we think, as well as how much we think.

One treatment for some of our mental ills may well lie in the practice of meditation, an awareness of sensations, feelings and state of mind.

The latest evidence comes from an impressive group of researchers from some of the leading institutions in the world who have found that a serious effort at meditation can physically change the brain, leading to reduced stress, better mental focus, and possibly fewer effects from aging.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/DyeHard/story?id=1402881

Meditation builds up the brain

NewScientist.com news service, 15 November 2005

By Alison Motluk

Meditating does more than just feel good and calm you down, it makes you perform better – and alters the structure of your brain, researchers have found.

People who meditate say the practice restores their energy, and some claim they need less sleep as a result. Many studies have reported that the brain works differently during meditation – brainwave patterns change and neuronal firing patterns synchronize. But whether meditation actually brings any of the restorative benefits of sleep has remained largely unexplored.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8317&print=true

Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness

Sara W. Lazar,a Catherine E. Kerr, et al.
Neuroreport. 2005 November 28; 16(17): 1893–1897.

Previous research indicates that long-term meditation practice is associated with altered resting electroencephalogram patterns, suggestive of long lasting changes in brain activity. We hypothesized that meditation practice might also be associated with changes in the brain’s physical structure. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess cortical thickness in 20 participants with extensive Insight meditation experience, which involves focused attention to internal experiences. Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing were thicker in meditation participants than matched controls, including the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula. Between-group differences in prefrontal cortical thickness were most pronounced in older participants, suggesting that meditation might offset age-related cortical thinning. Finally, the thickness of two regions correlated with meditation experience. These data provide the first structural evidence for experience-dependent cortical plasticity associated with meditation practice.

http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=16272874

Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation

Richard J. Davidson, PhD, Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, et al.
Psychosomatic Medicine. 2003; 65:564-570

With the widespread and growing use of meditative practices in hospitals and academic medical centers for outpatients presenting with a range of chronic stress and pain-related disorders and chronic diseases, under the umbrella of what has come to be called mind/body or integrative medicine, the question of possible biological mechanisms by which meditation may affect somatic, cognitive, and affective processes becomes increasingly important. Research on the biological concomitants of meditation practice is sparse and has mostly focused on changes that occur during a period of meditation compared with a resting control condition in a single experimental session (1–3). Whereas these studies have been informative, they tell us little about changes that are potentially more enduring. Moreover, virtually all forms of meditation profess to alter everyday behavior, effects that are by definition not restricted to the times during which formal meditation itself is practiced. Thus, in the current report, we focus not on the period of meditation itself, but rather on the more enduring changes that can be detected in baseline brain function as well as brain activity in response to specific emotional challenges.

http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/content/full/65/4/564?ijkey=
ad6454f747329753c6e432b298e4953c38cc6857

Meditation: Focusing your mind to achieve stress reduction

Mayo Clinic Online, 22 April 2005

Meditation involves concentrating on a single thought, word, image or movement. Many people use it for stress reduction.

Meditation techniques have been practiced for thousands of years. Originally the goal was to help individuals deepen their understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. And for many, meditation continues to be a spiritual and religious practice. Variations of meditative practice are found in all of the world's religions.

But for a growing number of people, meditation is about stress reduction. So how do you meditate and where do you find the inspiration to quiet your mind?

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070

Just Say Om

Scientists study it. Doctors recommend it. Millions of Americans—many of whom don't even own crystals—practice it every day. Why? Because meditation works

Time magazine Aug. 4, 2003

By JOEL STEIN

The one thought I cannot purge, the one that keeps coming back and getting between me and my bliss, is this: What a waste of time. I am sitting cross-legged on a purple cushion with my eyes closed in a yoga studio with 40 people, most of them attractive women in workout outfits, and it is accomplishment enough that I am not thinking about them. Or giggling. I have concentrated on the sounds outside and then on my breath and then, supposedly, just on the present reality of my physical state—a physical state concerned increasingly with the lack of blood in my right foot. But I let that pass, and then I let my thoughts of the hot women go, and then the future and the past, and then my worries about how best to write this article and, for just a few moments, I hit it. It looks like infinite blackness, feels like a separation from my body and seems like the moment right before you fall asleep, only I'm completely awake. It is kind of nice. And then, immediately, I have this epiphany: I could be watching television.

http://www.math.wisc.edu/~raichev/links/ilinks/time_meditation.pdf
#search='time%20magazine%20Just%20Say%20Om'