Meditation: Transcending Darkness

My husband, Bud, and I learned the TM technique in 1984.  We first heard of TM in the 60’s.  A great deal of scientific research was done on the TM technique in the 60’s and 70’s.  Frequently we would notice a news article about the remarkable scientific findings related to the practice of this technique.  We would comment to each other that the research was interesting and didn’t this TM stuff sound great.  We hoped it was helping a lot of people!  We had no interest in learning ourselves until 1984.

In the winter of 1984 a respected friend told us of his experiences with TM.  Our friend encouraged us to learn.  We listened to him, thought his comments were interesting, and promptly forgot the conversation.  Several weeks after this conversation, our friend who lived in LA at the time, called.  He said a conference on TM was going to be held at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. He urged us to attend.  Since our friend was planning to be in town attending the conference we decided to go as well. 

I think our experience of hearing about TM, not doing anything about it, hearing of TM again, and forgetting what we heard is typical. Most of us need to hear of something new a few times or even several times before we embrace it.  It is also human nature to embrace a new idea when we hear it from someone we know and admire rather than from a stranger. I think, too, that the media bombards us with information about a myriad of things we should or can do to improve our well being.  After a time we begin to discount information. 

My husband and I did attend that conference with our friend, and I remember the experience well.  I remember the room where the conference was held, and I remember specific conversations I had with people there.  I believe I remember my thoughts and feelings, experienced that long-ago evening, because I sensed we were learning about something that would dramatically alter the success of our lives.  It was an extremely important event for us. 

At the conference we were impressed by the presentation of a voluminous amount of research on the TM technique.  It seemed that there was no reason to turn our backs on the opportunity to learn.  Our only concerns regarded the time commitment of 20 minutes twice a day, but we gleaned from the speakers the information that we would not be giving up time.  We would be gaining time.  The researchers told us that the practice of the TM technique would help us to be more energetic, to think more clearly, perhaps to sleep less, and to be able to accomplish more not less.  Over the years we have learned that this is true.

Immediately after we learned TM, we realized that this technique was extraordinarily powerful.  We realized immediate effects and we clearly sensed that the benefits would be cumulative.  We realized this but neither of us thought much about it.  We simply meditated. Meditation became a regular part of our lives.  A few months after we began meditating, Bud and I noticed changes in each other.  When we commented on these changes we both realized that we did feel quite different from how we had felt in the past.

The experience of ourselves is what we know. How we feel, how we experience ourselves is our reality.  When the experience of self changes, and changes significantly and permanently, it changes by degrees.  Because we are changing from within, we do not have full realization of the change until it is so profound that it is noticeable to others.

In our book Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way Sandra and I discuss several ways that the TM technique is helps us to change. Transcendental Meditation has the following proven benefits.

1.      Dissolving Deep-Seated Stress

2.     Providing Deep Rest

3.     Alleviating Anxiety

4.     Expanding Awareness

5.     Increasing the Internal Locus of Control

6.     Enhancing Physiological Adaptability

7.     Enhancing Psychological Adaptability

8.     Purification of the Mind

9.     Integration and Personal Growth

Each of these benefits translates into a holistic change in the mind-body.  For instance, when we expand our awareness we acquire a wide-angle lens with which to view life.  Expanding awareness opens the “shutter” in the mind’s eye.  When we have a panoramic view of an event, our understanding is enhanced.  This deeper viewpoint gives us more flexibility in the face of change, allowing the stress of life’s transitions to roll off our backs more easily.  When stresses roll off of us more easily then we are not inclined to be reactive to others.  Our relationships improve and we don’t integrate stress into our physiology.  Our health also improves.  These are profound changes. 

The TM technique has been shown to increase physical, emotional, and psychological resiliency.  What can be better than increased resiliency?  To be able to roll with life’s punches and spring back to action without integrating stress into the physiology is a great gift.

I hope you are not going to be like Bud and me and have to hear about TM over and over before you decide to take the plunge.  Positive research on this technique is still being reported in scientific journals and the technique is available for all interested parties.  GoogleTM.Org to learn more and locate a teacher in your neck of the woods.

Our family is delighted to welcome a new meditator into our fold this week.  Blessings to Ivy, age 13.  She recently decided to learn TM. The TM technique will provide a natural basis for Ivy’s formation of her adult identity.  It will give her increased energy, self-confidence and a general feeling of well-being.  She’ll be able to recognize how people can be identical at their core and yet uniquely different in their personalities. This recognition will help her to have positive relationships throughout her high school experience and beyond.  We believe that practice of the TM technique will help Ivy sail through adolescence unencumbered by the stresses many teen agers experience. She’ll be able to access her internal wisdom, rid herself of stress, and reach her full potential! Bud and I are filled with joy for her!  We hope all of you decide to learn TM too!

As always, Sandra and I send our best wishes for health and happiness,

Nancy

A Look at Where We’ve Been and Where We Are Headed

I became interested in Ayurveda in the early nineties.  At that time I had a good friend who had an M.D., and training in Chinese medicine and Ayurveda.  He was sort of a medical one-man-band.

Because he had knowledge of different medical systems Paul would become frustrated with what he saw as deficits in Western medicine.

I remember that he would rail at the fact that Chinese medicine and Ayurveda were referred to as complimentary or alternative.  These medical systems were, he would say, thousands of years old. How did they become “alternative” or “complimentary?”

From Paul I learned a great deal that wasn’t, in general, spoken about at that time.  Often now, when reading a newspaper or magazine I am reminded of things he said 15 or so years ago.

For instance, in the early nineties he said that the medical profession was a leading cause of death in the United States.  I was shocked to hear the statistics on how many people died from taking prescription drugs as prescribed.  I was surprised to learn how often things in hospitals went awry.

Just a few weeks ago Newsweek published a piece on the dangers of Western medicine and gave pretty much the same statistics

(although somewhat more severe) than Paul had stated in the 90’s.  I guess things haven’t changed very much:  unfortunately.

Certainly it is a tragedy that Western medicine remains dangerous. However, I do believe that there are some positive changes too.

It takes a long time for research to go from the laboratory to the mainstream but some of the issues Paul spoke of are being addressed.

I remember that at some point in the 90’s a well-known hospital installed a fast food restaurant.  The rationale was that people should be able to eat what they wanted.  If a patient desired a cheeseburger and fries then they should have easy access to that food.

Paul was horrified but not surprised. He told me that most of the M.D.’s he knew looked at food as “fuel.”

His view was that doctors should not view nutrition as a matter of regularly filling the tank with gas and just making sure that, at least most of the time, this gas wasn’t too high in octane (fat).

I believe that awareness about food has increased during the past 15 or so years.  Much of this awareness initially came from cardiologists interested in heart health and it has spread throughout the medical community.

Currently there are many books available that tout the importance of knowing what are the right foods for you.  (Of course, the best of these books is Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way by Liebler and Moss!)

Doctors do, I believe, talk about nutrition with their patients. Proper nutrition is known to enhance the I.Q. of growing children and to extend life and enhance good health.  There is a strong belief in our society that good nutrition is pivotal to a good life.  There has been a backlash against the cheeseburger and fries state of mind!    This change was a long time coming, but as a society there is now awareness of and interest in good nutrition. Obesity is a major issue but it is being talked about and dealt with.  Awareness of the importance of healthy eating is on the rise.

Sleep was another issue that Paul and I discussed.  He would become dismayed with his colleagues if they had a “you snooze you lose” mentality.  He said that every aspect of health and life is dependent on proper sleep.  One’s happiness, growth, strength, knowledge, and life all depend on sleep.  Because the effects are not immediate, we can deceive ourselves into thinking that missing sleep has little consequence. However, the accumulation of poor sleep over time, of cutting sleep regularly, of staying up later than the body feels comfortable all affect the body and one’s health.

Recently I have noticed several articles in popular media about sleep and its importance.  I do chuckle when I read that line “current research shows……”

I chuckle because current research is showing what the ancients knew thousands of years ago.  Sleep is important for health.

The benefits of meditation have also reached the mainstream.  For years I referred to myself as a “closet meditator.”  Meditation was considered to be weird or at the very least, unusual.  I didn’t want to defend my practice or myself so I kept what I did quiet.  Nowadays research has validated the effects of meditation and millions of people meditate.  The way people think about meditation has changed dramatically. The benefits of meditation have reached mainstream thinking and doctors frequently recommend meditation to their patients.

Millions of people are now aware of the dangers of Western medicine and millions seek out natural medicine of one form or another. Over time the popularity of natural medicine will affect Western thinking.  Consumer demand will insure that Western medicine will become more prevention oriented.

These are challenging times but I look forward to reading that more and more of the things Paul told me back in the 90’s have been “discovered” by modern Western medicine. Hopefully, over time we will witness a blending of all that is good in different systems—-and utilize interventions that work and eliminate the dangerous.

Sandra and I send you our best wishes for perfect health and happiness!

The Popularity of Spirituality

For many years, perhaps for centuries, the majority of Westerners believed the quest for spirituality should be left mostly to people of the East.  Spirituality was believed to conflict with materiality, with work, with living a worldly life.  A widely held belief was that in order to live a spiritual life it was necessary to close oneself off from the world; to live in a cave, a monastery, or other form of seclusion.

 

This has changed.  Spirituality is openly spoken about and millions of Westerners are on a spiritual path.

 

 

What is spirituality? 

 

Spirituality refers to having access to the abstract aspects of life. To be spiritual is to blend the two realms of our being; body and soul.  It is to create greater self-awareness and spirituality is a compelling force that motivates us to higher heights. Spirituality is equated with happiness, intelligence, power and creativity.  When we are truly spiritual beings we are connected to universal intelligence and goodness.

 

We don’t need to live a cloistered lifestyle in order to engage both body and soul. A spiritual life can be had while living an active life, engaged in the world.  These different aspects of our existence actually enhance each other.

 

These days there are many spiritual paths offered to us.  Finding advice on how to put spirituality into your life is not difficult.

 

But, did you know that there are very practical ways to enhance spirituality.  Today I offer you three practical ways to enhance the spiritual in your life.

 

1. Sleep gives a lift to your spirit.  Sleep provides the mental clarity you need to develop self-awareness.  It adds depth to your thinking, allowing a greater appreciation of the richness of the abstract aspects of our lives—that which we can see only with our mind’s eye.  Spirituality is enhanced by a well-rested physiology.  Our physiology is programed to sleep during the hours of 10 or 11 p.m. until 6 or 7 a.m.  Too much sleep makes us lethargic and too little sleep or sleep at the wrong time of the day will not be beneficial to our wellbeing.
2. Yoga postures keep our nerve pathways clear and active so that the electrical impulses can travel efficiently. Energizing the nerves that activate all parts of the body improves mental capacity, attention, mental power, and gives access to our spiritual nature.  Look for a yoga practice that is right for you!
3. Meditation.  Sandra and I recommend Transcendental Meditation because this technique gives deep rest to the physiology; rest that is healing and restorative.  Meditation is like brushing your teeth:  you must do it daily if you want to have its benefits for life.  You wouldn’t think of going about your day without brushing your teeth, yet we think nothing of neglecting to “polish” our consciousness through the process of meditation.

 

Spirituality has become popular!  In the past this subject was, in many circles, a hushed topic.  It was more acceptable to talk about making big pots of money than to talk about a desire for the spiritual.  No more is this so.  The blend of body and soul is understood as a beneficial way to live life.  Taking care of your body is a good place to begin your spiritual quest.  And, the better you take care of yourself the more you have to give to others!

 

As always, Sandra and I wish you perfect health and the deep happiness that accompanies spirituality.

 

Words: Powerful Vehicles Connecting Us to the World!

Last week we put up a piece by Molly Beauregard.  Molly contributes to a blog titled Tuning the Student Mind.  Check it out!  Tuning the Student Mind offers interesting reading about issues young people are dealing with and their perspectives on life and living.  I remember that many years ago a neighbor of mine, who was much older than I, advised me that as I aged I should stay in touch with the way young people think.  In that way, she said, “You won’t get stuck in old and rigid thought patterns.”  Good advice!  The young can keep us current with changing perspectives.

 

This week we won’t have a guest contributor.  I’m here to write our blog and as always I want to write about a phenomenon that interests me, in the hope that it is also of interest to you.  Today I want to share a few thoughts about speech.  Yes, speech!  I’ve been thinking about speech a lot lately.

 

Speech is the expression of both the heart and mind together.  It is a delicate medium and cannot be forced.  If we stress and strain to make our speech pleasant or powerful we will come across as insincere and will be ineffective. It is our intelligence and purity of heart and mind that makes our speech effective.

 

Whether we talk a lot or have a quiet nature matters not.  Our speech reflects our inner feeling life, shows our values, and is the foundation of relationships.  It is the tool that connects us to the world at large.  With proper speech we can turn an enemy into an ally.  With hostile or angry speech we can lose a loved one or destroy a child’s self esteem.

 

Do you remember the program called Scared Straight?

This was a government program in which ex-convicts or former drug addicts spoke to young people who were either on the fringe of trouble or had been in trouble with the law.  The idea behind the program was that hearing about prison and the problems delinquency leads to would help troubled youth straighten out their lives before it was too late.  There was a good bit of enthusiasm about this program.

 

Several years after its inception a study assessed the success of the Scared Straight program.  Much to the surprise of some and the dismay of others the study revealed that the kids involved in the Scared Straight program had a higher incidence of delinquency than those troubled youth who experienced different types of interventions.

 

The communication theorists were not surprised at this outcome.  You see we reinforce what we speak about.  Negative speech reinforces negativity while positive speech reinforces positive behavior.  The outcome of the Scared Straight program has been used as a strong lesson for parents.  If you want to help your child change in a positive direction encourage her to move in that direction.  Keep your speech positive; delete negativity, and you, as a parent, will be successful in helping your child achieve positive goals.  Of course, don’t overdo—but use the tool of speech to guide and encourage positive behaviors.

 

The story of the Scared Straight program is indicative of the delicacy of speech.  Attitudes, culture, expectations, feelings—-all are conveyed through speech.  Words are similar to hands molding clay and one wrong word can leave an indelible impression.  On the other hand, if heart and mind are connected and mind is clear then proper speech will ensue.  Proper speech will be the foundation for an atmosphere forming a fertile field for the growth of full potential, love, and positivity in all areas.

 

Who doesn’t wish to speak powerfully?  I think we all have this desire.  The Transcendental Meditation technique shaves off the stress we accumulate through daily living.  Through regular practice of TM we naturally and effortlessly increase the unity and purity of heart and mind.  Speaking usefully is an art that belongs to the contented mind and heart.  The TM technique can help us to achieve this contentment, therefore, increasing our effectiveness in the world and our ability to speak pleasantly and powerfully.

 

As always, Sandra and I wish you happiness, perfect health, and effective speech that brings you a meaningful, powerful and supportive connection to the world.

 

Setting Your Sails!

You can’t turn the wind, so turn the sail.

 

Does this African proverb imply that we should “go with the flow”? Going with the flow, a frequently spoken about concept, is not always easy to put into action.

 

Doesn’t each and every one of us wish that one or another thing could be different from how it is?  Perhaps life is grand, but still you wish for a different house, more money, a different job, different co-workers, or that your child or spouse would change in one way or another.

 

Wouldn’t you like to turn your sail to take advantage of the prevailing winds? Don’t you intuitively know that going with the flow is helpful but not always easy to do?  Sandra and I believe that making this shift in thinking requires more than a switch in mind-set.  It requires internal change.

 

In our book Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way we recommend meditation to change the internal world. We all need assistance if we are to go with the flow and maintain our equilibrium in spite of having heavy winds toss us about.  Meditation is the perfect assistance.

 

We all (at least sometimes) make the mistake of thinking that the external world (the wind) needs to change in order for us to be happier or to enjoy life more.  This simply isn’t so.  It is the internal world that is calling for change, and meditation is the most effective technique by which to accomplish internal change. If we meditate we will be better able to set our sails to take advantage of the wind.  The internal strength we secure through meditation will help us to not rail against the prevailing winds but to go with the flow!

 

In spite of all the meditation techniques that are available, we strongly recommend the Transcendental Meditation technique.  We realize that different forms of meditation work for different people, but our primary reason for recommending the TM technique is that it has been rigorously evaluated for efficacy.  In addition, unlike some forms of meditation, the TM technique does not require adherence to any belief system—there is no dogma or philosophy attached to it, and it does not demand any lifestyle changes other than the practice of it.

 

If practiced regularly, the TM technique will inevitably yield positive results.  Research has shown that this technique works no matter what the expectations of the practitioner are.  It’s a bit like holding a tennis ball in your hand and then letting it go—the ball will fall to the ground whether you believe it will or not.  It the same way, the TM technique will affect your physiology whether you expect it to or not.

 

Because the regular practice of the TM technique affects the central nervous system it positively affects every aspect of human performance. Certainly it affects our ability to develop positive traits that disallow the seeding of a depressive mood.  In other words, it helps us to set our sails to take advantage of the wind; to sail on with the flow and not get blown over.

 

A study analyzed the effect of the TM technique on the development of self-actualization.  As defined by this study, self-actualization includes the following qualities:  an open, receptive, and caring attitude; cheerfulness and good humor; a predominance of positive thinking; spontaneity and freshness of appreciation; self-sufficiency; loss of fear of death; and an acceptance of self, nature, and others.

 

Pick up a copy of Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way and read the chapter on meditation to learn more about how the Transcendental Meditation technique can assist you in setting your sails to take advantage of the wind!  There is a fee to learn this technique.  The training to become a teacher of Transcendental Meditation is a six month long residence course.  However, no one is ever sent away and arrangements will be made if you wish to learn.

 

Contact the organization to find a teacher near you.  TM.org

 

We send you our best!

 

 

Developing Awareness and Improving Relationships: with yourself and others!

Most people occasionally worry, or at least wonder, how they affect other people.  We all want to be liked. Degree of concern about effect on other people can vary from severe worry to occasional concern or wonderment.  At the same time, we all need the ability to effectively stand up for ourselves. Doing this while not damaging relationships can be a challenge.

Human beings have a wide range of emotional responses and our interactional behavior is triggered by these responses. Of course the inverse is also true.  The manner in which we interact does affect our emotional life.

Scientific research tells us that healthy and happy relationships are pivotal for overall health.  Interactions are the foundation of relationships.  Developing awareness of how you interact with others can be helpful for your overall health!

Do you focus on other people’s responses to you in order to figure out how you are perceived?  Do you worry about how others interpret your words?  Do you try to “figure” out other people in order to “know” how to interact with them?

If you do any of the above I suggest you make life easier for yourself and focus only on yourself.  Wow!  Am I suggesting that we all become narcissists?  No, but I am suggesting that each of us become an expert on our own feelings and be more concerned with how we interact than with how others interact with us.

I learned TM in 1983 and one of the first benefits I became aware of was more positivity in my relationships and a better ability to make my points without rancor.  I was able to stand up for myself in a strong and clear way without conveying negativity.  In addition, I became less confused about others’ responses.  Each response tells us how our words were received by the person we are speaking with.  Having awareness of what emotions I was conveying in my interactions helped me to create a positive flow in conversations.  Awareness is empowerment!

Interactions do rise up from emotions and at any given time each of us has a plethora of emotions that we can access.  Did you just respond to someone in a fairly nasty way because you were jealous of her?  Did you respond sweetly because you felt sorry for the person you were speaking with?  Did you feel mean when you spoke just now?  Did your words rise up from a mean feeling that perhaps had nothing to do with the person to whom you were speaking?

People pick up on tone of voice and general affect much faster than they do content (words.)  Being aware of your internal emotional life gives you the ability to interact in your own best interests and in an overall positive manner. Even conflicts are more readily resolved if the tone remains positive.

Research has shown that practitioners of Transcendental Meditation report more positive relationships after learning the technique. I believe there are many reasons why this is so.  TM affects the central nervous system thereby affecting the mind-body in an overall positive manner. At the same time, TM gives a wide-angle lens to perceive our thoughts and emotions. This awareness is a helpful tool when we wish to initiate conversation or respond to someone.  Meditation helps us to be aware of where our interactions are coming from. This is incredibly empowering!

What’s the point of worrying about how we affect other people?   We have no control over this dynamic.  However, if we build awareness of our emotions and how interactions spring from these emotions we gain power and control of the only entity we can ever possibly control——ourselves.

Transcendental Meditation has many benefits.  Following are a few:

• Dissolving Deep-Seated Stress
• Providing Deep Rest
• Alleviating Anxiety
• Expanding Awareness
• Enhancing Locus of Control
• Physiological Adaptability
• Psychological Adaptability
• Purification of Mind and Body
• Integration and Personal Growth

Put all these benefits together and you have the recipe for success in all areas of life.  Relational success is one of these.  As awareness of your internal processes expands you become better equipped to interact in a manner that builds positivity in your relationships.

A recent study showed that compared to a group of non-meditators, most subjects who practiced the TM technique for an average of six weeks showed a significant increase in self-actualization (i.e., an open, receptive, and caring attitude, cheerfulness and good humor, positive thinking, spontaneity, self-sufficiency, and an acceptance of self, nature and others).  The level of self-actualization was highest for long-term (average 43 months) meditators, indicating that the benefits of the TM technique are cumulative.

There is ample research showing that meditators engage in more positive relationships.  These studies show an increase in self-reliance as well.  This makes sense because self-reliance gives a greater ability to have positive relationships.  Relationships that enhance wellbeing are built one interaction at a time.

As always, Sandra and I wish you happiness, perfect health—-and joyful relationships!

 

Women, Violence and Meditation

On March 31^st The David Lynch Foundation hosted a sold-out conference at New York City’s Air and Space Museum.  CNN anchor Soledad O’Brian was conference chair and the title of the conference was “Women, Violence and Meditation.”

 

The main focus of the conference was the scientific research on the helpfulness of one form of meditation, Transcendental Meditation, for victims of trauma.  The use of the TM technique to heal anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies in persons who have experienced trauma was explored.

 

Dr. Fred Travis, a neuroscientist from the Center for Brain, Consciousness and Cognition explained to the group that traumatic stress creates a veil of fear through which a person experiences the world.  “You are hyper-vigilant, vulnerable, you think people don’t understand you,” said Dr. Travis.  “Because this is what your brain is telling you.”

 

According to neuroscience traumatic experience turns on the amygdala, the non-verbal area of the brain and the seat of the fight or flight response.  To recover Dr. Travis said, “We need an experience that is the opposite of trauma—an experience that is holistic and not fragmented, an experience that is silent and not chaotic.  When a person transcends, moves beyond thought and emotion, during meditation the fear signals from the brain get turned off.”

 

“Why did this happen to me?” is often the biggest question and main source of confusion and pain that a victim of trauma, rape or abuse must live with.  We can’t always explain the reasons for acts of violence, yet through the regular experience of peacefulness gained through meditation we can overcome its effects.

 

Deep within us—beyond the subconscious—is the silent transcendental field of our awareness, which remains untouched by life’s negative impressions. Meditation moves us from the surface busyness of the mind to this field.  It does this in an effortless, natural and easy way.  From the regular practice of this experience arises a power of reassurance that can pervade every fiber of our being, so that we become whole—healed and at peace.

 

Does it Really Work?

 

A handful of controlled studies support the effectiveness of the TM technique in alleviating PTSD.  There has been research ranging from Vietnam War Veterans to soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

According to a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed piece by W. Scott Gould, Deputy Secretary of the Veteran’s Administration, “Transcendental Meditation has received substantial attention at the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.”  He says the VA has embarked on a series of clinical investigations into the effectiveness of all forms of meditation.

 

Tara Wise Jones, executive director of the National Women’s Veteran’s Association of America said that Transcendental Meditation saved her life.  “It calmed my mind, helped to restore my nurturing nature, restored my femininity and has helped me to become a better thinker.  Once I learned, I didn’t have to depend on anyone else, it makes me feel good inside mentally and physically.”

 

In our book Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way Sandra and I suggest practice of the TM technique for healing depression.  We give a review of significant research and explain the process of learning. This technique must be learned through a trained teacher.  The fact that such a subtle yet powerful mental technique can be taught at all is amazing, but of course it cannot be learned from a book.

 

TM does work.  It does heal anxiety and depression and we hope that you will look into its benefits.  You can learn more about the TM technique through Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way or online by clicking on tm.org.

 

As always, Sandra and I wish happiness and good health for you!

 

 

Science Holds Mom Responsible for Health and Happiness

Hello Readers!  I hope you are all well, filled with vitality and enjoying holiday preparation.

Last week I mentioned that I was going to a conference and would tell you some of the things I learned.  The conference was NICABM, the National Institute for the Application of Behavioral Medicine, and it was held in Hilton Head,South Carolina(where it was chilly and rainy!)

Many scientists came to this conference and presented their beliefs.  I found the talks interesting but I also found a contradiction in messages.  On one hand, the speakers seemed to believe in the resilience of the human mind-body but at the same time, they seemed to believe that who we are as adults is largely determined by early childhood experiences.  After years of taking pressure off Mom, her shoulders are being burdened again.

Many speakers emphasized being helpful to children.  Our children, the speakers said, are our national treasure.  Their success and well being as adults has to do with early childhood experiences.

The challenge to parent well has a great deal to do with Mom taking care of herself.  Her ability to parent effectively is hugely impacted by her vibratory essence (basic physical and emotional health) which in turn influences her behaviors.

The scientists in Hilton Head reminded us that the mind is divided into two aspects, the unconscious and the conscious.  The unconscious mind becomes filled with perceptions about self from the time of conception until the age of six.  This mind is filled with perceptions that are acted out for the remainder of life.  There is no bridge, the scientists told us, between the unconscious mind and the conscious mind.  Their advice to mothers is to be supportive of feelings, set limits in a nurturing manner, speak kindly and send a plethora of realistic but positive messages.  (I remembered that Ayurveda suggests that every day a mother say to her child, “You are smart, happy, and healthy.”) These words, according to the scientists would become reality because they affect the child at a cellular level.

A video from a research center inItalywas shown and in it a fetus showed signs of stress while the parents were yelling at each other in an angry, hostile manner.  The researchers stated that until recent times the nervous system of the Mother was considered to be separate from that of the fetus.  Science now knows that the fetus is continually bathed in the bio-chemicals of the Mother and that her stress directly affects her child.  Who the child will become is partly established in the womb.  (I had some trouble believing that the environment encountered there could not be reversed, but the scientists felt that this environment had a powerful and lasting influence.)

It is important that Mama, the researchers told us, take care of herself. However, there was no discussion of particular techniques for the release of stress. But, you, dear readers, know that the Transcendental Meditation program, yoga, proper nutrition for your body type, exercise and sleep work synergistically to relieve stress thus enabling you to communicate in a kind and loving manner.  When we speak we communicate our internal feeling state.  Take care of yourself and you will help others.

The scientists also spoke about the “new genetics.”  This is called epigenetics.  In the recent past science believed that DNA was responsible for pretty much everything in the determination of the individual.  Currently, we know that DNA is influenced by the environment. A change in environment alters DNA.  Nutrition can alter DNA.  A peaceful environment can alter DNA.  A stressful environment can alter DNA.  The mind-body can change in either direction very quickly.  (Ayurveda has been telling us that for centuries!)  Modern science continues to meet Eastern philosophy.

What the sages have told us about life and living life continues to be validated.  It is now validated by scientific knowledge about cellular biology.  Meditation, nutrition, exercise, yoga, sleep, and breathing techniques are incredibly important for health and well being.  These techniques alter our environment; thus affecting DNA, our self and everyone we come into contact with.

I attended a talk on addictions.  A researcher inCaliforniahas identified several environmental factors leading to addictive behavior.  A few of these are:  physical, emotional, or psychological abuse, hostility between parents, an alcoholic parent, neglect, or physical abuse between parents.  If a person scores as high as a 4 on the problem list, i.e., they have personally experienced four or more of the behaviors,  they are over 5,000 times more likely to exhibit addictive behavior.  The speaker remarked that researchers become excited when statistical evidence shows a slight leaning in one direction or another.  Five thousand times as likely is sky high!  Again, the way we are treated has everything to do with everything!

I left the conference knowing that once again Ayurveda was validated.  I also left concerned about increased pressure on Moms.  However, Ayurveda has the instruction manual to help Mothers relieve their personal stresses and, therefore, to interact with their children in helpful ways.  I hope that at the next conference the scientists offer practical advice to Moms and I hope they include Fathers in their discussion of child rearing.  Holism demands that we look at life through a wide- angle lens.  If the environment is a huge determinant in outcome we need to offer people the tools to relieve stress and create a positive environment!

We wish everyone Happy Holidays.  We won’t be writing again until after the first of the year.  Until then—-Best wishes for perfect health and happiness.

Addiction and Transcendental Meditation

This semester I am teaching a course at the Michigan School of Professional Psychology.  Tomorrow my students and I will discuss addictions.  In preparation I’ve reviewed my knowledge of this topic and compared the viewpoints of traditional psychology with the Ayurvedic perspective.

Experts in Ayurveda would not disagree with mental health professionals regarding the causes of addiction.  At the same time, the Ayurvedic perspective on causes and healing for the addicted person are profoundly deeper than what modern psychology offers.  They are deeper because they address the energetic level, the elemental imbalances and the unique constitution of the addicted person.  There is no-one-size fits all in Ayurveda and the focus is always on the person (and their energetic imbalances) instead of the symptom.

Psychology informs that in the beginning of the addictive process the addict feels power over feelings, others and circumstances but gradually the addiction overpowers the addict.  Over time feelings of fear and shame replace feelings of power.  When fear and shame become overwhelming the addicts’ only defense is to increase the consumption of alcohol or drugs in an effort to retrieve the feeling of power.  The greater the effort the addict makes to have power over the addiction, the more the substance overpowers them.  Ultimately and paradoxically, the addiction renders the addict totally powerless.  Reduced to powerlessness addicts lie to themselves about their need for the addiction and they sustain their lie with more addictive behavior.  It is a classic vicious circle and is often interrupted only after the addict has reached a bottomless pit of despair.

Ayurveda informs that if our lifestyle does not conform to the laws of nature we will accumulate elemental imbalances in our mind-body.  It is human nature to lean toward the imbalance.  Some people will lean toward an addiction in an effort to stabilize.  Of course this is an incorrect attempt but our thoughts, emotions and behaviors reflect our degree of balance or imbalance.  Without intervention the addicted person will continue to use substances, therefore increasing physiological imbalances.  These imbalances will continually affect the addict at the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels of their being.

Are you scratching your head wondering what I mean when I refer to the laws of nature?

We human beings are an aspect of the natural world but we are capable of straying from what nature dictates is the appropriate life style for us.  The sunflower has no choice but to turn its head toward the sun.  In this way it survives and flourishes.  We, on the other hand, possess an intellect that gives us choices.  Unlike the sunflower, we often forget that we are an inherent part of the natural world and are subject to its laws.  We make mistakes in many of our daily choices about food, sleep, exercise and how we use our time.  The mistakes are often made unwittingly; nevertheless, the body is adversely affected. In this way we block our ability to experience happiness and all too often reach for a substance which we erroneously believe will fill the missing gaps.

In other words, cows don’t eat pizza at midnight!  Or no other sentient being messes up their prana or energy flow as humans do!

In addition, everyday life is stressful.  According to Ayurveda we ingest experience as well as food.  If we are subject to upsetting or horrific experiences, and don’t have a tool to help us to regain balance we are vulnerable to reaching for a substance to fill our emotional and mental needs.

Ayurveda agrees with western thought that the causes of addictive behavior are genetic tendencies, a lack of personal power and unhappiness.  At the same time these causes are tied to elemental imbalances in energy flow.  The Ayurvedic belief system leads to treatment options which are profoundly helpful.

Research has shown that in general residential treatment for substance abuse has no greater effect size than out-patient treatment.  Research also shows that AA has been enormously helpful to many substance abusers.  It is helpful because it offers a twelve step program which the addict can effectively utilize and it offers a relationship that nourishes and strengthens the mind and spirit.

AA can be supplemented with the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation or the TM technique can be exceedingly helpful on its own if AA isn’t, for one reason or another, for you.  A meta-analysis of studies on reducing alcohol, nicotine and drug consumption found that the Transcendental Meditation program produced a significantly larger effect on reducing substance use compared to conventional treatments and prevention programs specifically designed for substance abuse.  Moreover, in contrast to the time course of conventional programs, whose early effects tend to decrease precipitously in the first three months following completion of treatment, the time course for the Transcendental Meditation program showed that lower levels or use of abstinence patterns were maintained or increased up to 2 years later (the longest period studies).  Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. 1994; 11: 11-84.

In our book Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way Sandra and I help you to identify your elemental nature and any possible imbalances.  If you are balanced and healthy then substance abuse will not tempt you.  If you are in the throes of recovery we suggest you pick up a copy of our book and read Chapter 9 Meditation:  Transcending Darkness and learn more about the TM technique.  This technique will be helpful to you no matter where you are on the continuum of health and wellness.

As always, I wish you the best for perfect health and happiness!

Nancy

Is Your Child Having a Successful School Year?

In new shoes and with scrubbed faces the children march off to the first day of school feeling full of anticipation and excitement.  Parents are hopeful that their child will have a successful school year and will be guided by a competent, kind, inspiring teacher.

After a few weeks of school the initial excitement lessens and teacher, parent and child settle in to the reality of what this year will bring.  By mid to late October problems, if there are any, have shown up.

Finding out that your child is not adjusting well to school can be a devastating experience.  Parents often feel in a quandary as to how to handle a difficult situation.  After all they believed they were doing a fine and good job of parenting (and they probably were) before they learned of the problem.  Being faced with a problem triggers feelings of inadequacy and sadness in most parents.

Problems come and go.  No matter how hard we try to avoid problems they will come knocking at our door.  Growing up is a difficult process and helping someone to grow up is every bit as difficult. But, problems can be handled and overcome.  We gain strength through effective dealing with problems.

School problems can range from mild to severe and many helpful solutions exist.  Our children are our greatest national resource and a wide variety of professionals are available to help child and parent. Ayurveda can be a helpful adjunct to any solution that you have implemented.   Whatever Ayurvedic interventions you add to your lifestyle will simply enhance the well-being of you and your child.

Common sense tells you that anxiety will handicap your efforts to help your child. We communicate our state of being through our interactions and if you communicate anxiety your child will become nervous about herself.  This nervousness will only get in the way of success and problem solving. In Chapter 9 of Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way Sandra and I discuss the Transcendental Meditation technique.  According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 1989 the TM technique reduces anxiety more than twice as much as any other technique (when compared with two decades of stress-related studies).  When only studies with strong research designs were considered, the TM technique was shown to reduce anxiety more than four times as much as all of the other techniques. TM can be a marvelous life aid.  It can help you to alleviate your anxiety, to keep stress at bay and empower you to help your child overcome problems.

Following are a few health related suggestions you can integrate into your life style.  These will enhance your child’s well-being.  Enhancing physical, mental and emotional health will be an asset to whatever solution you are implementing to help your child overcome school problems.

1.  A nightly foot massage is enjoyable and will help your child sleep more soundly.  The massage stimulates marma points for sound sleep, and often helps reduce frequent awakening.  Using sesame oil (www.mapi.org) on the soles of the feet (and on the head if desired) is said to help the development of all the tissues.  It seems to smooth out psychological upsets, like anger or frequent nightmares.  Many parents report that their children become sick less frequently after they institute this practice.
2. Outdoor games and exercise are good for the growing child’s body and mind.  Children should exercise as much as they like.
3. Children need more sleep than adults, of course, but Ayurveda believes that they will derive more benefit from their sleep if they get it earlier at night rather than later in the morning.  Ayurveda recommends a bedtime of 8:30 (or earlier for school-age children.  Many parents keep their children up later partly because the parents’ long work schedules do not allow them to see their children until late at night.  The cost—children who doze through class at school the next day, and whose growth process may be affected by sleep deprivation —is unacceptable.
4. Between meal snacking is normal for children; they often need the extra food, since their bodies are growing rapidly.  They should, however, snack on healthy, balanced foods rather than junk food.  In a natural setting, the sweet tooth, a universal among children, is essentially a craving for sweet fruit, which is of course healthy.  In our unnatural environment cultural influences can start to divert that natural “wisdom of the body” away from healthful and toward unhealthful cravings.  Parents should use common sense in handling this.
5. A routine for meals is important.  The whole family should sit together at the evening meal every day.  If it is at all possible to arrange to eat lunch and breakfast together, this makes a real difference for them, too.  According to Ayurveda, children feel more se cure and happy when they eat with their parents, which means that the food they eat has a healthier effect.    Children should be allowed to eat as much or as little as they want at a meal, rather than either clean the plate or control their appetites.  As long as the food we serve is freshly prepared, wholesome, and delicious, children’s palates are usually trustworthy.  While children should eat what they like, some foods are good staples for most children.  These include:
6. Cow’s milk, which helps nourish all the tissues.  According to Ayuveda the milk should be taken warm and previously boiled.
7. Dried fruits, especially dates, figs, and raisins (best soaked overnight before eating).
8. Nuts, especially almonds, coconut, and walnuts, are good.
9. Puffed cereals, such as puffed rice and wheat.
10. Parents should not rely on these foods only:  children should have a balanced, varied diet, so that they get all the different kinds of nutrients they need.

(The above suggestions were taken from Contemporary Ayurveda:  Medicine and Research in Maharishi Ayur-Veda by Hari Sharma and Christopher Clark)

We know that some of these things take extra time and extra effort and that it isn’t possible to do them all.  But adding any one of these steps incrementally will have a positive effect on your child’s development and ability to be alert and successful in school.  And that will make your job of parenting easier and ultimately more rewarding.”

 

Sandra and I wish you perfect health and happiness. We wish your children success in all their endeavors and hope that this school year inspires each child to grow in wisdom and in mastering school material!