Early this morning I recorded
a brief video to post on my
Mystic Heart Meditation group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXwVOnQWt_Y

My wife's always-constructive
critique included, "Put on a
nicer shirt and don't insert
so many "ah's" as you're talking.

I'll take her advice and so
I'll be better dressed next...
ah...time. I'll try again tomorrow.

As Joe Namath once said,
"I can hardly wait until tomorrow
because I get better looking
every day."


Love,

Jeff

A wonderful philosophy to live by, Sean.
Just what I would expect from you.

I am convinced that a meditation practice
helps move us from self-consciousness to
selfless service, and more able to live by
your words and experience the indescribable
joy that comes with being of service.

Love,

Jeff

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, sean tremblay <bethjams9@...>
wrote:
>
> We are put in places for reasons beyond our understanding.  Make use of the
time and do as much good as you can while you can.  And think back to a tme when
someone helped you, at the expense of themselves, you are doing good work and
people need you, otherwise you would not be there, don't loose faith.
> Keep on Keepin on
> SSG Tremblay
> Zabul Province
> Afghanistan
>
> --- On Mon, 3/9/09, abdul qadeer <bobby786pk@...> wrote:
>
> From: abdul qadeer <bobby786pk@...>
> Subject: Re: [Meditation Society of America] teraresam kadnaping and
lawlessness in peshawar pakistan
> To: meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Monday, March 9, 2009, 4:21 AM
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> No matter dear, 
> Allah is more friendly than we think"
>
>
> Im from Islamabad, i can understand all the situations and know the reallity'
> what we have to do here, 
> Its a very difficult situation all the way, but the idea came in my mind that 
> we all friends shoud do the one thing every night when we are in our bed,
> should close our eyes and imagine that our Pakistan or Peshawar our People,
what ever there background is!
> should imagine and feel the peace, happiness around  us. we should imagine
that everybody is healty and smiling,
> every one is happy,..
> etc etc
>
>  Regards,
> Abdul Qadeer
> http://www.subkiisp .com/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: fidakhani <fidakhani@yahoo. com>
> To: meditationsocietyof america@yahoogro ups.com
> Sent: Saturday, March 7, 2009 7:53:49 PM
> Subject: [Meditation Society of America] teraresam kadnaping and lawlessness
in peshawar pakistan
>
>
>
> Dear friends
> i am a social worker and working in the field of meditation for the last ten
years.i m living in peshawar which is the capital of north west frontier
provence
> The situation in this city very dangrus now a days.bomb blasts kidnaping and
lawlessness creat avery strang situation u can imagen it.in this situation im
facing much difculties relating to my work.clients r not improving due to
contineuse stress in our provence.I need yours guaidence and suggesion.
> .
>

arrticle from livescience.com Mon Mar 9, 5:41 pm ET

Scientists See God on the Brain

Science can't say whether God represents a
loving, vengeful or nonexistent being. But
researchers have revealed for the first time
how such religious beliefs trigger different
parts of the brain.

Brain scans showed that participants fell
back on higher thought patterns when reacting
to religious statements, whether trying to
figure out God's thoughts and emotions or
thinking about metaphorical meaning behind
religious teachings.

"That suggests that religion is not a
special case of a belief system, but evolved
along with other belief and social cognitive
abilities," said Jordan Grafman, a cognitive
neuroscientist at the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland.

Such results fit with previous research which
shows that no single "God spot" exists in
the brain. Both believers and nonbelievers
participated in the new study, detailed in
this week's issue of the journal Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.

A first part of the study established a
range or spectrum of religious beliefs relating
to God's perceived involvement in this world,
God's perceived emotion, and personal experiences
as opposed to abstract doctrine. The second part
examined how participants responded to religious
statements reflecting those beliefs, with the
help of fMRI scanners.

The brain scans showed that people use known,
higher-function brain regions to sort out their
thoughts on God and religion. For instance, parts
of the brain linked with theory of mind (ToM) lit
up when trying to understand a supposedly detached
God's intentions - although individual minds varied
wildly when pondering a more involved God.

A possible explanation: "Probably because we
would tend to use theory of mind when we were
puzzled, concerned, or threatened by another's
behavior," Grafman told LiveScience.

People again relied on theory of mind, as well as
brain regions that detect emotion through facial
expression and language, when they read statements
reflecting God's anger. Statements of God's love
stimulated regions connected with positive emotions
and suppression of sadness

Unsurprisingly, statements of religious doctrine
activated parts of the brain that help decode
metaphor and abstractness. That contrasted with
statements reflecting religious experience, which
prodded the brain to retrieve memories and imagery
of self in action.

Even statements that believers or nonbelievers
disagreed with produced intriguing results.

"Reading a statement that you have been asked to
compare your own personal beliefs with certainly
will activate your own belief system," Grafman
pointed out. He and his colleagues observed brain
regions relating to disgust or conflict lighting
up in response.

One question that remains unanswered is
whether religion evolved as a central functional
preoccupation for human brains in early societies,
or whether it simply relied on brain regions
which had evolved for other types of thought-processing.

Future research may also try to see if human brains
respond similarly for different religions, given
that this study focused only on Western Christian beliefs.

"The more interesting studies will wind up
comparing different belief systems with similar
dimensions to see if they also activate the same
brain areas," Grafman said. "If they do, we can
better define why those brain areas evolved in humans."

GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES IN YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.

THE LATEST VOLUME OF THE SPIRITUAL WEB SITE www.ahwan.org (or www.ahwan.com) :
VOLUME 97, March 2009 ISSUE,  has been published and uplinked with the article
"IN SEARCH OF GOD –The Illusive one- Part 1

(Chidavasa Upakhyanam)"

- If you visit the site, and have any observations to make, I shall be grateful.
There are also interesting questions from readers dealing with "Buddhism and
Sanatan philosophy", "Siddhi in Sadhana" "Guru's sermons", "Holi and happiness",
"Gayatri recitation" etc. You can also browse the previous articles by clicking
on the ikon `articles'. Please share it with your friends and dear ones.  God
bless you-  Sri Bimal Mohanty. (bimal_mohanty@...)
PS – To continue spreading the benefit of AHWAN to all, we need your assistance
if you please. Click on `special information' on the homepage of www.ahwan.org.

If you do not wish to receive this information about future issues, please
e-mail accordingly - Thank you.
If you wish someone to receive this information as compliments from you please
indicate his/her e-mail address.
____________________

You can usher a qualitative change in your life, the spiritual way- the
effective way. Visit the website www.ahwan.org. or www.ahwan.com.
regularly. Share it with your friends and dear ones in any manner convenient-
through discussing, speaking, writing, inter-netting.

What Else Does Anyone Want?
"For a long time, I had this saying on my
stationery:  `It's all Your name.  It's all
Your form.  It's all Your deed.  And it's
all for good.' Since childhood, I have believed
that, and I don't think I ever regretted having
that belief. It is that belief that always
keeps me sane, that keeps me peaceful, never
too upset over anything.  Why? Because it's all
for good. Maybe you might say, `Oh that's an easy
way of escaping.' Well, whether it's escaping or
not, all I get is my peace. That is something
more precious to me than anything in the world.
You may call it escapism or blind faith, but what
it is to me is that I am retaining my peace.
Because of that peace, I am always joyful, always
happy. What else would anyone want?

God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

For more by and about Swami Satchidananda:
http://yogaandpeace.org/

I am new to meditation, and find the concept of revealing my real self very
calming and peaceful.  I have always had a "busy" mind throughout my life, and
I'm finding it quite a challenge to calm and clear the mind during meditation. 
Can anyone share any ideas or techniques on achieving deeper concentration and
focus?  I am open to all concepts!

I am new to meditation, and find the concept of revealing my real self very calming and peaceful. I have always had a "busy" mind throughout my life,

and I'm finding it quite a challenge to calm and clear the mind during meditation.

Can anyone share any ideas or techniques on achieving deeper concentration and focus? I am open to all concepts!

Beautiful - well-said, Sandeep.

One thought seems to touch another, expedited by a "thinker" who is making one
thought connect to another.

Simply being still and aware, no "thinker" is there.  The thinker is inferred in
the thought.  The thought arises and departs.

This is how thought occurs and dissolves.

Thought also infers time.

Without the thought, where and what is time?


Thanks - good talking with you,

-- Dan


--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, Sandeep <sandeep1960@...>
wrote:
>
>
>
> vdorough555 wrote:
> >
> > I am new to meditation, and find the concept of revealing my real self
> > very calming and peaceful. I have always had a "busy" mind throughout
> > my life,
> >
>
>
>
> /*Do you ever have a mind?
>
> Or the "busy-ness"......aka a collation of racing thoughts......
>
> ......infer a container of this activity, popularly named as the mind.
> */
>
> > and I'm finding it quite a challenge to calm and clear the mind during
> > meditation.
> >
>
>
>
> /*Indeed.
>
> "To calm" and "to clear" are once again thoughts.
>
> To try and erase thoughts with thoughts......is a bit of an oxymoron,
> isn't it.*/
>
>
> > Can anyone share any ideas or techniques on achieving deeper
> > concentration and focus? I am open to all concepts!
> >
>
>
>
> /*Observe the breathing.
>
> Look at the in-coming breath.
>
> See till what point it travels......... inside.
>
> At the point, when it repents(turns).........to become the out-going
> breath....
>
> ......remain at the point...
>
> And remaining at that point...........keep on observing............. the
> inflow and outflow of breath.
>
> Observe, the movement..........the rhythm.......... the dance of
> pulsation........... which throws up a display of life...
>
> ..... which seeming appears to exist, seemingly appears to be so real, so
> concrete.
>
> The seemingly appearing to exist-Life....
>
> ...... in which the notion to calm and clear the mind ....
>
> ....appears to be a desirable objective.
>
>
> */
>
> >
>

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, Sandeep <sandeep1960@...>
wrote:
>
>
>
> vdorough555 wrote:
> >
> > I am new to meditation, and find the concept of revealing my real self
> > very calming and peaceful. I have always had a "busy" mind throughout
> > my life,
> >
>
>
>
> /*Do you ever have a mind?
>
> Or the "busy-ness"......aka a collation of racing thoughts......
>
> ......infer a container of this activity, popularly named as the mind.
> */
>
> > and I'm finding it quite a challenge to calm and clear the mind during
> > meditation.
> >
>
>
>
> /*Indeed.
>
> "To calm" and "to clear" are once again thoughts.
>
> To try and erase thoughts with thoughts......is a bit of an oxymoron,
> isn't it.*/
>
>
> > Can anyone share any ideas or techniques on achieving deeper
> > concentration and focus? I am open to all concepts!
> >
>
>
>
> /*Observe the breathing.
>
> Look at the in-coming breath.
>
> See till what point it travels......... inside.
>
> At the point, when it repents(turns).........to become the out-going
> breath....
>
> ......remain at the point...
>
> And remaining at that point...........keep on observing............. the
> inflow and outflow of breath.
>
> Observe, the movement..........the rhythm.......... the dance of
> pulsation........... which throws up a display of life...
>
> ..... which seeming appears to exist, seemingly appears to be so real, so
> concrete.
>
> The seemingly appearing to exist-Life....
>
> ...... in which the notion to calm and clear the mind ....
>
> ....appears to be a desirable objective.
>
>
> */
>

Simply irresistible.
Beautifully simple.
Notice the breath.
Fade to silence.

Extraordinary use
of the word 'repent'.

Jeff

Where Does Consciousness Come From?
ScienceDaily (Mar. 17, 2009) — Consciousness
arises as an emergent property of the human mind.
Yet basic questions about the precise timing,
location and dynamics of the neural event(s)
allowing conscious access to information are
not clearly and unequivocally determined.
Some neuroscientists have even argued that
consciousness may arise from a single "seat"
in the brain, though the prevailing idea
attributes a more global network property.
Do the neural correlates of consciousness correspond
to late or early brain events following
perception? Do they necessarily involve coherent
activity across different regions of the brain,
or can they be restricted to local patterns of
reverberating activity?
A new paper suggests that four specific, separate
processes combine as a "signature" of conscious
activity. By studying the neural activity of
people who are presented with two different
types of stimuli – one which could be perceived
consciously, and one which could not – Dr. Gaillard
of INSERM and colleagues, show that these four
processes occur only in the former, conscious
perception task.
This new work addresses the neural correlates of
consciousness at an unprecedented resolution,
using intra-cerebral electrophysiological recordings
of neural activity. These challenging experiments
were possible because patients with epilepsy who
were already undergoing medical procedures requiring
implantation of recording electrodes agreed to
participate in the study. The authors presented
them with visually masked and unmasked printed
words, then measured the changes in their brain
activity and the level of awareness of seeing the
words. This method offers a unique opportunity to
measure neural correlates of conscious access with
optimal spatial and temporal resolutions. When
comparing neural activity elicited by masked and
unmasked words, they could isolate four converging
and complementary electrophysiological markers
characterizing conscious access 300 ms after word
  perception.
All of these measures may provide distinct glimpses
into the same distributed state of long-distance
reverberation. Indeed, it seems to be the convergence
of these measures in a late time window (after 300 ms),
rather than the mere presence of any single one of
them, which best characterizes conscious trials.
"The present work suggests that, rather than hoping
for a putative unique marker – the neural correlate
of consciousness – a more mature view of conscious
processing should consider that it relates to a
brain-scale distributed pattern of coherent brain
activation," explained neuroscientist Lionel
Naccache, one of the authors of the paper.
The late ignition of a state of long distance
coherence demonstrated here during conscious
access is in line with the Global Workspace
Theory, proposed by Stanislas Dehaene,
Jean-Pierre Changeux, and Lionel Naccache.
________________________________________
Journal reference:
1. Gaillard et al. Converging Intracranial
Markers of Conscious Access. PLoS Biology, 2009;
7 (3): e61 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000061
Adapted from materials provided by Public Library
of Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Beautiful - well-said, Sandeep.

One thought seems to touch another, expedited by a "thinker" who is making one thought connect to another.

Simply being still and aware, no "thinker" is there. The thinker is inferred in the thought. The thought arises and departs.

This is how thought occurs and dissolves.

Thought also infers time.

Without the thought, where and what is time?

Thanks - good talking with you,

-- Dan

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, Sandeep <sandeep1960@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> vdorough555 wrote:
> >
> > I am new to meditation, and find the concept of revealing my real self
> > very calming and peaceful. I have always had a "busy" mind throughout
> > my life,
> >
>
>
>
> /*Do you ever have a mind?
>
> Or the "busy-ness"......aka a collation of racing thoughts......
>
> ......infer a container of this activity, popularly named as the mind.
> */
>
> > and I'm finding it quite a challenge to calm and clear the mind during
> > meditation.
> >
>
>
>
> /*Indeed.
>
> "To calm" and "to clear" are once again thoughts.
>
> To try and erase thoughts with thoughts......is a bit of an oxymoron,
> isn't it.*/
>
>
> > Can anyone share any ideas or techniques on achieving deeper
> > concentration and focus? I am open to all concepts!
> >
>
>
>
> /*Observe the breathing.
>
> Look at the in-coming breath.
>
> See till what point it travels......... inside.
>
> At the point, when it repents(turns).........to become the out-going
> breath....
>
> ......remain at the point...
>
> And remaining at that point...........keep on observing............. the
> inflow and outflow of breath.
>
> Observe, the movement..........the rhythm.......... the dance of
> pulsation........... which throws up a display of life...
>
> ..... which seeming appears to exist, seemingly appears to be so real, so
> concrete.
>
> The seemingly appearing to exist-Life....
>
> ...... in which the notion to calm and clear the mind ....
>
> ....appears to be a desirable objective.
>
>
> */
>
> >
>

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.278 / Virus Database: 270.11.18/2008 - Release Date: 03/17/09 16:25:00

Just Be
"The flower doesn't even know it is giving
fragrance. Does it say, `Here is a nice
person; I want to be extra nice and give
her some fragrance?' A candle doesn't even
know that it is giving light. It is just
light. Does the candle say, `Hey, look. I'm
here wasting my time; I'm melting away. Come,
read or write something?' No.  The candle is
just there. That is what a Karma Yogi is.
Just by that yogi's very presence, people
enjoy the light, people enjoy the smell,
people get the benefit. But, if you feel,
`I wanted to give, but nobody wanted to
receive; I'm wasting my time,' then you are
unhappy.  Do you think that people are waiting
around for you to give them something? Nobody
is waiting for your gift. But, when they are
hungry, they will take it. So, just be. Don't
try to become.

For more by and about Swami Satchidananda:
www.YogaAndPeace.org.
"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one
question final exam after a semester dealing
with a broad array of topics.

The class was already seated and ready to go
when the professor picked up his chair, plopped
it on top of his desk and wrote on the board:

"Using everything we have learned this semester,
prove that this chair does not exist."

Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were
filled in furious fashion.

Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour
attempting to refute the existence of the chair.

Mullah Nasrudin was a member of the class. He was
up and finished in less than a minute.

Weeks later when the grades were posted, the
rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten
an "A"" when he had barely written anything at all.

Nasrudin's answer consisted of two words:

"What chair?"

4 – 4 – 8

Position yourself in your most comfortable
meditation posture. Relax your body, mind,
and emotions. Witness the way you are breathing.
As you can see, you are hardly inhaling or
exhaling at all. Maybe the air is only going
2 or 3 inches down into your chest and only 2
or 3 inches out from your nose. Every cell in
your body is nourished by oxygen and weak
inhalations deny us the energy supplying air
we need. Similarly, our feeble exhalations don't
allow us to expel the poisonous gasses lying deep
in our lungs. This is why we often feel run down,
crabby, and sleepy. The purpose of this technique
is to cleanse your body, mind, emotions, and
spirit by taking in a healthy, therapeutic dose
of oxygen and ridding yourself of carbon monoxide,
carbon dioxide, and other impurities. You are
going to achieve this purification by totally
filling and completely emptying your lungs. The
4 – 4 – 8 Pranayama (breathing technique) will
achieve a tremendous cleansing and revitalization
throughout your entire body. Enhanced clarity of
thought and uplifted emotions are always byproducts
of this classic method.

Inhale deeply for 4 units of time. Fill your
lungs completely, so you can see and feel your
abdomen distend. Retain your breath for the count
of 4 and then exhale for the count of 8. Any
rhythm that you naturally establish is the right
one for you, so if your units are 4 one second
units of time for inhaling, 4 of retention and
8 seconds for exhaling, that's fine. You can't
do this wrong.

When you inhale for a count of 4, visualize all
divine and healthy qualities coming to you. See
and feel yourself inhaling purity, sweetness,
gentleness, health, vitality, tranquility, and
so on. While retaining your breath for the count
of 4, visualize all these attributes filling every
cell in your body. Now exhale all impurities and
un-divine qualities for a count of 8. See and
feel pain, anger, illness, ignorance, impatience,
and so on, leave you.

As with many pranayama techniques, it is recommended
that you do it for either 3 sets of 12 repetitions
each, or 12 sets of 12 repetitions. Each cycle
consists of inhaling for 4 units of time, retaining
4 and exhaling 8. As you get into a rhythm, it will
become easy and appropriate to see and feel yourself
as pure, filled with light, energy, and love.

Although this meditation technique is specifically
designed as a healthy cleansing, many have found
it to be a perfect technique to use as their
primary meditation method. As with all meditation
techniques, it is far better to do them then
simply to read about them. Do this method, experience
its' results and achieve Knowledge, Consciousness,
Bliss, and Peace and live happily ever after.

A Zen Detective Investigates Death

By Pete Sierra

"What's going to happen after I die?" I asked
the Zen detective.

"Why do you want to know?

"It worries me."

"What happened before you were conceived?

"I don't know."

"Doesn't that worry you?"

"Not really."

"Why not? It could have been terrible."

"Maybe, but it's over and I don't remember. It's
what will happen after death that worries me."

"I don't get it," he said looking amused. "You don't
worry about it because it isn't happening now and
because you don't remember it. Right?"

"Right."

"Well, what will happen after death is not
happening now, and you don't remember it either.
So why should it bother you?"

"Are you trying to be cute? I didn't hire you to
be cute.I want to know the truth."

He smiled and rubbed his bald head. "Investigating
a future crime is very difficult, I'm going to
need your full cooperation. I don't want to hide
from you that you are the main suspect."

"Me? How could I be a suspect regarding my fate
after death?"

"Excuse me, the crime I'm investigating isn't
your fate, but your imaginary death."

"Don't be ridiculous! How could my death be
imaginary? It's a certainty that I'm going to die."

"Is it really? Are you dying this very instant?"

"No."

"Who is the one then who is going to die? Is it
the baby, the child, the young man you once were;
one of those who are going to die?"

"No, they are gone, but my body is going to die
and this was their body."

"Are you sure of that? Is the size of the body
the same?"

"No."

"Is the shape, or weight the same?"

"No."

"Are the atoms the same?"

"No, all atoms in the body are replaced within
seven years."

"So, neither the form, nor the substance are the
same? Correct?"

"My memories are. I'm the memory of my life."

He laughed. "It seems you are becoming less
substantial with each question. "Do you remember
every hour of your life?"

"No I don't."

"Do you remember every day, every month of
your life?"

"No."

"So your memories have been dying all along,
have they not?"

"Yes."

"Has this caused you any pain?"

"No."

"When a memory vanishes are you aware it's
vanishing?"

"Not at all."

"Could you be your memories and don't feel
anything when they perish?"

"I don't think so."

"So neither your form, your substance, your
thoughts, feelings, perceptions, opinions or
memories have remained the same throughout your life."

"My consciousness has."

"Your consciousness of what?"

"Not my consciousness of something. Just pure
consciousness."

"Have you ever been conscious without being
conscious of something?"

"I don't think so."

"Consciousness is not a permanent state is it?
In a deep sleep without dreams you are not
conscious are you? So if consciousness stops
in deep sleep, is there a reason to think it
will persist after death?"

"I don't think so."

"So we haven't found anything permanent to call
yourself have we? Do you know who or what you
really are?" he asked.

"No, I don't."

"Should you worry then about what happens to this
elusive stranger after death?"

"Suffering worries me."

"Suffering can only occur when we are conscious,
and if consciousness can't survive deep sleep,
how could it survive death? So, if suffering
worries you, inquire into how to stop it now.
But I doubt that inquiry will interest you.
People never worry about the present. Do they?
It's the idea of the past, or the future that
causes most mental disquietude."
----------------------------------------------------
To treat your Self to many more similar Zen stories,
check out this wonder-full site:
http://cerosoul.wordpress.com/

A Bad Meditation Can Be A Good Meditation

You're sitting comfortably in your favorite spot,
all is well, you're calm, cool, and collected.
You start to meditate, perhaps repeating a mantra,
and then you find you just can't concentrate.
Let's say that you intend to say OM over and over.
What sometimes happens is that after you say OM a
few times, your inner chatterer starts making
comments. It may go like this…"Om sounds like home.
Boy, wouldn't it be nice to buy a new home." And
then it continues "They just built a few new homes
in New Jersey. If I take the turnpike I can get
there pretty quickly. But there may be a lot of
traffic. I might get stuck in it for hours", and
so on, and so on. So, there you are, not just not
experiencing OM, but now you're in gridlock and
starting to feel road rage! Then, you realize that
you've lost your concentration and instead of just
returning to meditating on OM, your inner chatterer
starts chastising you with statements like "You
can't meditate! You're no good! You're incompetent!'
and so on. Then it starts filling you with self-pity
things like "I suffer so. If only I could control
my mind, but I can't and never will." Of course,
this is even further away from OM than driving on
the turnpike. But there is also something very good
happening as well, and it may prove to be far more
beneficial in the long run than if you would have
had a meditation that included visions of heaven and
feelings of bliss.

There is an awareness, a consciousness within
you that is a silent Witness to everything your
senses react with, your mind thinks, and your
emotions feel. It has been witnessing since you
were born. When you were a baby and couldn't
judge, compare, or comment in any way about
anything, it was already witnessing. As a matter
of fact, this Witness is your only hope of eternal
life. Your body will drop. Your thoughts and
emotions will stop. These things have never had
any permanence whatsoever. The only thing about
them that never changes is that they are always
changing. Our Witness is the only part of us
that has been changeless and is the only part
of us that has the possibility of surviving death.
You are not your body, you are not your emotions,
you are not your mind. The Witness is the Real
Self. When you meditate it is the Witness who
will recognize that you have stopped concentrating,
or are distracted, or are demeaning yourself.
You then can stop it and direct your consciousness
to what is appropriate. This is Real Self-control.

This puts you in the position of benefiting
greatly when your attempt at meditation "fails".
You will begin to recognize not just that you
have lost your concentration, but what caused
you to divert your attention. Sometimes you will
be able to become aware of habitual behaviors
that have distracted you. For instance, sounds
or other physical sensations may cause you to
tense up or get emotional. Certain type thoughts
or emotions, like lustful ones, may lead to
diverting your focus. When these subconscious
reactivities come to the surface under the light
of the Witness, you will be free from their power.

There is no doubt that if you realized that your
head has been hurting because you have been
banging it against a wall, you would stop doing
it. And your pain would disappear. Similarly,
when you cease reacting to the conscious and
subconscious distractions that have been banging
you around, your concentration will be firm and
your meditation will flow freely to you,
infinitely and eternally. These are the good
things bad meditations present to you. Most
importantly, they almost force you to seek refuge
in your Witness, and the more you do, the more
you realize and experience the reality of your
union with the pure consciousness that is your
real identity. And your suffering ends. So, when
you are having a "bad" meditation, it is a
tremendous opportunity to learn and evolve. All
the things that have been interfering with your
at-oneness with your Witness will be laid bare
before you. Therefore, when you're having any
type meditation, it's "good" and leads to the
inevitable – living happily ever after.

Freedom from Desire

"When you dedicate everything to God, you
are free from being affected by the dualities:
ups and downs, pleasure and pain, merit and
demerit. That means that you achieve chitta
vritti nirodhah, the cessation of the
fluctuations of mind, which is the goal
f Yoga. Thought forms happen because of
desires and because of the desire to possess
the reactions of your action. When you are
free of these desires, then there are no
fluctuations; the mind is clean and enjoys
rest. That is called tranquility of mind.
Those interested in tranquility of mind should
act just for the sake of the action, for the
benefit of the universe, not for one's own
benefit. It is only when a personal motive is
present that we are we subject to the dualities
and that we become perturbed. It's for our own
peace that we dedicate all the actions to God,
to Nature or to others.

"God bless you. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

For more by and about Swami Satchidananda:
www.YogaAndPeace.org

The greater the selfishness, the greater the fear.

To blame God for your suffering is to deny the
all-goodness of God.

Rid yourself of a drop of hate, and the universe
will fill you with an ocean of love.

Spiritually, the simpler the smarter.

End the dulling infatuation with names and
forms and the essence of all will shine.

Meditation is the greatest painkiller.

The more weakness in spirit, the more suffering in life.

Your ego is the price for your Soul.
This is trading fools gold for gold.

She or he who honors humility and possesses passion
purely for compassion has attained heavenly heights.

Enjoy the Now - All of them!

please visit below link to see meditation centres and visit if possible to hava
a real mean of life


http://lankameditation.blogspot.com/

http://srilankanmeditation.blogspot.com/

You paint a beautiful word
picture, Sean. The image of
a Kingdom without and within.

I found a beautiful illustration
of a hummingbird that I now use
in some of promotional material.
I'll see if I can upload it in
the files here.

Good to know that you are
safely home.

Love,

Jeff

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, sean tremblay <bethjams9@...>
wrote:
>
> Virginia in the spring time,
> When I walk the steps to my front door the smell of fresh mint and lilacs is
in the air, the setting sun shines through the colored panes on my back windows
softening the light from my living room in the back yard a huge buttefly bush is
blooming humming with fat bees and monarchs and the occasional huming bird, the
yard has a deep earthy smell from the tomatoes my wife plants in the spring,
when the sun falls my sons build a fire and I can lay back in a hammock strung
between two young oaks and watch the stars
> That to me is a real meditation center
>
> --- On Wed, 4/8/09, bandarakapukotuwa <bandarakapukotuwa@...> wrote:
>
>
> From: bandarakapukotuwa <bandarakapukotuwa@...>
> Subject: [Meditation Society of America] Real Meditation Centres
> To: meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 12:36 AM
>
>
>
>
>
>
> please visit below link to see meditation centres and visit if possible to
hava a real mean of life
>
> http://lankameditat ion.blogspot. com/
>
> http://srilankanmed itation.blogspot .com/
>

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the meditationsocietyofamerica
group.

   File        : /illustration.pdf
   Uploaded by : mindgoal <jeff@...>
   Description : Hummingbird illustration

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/meditationsocietyofamerica/files/illustration.pdf

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/members/web/index.htmlfiles

Regards,

mindgoal <jeff@...>

Researchers at the University of California,
San Diego School of Medicine have compiled the
first-ever review of the neurobiology of wisdom -
once the sole province of religion and philosophy.
The study by Dilip V. Jeste, MD, and Thomas W.
Meeks, MD, of UC San Diego's Department of Psychiatry
and the Stein Institute for Research on Aging, was
published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

"Defining wisdom is rather subjective, though
there are many similarities in definition across
time and cultures," said Jeste, who is the Estelle
and Edgar Levi Chair in Aging, professor of psychiatry
and neuroscience and chief of geriatric psychiatry
at UC San Diego. "However, our research suggests
that there may be a basis in neurobiology for wisdom's
most universal traits."

Wisdom has been defined over centuries and
civilizations to encompass numerous psychological
traits. Components of wisdom are commonly agreed
to include such attributes as empathy, compassion
or altruism, emotional stability, self-understanding,
and pro-social attitudes, including a tolerance for
others' values.

"But questions remain: is wisdom universal, or
culturally based?" said Jeste. "Is it uniquely human,
related to age? Is it dependent on experience or
can wisdom be taught?"

Empirical research on wisdom is a relatively new
phenomenon. Meeks and Jeste noted that in the 1970s,
there were only 20 peer-reviewed articles on wisdom,
but since 2000, there have been more than 250 such
publications. However, the researchers found no
previous studies using the keyword "wisdom" in combination
with the terms neurobiology, neuroimaging or
neurotransmitters.

In order to determine if specific brain circuits and
pathways might be responsible for wisdom, the
researchers examined existing articles, publications
and other documents for six attributes most commonly
included in the definition of wisdom, and for the
brain circuitry associated with those attributes.

Meeks and Jeste focused primarily on functional
neuroimaging studies, studies which measure changes
in blood flow or metabolic alterations in the brain,
as well as on neurotransmitter functions and genetics.
They found, for example, that pondering a situation
calling for altruism activates the medial pre-frontal
cortex, while moral decision-making is a combination
of rational (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which
plays a role in sustaining attention and working memory), emotional/social
(medial pre-frontal cortex), and
conflict detection (the anterior cingulate cortex,
sometimes also associated with a so-called "sixth
sense") functions.

Interestingly, several common brain regions appear to
be involved in different components of wisdom. The UC
San Diego researchers suggest that the neurobiology
of wisdom may involve an optimal balance between more
primitive brain regions (the limbic system) and the
newest ones (pre-frontal cortex.) Knowledge of the
underlying mechanisms in the brain could potentially
lead to developing interventions for enhancing wisdom.

"Understanding the neurobiology of wisdom may
have considerable clinical significance, for example,
in studying how certain disorders or traumatic brain
injuries can affect traits related to wisdom," said
Jeste, stressing that this study is only a first
step in a long process.

Notes:

The study was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Mental
Health, the National Institute on Aging, the U.S. Health Resources and Services
Administration, the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging at UC San
Diego and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Source:
Debra Kain
University of California - San Diego
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145396.php