By Diane Ackerman — 2008
Diane Ackerman on the ancient tradition of meditation and mysticism that sustained two heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Read on www.lionsroar.com
CLEAR ALL
When our ancestors received the Torah, they stood at a mountain. When we celebrate receiving the Torah on Shavuot, we will stand in the pews. They looked at the sky; we will look at the ceiling. They were warmed by the sun; we will be cooled by the air conditioning. I am a rabbi in a synagogue.
The awe we feel in nature can dramatically reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to UC Berkeley research that tracked psychological and physiological changes in war veterans and at-risk inner-city youth during white-water rafting trips.
1
Through the practice of meditation, there are certain changes that happen in the mind. One of the most important changes is that you become master of your mind.
Friends, in times like this, we need grounding. With all of the unknowns swirling through the collective consciousness, the mind can get swept away. It can be hard to feel settled, to feel safe, to feel like you can anticipate what the next hour or day will bring.
Like many Westerners, I always assumed that meditation was a “spiritual” phenomenon, which I took to mean that it somehow had to do with realms beyond the physical.
A panel discussion with Phillip Moffitt, Cyndi Lee, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Reggie Ray. Introduction by Anne Carolyn Klein.
One of the most in-depth meditation studies to date shows that different practices have different benefits.
If you approach your practice as a path of love, the rhythms of life will teach you moment by moment how to proceed. Each little discovery about what breathing feels like will give you more access to your inner life and the secret power of recovery built into your body.
Every day, we have to do the impossible. We have to submit to the magic reboot of sleep and then get up and line up all our selves into a unified being and get on with it. Nearly every day, new qualities of our selves come online to join in with all the others. This is a creative act.
Some people harbor the illusion that rest is a luxury they do not have time for, but the reality is that rest is a necessity.