Mindfulness Meditation Slows Progression Of HIV

Mindful meditation has been used for thousands of years to improve one's mental and physical health. My practice has dramatically lowered my blood pressure, greatly increased my sense of well-being, and is probably the main reason that I have been sick only once since the 1980's. This study has been out for about a year now and there is no doubt that much more has been discovered about the benefits of mindful meditation since then. Just think how much you could improve your life by incorporating some form of daily mindful meditation. If it is effective against HIV, just think what it could do for you!

Namaste'



ScienceDaily (July 27, 2008) — CD4+ T lymphocytes, or simply CD4 T cells, are the "brains" of the immune system, coordinating its activity when the body comes under attack. They are also the cells that are attacked by HIV, the devastating virus that causes AIDS and has infected roughly 40 million people worldwide. The virus slowly eats away at CD4 T cells, weakening the immune system.

But the immune systems of HIV/AIDS patients face another enemy as well -- stress, which can accelerate CD4 T cell declines. Now, researchers at UCLA report that the practice of mindfulness meditation stopped the decline of CD4 T cells in HIV-positive patients suffering from stress, slowing the progression of the disease. The study was just released in the online edition of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Mindfulness meditation is the practice of bringing an open and receptive awareness of the present moment to experiences, avoiding thinking of the past or worrying about the future. It is thought to reduce stress and improve health outcomes in a variety of patient populations.

"This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowing HIV disease progression," said lead study author David Creswell, a research scientist at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA. "The mindfulness program is a group-based and low-cost treatment, and if this initial finding is replicated in larger samples, it's possible that such training can be used as a powerful complementary treatment for HIV disease, alongside medications."

Creswell and his colleagues ran an eight-week mindfulness-based stress-reduction (MBSR) meditation program and compared it to a one-day MBSR control seminar, using a stressed and ethnically diverse sample of 48 HIV-positive adults in Los Angeles. Participants in the eight-week group showed no loss of CD4 T cells, indicating that mindfulness meditation training can buffer declines. In contrast, the control group showed significant declines in CD4 T cells from pre-study to post-study. Such declines are a characteristic hallmark of HIV progression.

Creswell also noted that researchers found a "dose-response" relationship between MBSR class attendance and CD4 T cells, meaning, said Creswell, "the more mindfulness meditation classes people attended, the higher the CD4 T cells at the study's conclusion."

The researchers were also encouraged because the overall CD4 T cell effects remained even after controlling for a number of factors that could have skewed the study results. Most notably, they found equivalent protective effects for participants whether or not they were on antiretroviral medications for HIV. Even participants taking HIV medications showed the CD4 T cell buffering effect after the mindfulness meditation class, Creswell said.

There is emerging evidence from other studies that shows that behavioral stress-management programs can buffer HIV declines in HIV-positive people, Creswell noted. And while there has been an exponential increase of interest in and practice of mindfulness meditation in the West over the past 10 years, this study, he said, is the first to show an HIV disease protective effect with mindfulness meditation training.

In order to understand the health benefits of mindfulness meditation, Creswell and his colleagues at UCLA are now examining the underlying pathways through which mindfulness meditation reduces stress, using brain imaging, genetics and immune system measurements.

"Given the stress-reduction benefits of mindfulness meditation training, these findings indicate there can be health protective effects not just in people with HIV but in folks who suffer from daily stress," Creswell said.

This study was supported by postdoctoral research fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health, a seed grant from the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, and the UCLA General Clinical Research Center. Other authors were Hector F. Myers, Steven W. Cole and Michael R. Irwin, all of whom declare no financial interests or conflicts of interest regarding this study.

How to Meditate: 10 Important Tips

My Crooked Path

I have three reasons for creating and writing this blog. I am using it to make a map of my Path with Heart so that seemingly unrelated insights (pieces to a puzzle) can be seen in one place and possibly lead to epiphanies, or solved puzzles. Although completely unnecessary once knowledge becomes Wisdom, it could also be interesting to look back at my journey and relive some of the wonderful moments. Secondly, I have always been a teacher of something and hope that this "map" of my Path might help another to some day solve a "puzzle" and gain this universal Wisdom a little faster. Then lastly, I pray that some who are yet to Awaken, might find that spark within my writings that leads to their Awakening and subsequent Path with Heart. Now, after seventy-plus posts, I feel it is necessary to clarify something that most teachings from the Masters rarely do. Your Path with Heart will never be a straight line from Awakened to Enlightened to One with True Nature, Source, Self, God, et al. I write about the Way we are supposed to be so most of my posts are about being on my Path. This is the ideal and is what I have devoted my life to doing. It is not easy and requires complete dedication, however, the ever-increasing time I spend on It is absolutely the most worthwhile and rewarding time I could ever spend!

This topic came to mind a few days ago when I veered far from my calm Center in the Present to a state of Ego-stricken, raging anger. One thing common among All who are truly on their Path with Heart is Compassiom to the point of Empathy - our True Nature. With this in mind, I lost my balance when confronted by two fools protesting healthcare reform and depicting President Obama as Hitler, mustache and all. I had planned to ignore them and walk straight from my truck into the Post Office, get my mail, and then exit the same way. Plans work so well when morons stay out of your way but this was not one of those occasions. One of them came at me with a handful of something I did not want to see and I departed my Path with Heart at full warp speed! I was spitting fire the instant I felt his intention and said something about nuts, heads on poles in the town square, or something to that effect. Regrettably, a very old feeling came over me and for a moment, I was kind of hoping he would make a move. So much for Love and Compassion! Fortunately, he backed up much faster than he approached and his partner sat down the instant I looked through him. I got my mail but still let my Ego take charge as I started out the door. I was much nicer this time, though, and just said something about a waste of space or good air, or something like that. I left quickly but didn't really "leave" for quite some time. This is extremely rare for me and is always a great lesson in how to be a fool. I allowed my Ego to interfere with a perfectly beautiful day in paradise just like it did the first day it arose to consciousness in the mythological "Garden of Eden". The Ego has been the sole source of All bad and Evil, pain and suffering, and keeps us separated from our True Nature or Source to this day. However, Ego is not the focus of my post here but just the underlying cause.

I am writing this to make sure that everyone who reads my posts knows that although I have gained much Wisdom over the last thirty-some Awakened years, my Path with Heart is still crooked. It is far less crooked than most but far more crooked than many other devoted practitioners. The whole point that All of the great Sages throughout history were making in their various teachings of the "OneTruth" is to permantly remove yourself from the chaos of Karma by living without thought and completely in the mindful Present. To make it sound even simpler, just "Be"! That one word sums up All of the great teachings of Jesus, Lao-tse, Buddha, Krishnamurti, don Juan, et al. In fact, Jesus is referred to as the great "I Am" *! You must also be Compassionate and respectful to others and all living things but when you are living completely in the Present, there is no other way you can be. The reason it takes so many words to teach this is that getting to that state of impeccable Being is literally the most difficult thing in the universe. However, once you understand the mission (Awaken), you can begin to shrink your Ego, teach it to sit quietly "next to" you on the passenger's seat, and just observe the magificent view while our Source drives the bus of life. This is done through dedicated daily and lifelong practice of being in the Present through various types of meditation, mindful movements such as Tai Chi, or any number of similar paths. The more you are able to let go of this illusion of control by just Being in the Present, the easier and more natural it gets. It is these times in the Present that you are One of Mind, Body, and Spirit where only Altruistic Love, Compassion, Beauty and Joy beyond description, exist as One with your Infinite and Quantum True Nature. The other time is spent amongst the rat race of Ego-driven thought and illusion. This is when you leave your Path with Heart like I did that day at the Post Office. We All do it in an infinite variety of ways from committing mass murder to simply having a conscious thought interfere with the silence of the moment. Most of your time will be spent outside of the Present but over time, it will become less and less as long as you always stay mindful of your Path and continually correct your course by relaxing back into the Present. With continual practice and dedication, your Path with Heart, as mine, will become less crooked while the Magic of your infinitely Powerful and Loving True Nature envelopes you more and more in the ineffable Bliss and Comfort of our Source, our Home.

Namaste'

* God, who reveals his name as "I AM", reveals himself as the God who is always there, present to his people in order to save them.

"When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will realize that "I AM"."

~ Jesus

An abstraction in the mind of the Stateless State, of the Absolute, or the Supreme Reality, called Parabrahman. It is pure awareness, prior to thoughts, free from perceptions, associations, memories.

~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Related articles by Zemanta

• Blessings for Transforming Human Consciousness (grantlawrence.blogspot.com)

What Does It Mean to Be " Spiritually Awakened"?

I have been hearing this term a lot lately being used to describe one's state of spiritual progress. When properly understood, it represents a critical turning point in one's path toward understanding who we are and why we are here. Various spiritual texts over the centuries quantify the Awakened as typically representing approximately 9.99% of the earth's population at any one point in time. The vast majority of people, about 90%, are Asleep and completely oblivious to their True Nature. Churches, especially Christian, are the source of their spiritual knowledge and no one can tell them, or their "teachers" anything different. I have tried many times but they just can not "see" anything beyond the superficial, "feel-good", teachings of their church. I know this is just the way things work but I want these people to know what they are missing. This is the one frustration, attachment, that I continue to have today and must eventually come to terms with before I can fully accept everything as it is. I believe that I have this problem because I like answers, I need answers, and this impenetrable state, called Asleep, defies all logic. However, for now, I will move past my problem and zero in on this state called Awakened.


Awakening is not a gradual event in your life nor is it an event you could overlook or be mistaken about it. It seems that one day you are just a part of the crowd blindly following everyone else because surely they know where they are going. Anyway, most of these people like you are just too caught up in every day life making money, spending money, "sinning" like crazy, and going to church on Sundays because they do not want to be left behind when "the end" comes - or something like that. Materialism is the name of the game and your Egos are in this game "to win". Then one day all of this changes! You have this strange feeling in your gut and suddenly all of these people, the aforementioned crowd, look like they are lost and do not know what they are doing or where they are going. The stuff they are teaching in church just does not make any sense anymore. At least that part about just believing in Jesus and hocus-pocus, 1- 2 - 3, everyone goes to Heaven. Nah, it can not be that simple! No sir, it has a real gut-feeling of just scratching the surface and you know there must be more to this God, Jesus, and Heaven business. So you decide to look at your Bible again and read what Jesus said. Well, now his teachings are saying something completely different than the last time you read them. In fact, you have this new feeling of excitement about his words. You can feel this truthful ring in your gut and you know this is something very important. You might go to a book store and start looking through some books on spirituality. Maybe you pick up the "Tao Te Ching by Lao-tse or "The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma" and in a short time, you feel the connection, the sameness, between these great teachings and the words of Jesus. Now this is when you go "nuts" looking for more books, more ancient teachings, more, more, more....! You are Awake my friend and you have never felt more alive!

Awakening is really far more exciting, far more experienced or "felt", so much so that no words I write here could ever come close to describing your spiritual Awakening! There is much more to it than this brief description but there are certain aspects that clearly separate the Awakened from the Asleep. Here is a short but absolute list:

- You know that God is not Judging you because IT is our objective Source, Self, Tao, True Nature, et al, and does not Do anything.

- You know that Jesus was just a man who Awakened just like you, eventually overcame this world, and came back here to show us "The Way" to do the same thing. He is not the only one to do so either. He is very clear about this.

- You know that this "One Truth" has nothing to do with any particular religion, has been taught in every culture throughout history, passed down by word of mouth, by ancient texts, and still runs at the core of all of the great religions of today.

- You see it and feel it everywhere in Nature and experience this "connection" with everyone and everything.

- Whenever you see pain and suffering, you FEEL it at your very core! This is Compassion!

- Whenever you see joy, love, kindness, or good fortune, you Feel it too! This is Altruistic Love!

- Material things have lost their importance except when giving them to someone in need.

- You see the significance, the beauty, and the wonder not only in the universe of the macro, but maybe even more so in the universe of the micro.

There are so many more but by knowing these, you will know by listening to others whether they are truly Awakened, or just following a "new crowd". In Zen, there are basically only two roads that lead to the path (Awakening): Reason and Practice. Hard-headed me had to die twice and experience the four all-inclusive practices...lol! I know this is probably the main way but I hope no one has to practice like I did......and still do. Awakening is beyond incredible but it is just the beginning of your journey. Just wait until you experience your Path with Heart!! Here is a tiny example of what I experience being One with my Path. After I do my seated Kenpo exercises, I practice imagery, visualization of and interacting with my energy, or chi. I always do this exercise in silence but tonight I had my last.fm station playing on the computer in my office. The very instant my intent was to start my energy work, the music stopped! I immediately knew it was a blessing but had no idea, technically, why the music stopped at that exact instant. I have an idea now why the music stopped but it has absolutely nothing to do with the timing. I lost count of these wonderful blessings many years ago but I always take pause to recognize them and say Thank You! Those of you who are truly Awakened, welcome to the great journey! To everyone else, if this meant anything to you, then maybe your Awakening is coming soon. I hope so! I also sincerely pray for everyone to Awaken so please open your minds and maybe something you read or experience will be the spark that does it.

Namaste'

Little Buddha Walking - Zen Walking Meditation

This is a very useful article from Zen Moments that can help everyone to get in touch with their body (mindfulness) and learn how to be Present while moving through their day. I have been doing something similar to this for years after every Tai Chi session and it helps me to continue and increase that blissful and energetic state of Being for much longer - sometimes for hours. Anyone can do this and the more you do, the easier it is to do. In time, you will find yourself naturally entering this Present state without even trying. Now, how cool is that?!! Enjoy!

Namaste'



Little Buddha Walking

Have you ever looked into the eyes of an infant and felt that you could jump in and go for a swim? They are so open and inviting it's almost unnerving.

You can't help but wonder how they see life; that somehow they experience a magical world beyond your vision.

Why do we feel that? It isn't logical. If you couldn't walk or feed yourself; if you were incontinent; if all you could do was roll over in bed; if you had no ability to speak or even think in rational verbal terms — wouldn't you be considered disabled?

Why then are we so quietly envious of these little people? What magic do we sense in them? Does Buddha swim in the depths of those liquid eyes?

Perhaps there is a Buddha consciousness in these 6 month old, uninhibited, sometimes serene, often demanding, easily fascinated, bed-wetting bundles of joy. Why not?

Life is strange. Is it such a stretch that infants, despite all of their outward limitations, process abilities of perception we wish we had?

And since their limitations primarily set them apart from us, could it be that these limitations are their causative Buddha-factor?
The silent advantage of infants

Infants perceive their world in each moment, fully, deeply, and without bias. Us big people on the other hand, experience a verbal-thought-summation of what we see in the moment based on pre-established judgments. Adults perceive life through a template of fixed, albeit slowly changing, definitions. Infants have no template blocking their vision.

One of the reasons for this is that infants have no verbal language associated with their thought and perception.

Think for a moment about this vast mysterious world. Try to use all of your imagination to probe the depth and reach of its content. It's impossible. And yet, we allow words to define our experience of it.

Can you imagine what it might be like to have no words entering your mind as you perceive and think about your world? How would that change your world-view?

Also, because everything is new to them, infants judge less. They haven't yet acquired the experience to know what to accept and what to reject. How would it change your life if you could selectively suspend judgment to facilitate a more dynamic view of circumstance?

Science Daily recently featured the research of Lisa Scott, a psychologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The articles reported her findings on the perceptual development of infants. Of infants 6 months or under, Lisa says, "During this time the brain is sensitive and responsive to the surrounding environment."

But after 6 months of age, Scott concludes, "what is most intriguing about these findings is that they collectively suggest that typical perceptual specialization and development is characterized by the gradual decline of abilities."

Scott is suggesting that we loose our dynamic responsiveness to the world after 6 months of age, in preference for a selective focus on the essential elements of survival and satisfaction.

In the Association for Psychological Science, an article titled, New study shows that infants have mind-reading capability describes the work of Luca Surian, a psychologist at the University of Trento in Italy.

Luca's research is primarily concerned with the ability to reason about the mind. According to the article in APS, his findings indicate that psychological reasoning skills enabling us to predict another's behavior are in place in infants, independent of environmental or learned behavior. Surian explains that, "this is mind reading proper, however rudimentary."

Is it possible that infants have perceptual and intuitive abilities, and that we have lost some of those attributes? It appears so. Can we reclaim them? The research isn't clear on that, so perhaps the best way to explore this is experientially.

Here then is one of my favorite, definitely fun, meditation techniques, that will always connect you to that pure awareness and fascination of an infant.
Little Buddha Walking meditation

It is not as silly as it sounds. Outwardly, you will be going for a simple stroll, but inwardly you will be having an immersive experience. No one will notice your mental gymnastics.

Your own little Buddha will constantly challenge you, but you will find this exercise easier than standard meditation training. Anyone can master this after a few attempts. Even if you have never had an interest in meditation, this enjoyable exercise will teach you some rather advanced core meditative skills.


Try your best to follow the steps below:

1. Pick a time when you are in a calm and neutral state of mind. Plan a 20 minute solitary walking route where there is no chance that people will engage you in conversation.

2. Your goal on this walk is to avoid thinking in words, and other than safety-related concerns, to avoid conscious judgments. Remember that you are now an infant, albeit, an infant that can walk. This can be challenging so you are going to have be vigilantly self-aware.

3. As you walk, observe everything you see. Soak it all in without labeling. When you catch yourself thinking in words, let them go and get back to being present in your body.

4. Take in all the sights, colors, and smells; feel the air on your skin; how your feet strike the ground and move you forward. Listen intently to every sound. Let your environment wash through you. Become part of your surroundings.

5. Allow yourself to experience fascination and awe. Give yourself permission to explore your surroundings deeply without the usual "seen this, done that" judgment.

6. When you arrive home, spend 5 minutes or so enjoying a comfortable chair. Like a fine tea, allow your experience to steep and mature into your mind and body. Now you can go about your day, and your inner Buddha will be there with you.


That wasn't so bad was it? Don't be fooled by its simplicity though. This is a powerful practice that just so happens to feel exquisite.

Have you ever wondered what awareness precedes your verbal thoughts?

The words could not have arisen first. They merely describe your mind's creation. What then comes before the words? Can you recall?

Your moments of genius, and everyone has them, occur before you put words to your mental creations. If you cannot recall that process, then you are not consciously present, or in control of, your genius.

The creative moments of infants are different though. Because they have no words to freeze-frame and define their creative process, thereby stopping it cold, they remain continually present within it.

Your adult verbal thoughts are mostly pointless interruptions to your true creative processes. Pay close attention to your thoughts and you will realize this. Every time you refrain from thinking in words, your creative ability becomes more open-ended and less fixed, and your appreciation of life deepens.

You have the right to choose how you think and create, and how you experience your world. The Little Buddha Walking meditation gives you that choice.

Pardon the pun, but words cannot describe how this walking meditation technique will make you feel. Try it a few times. Give it your full attention and you will enter a new and fresh world of perception, creativity, and satisfaction.

What do you think? Will you try it?

Over to you now.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Mindfulness training busts stress (cnn.com)

The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma left India and went to the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, China sometime in the 5th century CE. He is also known in China as Da Mo who played a critical and pivotal role in the history of Chinese martial arts. It is said that after seeing the Shaolin monks in terrible physical condition from constant meditation, he went to a cave up above the temple to meditate in hope of finding a solution to their problem. He stayed in that cave for years until he came up with a system of exercises which he taught to the Shaolin monks. These exercises, called the Eighteen Hands of the Lohan (Buddha), were designed to cultivate and nurture our internal energy, or chi, and are considered to be the origin of Shaolin Kung Fu. It was also at this temple that historians claim Zen* was established by Bodhidharma. There is no doubt that this form of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, and ancient Taoism are representations of the same One Truth. It is for this reason that I wanted to present this outline of Zen here to further show how this One Truth can be found everywhere in the world and throughout the history of mankind. Karma and therefore Destiny are also clearly demonstrated in these ancient teachings and add support to my earlier posts here on the subject of Karma.


Additionally, of great importance to me, my Path with Heart is explained in detail as the Path of practice. This is incredible because it is the ultimate Agreement that validates my entire way of life and fully supports my total dedication to my Path with Heart!! This Path describes my life, my Path, for the last thirty-four years exactly as it has been and continues to be to this day. I am living the four all-inclusive practices!! What a blessing it is to find these ancient teachings by the founding Master of Zen Buddhism that mirror my life experience!!!


Note: Be sure to click the several links within this Outline for much greater detail and the very interesting historical material. Enjoy!


Namaste'



The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma
~ Translated by Red Pine 1987


Outline of Practice

Many roads lead to the Path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice. To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn't apparent because it's shrouded by sensation and delusion. Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls,' the absence of self and other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason. Without moving, without effort, they enter, we say, by reason.


To enter by practice refers to four all-inclusive practices: Suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing, and practicing the Dharma*. First, suffering injustice. When those who search for the Path encounter adversity, they should think to themselves, "In Countless ages gone by, I've turned from the essential to the trivial and wandered through all manner of existence, often angry without cause and guilty of numberless transgressions.


Now, though I do no wrong, I'm punished by my past. Neither gods nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit. I accept it with an open heart and without complaint of injustice. The sutras* say " when you meet with adversity don't be upset because it makes sense." With such understanding you're in harmony with reason. And by suffering injustice you enter the Path. Second, adapting to conditions. As mortals, we're ruled by conditions, not by ourselves. All the suffering and joy we experience depend on conditions. If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as fame or fortune, it's the fruit of a seed planted by us in the past. When conditions change, it ends. Why delight In Its existence? But while success and failure depend on conditions, the mind neither waxes nor wanes. Those who remain unmoved by the wind of joy silently follow the Path.


Third, seeking nothing. People of this world are deluded. They're always longing for something-always, in a word, seeking. But the wise wake up. They choose reason over custom. They fix their minds on the sublime and let their bodies change with the seasons. All phenomena are empty. They contain nothing worth desiring. Calamity forever alternates with Prosperity! To dwell in the three realms is to dwell in a burning house. To have a body is to suffer. Does anyone with a body know peace? Those who understand this detach themselves from all that exists and stop Imagining or seeking anything. The sutras say, "To seek is to suffer.


To seek nothing is bliss." When you seek nothing, you're on the Path. Fourth, practicing the Dharma.' The Dharma is the truth that all natures are pure. By this truth, all appearances are empty. Defilement and attachment, subject and object don't exist. The sutras say, "The Dharma includes no being because it's free from the impurity of being, and the Dharma includes no self because it's free from the impurity of self." Those wise enough to believe and understand these truths are bound to practice according to the Dharma. And since that which is real includes nothing worth begrudging, they give their body, life, and property in charity, without regret, without the vanity of giver, gift, or recipient, and without bias or attachment. And to eliminate impurity they teach others, but without becoming attached to form. Thus, through their own practice they're able to help others and glorify the Way of Enlightenment. And as with charity, they also practice the other virtues. But while practicing the six virtues to eliminate delusion, they practice nothing at all. This is what's meant by practicing the Dharma.




*Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, translated from the Chinese word Chán. Chán is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyāna, which means "meditation". The entry of Buddhism into China was marked by interaction and syncretism, with Taoism in particular. Originally seen as a kind of "foreign Taoism", Buddhism's scriptures were translated into Chinese using the Taoist vocabulary. Chan Buddhism was particularly modified by Taoism, integrating distrust of scripture, text and even language, as well as the Taoist views of embracing "this life", dedicated practice and the "every-moment". The establishment of Zen is traditionally credited to be in China, the Shaolin temple, by the Southern Indian Pallava prince-turned-monk Bodhidharma, who is recorded as having come to China to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not stand upon words". The emergence of Zen as a distinct school of Buddhism was first documented in China in the 7th century CE. It is thought to have developed as an amalgam of various currents in Mahāyāna Buddhist thought—among them the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka philosophies and the Prajñāpāramitā literature—and of local traditions in China, particularly Taoism and Huáyán Buddhism. From China, Zen subsequently spread southwards to Vietnam and eastwards to Korea and Japan.




* Dharma (Sanskrit): Law, truth, reality, teaching; thing, or being, esp. when spelled with a small 'd' (dharma).



* Sutra (Sanskrit). Scripture.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Buddhism: Basic Wisdom for the Sake of All Living Beings (grantlawrence.blogspot.com)
• Kung Fu seminar in Ljubljana with Shifu Shi Yanzi (borutpeterlin.wordpress.com)

15 Clever Things To Know About Your Breathing

I came across this article on Goodlife Zen, a website for practical inspiration by Carole Fogarty. It deals more with what I call, ego-side Zen applications than the deep wisdoming teachings of Zen Master Dr. Bonnici at the Meditation & Spiritual Life Practice Community . I do occasionally find very useful articles there from contributing writers that can help us reach our calm Center and experience our True Nature. Proper breathing is very important to achieving this natural state of Being so I hope these tips will help everyone to use their breath in a more beneficial manner. Be well!

Namaste'







15 Clever Things To Know About Your Breathing
~ Carole Fogarty, Editor of Rejuvenation Lounge


1. Your breathe is the first thing to respond in your body: Your breathe will respond and adjust according to what you are thinking, feeling, observing, hearing, tasting, touching, sensing or experiencing at the time. It is intimately connected to your physical, emotional and spiritual state.

2. Check the depth of your inhale: Does your normal inhale only reach the middle or upper area of your chest? Or is your normal inhale even shorter stopping around your shoulder, neck and throat area? This is a great place to start developing a greater understanding of your breath by focusing on the depth of your inhale. A full inhale should fill your lungs and expand your abdomen. Place your hands onto either side of your lower ribs … feel them expand with each inhale. Then place your hands onto your belly and feel it rise and fall with each breath.


3. Let it go and move on with a releasing exhale: An extended exhale in times of stress pushes any drama, confusion and upset away from you. Short, quick, shallow breathes will bring any stress and drama closer to you. By slowing and deepening your breath, you create a healthy distance between you and whatever is going on around you. A deep releasing exhale will support you letting it go and moving on. Yeah!


4. 70% of waste is eliminated through your lungs: I thought I knew quite allot about the basics of the human body. It wasn’t until I started reading the Tao Of Breathing by Dennis Lewis that I discovered something I did not know. 70% of our body’s waste products are eliminated via our lungs and the rest through the urine, skin and feces. When the efficiency of our lungs is reduced due to poor breathing less oxygen is available to our cells, it slows down the flow of blood which carries wastes from the kidneys and lungs. Our lymphatic system which fights off viral and bacterial invaders is weakened along with a slower digestive process.


5. Your breathing habits influence the flow of your day: Jerky, shallow, fast, constricted or tight breathing reflects that you live your days in a constant stressed out - push and pull state. You tend to overreact to that which is happening around you and waste your precious energy unnecessarily. Your days are rushed, and time is always an issue. You have forgotten how to relax, be still and receive. Reverse your breathing habits to experience a different flow to your day. If you find it tricky to slow down your breathing then download two free 5 minute meditations onto your MP3 player. One meditation is called rejuvenation and the other tranquility bay. Alternately pack some rejuvenation into your handbag, Rescue remedy is perfect for calming you down. When your breathing is calmer your day will flow calmer.


6. Quality breathing can release fear, anger and sadness: Your breath will become disturbed when experiencing stressful emotions. To prevent these unwanted emotions from being pushed down and trapped in your body, simply breathe into your organs. When I studied Qi Gong we were taught to breathe into our organs. This, I must say was a life changing moment for me. I received enormous benefits almost immediately. Breathe into your lungs to remove sadness and grief. Breathe into your kidneys to dissolve fear. Breathe into your liver to dissolve anger. Breathe into your heart to open yourself up to more loving experiences. Breath in gently and deeply (never forced) to invite healthy energy into your organs, now consciously feel the stressful emotion flow out of your body with each exhale.


7. Your nose is for breathing and the mouth for eating: Whether I’m doing yoga, tai chi or qi gong all my teachers have recommended to breathe in and out through my nose. After spending the past few months researching breath in greater depth I have not come across anyone suggesting otherwise. One important reason which many experts share is that nose breathing corrects the balance of oxygen and dioxide in our blood.


8. Your breath activates your nervous system: When the sympathetic nervous system is activated you are living life with the “accelerator” on full throttle all the time. You are in “fight or flight” mode and constantly releasing stress into your body. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system is like putting the “brake on” to life. It helps slow your body down which in turn allows restoration and rejuvenation. The key to activating your parasympathetic nervous system is to place your full attention onto your breath. Close your eyes and allow your breath to slow down relax and become gentle. Let your whole body absorb your now gentle breath. Another great way to activate your parasympathetic nervous system is to practice a little hand yoga for rejuvenation or to prevent exhaustion for as little as 3 minutes for results.


9. Experience the pause after your exhale: Take time to marinate with your breath. Don’t force anything or rush straight into your next breath. Notice the very natural stillness and slight pause after each exhale. Infuse gentleness into your breathing. Marinate for a moment with its nourishing flow. Don’t push your next breath into the future, particularly if you haven’t even got there yourself. Become present, live in the now and experience the pause after your next exhale. There is a pocket of peace to be found in that pause.


10. Your body can’t relax if your mind and breath are racing: Your thoughts are directly linked to the quality of your breathing. Busy, overactive thinking often means short, shallow and quick breathes. By focusing on calming your mind you will automatically be calming your breath and in turn relaxing your body. Meditation is an awesome way to calm your mind. Another option is to turn your back to the world for a few minutes. This very simple yoga pose that forces your mind to surrender. Your breath and thoughts have no choice, but to slow down. Gosh, our bodies are clever, watch out mind. Free Breathing Tests


11. A conscious exhale removes toxins from your body: Spending longer on your exhale through your nose will remove old, stuck or stagnant carbon dioxide from the very bottom of your lungs, along with toxic bi-products the body has produced. In addition, a deep sign (strong exhale) is often a release of worries and heavy thoughts. A good exhale can help you let it go emotionally and physically.


12. Experience a yogic breath: Anyone who practices yoga with be familiar with the 3 main stages of yogic breathing. Lying comfortably on your back or sitting up in a chair inhale. Firstly notice your collar bones and upper part of your chest expand, then follow the inhale down by placing a hand on either side of your ribs and feel them expand. Lastly place your hands gently on your belly/abdomen area and notice the rise and fall of your tummy


13. Pulling your stomach in reduces your oxygen intake: One of the main benefits of breathing of course is to invite loads of oxygen into your body. Restricting your oxygen intake comprises the health of your body. To invite oxygen deep into your abdomen, diaphragm area keep your belly soft, relaxed and open. Touch and massage it frequently as your belly is the very centre of your breath. Many ancient traditions such as Taoism believe we can accumulate and store energy in our belly area. It is often known as our seat of power.


14. Breathing is not just for your lungs its for your whole body : You can consciously choose to direct the flow of your breath into absolutely any part of your body, for whatever purpose. Improve energy flow, dissolve tension, release a build up of pressure in your head area, ground you, energize you, de-stress you or to simply send smiles into all your organs. I’m prone to being vague and spacey. To ground myself I often imagine my breathe flowing down into my legs, feet, toes and then into the ground. It helps me come back into my body.


15. Shallow breathing causes memory loss: The Taoists believe that loss of oxygen though shallow breathing ie. your inhale only goes as deep as your throat or top of your lungs, is the primary cause of memory loss in the elderly. Not sure how true this i, and I can’t even remember where I read it but, nevertheless I included it anyway as it certainly got me thinking. Worth exploring.

Relax and Be Powerful

We use the term 'relax' often in everyday conversation and see it referred to in print just as often but do you really understand what it means to relax? I mean really r-e-l-a-x! Well, I thought I did for many years until I was introduced to a state of real relaxation. I was a teenager just beginning my training in Kenpo. I was called to the mat by my Sensei and told to Kumite' with another student. I thought I knew how to throw powerful punches and kicks because, after all, I was a seasoned street fighter and had just finished training with a Green Beret. The fight had barely begun when my Sensei said, 'Mr. Langley, relax!!'. I did feel a little tension in my shoulders so I shook it out and dropped them. When the kumite' class was over, my Sensei pulled me over and explained to me why being really relaxed was extremely important if I was to ever understand the essence of Power. This started me on my journey toward the state of true relaxation. I remember before class he had us lie flat on our backs with the lights turned way down while he led us through a guided meditation that put us in such a state of relaxation that our bodies "disappeared". I was only Mind - a calm and relaxed Mind. It was amazing! I had never been so relaxed in my entire life. I felt I was well on my way to understanding the power of relaxation and then I got hurt - extreme trauma that forever changed my life.

I will not relive that event again here but if you missed my post that briefly explained it, then you should read 'A Most Unlikely Blessing'. In fact, if you have not read it, then I suggest you do. This is definitely linked to that Wisdom and the two together should give you a broader understanding of a very important key to our True Nature. The injury to my cervical spine literally cut my spinal cord about half way through on the right side and left me permanently disabled with an extremely rare form of quadriplegia called, 'Brown-Sequard Syndrome'. I explain this condition in the other post. Anyway, that injury effectively turned all of my muscles on at the same time with no 'off switch' and made relaxing next to impossible. This presented me with an incredible challenge which continues to test me every moment to this day. With my communication lines from my brain to the rest of my body all malfunctioning, I had to find a way to get the messages to the right places. After much trial and error, I finally realized that I had to re-conquer my mind first. I had to relearn to calm my mind as I had in my Kenpo training before I could ever get my body to settle down. Throughout the late 1970's and 1980's I sometimes consciously, other times subconsciously, just 'did it' but it was never easy. I was never really sure how I got it to happen either - it just happened. Having lost my calm Center, there were so many times that I was overcome with frustration and just had to regroup and try again....and again... During this time, I was completely unaware that a kind of training was going on subconsciously so I just went on doing my best with this strange new life. This training remained hidden until recently. In fact, it came to me in a moment of calmness and clarity in the Present as all epiphanies do. I also explain this in my earlier post, 'A Most Unlikely Blessing' so I will not cover that again here. In 1990, I saw an ad for an evening continuing education class in Tai Chi that would begin soon up at Southwest Texas State University (Now Texas State) and I spent the next eight months learning a simplified 24-Step Yang Style Tai Chi form. I actually took the class twice but that is just me - the perfectionist! I practiced and practiced twice a day for a long time until the moves became second nature. This is when the true study begins and the Power of an integrated "Body-Being" becomes known. I had already been working for years to calm my mind so everything critical for Body Integrity started coming together - posture or alignment, mindfulness, grounding, centering, visualization, and of course, relaxation.

I started reading everything I could find about Tai Chi or, actually, Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Kung (Chinese Chi exercises), Aikido (a relatively new Japanese internal art), Ki' (Japanese for Chi), and others like Cheng Hsin. There was one central theme throughout all of the books and emphasized in the strongest way - Relax! I do not mean the kind I had known in Kenpo but a much, much deeper state of being. I read the same part about relaxing the shoulders but now I needed to find my Center again, my tan-tien*. In Tai Chi they are referring to the lower tan-tien which is located about three fingers width below the navel. This is the actual center of your body and your center of gravity when standing properly erect. So now you relax and calm the mind which relaxes the body and then you sink your mind down into your tan-tien. This is not easy and can take a lifetime to master, but hey, it is the journey that is important, not the 'destination'. Over time, as with everything you practice, you will find yourself there in this moment or that moment until you understand what you are doing. This is when the real fun begins!

To gain more insight into this relaxed state of being, I turned to one of today's truly great martial artists, Peter Ralston*. Beginning at the age on nine while living in China and after many years of training in several martial arts*, he opened The Cheng Hsin* School of Internal Martial Arts and Center for Ontological Research in Oakland, CA in 1977. Then in 1978, he became the first and only non-Asian martial artist to ever win the World Championship Full-Contact Tournament in the Republic of China. He actually did this to get the public's attention to his mastery of mind and body so he would be taken seriously when teaching a Way of Being that is far beyond anything else taught today. It was during my studies of his martial art, Cheng Hsin, that I read about "Water-drop Energy". He was recounting his training with one of the great masters* of Tai Chi Chuan when he described this incredibly powerful state of Being that took relaxation to a level few can comprehend. Use your mind to imagine this because I can not draw you a picture here. Standing in a Tai Chi stance with knees slightly bent, your pelvic area thrust forward, and your head situated so that your entire spine is aligned with your tan-tien, relax your mind and body. Now, feel your mind settle into your tan-tien and your energy sink into the ground. Next, visualize being inside of a field of energy shaped like a water-drop with the rounded bottom continued around to form a perfect circle with the top of it going through the tan-tien. The upper part of the drop tapers inward from the top sides of the circle until the tip forms at the top of the head. Now, visualize a horizontal line through the center of the circle. This is the ground! The bottom half of the circle is below the ground and filled with your energy*. Anyone who can achieve this incredible level of relaxation and body-integrity, is literally immovable!! This Tai Chi master said that his punches felt like they came straight out of his tan-tien! With grounding being the main source of our Power and with the upper body relaxed to the point of weightlessness, the Power this master directed from his tan-tien to his punches, strikes, or whatever is beyond comprehension! The feeling had to be one of total energy and ecstasy!!

The Art of Relaxation, and this level of relaxing is truly an art, a mastery of one's Being, is a fascination of mine to this day and is a core element of my self-work as I travel my Path with Heart. This journey of learning how to relax deeper and deeper is in itself a path to great wisdom - the very wisdom of Self, Source, and True Nature that all Awakened individuals seek to gain. I can not overemphasize the importance of learning how to relax and sink your mind, your energy, into your tan-tien. We are supposed to be this relaxed, centered, aligned, and grounded for this is our natural state of Being. We are born this way but quickly lose sight of this natural way of Being, our True Nature. It is our task, our duty, to regain this natural state of Power and to rediscover this feeling of ecstasy again as we travel our respective Paths with Heart back home to our Source. Jesus said that we must become as children again. This is what he meant and is a large part of following "TheWay". R-E-L-A-X!

Namaste'



*The tan-tien is situated in the intersection of the vertical lines from the crown to the perineum and horizontal from the navel to the ´´ming-men´´ (life door, also understood as the door of life and death and that the other important point is situated at the lumbar zone where it is most curved. It is in the tan-tien where the pre-heaven ´´chi´´ is stored.

* Note: I highly recommend that you click on the embedded link, "Peter Ralston", and read about this man's journey to martial arts mastery and beyond. It is a truly amazing story!



* Note: His main teacher, grandmaster Wong Jack Man, was probably one of the greatest masters of modern times. Only after seeing how far Peter Ralston had progressed in developing his Art of Effortless Power, did he teach him Ch'uan Li ((intelligent fist). I have found very little about this art and it is doubtful that anyone in the West has any knowledge either besides Peter Ralston. What a gift!!



* This particular master may be Wong Jack Man also but Peter Ralston later studied and trained with grandmaster William Chen Chi Chen - possibly a member of the Chen family who developed the Chen Style of Tai Chi Chuan.



* Cheng Hsin
http://www.chenghsin.com/index.html



* It is said in Taoist teachings that the Ancient Ones breathed through the soles of their feet.