The Conscious and Inert

"The inert continues to exist as it is;
the conscious ever advances, ever evolves,
ever improves and masters everything. Thus
man as the conscious being is the powerful
one. He exerts his influence, and the inert
yields to the power and the force that
consciousness brings to bear on it. "

"Therefore, from a pragmatic and rational
point of view, it is meaningless to say that
the universe is bondage, that we are caught
in samsara (the process of worldly life)
and helplessly suffer. It is a wrong notion,
a misstatement, a contradiction of the true,
inner, essential fact. The universe cannot
bind anyone. Samsara has no power because it
is jada, or inert. It has no power to bind;
it cannot hold anyone in thraldom, in bondage.
It has no power of its own; it cannot cling
to you, bind you, hold you down from becoming
whatever you wish to become. It is you who
cling to it. It is you who are aware of its
existence, who act and set up relationships.
Bondage arises from you, not from samsara,
not from this world, not from this creation
of God. It does nothing. You are the one who
has become bound by your own way of relating
yourself to samsara, by your own way of
failing to understand samsara and by wrongly
understanding things around you."
   - Swami Chidananda
For more by and about Swami Chidananda:
http://www.divyajivan.org/

Don't Have Faith in Your Fear

"Fear is not going to help us in any way.
Fear makes the mind lose all its strength.
Remember, even to have fear, you must have
faith in your fear. However, you should know
that fear is not going to bring you any benefit.
Anything can happen at any time. Right now,
though, you are alive, you are fine. Why don't
you enjoy the life that you are living now
rather than worrying? By giving into fear,
you are making yourself miserable. Faith and
fear don't go together. Either you have faith,
or you have fear. Why don't you enjoy the now
instead of worrying about the future? Learn to
live in the golden present.

"God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi."

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

All starts from the Unconscious, all is in the
Unconscious, and all sinks down into the Unconscious.
There is no Buddhahood, hence no functioning of it.
If a thought is awakened and any form of functioning
is recognized, there is a discrimination, an
attachment, a deviation from the path of the
Unconscious. The master stands firmly in the Unconscious
and refuses to be transferred to the plane of
consciousness. This puzzles the novitiate monk.

D. T. Suzuki

This has been posted solely for non-commercial purposes,
and thus is subject to the Fair Use statutes.

Yo Sri Bruceji,
The whole album is amazing. WXPN is featuring
the Angel Dance cut and they all seem classic
quality and highly High! Thanks for the pointing.
Peace and blessings,
Bob
  Bruce Morgen <editor@...> wrote:
>
>
> ..on the nature of existence from
> 19th century expatriate American
> journalist Theodore Tilton via
> Sri Robert Plant -- available for
> another week or so here:
>
> <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129178865>
>
> Select "Even This Shall Pass Away"
> -- and yes, the rest of the new CD
> is great too.
>
> Happy Labor Day to all the
> Statesiders in attendance!
>

I love it too, Bobji.  Sri Robert
has surrounded himself with some
of the best musicians in the
world, putting his once-
considerable ego in his back
pocket and assuming the posture
of a student of music and of the
American vernacular in particular.

Each of performers in the "front
line" of the new Band Of Joy are
superb singer-songwriters in their
own rights.

Singer-guitarist-producer Buddy
Miller:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jap10yg8uek>

Singer and rhythm guitarist
Patty Griffin:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cdnF3NUSCY>

Singer and multi-instrumentalist
Darrell Scott:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu0dwpk3-BI&feature=related>

....and this from whole sangha, with
Sri Robert humbly singing harmony:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbKhcSdNz3o>

Enjoy!

Much love -- Bruce





On 9/9/2010 2:52 PM, medit8ionsociety wrote:
> Yo Sri Bruceji,
> The whole album is amazing. WXPN is featuring
> the Angel Dance cut and they all seem classic
> quality and highly High! Thanks for the pointing.
> Peace and blessings,
> Bob
>   Bruce Morgen<editor@...>  wrote:
>>
>> ..on the nature of existence from
>> 19th century expatriate American
>> journalist Theodore Tilton via
>> Sri Robert Plant -- available for
>> another week or so here:
>>
>> <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129178865>
>>
>> Select "Even This Shall Pass Away"
>> -- and yes, the rest of the new CD
>> is great too.
>>
>> Happy Labor Day to all the
>> Statesiders in attendance!

For the next 3 week-ends, knives that have come about
as a physical demonstration of a meditative process will be
displayed at 2 gun shows and at a knife show. If you search
this groups messages for Zen and the Art of Knifemaking,
you will see links to some of the knives, and the story behind
their creation. if you want to see most of what will be shown
at the show, they can be seen at:
http://www.bobroseknives.com
And as usual if you want to stop by and share meditation concepts,
experiences, and techniques, or just to say hello, the dates and locations are:
9/11 and 9/12 Pennsylvania Farm How Complex, Harrisburg, PA
9/17, 9/18, 9/19 Valley Forge Convention Center, Valley Forge, PA
These are both gun shows and create an environment as unlikely to
be condusive to meditation as could be found outside of a war zone.
The knife show will be in Easton, PA on 9/25 at the Forks Twp. Community Center.
Hope to see you there.
Peace snd blessings,
Bob

Yo Sean,
Bette and I are seriously considering displaying the knives in March or April at
"The Nation's Gun Show" in Chantilly VA. Over 1,100 tables, a mile and a half of
gun dealers, and tens of thousands of attendees. Very unique scene there and the
highlight is that you can rent machine guns, flame throwers, and tanks and fire
away. But unlike probably all of the people at that show, we'll most likely then
take a trip to Yogaville, about 20 miles south of Charlettsville, and visit the
Ashram there. We've been there many times and have always found it to be the
most serene and high place we've ever experienced. And the inner explosives
there are at least as amazing as the artillery at any gun show!
Would enjoy hooking up with you and yours if and when we get down there.
Peace and blessings,
Bob

Your Body is a Vehicle

“Your body is your vehicle. It’s given to you to enjoy life.
Remember, whatever you want to do, you need the body.
You want to hear something? You need the body. You want
to taste something? You need the body. You want to go
somewhere? You need the body. The scriptures say,
  ‘Whatever you want to do, the body comes first.’ So, keep
the body in good shape and use it well. On the other hand,
  attachment to your body interferes with your using it.
So, in the name of spiritual practice, Yoga practice, we
are not asking you to get attached to the body. Take good
care of your tool, your instrument. Keep it clean, keep it
healthy, keep it strong and fit to function well, but don’t
get attached to it.

“God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi.”

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

The Coat Of Many Colors

Prepare yourself for meditation in the way that you
have found is best. Or, if you wish, there are basic
techniques used to initiate the meditative state that
you may try. For instance, you might sit as comfortably
as possible and relax your muscles progressively
from your toes to the top of your head. Witness your
breath flowing in, saturating your entire being, and
flowing out. Direct your mind, body, and emotions to
not bother you now, in these moments of sacred inner
insight. Repeat the observation of your breathing cycle
over and over until you become as fluid as the air.
This, and many other techniques, will allow you to
experience the Alpha and Theta brain wave cycle
rhythms that clinically characterize meditation and let you
enter the realms of wonder, awe, and wisdom that they bring.

In your minds’ eye, picture an altar. On this altar are
pictures of your divinity or other symbols of your unity
with the universe IE: an Om sign, a clear light, an infinity
sign, etc. As has been the tradition of all religions of all
times, there is a place in front of the altar for sacrificial
offerings. See yourself coming to the holy place that
contains this altar, wearing a coat of many colors. Each
color symbolizes an ungodly characteristic. Visualize
yourself offering up a color from your robe, perhaps red,
representing your lust. Green for your jealousy, purple
for your pride, and so on. As you place a new color and
part of your robe on the altar, feel yourself getting more
and more purified and see that underneath what had
been covered with poison and filth is now healthy and
beautiful. Continue until you are left naked and virginally
pure before the altar. See your divinity evaporate your
offering. You have shed all the colors that coated you
and are now merged with the great white light, as free
and unspoiled by negativity as a newborn babe. Feel the
pleasure known only to those who have attained the
unqualified acceptance of the divine, and live happily ever after.

Found on Sri Gene Poole's Forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/genesgulag/?yguid=5391503

titled Beauty is Dangerous
Enjoy!
http://tinyurl.com/24xsnba

A monk said to Mullah Nasrudin:
"I am so detached that I never think
  of myself, only of others."
Nasrudin answered:
"I am so objective that I can look at myself
as if I were another person; so I can afford
to think of myself."

Interesting. I very much agree with this.

On Sep 17, 2010 9:31 PM, "medit8ionsociety" <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> A monk said to Mullah Nasrudin:
> "I am so detached that I never think
> of myself, only of others."
> Nasrudin answered:
> "I am so objective that I can look at myself
> as if I were another person; so I can afford
> to think of myself."
>
>

This article appears in the Concepts of
Meditation section of Meditation Station.
This afternoon, in the midst of a gun show,
a few members of the Meditation Society of
America and I had a discussion about some
of the points it mentions. Some of our
commentary is shared below. Hopefully
there will be some benefit and clarity
from these words that lead to an evolution
in consciousness. Which is, of course, the
whole purpose of any of the Meditation Society
of America's activities.
Enjoy!
--------------------------------------------
Contemplation

Learning concentration can be considered
analogous to a baby learning to crawl.
It is only the first phase of a process
that ends with attaining a freedom of
movement. Just as we find walking and
running to be superior ways to arrive at
a given location, we will find attaining
the ability to experience states of Meditation
and Contemplation to be superior ways of
arriving at infinite varieties of locations.

While concentrating and meditating we
are placing limits on our actions -- we are
commanding our mind, body, and emotions to
stay focused on the task we have assigned
and not distract us. In a way, this control,
though beneficial and necessary for our
success at concentration and meditation,
is the exact thing that we need to let go
of to attain Contemplation. Contemplation
requires a complete surrender -- a non-control
by our finite ego/mind and a complete taking
over by the infinite Cosmic Consciousness.
Even though "control" may give us a way
to excise some "inner demons", like compulsive
behavior, distracting thought patterns, or
sadness, it is limited. Only an action of
unlimited qualities can lead to a completely
liberated result. To fly high, we cannot tie
ourselves to the ground in any way. The more
we let go, the more we soar and the moment
we let go completely is the moment we attain
the infinite.

Concentration and Meditation not only give
us greater control over our lives but also
allow us a chance to practice witnessing our
life as it occurs. Witnessing, which can only
happen here and now, will ultimately lead to
the recognition of our Real Self, which is
none other than the source of all consciousness,
and thus, the ultimate Witness of all.
Contemplate that.
------------------------------------------------------
A brief commentary:

What the article seems to suggest is that there
is some way that we can "do" something, and
that's very questionable. There is no cause and
effect "doing" that will let you "surrender"
or "let go".

If you're playing chess, there can come a time
that you see there is no hope of avoiding
check-mate and you can surrender. But life
itself isn't that kind of game. With meditation,
we have moments in our lives that allow us to
be aware "in real time". Then, when not
commenting, judging, comparing or anything
like that, and we are simply being aware in the now,
we see that "letting go" comes to us. The "surrender"
is automatic as the temporary ego melts away and
the universal perspective that is ever present
presents ItSelf.

"It", like all things, is just a "Thy will be done"
thing (whether there is a big "Thy in the sky" or
whether or not there is a real "I" that I am or
am not). So it's a matter of "Grace"and "Mercy"
and "Joy" and other things with ladies names, but
doubtfully having anything to do with "Just do it".
That idea is only good for advertisements for sneakers.

And what's somewhat likely is that all of the article
and the commentary are just what Kir Li Molari
calls "Words! Words! Words!" and have actually diverted
your attention "away from" instead of "attention
to" what's here in the present.

Peace and blessings,
Bob

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/

“UPANISHADSARA”



GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES IN YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.

THE LATEST VOLUME OF THE SPIRITUAL WEB SITE www.ahwan.org (or www.ahwan.com) :
VOLUME 116, September 2010 ISSUE,  has been published and uplinked with
“UPANISHADSARA”





- If you visit the site, and have any observations to make, I shall be grateful.
In this issue we have also interesting questions from readers dealing with
"Fraudulant Gurus and Conmen” “Old age loneliness”,
“Gandhari Syndrome”, “ISKCON”, “Yoga practice problems,
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
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____________________

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.

Talking to yourself might not be a bad thing,
especially when it comes to exercising self control.

New research out of the University of Toronto
Scarborough - published in this month's edition
of Acta Psychologica - shows that using your
inner voice plays an important role in controlling
impulsive behaviour.

"We give ourselves messages all the time with
the intent of controlling ourselves - whether
that's telling ourselves to keep running when
we're tired, to stop eating even though we want
one more slice of cake, or to refrain from
blowing up on someone in an argument," says
Alexa Tullett, PhD Candidate and lead author
on the study. "We wanted to find out whether
talking to ourselves in this 'inner voice' actually helps."

Tullett and Associate Psychology Professor
Michael Inzlicht, both at UTSC, performed a
series of self control tests on participants.
In one example, participants performed a test
on a computer. If they saw a particular symbol
appear on the screen, they were told to press
a button. If they saw a different symbol, they
were told to refrain from pushing the button.
The test measures self control because there
are more "press" than "don't press" trials, making
pressing the button an impulsive response.

The team then included measures to block
participants from using their "inner voice"
while performing the test, to see if it had
an impact on their ability to perform. In order
to block their "inner voice," participants were
told to repeat one word over and over as they
performed the test. This prevented them from
talking to themselves while doing the test.

"Through a series of tests, we found that
people acted more impulsively when they couldn't
use their inner voice or talk themselves through
the tasks," says Inzlicht. "Without being able
to verbalize messages to themselves, they were
not able to exercise the same amount of self control
as when they could talk themselves through the process."

"It's always been known that people have
internal dialogues with themselves, but until
now, we've never known what an important function
they serve," says Tullett. "This study shows
that talking to ourselves in this 'inner voice'
actually helps us exercise self control and
prevents us from making impulsive decisions."

Source: University of Toronto
---------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is being posted for non-commercial
use only and thus falls under the Fair Use Statutes.

COME OUT OF YOUR MEDITATION

O Fool! What are you doing in the room?
Why have you shut the doors?
Are you meditating or building sand castles?
Are you planning or sleeping?
What do you see with closed eyes?
Darkness? Or some white spots?
Is this your vision of God?
Do not waste this precious human life.
See God everywhere -� in the sun
In the trees, the child, the cow,
In the breeze, in the old man,
In the running brooks, in the landscapes.
He is not within your trikuti (eyebrow centre) alone.
Can you meditate for twenty-four hours?
Do not become tamasic or lazy.
Do not mistake tamas (inertia) for satva (divinity).
Enough, enough of your meditation.
Thy cells are charged with heavy tamas.
Come out and serve God in all forms.
Here is a dynamic path of cosmic vision.

�So says Sivananda

For more by and about Swami Sivananda:
http://www.sivanandaonline.org/

Concepts shattering mind-less Brilliance!

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, sandeep chatterjee
<sandeep1960@...> wrote:
>
>
>   Q : From all you have said, Mind is Buddha, but it
> is not clear as to what sort of mind is meant by this "Mind which is
> Buddha."
>
> �
> A: How many minds have you got ?
> �
> Q: But is the Buddha the ordinary mind or the
> Enlightened mind ?
> �
> A: Where on earth do you keep your "ordinary mind"
> and your "Enlightened mind" ?
> �
> Q: In the teaching of the Three Vehicles it is
> stated that there are both. Why do you deny it ?
> �
> A: In the teaching of the Three Vehicles it is
> clearly explained that the ordinary mind and the Enlightened minds are
> illusions.
>
>
>   You don't understand. All this clinging to the idea of things
> existing is to mistake vacuity for the truth. How can such conceptions not be
> illusory?
>
>
>   Being illusory, they hide Mind from you. If you would only rid
> yourselves of the concept of ordinary and Enlightened, you would find that
there
> is no other Buddha than the Buddha in your own Mind.
>    When Bodhidharma came from
> the West, he just pointed out that the substance of which all men are composed
> is Buddha.
>
>
>   You people go on misunderstanding; you hold concepts such as
> "ordinary" and "Enlightened", distracting your thoughts outwards where they
> gallop like horses!
>
>
>   All this amounts to declouding your own minds.
>
>
>   So I tell you
> Mind is the Buddha. As soon as thought or sensation arises, you fall into
> dualism. Beginningless time and the present moment are the same.
>
>
>   There is no
> this and no that.
>
>
>   To understand this truth is called complete and unexcelled
> Enlightenment.
>
> �
> Q: Upon what Doctrine do you base these
> words?
> �
> A: Why seek a doctrine? As soon as you have a
> doctrine, you again fall into dualistic thought.
> �
> Q: Just now you said that beginningless past and
> the present are the same. What do you mean by that ?
> �
> A: It is just because of your seeking that you
> make a difference between them.
>
>
>   If you were to stop seeking, how could there be
> any difference between them?
>
> �
> Q: If they are not different, why do you employ
> separate terms for them?
> �
> A: If you hadn't mentioned ordinary and
> Enlightened, who would have bothered to say such things?
>
>
>   Just as those
> categories have no real existence, no Mind is not really "mind".
>
>
>   And, as both
> Mind and those categories are really illusions, wherever can you hope to find
> anything?
>
> �
> Q: Illusion can hide from us our own mind, but up
> to now you have not taught up how to get rid of illusion.
> �
> A: The arising and elimination of illusion are
> both illusory.
>
>
>   Illusion is not something rooted in Reality, it exists because of
> your dualistic thinking.
>
>
>   If you would only cease to indulge in opposed concepts
> such as "ordinary" and "Enlightened", illusion will cease of itself.
>
>
>   And then if
> you still want to destroy it wherever it may be, you will find that there is
not
> a hairsbreadth left of anything on which to lay hold.
>
>
>   This is the meaning of: "I
> wil let go with both hands, for then I shall certainly discover the Buddha in
my
> mind."
>
> �
> Q: If there is nothing on which to lay hold, how
> is the Dharma to be transmitted?
> �
> A: It is a transmission of Mind with
> Mind.
> �
> Q: If Mind is used for transmission, why do you
> say that Mind does not exist?
> �
> A: Obtaining no Dharma whatever is called Mind
> transmission. The understanding of this implies no Mind and no
> Dharma.
> �
> Q: If there is no Mind and No Dharma, what is
> meant by transmission?
> �
> A: You hear people speak of Mind transmission and
> then you talk of something to be received. So Bodhidharma said :
> �
> The nature of Mind when
> understood
> No human speech can compass or
> disclose.
> Enlightenment is naught to be
> attained,
> And he that gains it does not say he
> knows.
>

That you are awake and alive is itself a concept, at this moment.
Go back to the source, before this concept arose, what was your state?

I don't know.

That which you don't know is the true state.

Everything that comes after this consciousnesses arises, is useless,
consciousnesses is useless.


So the search, all aspects of it belong the same?

Throw away every thought, every experience, everything that happens after this consciousness has risen.

Other than throwing it away as useless, there is nothing to be done beyond this understanding in which you are more and more absorbed.



In the jnani beingness has reached the state of no-beingness, still appearances will happen, how will one act?



It is something like the dream world......everything is happening and not only you but nobody is doing anything.

The following is a brief excerpt from Sri Acharyaji's forthcoming book "The
Vedic Way of Knowing God". To be released October, 2010.  To purchase this
groundbreaking work, visit www.dharmacentral.com


The Rishi Phenomenon: How God is Revealed in Sanatana Dharma

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya
(Dr. Frank Morales, Ph.D)

"To say that many of the teachings, philosophical positions, and insights of the
tradition of Sanatana Dharma are wholly unique in the history of world
philosophical and theological development would be an understatement of very
large proportions. The uniqueness and brilliance of Vedic philosophy is seen
especially in the epistemological approach of Sanatana Dharma, with epistemology
forming, arguably, the very foundation of any systematic philosophical
construct. The Vedic theory of how knowledge of Transcendence is arrived at is
sophisticated, complex, psychologically oriented, as well as elegant in design.
More, it is unparalleled in its logical rigor. It is based upon an ultimate
rejection of both empiricism and intellectualism as epistemic mechanisms capable
of knowing God, in favor of the unio mystica reality of a non-mediated
perception of the Absolute that can only be attained via enstatic oneness with
that Absolute..."

PLEASE VISIT HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE:

http://www.dharmacentral.com/forum/content.php?60-Rishi-Phenomenon



Please forward this to all sincere spiritual seekers.

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, sandeep chatterjee <sandeep1960@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> That you are awake and alive is itself a concept, at this moment.
> Go back to the source, before this concept arose, what was your state?
>
> I don't know.

Faithe: Isn't thinking that one can/should go back to the source BEFORE this concept arose, just another concept? Isn't the not knowing what that state was, also a concept? More mulberry bush circling.
>
> That which you don't know is the true state.

Faithe: How does one know that they don't know? Isn't this "true state" of "don't know" another concept?
>
> Everything that comes after this consciousnesses arises, is useless,
> consciousnesses is useless.

Faithe: How does one realize non-consciousness? Isn't labeling consciousness as "useless", also a concept?
>
>
> So the search, all aspects of it belong the same?

Faithe: Even the searching for "non-searching"?
>
> Throw away every thought, every experience, everything that happens after this consciousness has risen.

Faithe: To do this, one would have to realize that "state" prior to consciousness, which is not possible.
>
> Other than throwing it away as useless, there is nothing to be done beyond this understanding in which you are more and more absorbed.
>
Faithe: Thinking that one has thrown it (thoughts, experience, etc. prior to consciousness) is just another aspect of consciousness, is it not?

>
>
> In the jnani beingness has reached the state of no-beingness, still appearances will happen, how will one act?

Faithe: One will act just as before, no change, no difference, other than perhaps trying to fool oneself that they do not exist.
>
>
>
> It is something like the dream world......everything is happening and not only you but nobody is doing anything.
>

Faithe: Is "dream world" just another aspect of consciousness? And if so, then the dream world must also be thrown away!!! If nobody is doing anything in the dream world, then why do I sometimes wake up exhausted after a stimulating dream?

Mindfulness Meditation May Ease Fatigue,
Depression, Quality Of Life For MS Patients
28 Sep 2010

A new study from Switzerland suggests that
learning mindfulness meditation eased fatigue,
depression and quality of life for multiple
sclerosis (MS) patients compared with patients
who received standard medical care.

The study was the work of Dr Paul Grossman,
of the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine,
in the Division of Internal Medicine at the
University of Basel Hospital, and colleagues,
and is published in the 28 September issue of
Neurology, the medical journal of the American
Academy of Neurology.

Grossman and colleagues recruited 150 patients
with relapsing-remitting or secondary progressive
multiple sclerosis, and randomly assigned them
to receive either standard medical care
(74 patients) or undergo eight weeks of training
in mindfulness meditation (76 patients).

The mindfulness training comprised weekly
classes of 2.5 hours, an all-day retreat, and
40 minutes per day of personal practice.

The approach of mindfulness meditation trains
a person to develop non-judgemental awareness
of the present moment, such as focusing the
attention on sensory information rather than
what it means. Thoughts of a judgemental nature,
triggered memories and worries about the future,
are nudged aside as attention is devoted to
"here and now" sensations and messages.

The results showed that the patients who underwent
the training had improved quality of life and
reduced fatigue and depression after the course
and also at a six-month follow up, compared to
their counterparts who only received the standard medical care.

Very few patients pulled out of the training
before it finished (only 5 per cent), and those
who completed it improved on nearly every measure
of fatigue, depression (symptoms of depression
went down by over 30 per cent), and quality of
life, whereas the patients who received the standard
medical care declined slightly on most measures.

Some of the biggest improvements in the mindfulness
group was among the 65 per cent or so patients
who showed the highest levels of depression or
fatigue before they started the course. By the end
of the course this risk group had reduced by a third,
and the proportion was sustained at the six-month
follow up.

The other benefits of the mindfulness training were
also still there at the six-month follow up, although
in some cases the levels were lower than they were
right after the end of the course. In the case of
fatigue however, the results showed the reductions
at the end of the course were at the same levels
six months later.

In an accompanying editorial, Drs Jinny Tavee and
Lael Stone of the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, US, wrote
that because the study did not compare the mindfulness
group against another active group (using a
different type of intervention), we cannot be
certain that the benefits accrued specifically as
a result of mindfulness training.

However, they did point out that this was the
largest study of its type, it was well conducted
and "solidly designed", and it underlined the
importance of directing treatment at quality of
life issues in patients with MS.

The authors said the evidence supportrd the idea
that patients with other chronic disorders that
impair quality of life may also benefit from
mindfulness training.

Grossman said in a statement that fatigue,
depression, anxiety and impaired quality of
life are common consequences of having MS:

"People with MS must often confront special
challenges of life related to profession,
financial security, recreational and social
activities, and personal relationships, not
to mention the direct fears associated with
current or future physical symptoms and disability."

But unfortunately, he explained, the treatments
that help slow the disease have little effect
in these areas.

"So any complementary treatments that can
quickly and directly improve quality of life
are very welcome," he added.

He also explained that MS is an upredictable
disease, where people can go for months feeling
good and then have a relapse that stops them
working or taking care of their family.

"Mindfulness training can help those with MS
better to cope with these changes," said Grossman.

"Increased mindfulness in daily life may also
contribute to a more realistic sense of control,
as well as a greater appreciation of positive
experiences that continue be part of life," he added.

"MS quality of life, depression, and fatigue improve after mindfulness training:
A randomized trial."
P. Grossman, L. Kappos, H. Gensicke, M. D'Souza, D.C. Mohr, I.K. Penner, and C.
Steiner.
Neurology, Volume 75, Issue 13 : pp 1141-1149, published 28 September 2010.

Additional sources: American Academy of Neurology, .

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is posted for strictly for
non-commercial purposes and thus falls
under the statutes of the Fair Use doctrine.

Changing Forms

"Birth and death are changing forms. The plant
changes into a flower, and the flower changes
into a garland�and if you leave the garland alone
for some time, it will change into dust. It is
the same for the body. The body is composed of
the elements, and the elements are constantly
changing. One day, when the body decomposes, the
body is dead, but you, the owner of the body, are
always the same. This realization of immortality
is possible only when you free yourself from your
identification with the body. What's more, it is
when you experience the realization of your own
immortality that you can be permanently happy.
The happiness that seems to be coming from your
possessions is false or, in other words, reflected happiness.

"God bless you. Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi."

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

A book written by one of the spiritual internet's
most talented and wisest writers, Vicki Woodyard,
has been published. Vicki's writings have appeared
on this group as well as in our newsletter, The
Inner Traveler. We are pleased to spread the
word about this opportunity to get not just an appetizer,
but a full course meal of her insights.
LIFE WITH A HOLE IN IT; That's How The Light Gets In,
is the title. Unsurprisingly,it has gotten good reviews so far:

Scott Kiloby, Author of Reflections of the
One Life, Love's Quiet Revolution, and
Living Realization,  says:
"This is good reading.  It made me smile and laugh.
The words are drenched with love and a sense
of  humor along with reverence and awe for
the mystery of life.  I recommend  this book!"

Greg Goode, author of Standing As Awareness, says:
"A close-to-the-bone book about love, death, loss,
and...love. Heartbreakingly honest, brave and inspiring!"

John LeKay, Nondualitymagazine.org, says
" LIFE WITH A HOLE IN IT is a must read for
anyone interested in conscious suffering...written
with brutal unflinching honesty, wit and wisdom
and in the spirit of divine grace. This is the
story of a brave woman's journey of finding
oneness in her own quiet inner voice."

The book can be found at Booklocker.com at
  http://www.booklocker.com/books/4931.html

ENJOY!