AUGUST 17, 2013
meditation (5)
August 24, 2012 by desertrose
Health And Wellness Report
Holistic Health : Mindfulness / Meditation
Brain scans prove meditation ‘effective in curing mental illness’
(ANI): Mediation, an eastern philosophy which was once dismissed as pretentious, can be effective in treating mental illness, brain scans have proved.
The buzzword is mindfulness. Meditation, which is practiced a lot in India and in parts of Islington, is an NHS-approved treatment that combines conventional psychotherapy with meditation techniques, breathing and yoga.
It is sitting around trying to think about nothing and letting out the occasional “ommmm”.
Meditation has been around since the Seventies, but in the past decade there has been growing evidence that it is highly effective. Researchers at Britain’s most respected medical centers have found that it can halve the risk of relapse for those with depression.
“Psychotherapy involves patients analyzing thoughts and feelings, with the hope that by understanding them some kind of change can be made. Mindfulness has some of this but it also involves meditation,” the Daily Mail quoted Mark Williams, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry and co-developer of one of the many variants, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), said.
“Meditation, which is an ancient practice and part of Eastern spiritual philosophy, involves sitting, usually in silence, and focusing on one thing, such as the sensations of breathing in and out.
“The mind wanders, so you invite your attention to come back to the thing you are focusing on. People who do this regularly feel very calm. And due to modern scanning techniques that measure activity in the brain, we are beginning to understand why,” he said.
Williams’s colleagues in the US and Canada have been able to pinpoint the parts of the brain that undergo changes during meditation, and the results are astonishing.
“Meditation helps to reduce the activity of part of the brain called the amygdala, which governs feelings of stress. Those who are more stressed and anxious have an amygdala that is overactive. Meditating reduces this.
“And there is an effect on the insula, the part of the brain involved in deep emotions, including love.
“We know from other studies that the insula allows us to feel emotions, so when we are heartbroken we really do experience a kind of pain.
“Normally activity in this area is closely linked to the part of the brain involved in analytical thought. So if we have a fight with our partner, we not only feel dreadful but we start to think about why, what this says about our relationship and what might happen if we don’t put it right,” Williams said.
In those with mental illness, this loop becomes overactive – the thinking feeds the emotions, which feeds more thinking until it becomes overwhelming.
“Meditating breaks this cycle by reducing the links between the insula and the parts of the brain that analyse, as we have seen on brain scans.
“It doesn’t stop a person from feeling or thinking but it uncouples these two parts of the brain, giving the patient more control.
“Further to that, we’ve discovered in clinical trials that mindfulness works as well as antidepressants in preventing relapse of depression. It can also be used alongside drugs,” he said.
Janet Jones, 48, was diagnosed with severe depression 10 years ago. The mother of two was introduced to mindfulness in 2008.
“I was very sceptical at first. But gradually it became part of my everyday life,” she said.
“I would find it difficult to get out of bed and when I got to work, I would feel miserable. Once I committed to mindfulness, my approach changed and my life improved. Mindfulness has given me more control over my life. I now know that no matter how painful something is, it will pass,” Jones added. (ANI)
Related articles
- How Meditation Can Make You a Better Leader (openforum.com)
- How to Meditate Effectively (answers.com)
- Evidence Supports Health Benefits of ‘Mindfulness-Based Practices’ (tricitypsychology.com)
- Top Scientists Question Brain Scans for Mental Illness (madinamerica.com)
- Psych meds can shrink the brain, but meditation is found to increase brain size: heal your brain! (beyondmeds.com)
- Time Magazine: Can Meditation Make You Smarter? (karahpino.me)
Helping Mother Earth Gaia (Shan) to Give Birth =
Being Joyful + Staying Positive + Being in Oneness with All
--------------------------------------------
Want to help Mother Earth Gaia and the Galaxy Ascend by
contributing 15-20 minutes per day in a shared meditation with
Project: Eagle Triad? Start your Mission today!
Please contact janisel (at) sanandaseagles (dot) com
--------------------------------------------
********** THE IMPENDING LABOR OF EARTH **********
Sanat Kumara
Channeled Through Janisel of Sananda's Eagles
It is I, Sanat Kumara, who comes forth to speak with you regarding
our Beloved Mother Earth. Most of you know me as the Planetary
Logos, the one who embodies this planet, filling every cell of her
being, lighting and paving the way for some of the most historic
events in her history. I come forth at this time to ask each of you
to become, as it were, a Planetary Logos... filling your Heart
Center with the Love for our Mother. She is going through a most
difficult time right now, and is in need of much Love and Care. For
those of you of the female gender who have been on the threshold
of birth, you are well aware of what I speak.
Mother Earth is now in the throes of labor... and a difficult labor
it is. She is hurting and she needs your Love. The time for the
"big push" is at hand. Long has she strived to hold back on this
birth, giving everyone ample opportunity to awaken to their own
Divinity, to their Oneness with her. The time has now come when the
pangs of birth are so strong that she can hold off no longer.
Earth changes are impending, however this is part of her birthing
process. It must be in order for her to move into her Higher state
of Being. She [Mother Earth Gaia / Shan] has loved you, cared for you,
provided for you, nourished you, and now she must move on… on to
her rightful Ascended State. And she holds open the opportunity for
all humanity to join her on this journey. All she asks is for you
to join with her in Light...in Love... in Oneness. Accompany her
into the Higher Realms by way of your own Ascension. The choice, of
course, is yours. You may go...or you may stay. She has made her
choice, however, and is now ready to Ascend.
Be not afraid of the coming "push", for all is as it should be.
Send her Love, hold her in your Heart, embody her to help her
through this difficult time. She has held back as long as she can,
but now must burst forth from her chrysalis as does the butterfly
as it takes to the air. I ask all of you to join me in helping with this
birth. Long have I held the Light in every cell of her body, and now
I ask you to continue to do the same.
While holding this LIGHT, it is now time to step back and let
Mother Nature, as it were, take its rightful course. She is now
striving to rise to her perfection, but cannot do so without your
Light paving the way. Bless her, and tell her you love her and are
standing by as midwives, so to speak, ready to help in any way you
can. Hinder her no more, but instead give her the command to
"Push!".....to begin this great and glorious birth. Her time is at
hand, as is yours. She has delayed as long as possible in order for
her children to come out of the place of fear. But she can wait no
longer.
Put away your fear and ride the tide of redemption with her! Yes,
the changes will come. Yes, there will be moments of doubt and
uncertainty when these changes begin. But fear not! Know that we
are with all of you, and that each of you is exactly where you
should be at any given moment. Stand back and watch as the Glory of
God is revealed to All. My Love and Peace I leave with you. I AM
Sanat Kumara.
--------------------------------------------
Learn more about Project: Eagle Triad and the Sananda’s Eagles here:
http://ashtarstrinity.sanandaseagles.com/
Hi, Cheryl, and all members (and non-members),
I've been thinking about another group meditation, and this is what I have come up with. How about we set aside the summer solstice day of, June 21st, as an all day event, with no particular person being in charge.
On that day, then, when ever you happen to think of our dear Planet and the wonderful people thereon, all day long, project positive energy into the vortex not allowing anything negative to enter.. to each his own words and thoughts... That way we would not have to worry about time zones, and a person could 'tune in' even more than at any one particular time, lending even more energy where it is needed.
In this way, we would have a 24-hour period of positive energy circling the globe, swirling, protecting, combating and defying the negative, may I say demonic, forces trying to take over our World.
What do you think about this? ~ Dianna
I posted some recall I had from last night earlier today at https://earthchanges.ning.com/profiles/blogs/all-contactees-take-note-some. I'll post it again here:
[I seemed to be up in the air looking down.] I saw flat land. [I seemed to be down the coast (south) from the plant.] There was a watery bluish color to the air (meaning it was daylight). The below image was taken before the explosion. The explosion occurred in the afternoon, Japanese time. [See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ3IgHQuCBM&feature=player_embedded starting around 0:23 for the bluish color]:
Off in the distance I saw what looked like puffs of cloud or smoke that were increasing in size [ground based]. The distance was further away than the second picture below, kind of like being not far from the horizon, but the timing was more like the first image, which appeared to be the first fireball, with subsequent ones just beginning to rise, which expanded rapidly. But the color of the first fireball was more like the second picture, but tinted blue.
My attention was drawn to it. It felt like a bad thing was happening at first but then something like relief suddenly flowed from those clouds. My sense is that a disaster was allowed to start so that it could provide something necessary so that a worser disaster could be averted by unseen forces.
[In another scene] I continued seeing very flat land, the same watery blue color, the color and light were like being near water in the early morning. From the middle of this land rose a very tall, flat building that looked like the UN, but the surrounding landscape was definitely not DC. I gathered [the building] was symbolic rather than real. I sensed that it wasn't just the nations of the Earth gathering there, but a gathering of galactic worlds as well.
[In another scene, I also had recall of an alien. Loosely, he resembled General Akbar in Star Wars. However, his head was taller (longer) and his eyes were higher and not so far to the sides (but larger than human eyes), there were three boney protuberances between his eyes, but his skin color was that bronze-ish/brownish color. I suspect George Lucas had seen one of his kind when he casted Star Wars. "General Akbar" seemed to be a physician and was healing someone's hand aboard a spacecraft. I felt a lot of affinity for this being. He was old and very wise.]
I had asked for some confirmation (which usually doesn't happen) but this time, much to my amazement and delight, it did. After posting the above, I found this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake, that said:
"Edano said an explosion caused by vented hydrogen gas destroyed the exterior walls of the building where the reactor is, but not the actual metal housing enveloping the reactor." [The explosion allowed to happen to help mitigate worse affects?]
"Edano said the radiation around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant had not risen after the blast, but had in fact decreased. He did not say why that was so. [This bolded line has been removed from some articles with no explanation, but was in the original Yahoo article.] He added that pressure decreased after the blast. [Again, an explosion allowed to happen (or caused?) to enable radiation and pressure to decrease?]
"The explosion was preceded by puff of white smoke that gathered intensity until it became a huge cloud enveloping the entire facility, located in Fukushima, 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Iwaki. After the explosion, the walls of the building crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame."
The yahoo link is no longer good, but here are some others: http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20110311/japan-quake-explosion-rocks-nuke-plant-meltdown-fears-ease and http://www.wbur.org/2011/03/12/japan and http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/12/shaking-smoke-seen-japanese-nuclear-plant-facing-possible-meltdown/.
In these next three links, the line "He did not say why that was so." was missing: http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20110311/updated-blast-at-japan-nuke-plant-thousands-missing, http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/2706786-explosion-at-japan-nuke-plant-disaster-toll-rises/, http://archive.rgj.com/article/20110312/news12/110312001/Explosion-Japan-nuke-plant-disaster-toll-rises-watch-video-reports-. Lends weight that it was an unusual event that radiation decreased.
FOLKS, I sense that our meditation (as well as many others around the world) played a part in averting what could have been a horrible catastrophe!
UPDATE 03/13/011:
This article says that the radiation peaked at the Fukushima No. 1 reactor at 13:52 p.m. on Saturday afternoon (which is 12:52 a.m. Saturday morning EST--Japan is 13 hours ahead of us) and started declining after that point. Our meditation took place around 10:15 p.m. EST Friday evening. So, within 2.5 hours of our meditation/intention (and other groups too) the radiation began to decline. I'd say that is significant.
Update 06/11/2014:
The businessweek.com link is no longer good. Here is another link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-12/tokyo-electric-tries-to-cool-unstable-reactors-avert-three-mile-island-.html.