SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY

Our scientific understanding has undermined many conventional approaches to spirituality at the very time we most need to strengthen these capacities. The source of the difficulty may hold the key to the solution. Science is widely accepted because it works. It looks at the world as it is searching for the simplest possible description. Discovery of simple descriptive laws has led to enormous power to control the phenomena the laws describe feeding our technical prowess. It was only possible to do this by divorcing science from feeling and values so one could see what is and not what one wants to see.
Our technical capabilities are increasing at an enormous and unprecedented rate. In contrast our spirituality and values are developing much more slowly. This has created a perilous time and often empty culture. We need a broadly accepted spirituality that gives purpose and meaning beyond the necessities of daily existence. Our scientific understanding has undermined many conventional approaches to spirituality at the very time we most need to strengthen these capacities. The source of the difficulty may hold the key to the solution. Science is widely accepted because it works. It looks at the world as it is searching for the simplest possible description. Discovery of simple descriptive laws has led to enormous power to control the phenomena the laws describe feeding our technical prowess. It was only possible to do this by divorcing science from feeling and values so one could see what is and not what one wants to see.

1) Science deals only with structure

The content of the hard sciences is formulated in mathematical laws. In mathematics everything is built up structurally starting with the empty set or nothing at all. For example the number 1 is defined as the set containing the empty set. It is a set with one element. Mathematics and contemporary hard science deal only with structure (or how complex entities are built from simpler ones) and never with essence or the ultimate nature of a thing. This forces all assumptions to be made explicit. But doing so removes any connection with meaning or value from the content of science. Of course individual scientists and scientific institutions have values that influence what they do. It is the content of hard science that is value free. Ultimate (as opposed to contingent) value exists only in conscious experience. We value things only insofar as we see them impacting our own or others' experience. The connection between physical structure and conscious experience is the key to connecting our scientific understanding to values and spirituality. Following the lead of science we look for the simplest possible description consistent with what we know to be true. This leads to two assumptions.

2) Physical structure is consciousness

Our first assumption is based on the recognition that conscious states are mirrored by physical structures in the brain and body. Transformations of consciousness appear to be transformations of physical structure. The evidence for this while far from conclusive is growing rapidly. We are able to measure the functioning brain in ever greater detail and to compare what we observe with reports of internal state. Another motivation for our first assumption is the continuous spectrum of conscious experience. There are no boundaries where human consciousness begins and ends. Consciousness grows as an embryo develops into a baby and adult. Consciousness fades as an adult mind slowly disappears from Alzheimer's disease. It is the development or degeneration of the physical brain that embodies these changes in consciousness. The simplest assumption is not that consciousness arises from physical structure. That creates an unnecessary duality. We assume the essence and totality of the existence of a physical structure is conscious experience. Space-time does not exist in space-time. It exists in consciousness. All matter is soul stuff. The dust we come from and return to is a simpler form of consciousness reflected in its simpler structure. Many spiritual traditions see consciousness as universal. Equating the existence of physical structure to consciousness is more novel.

3) Consciousness is finite

The second assumption is that all conscious experience and thus physical structure has a logical or mathematical finite structure. There may be no limit to conscious experience but no single conscious gestalt is infinite. Direct immediate experience is always specific and finite. It is logical in the sense that what we experience is either something or not something. Of course language can be ambiguous or inadequate to express what we experience but the experience itself is always a definite thing and not some other thing. It is always finite. It may appear to be continuous as in a visual image but this is an illusion constructed from discrete visual receptors in the eye. The brain and nervous system filters out the patterns of these receptors since the aim is to provide the brain with information about the external world. Einstein near the end of his life came to suspect that all physical structure was finite or digital�[2]. This assumption about consciousness and physical structure is subject to scientific investigation.

4) A wider sense of self

One might object to identifying conscious experience with physical structure by arguing that spirituality transcend space and time. Spirituality takes us outside of ourselves to a deeper and wider sense of identity. It sees our oneness with our fellow humans, with all sentient creatures and with the creative process itself. Identifying conscious experience with physical structure is not in conflict with this ancient wisdom. On the contrary it deepens our understanding of these spiritual realities. For it shows how artificial our sense of self is. It is created for practical reasons as a baby learns the difference between self (that which responds directly to ones wishes and can hurt) and not self (everything else). It is not the result of some unique soul each of us is infused with. We create our sense of identity and we can expand it as widely as we choose. We are the universe becoming conscious of itself. As we begin to feel that this is true we literally become who we truly are.Have you ever become so taken by a book that the experience described was more real than your everyday life? Sandburgs Lincoln had that effect for me. The people the poet described lived again in the writing and live over and over in the reading. Our consciousness is not individual and unique but universal and all encompassing. For it to exist at all it must be specific but the boundaries that make it specific are not limits on our experience put pathways to unbounded consciousness. Each movement in time leads to the next. Each experience leads to other places other people and ultimately the creative evolution of the universe.

5) Consciousness is irreducible

One might object that identifying conscious experience with physical structure does not explain consciousness. Our scientific understanding cannot begin to explain the experience of the color blue. The essential nature of conscious experience is not subject to explanation. We can analyze the structure of experience but never its essence. We are not trying to explain the inexplicable or reduce consciousness to something else. We are only looking for the simplest possible description of the reality we experience.

6) Levels of structure and consciousness

The descriptions of science are widely accepted because of their utility. Our assumptions have the potential for similar practical results. The psychologist, Carl Jung, had an intuition that number was the archetypal mediator between the physical world and the higher world[1, par 778][3]. Mathematics can help us understand spiritual truths that have previously been only intuitions. Central to the evolution of consciousness is the development of ever more subtle and complex levels of self reflection. This has culminated in the human mind aware of its own mortality and able to develop science and mathematics. We can understand aspects of these structures in mathematical hierarchies of iteration or self reflection. Our assumptions establish a structural equivalence between consciousness and these mathematical hierarchies. An implication of Godel�s famous proof of the incompleteness of mathematics is the absence of any single finite formulation that can capture the potentially unlimited levels of ever more powerful forms of self reflection that can exist in a mathematical system. The only way to explore all these possibilities is through a divergent process that follows an ever increasing number of paths as biological evolution has done in creating the human mathematical mind.

7) Unbounded creativity

Godels result and our assumptions imply that there is no limit to evolutionary creativity provided evolutionary diversity expands without limit. Of course the universe itself may be finite but we are very far from knowing this. Every boundary we have found historically has eventually disappeared. This may be true forever. If the universe is potentially infinite then whatever is will always be the merest hint of a shadow of what can be. God is a never ending creative process not a destination and we are the eyes of God with the power to create the world. We are at a critical point in the evolution of consciousness. Evolution has become conscious of itself and is developing the tools to take conscious control of its own future development. This is an inevitable transition but it is a dangerous time. Without an understanding of the structure of creativity we will almost certainly follow a path of bounded rather than unbounded creativity or worse.Our assumptions establish a basis for the required understanding of the structure of creativity. They allow us to quantify the trade offs between diversity and concentration of resources that are so central to the structure of creative evolution whether it be biological, economic or spiritual.

8) Toward an objective spirituality

God is not a completed being but an ever expanding process of evolving consciousness. We, as the highest form of consciousness on this planet, are the eyes of God with the power to create the world through conscious control of future evolution. We cannot make decisions about this based on religious or spiritual feeling alone. History teaches us how badly our feelings and instincts can lead us astray without objective tests. Science has shown what miraculous progress is possible with the guiding star of objectivity. Equating the existence of physical structure with conscious experience is the starting point of an objective spirituality. It establishes a framework for reconnecting scientific understanding to values by connecting structure to essence. It implies that we are and always will be the merest hint of a shadow of what will be. Precisely because there is no ultimate or final goal but only an ever expanding horizon we must always value the experience of the moment for that is all that will ever exist.

References[1] Carl Gustav Jung. Civilization in Transition, volume 10 of The collected works of C. G. Jung. Princeton University Press, 1970. [2] Abraham Pais. Subtle is the Lord. Oxford University Press, New York, 1982. [3] Marie-Louise von Franz. Number and Time. Northwestern University Press, 1974. Author Paul Budnik was an Acting Assistant Professor at UCLA before completing his PhD in computer science from the University of Illinois. Since then he has been a computer consultant. He has been passionately pursuing a series of related ideas on consciousness, evolution, physics and mathematics since he was an undergraduate. He is writing a book that more fully explores these topics.

FUNDAMENTALS OF MEDITATION

Many years ago meditation was considered something just not meant for modern people, but now it has become very popular with all types of people. Published scientific and medical evidence has proved its benefits, but it still needs to be much understood.

The art of meditation is not a job to be performed as one does the duties of one’s profession in life. Meditation is not just a technique but a way of life. It’s a way to be positive in every circumstance. When we carefully and systematically investigate into meditation, we come face to face with certain tremendous truths about Nature and life as a whole. Before engaging oneself in any task, a clear idea of it is necessary.
This guide will help you to acquire a clear understanding of reality rather than confusing you. Clarity of mind is necessary for a perfect Meditation. The topics covered in this course lead to a deeper understanding of yourself, your intrinsic positive qualities and your innate value. In time, this understanding becomes a natural part of your day to day awareness, constructively influencing how you see yourself and how you relate to your world.


In the process of exploring these universal concepts in the privacy of your own inner world through meditation, you will come to a first hand awareness of the interconnectedness of the human family and the rights, roles and responsibilities of individuals. This is very important in your spiritual development and will give you a fresh perspective on values such as justice, freedom, respect and love.

The concepts presented in this course are simple yet profound and are accessible to individuals of all backgrounds, beliefs, religions, culture and age.

Remember, Simple and honest effort is the only prerequisites for success in Meditation. As in any field of endeavor, the rewards of meditation and spiritual study are in proportion to the time and effort you invest. Like any skill, meditation requires practice to achieve satisfactory results. More and more people are including some kind of meditation to their daily routine either as an effective antidote to stress, or as a simple method of relaxation. By doing a little meditation every day, it soon becomes a natural and easy habit, which rewards you for the effort it involves.

Foundation Course in Raja Yoga Meditation,
The core curriculum is offered under several main themes or lessons:

Consciousness and Self-Realization
Our Home of Silence
Relationship with God
Law of Karma
Reincarnation
Eternal World Drama
Tree of Life
A Spiritual Lifestyle

DOES THE SOUL EXIST ?

All of us will die some day. That's one certainty about life we can count on--it ends. This article is for people who will die. But it's not about death. It concerns life, here and beyond.

We've all been confronted with our own mortality at some time. We're lying in bed at night, thinking about life, the lights are out, and all the distractions of our day are gone. What questions linger and bother us? What's going to happen to me after I die?
Am I just a material being--composed simply of a body, a brain, and a central nervous system--or is there something more to me? Is it possible that I have an immaterial component, such as a mind or soul, or is that just the stuff of myths and legends; something our culture still talks about, but science did away with a long time ago? Are all those religious people crazy, or is the existence of the soul probable? If I do have a soul, what are the implications for the decisions I make today?
As the Greek philosopher Aristotle pointed out, all of us, by our very nature, desire to know things. We want to know what is true and what is false. We want to know if we are rationally justified in our beliefs. We want to know the answers to what appear to be unsolvable mysteries, such as, do we have a soul? If you want to know, keep reading.

Body and Soul

If we are simply material beings, then when our bodies die, we die, because we are our bodies, nothing more, nothing less. This is physicalism. There is no difference between the mind and the brain. Chemical reactions governed by physical processes are all that really goes on inside your head. What we mistakenly understand to be the mind or the soul is simply the brain. Consciousness is a mere property of the brain. It is produced by the brain and is dependent on the brain. The physical world is all there is.
On the other hand, if dualism is true, then we are both bodies and souls. There is an immaterial side of life that cannot be tested scientifically--observed, measured, quantified, and so on. The physical body houses a soul that animates the body--it gives the body ultimate life and unity.
Let's assume for now that you only have a physical body, a complex collection of matter. If the matter configured into your body ceases to be, then we would have to say that you cease to be. Sounds reasonable, but check this out.
Science tells us that approximately every seven to nine years, all the matter in your body changes at the atomic level, including your brain. Think about it. You probably look significantly different now than you did eight years ago, and will probably look even more different eight years from today. This would mean that every seven to nine years "you" cease to be and another person begins.
But this is absurd. To accept this, we'd have to reject many common sense ideas. For instance, we can't look at our baby pictures and call them ours because many years ago that baby was a different set of matter--different body--and therefore a different person. Ten years from now you won't be able to say that you worked hard to earn a college degree, because by then there will be a different body, a different person. And why plan for retirement? "You" won't be there.
This doesn't seem right!. You are the person in your baby pictures, you remember your eighteenth birthday, and you look forward to your retirement. But this can only be the case if there is something that remains the same throughout your whole life, not something material, but immaterial. This enduring immaterial reality that makes you the same person throughout your whole life is your soul.
Any Objections ?

At this point you may have some objections with this argument. "Surely there must be some way of accounting for our identity over time from a scientific (physicalist) perspective without the need to invoke a soul. After all, we have no physical evidence that there is a soul. We cannot look inside our brains and find a soul. If we cannot sense it, why should we believe it exists?"
This response assumes that the only valid category of evidence is empirical evidence (based on experiments and observations, i.e., the scientific method), and the only knowledge we can obtain is that which is supported with empirical evidence. But this can't possibly be the only evidence we have for our knowledge. If so, we are severely limiting our capacity for knowledge and understanding.
Suppose that the only things we can know are those things supported with empirical evidence. That means we can have no knowledge of things such as mathematical understanding or our own internal mental states.2
In the case of mathematical knowledge, we rely on evidence of reason based on certain universal mathematical principles, none of which are empirical. When we deal with knowledge about our own internal mental states, we know them based on introspection or self-examination. For example, I am in pain simply by feeling hurt. Most of our internal states are simply self-evident.
So what sort of evidence should we consider for the soul? Should we look for empirical evidence? The answer is clearly, "No!" And so it is not an objection to the existence of the soul (dualism) that there is no empirical evidence for it, any more that it is an objection to mathematical knowledge claims to say that there is no empirical evidence for them. The soul, if it exists, is not physical. We cannot scientifically measure and observe a soul. But this does not mean, as has been stated, that there is no evidence for it. This only means that there is no physical evidence for the soul.

Just the Facts, Please

So what kind of evidence is there for the soul? Let's look at three forms of evidence (although there are more) supporting the existence of the soul. First, there is the evidence based on the experience of ourselves, second, the evidence based on free will, and third, the evidence based on near death experiences.

Experience of Ourselves

It is clear we are conscious. We are conscious of ourselves, as well as the world around us. But what is consciousness? Could it just be a complex physical state of the brain? Again I would say no. Consider the following argument from philosopher Thomas Nagel:
It is not a far stretch at all to suppose that bats are conscious. Suppose someone had perfect physiological knowledge of bats. It would follow, then, that if consciousness were merely a complex physical state, then that person would know exactly what it would be like to be a bat. However, it seems clear that all the knowledge in the world about bats could not tell someone what it is like to be a bat.
The reason is that while physiological facts are objective -- i.e. they are accessible to anyone, what it is like to be a bat is purely subjective and can only be known by the bat who is that bat. Our consciousness is not something accessible to anyone but ourselves. But if we were merely a complex physical structure, surely it would be accessible to anyone with enough knowledge. But it is not. Hence, this is evidence that the mind is not physical.

Free Will Freedom

It's one of humanity's highest virtues. It seems clear from our awareness of our choices that we are free to move our wills in any way we choose. We can choose to have chocolate ice cream, or to have vanilla instead, and such a choice seems quite undetermined. At least we'd like to think so. But all physical states are determined by other physical states, governed by physical laws. If our minds are simply physical states, then we are not free. All of our decisions are determined.
So what does this mean? Think of all the choices you have made in your life that have developed you into the person you are; where you went to school, who you associate with, how you spend your free time, who you enter into relationships with. Are you willing to accept that these are simply random events that you had no control over? That's what a purely materialistic view of ourselves limits us to believe. It robs us of any purpose or meaning to life. It says that all you are, and all you will become is merely the result of a physical process that you have no power over.
And if there's no control, that means we aren't capable of choosing a good idea over a bad idea. Thus rationality is eliminated, because rationality means that we evaluate ideas and choose the one that makes the most sense, given the evidence.4 If we get rid of rationality, then our whole system of government, justice, and morality is flawed and without a basis.
But this too is incorrect. Surely we have free will, and it is we who make our choices. These choices are not determined. We are free beings that make decisions based on reason. Our free will choices make us unique and give us identity.

Near Death Experiences

Near death experiences, or NDEs as they are often called, are intriguing and even inspiring. For almost 20 years, hundreds of thousands of people interested in the subject of life after death have been captivated by NDEs. Much attention is focused on some of the common phenomena associated with NDEs: the sense that one is dead, looking down on one's body, traveling down a tunnel or dark passageway, seeing a bright light, meeting other persons or supernatural beings, participating in a life review, reentering one's body, or seeing beautiful scenery. In fact, in a 1982 Gallup survey nearly 23 million Americans claimed to have been close to death and had something to tell about it.

Are these experiences only subjective? Is this just something for science fiction movies and spiritual fanatics, or are any of these stories true objective reality. What evidence, if any, can be given in their support? What can NDEs tell us about possible life beyond death?
At first, the early publications dealing with these experiences were unusually popular. They reported the claims of those who came close to death and survived and often used some rather fantastic stories to support their "findings." But studies since that time have become much more empirical and scientific. More recent data have effectively presented strong evidence for a minimal view of life after death and the existence of consciousness apart from the physical body.6
In their book Immortality, the Other Side of Death, researchers and authors Gary R. Habermas and J.P. Moreland list numerous corroborated reports detailing a number of NDEs. Many cases have been gathered in which dying persons were able to view individuals, events, or circumstances around them, or even other places, with amazing accuracy after coming close to dying or being pronounced clinically dead. Some of the descriptions were of occurrences that happened even when the patients were comatose. In other words, the research shows that these subjects reported data that would not normally have been in the range of their senses even if they were fully conscious at the time.
In one case, a girl named Katie had almost drowned in a pool. After her emergency room resuscitation, a CAT scan showed massive brain swelling, and her doctor had an artificial lung machine attached to her to keep her breathing. She was given a 10 percent chance to survive. But three days later she totally recovered and told an amazing story. She accurately described the physical characteristics of the doctors involved in her resuscitation, details of the hospital rooms she was taken into, and reported particulars of the specific medical procedures used on her, even though she was pronounced "profoundly comatose," with her eyes closed, during the entire time.
Other fascinating cases involve a number of blind persons. A chemist, after being blinded a year earlier in an accident, correctly reported the visual details surrounding his near death experience. Other individuals who had been blind for years (and were tested for blindness again afterward) accurately described the design and colors of clothing and jewelry worn by those around them when they almost died. Habermas and Moreland report that these cases are not rare; they are unexpectedly common.
Even though these stories were checked and rechecked for the accuracy and truthfulness of the victim's claims, it still can be difficult to believe these amazing events. Is there a way to scientifically measure NDEs to provide more objective evidence?
Some individuals who have had NDEs have actually registered an absence of brain waives. It is fascinating to consider, therefore, that some of the most vivid memories in the lives of these people happened while their brains actually registered no known activity. Flat brain waves on the EEG, when present for long periods of time, are the chief contemporary definition of natural death.8 So ordinarily, life during such times appears to be powerful evidence that human consciousness may exist after death.
And we have such evidence. As a specific example, a woman who had both a flat EEG reading and no vital signs had been declared dead. But she spontaneously revived about three-and-a-half hours later. In fact, she regained consciousness and lifted the sheet off her face as she was being taken to the morgue by an orderly! Then she reported that she had floated over her body during the resuscitation attempts. She precisely described not only the procedures that were used in her attempted rescue but also the number of persons who came into the hospital room and what they said. All this happened after she had no brain activity whatsoever.9
All the claims were carefully checked with the medical records and the doctors who were present. It was determined that her entire description was correct, even though her EEG reading had been flat during that entire time. Kind of spooky, but the facts don't lie.

THOUGHT POLLUTION

Thought Pollution is what affects kids and lowers them from the super state. First you have to acknowledge the existence of thought pollution, then determine where is it coming from, is it from the TV or movies or songs listened to, or friends, or relatives, once you know then you will be able to protect your kid until they can understand the difference between good and not so good input to their minds. One of the thought pollution points is the I want it now syndrome, instant gratification or delayed, which method would you rather have your kid adopt, if you want a super kid you have teach your kid delayed bigger and worthwhile gratification, and at the same time allow instant gratification to a lot lesser degree so they can learn the difference and see the rewards. The ads on TV and posters encourage instant gratification so the advertiser benefits, however you need to consider the welfare of your kid.

Another aspect of thought pollution is the self thought pollution which often comes from many diverse sources, you as a parent should check what is in your kid’s mind, from their responses to different questions and their reactions in situations, once you notice and know then you will be able to fix the pollution and keep your kid super.

It is a huge topic that must be addressed by parents, as it affects the kids for life with long lasting effects, do you really listen to the songs your kids are listening to, if not, just try it sometime and you will be amazed as to how much pollution is present in the words.

Thought pollution also is what is not right by your standards, so you have to careful when you address a person who caused the thought pollution, because from their standpoint they could be right to themselves, you must be tactfull.

There are many ways to fix the thought pollution or to prevent its effects, I have written in my book about that extensively. The simplest form of protection is to train yourself whenever you utter a sound or a word is to ask yourself is that good for my kid or not, after asking yourself a couple of times you will be aware of what you say and how to protect your child.

Being observant and a good listner to what you and your kid are exposed to will allow you to spot thought pollution and protect your child. This is not a choice, it is a must if you want to preserve the super kid status for your children.

All the above and more is covered in the book How to Raise a Super Kid available at amazon, once at amazon you can search inside the book, and you can read the detailed table of contents.
We all know 1 plus 1 equals 2, however until a child knows that you have to protect them, what I mean by 1 plus one is mind processing information, like placing a glass of water in the fridge will make the water cold, heating water will make it hot and so on.

Succeeding in keeping thought pollution away will do wonders for your child and the good effects will be for life. That is why it is very important to be aware of thought pollution and its effects and act accordingly.

GLOBAL WARMING CAN BE STOPPED

World Climate Experts SayJohn Roach for National Geographic News
Humans have the means to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the catastrophic consequences of global warming, a major climate report released today concludes.

But in order to stabilize the climate, the transition from fossil fuels like coal and oil needs to occur within decades, according to the final report this year from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Delegates representing a network of 2,500 scientists, economists, and policymakers from more than 120 nations hammered out details of the report at a week-long, closed-door meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

"What is an extremely powerful message in this report is the need for human society as a whole to start looking at changes in lifestyle and consumption patterns," Rajendra Pachauri, the panel's chair, said at a press conference today.

The report outlines options communities can take, from using more renewable energy sources like solar and wind to using efficient light bulbs and planting trees. Even controversial nuclear energy is considered a viable option.

In addition the report says countries must adopt policies that put a price on carbon emissions and provide incentives to spur the development of energy-efficient technologies.
Widespread embrace of these measures could stabilize the amount of greenhouse gases at 2000 levels, according to the report.

Failure to adopt these measures, however, could send heat-trapping gases spiraling an additional 90 percent by 2030.
"If we continue to do what we are doing now, we are in deep trouble," Ogunlade Davidson, a co-chair of the working group that prepared the report, said at the briefing.

Monumental Challenge

This is the third IPCC report released this year.
The first concluded global warming is almost certainly human caused. The second warned of the consequences already occurring and yet to come such as massive human death and disease, droughts, floods, and storms.
"We have a really monumental challenge on our hands," Vicki Arroyo of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Arlington, Virginia, said in a telephone interview.

Scientists and policymakers have argued over which options to emphasize in the fight against global warming. For example, many environmental groups are concerned about hazardous waste from nuclear energy if that option is widely promoted.

But given the immensity of the challenge, Arroyo said, the "luxury" to ignore any of the available options does not exist.

"We really need to tackle this problem from every angle we can," she said.
Daniel Kammen directs the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. He said in a telephone interview that the market has yet to show which methods will prevail.

"The critical issue isn't to pick and choose too much but is to say, if the governments are going to listen to this report as they should, there is actually a large number of technologies that are available to explore and look at," he said.

Some of the technologies are ready to enter the marketplace now, he added, while others will require further research.

Kammen and Arroyo both said that the cost to the global economy of acting now to curb greenhouse gas emissions is far less than doing nothing.

(Get the facts about global warming.)
Economics and Caps
The new report also assesses the likely economic effects of stabilizing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The lower the concentration of gases, the lower the impact of global warming but the greater the brunt to global economic activity, the scientists conclude.

(Learn how global warming works.)
According to the report, stabilization of greenhouse gases at the low end of the range—445 parts per million—would limit global temperature rise to about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius).

Doing so, however, requires a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 85 percent by the middle of this century.

Achieving this would shave about 0.12 percent off global gross domestic product (GDP) each year, panel co-chair Bert Metz explained at the briefing.

Stabilization at the high end of the range—710 parts per million—would see a temperature rise as high as 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) and allow greenhouse gas emissions to increase 10 to 60 percent by 2050.

This scenario would blunt GDP by about 0.06 percent a year.
Officials in China, the U.S., and India fear that the most aggressive cuts would slow economic growth too much and had reportedly pressed for their nations to be excluded from the report.
The University of California's Kammen said such fears are "false."

Though the U.S. and China are the world's top two consumers of coal, a particularly dirty fossil fuel, the countries also happen to have ample biofuel and wind resources.

"So the switch-off job is not as hard as many people are portraying," he said.
In a statement released today, the environmental group WWF said the IPCC report shows it is clearly possible to stop global warming if action is taken now.

"The IPCC has delivered a road map for keeping the planet safe. Now it's the turn of politicians to do more than just pay lip service," said Hans Verlome, director of the group's climate change program.

"We can stop climate change before it's too late."

GLOBAL WARMING FACTS

Fast FactsNational Geographic News
Global warming, or climate change, is a subject that shows no sign of cooling down.

Here's the lowdown on why it's happening, what's causing it, and how it might change the planet.



Is It Happening?
Yes. Earth is already showing many signs of worldwide climate change.

• Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
• The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies. And the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850.
• The Arctic is feeling the effects the most. Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at twice the global average, according to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report compiled between 2000 and 2004.
• Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.
• Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later.
• Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst bleaching—or die-off in response to stress—ever recorded in 1998, with some areas seeing bleach rates of 70 percent. Experts expect these sorts of events to increase in frequency and intensity in the next 50 years as sea temperatures rise.
• An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves, and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change by some experts.

Are Humans Causing It?

The report, based on the work of some 2,500 scientists in more than 130 countries, concluded that humans have caused all or most of the current planetary warming. Human-caused global warming is often called anthropogenic climate change.

• Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution have greatly increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, all greenhouse gases that help trap heat near Earth's surface. (See an interactive feature on how global warming works.)
• Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than plants and oceans can absorb it.
• These gases persist in the atmosphere for years, meaning that even if such emissions were eliminated today, it would not immediately stop global warming.
• Some experts point out that natural cycles in Earth's orbit can alter the planet's exposure to sunlight, which may explain the current trend. Earth has indeed experienced warming and cooling cycles roughly every hundred thousand years due to these orbital shifts, but such changes have occurred over the span of several centuries. Today's changes have taken place over the past hundred years or less.
• Other recent research has suggested that the effects of variations in the sun's output are "negligible" as a factor in warming, but other, more complicated solar mechanisms could possibly play a role.

What's Going to Happen?

A follow-up report by the IPCC released in April 2007 warned that global warming could lead to large-scale food and water shortages and have catastrophic effects on wildlife.

• Sea level could rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 to 59 centimeters) by century's end, the IPCC's February 2007 report projects. Rises of just 4 inches (10 centimeters) could flood many South Seas islands and swamp large parts of Southeast Asia.
• Some hundred million people live within 3 feet (1 meter) of mean sea level, and much of the world's population is concentrated in vulnerable coastal cities. In the U.S., Louisiana and Florida are especially at risk.
• Glaciers around the world could melt, causing sea levels to rise while creating water shortages in regions dependent on runoff for fresh water.
• Strong hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, and other natural disasters may become commonplace in many parts of the world. The growth of deserts may also cause food shortages in many places.
• More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems, and acidifying oceans.
• The ocean's circulation system, known as the ocean conveyor belt, could be permanently altered, causing a mini-ice age in Western Europe and other rapid changes.
• At some point in the future, warming could become uncontrollable by creating a so-called positive feedback effect. Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases by unlocking methane in permafrost and undersea deposits, freeing carbon trapped in sea ice, and causing increased evaporation of water.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEDITATION

Meditation belongs to any culture or religion.

Meditation is a serious religious practice.

Meditation is just a therapy or exercise.

Meditation is hypnosis or autosuggestion.

Meditation is an eastern technique.

You have to learn to suppress, cease or control your thoughts to meditate.

Meditation is turning off your thoughts or making your mind a blank.

Meditation involves becoming spaced out or less conscious.

Meditation means going into a trance.

Meditation is just a relaxation technique.

The purpose of meditation is to become a psychic superman.

Meditation is for saints and holy men, not for regular people

Meditation is for old age or middle age people and not for children and youths.

Meditation makes a person less active, boring and dull.

Meditation is running away from reality.

A week of meditation and all my problems will go away.

Meditation is selfish.

Meditation is dangerous and a prudent person should avoid it.

Meditation is a mysterious practice which cannot be understood.

Meditation is not successful unless we see interesting things in our mind.

Meditation is self-hypnosis.

Statistics on People who Meditate

Statistics on people who meditate can be found everywhere. Statistics on people who meditate have shown they become less stressed and calmer. Statistics on people who meditate in groups have even shown the crime rate in that particular area drop significantly. There are statistics on everything related to meditation. There are so many different statistics on meditation and statistics on people who meditate because meditation in one form or another has been around for thousands of years.

With its roots deep in India and Southeast Asia, meditation has made its way into modern Western culture, namely through Transcendental meditation, which was brought to the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and made popular by celebrities like The Beatles.
But what can somebody expect from practicing meditation? Well statistics on people who meditate have shown that daily reflection and rumination has dramatically decreased the occurrence of heart disease. Further, in patients previously diagnosed with heart disease, meditation has been proven to lessen the effects and somewhat reverse the disease.Stress is a major cause of many things such as coronary disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes and high blood pressure. All of these afflictions have been shown through scientific study to be lessened or otherwise depleted with the help of meditation in fact health insurance statistics on people who meditate regularly have shown that they are less prone to illness. The actual statistics were that those who meditate reduced the likelihood of being hospitalized for coronary disease by 87 percent, and the possibility of getting cancer by 55 percent.

Many doctors have studied the statistics on people who meditate and now prescribe meditation for their patients. These patients have reported more energy, higher productivity and more patience. Business owners have reported that among employees, who meditate, absenteeism is lower, production is higher, and the quality of their work is better thus proving the statistics on people who meditate are right.

A Detroit based chemical plant posted the following results three years after implementing meditation:
Absenteeism fell by 85%
Productivity rose 120%
Injuries dropped 70%
Profits increased 520%

According to reports, there have been over 1500 separate studies since 1930. All were related to meditation and its effects on the practitioners. Some statistics on people who meditate include results like:
> Heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and oxygen consumption are all decreased.
> Meditators are less anxious and nervous.
> Meditators were more independent and self-confident
> People who deliberated daily were less fearful of death.
> 75% of insomniacs who started a daily meditation program were able to fall asleep within 20 minutes of going to bed.
> Production of the stress hormone Cortisol is greatly decreased, thus making it possible for those people to deal with stress better when it occurs.
> Women with PMS showed symptom improvements after 5 months of steady daily rumination and reflection.
> Thickness of the artery walls decreased which effectively lowers the risk of heart attack or stroke by 8% to 15%.
> Relaxation therapy was helpful in chronic pain patients.
> 60% of anxiety prone people showed marked improvements in anxiety levels after 6-9 months.

It has been documented that people who use meditation and relaxation techniques may be physiologically younger by 12 to 15 years; could this possibly be the Fountain of Youth? While there are probably many other studies to look at, I believe that the results reported above are tell-tale. Meditation, relaxation, reflection and deliberation can affect the physical body in a positive way just as stress and other factors effect the body in a negative one. In either case science and the statistics on people who meditate, has confirmed the positive effects of meditation beyond a shadow of a doubt.
By Joel Sparks

History of Meditation

Meditation has been around in recorded history for thousands of years. The history of Meditation dates all the way back to ancient times. There has been proof found in Indian artifacts of the history of meditation called, “Tantra,” that speaks of such practices, dating back 5000 years. Researchers suggest that primitive hunting and gathering societies may have been the ones to have discovered meditation and its many different states of consciousness while gazing into the flames of their fires. The history of Meditation has evolved over thousands of years, into a structured practice that people use daily.
One of the biggest proponents in the history of meditation is the Buddha. The Buddha is also known as one of the biggest meditation icons in both current and times past and has been around since 500 B.C.. The teaching of the Buddha became popular in the Asian continent. According to the history of meditation other separate countries and cultures soon adopted many different forms of meditation creating their own special ways of practicing it. Some of the most popularly used forms today are the Buddhist and Hindu-based Easter-style meditation.
After meditation hit the East, it took thousands of years for it to spread to Western societies. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century when it finally started to gain popularity in the West. Many researchers and professors in the 1960's and 1970s, learned of the multitude of benefits that meditation had to offer as they began testing the effects of it.
Meditation is a practice that helps people achieve balance both mentally and physically as well as emotionally. It is even used to treat depression, stress and anxiety. The deep rest that a person achieves through meditation can rid him or her of stress and enables that person to make better choices by allowing them to think more clearly. There have been reports of higher self esteem in people who meditate.
People have even used this practice in the deliberation, to help them quit smoking and to put a stop to alcohol and drug addictions. A person can even reduce blood pressure and greatly lower the symptoms of menopause and premenstrual syndrome. Meditation also helps to lower ones heart rate and blood pressure by slowing down ones breathing which lowers the amount of oxygen needed for the body. The thought process allows the mind and muscles to gently relax.
The history of Meditation has proven that this practice of the mind and body can help a person in a multitude of ways. You can practice this in the comfort of your own home or become involved in a local meditation group. No matter how you choose to incorporate meditation into your life style you will be sure to discover a fountain of benefits.
By Mary Jones

Where Did Meditation Originate
Where did meditation originate? History shows meditation as being a long standing tradition in main Asian countries, like Japan, China, and India. So, exactly where did meditation originate? Meditation appears to be universal, appearing in cultures all over the world. The differences appear to lie more with the goals, purposes, and styles. Tantric meditation developed by South India tribes between ten and fifteen thousand years ago, was an expression of the desire to understand the conscious mind. When asking the question "Where did meditation originate?", can we answer it with here, this is where mediation originated? Perhaps. It was certainly widespread. Tantric meditation after being further developed seven thousand years ago by the yogi Shiva, became an integral part of Taoism, Buddhism, the Tibetan and Zen varieties and Sufism.
So where did meditation originate? Since the dawn of man, throughout recorded history, there have been fundamental questions that have begged for an answer not readily found, questions about the origins and nature of life, who created life originally? Why is life on Earth, what purpose does it hold? Obviously, these are the questions that have plagued man kind since its conception with no clear satisfactory answer. In an effort to extinguish the curiosity that drives us as humans to ask this question, two approaches were developed to allow all angles of possible answers to these questions to be explored. One approach delved into the world around us, discovering and finding various happenings with nature, this approach developed into Science. The other approach looked at the questions of the purpose of man, the creation of the universe and the existence of a creator from an internal perspective. This perhaps is a better answer to the question where did meditation originate? Meditation serves the same purpose no matter the philosophy or religious practice, methodology or ritual. That purpose is to delve into the hidden parts of our minds, conscience and unconscious, to find answers to the questions revolving around the meaning of life and the purpose of existence. By clearing the mind and learning to understand the complexity of ourselves, we can begin to understand the purpose for which we were created. Nothing can better explain the purpose and origin of meditation than it is an act of self-discovery and awareness. It brings forth not only knowledge of one’s self but of the nature of the world that we live in. Where did meditation originate? It originated from the desire of man to answer the all important question of Why?
In these modern days, we have forgotten the origins of meditation and forgotten its purpose and have become lost in the single approach of life. Meditation may not just be something for gaining the meaning of life but also for learning about our true selves that we sometimes lose sight of in the hustle and bustle of modern life and the very fascinating and more understandable world of science rather than the uncharitable mysteries of the mind.
By Philip Stilchford

Brain Waves in Meditation
The measurement of brain waves in meditation is a relatively recent development, as scientists strive to discover how this ancient practice of meditation can reduce stress, increase feelings of well being, and benefit overall health, among other advantages. It is of specific use to help one increase alertness, relaxation and reflection even in “waking” states. Brain waves in meditation are predominantly those discussed below, while those in normal consciousness are of the beta type. Each type, as discussed below, has specific benefits.Brain waves in meditation shift through various stages. The most common brain waves in meditation are alpha waves. These alpha brain waves in meditation basically promote changes in the autonomic nervous system that calm it. Regular contemplative practice of this type reverses the roles of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems so that the normally dominant sympathetic nervous system takes a back seat to the normally secondary parasympathetic nervous system. This lowers blood pressure and heart rate and lowers the amount of stress hormones in the body, as well as calming the mind. One of these stress hormones is cortisol, incidentally, which has been shown to encourage weight gain when it is elevated over the long term.
Gamma brain waves in meditation also greatly increase. Gamma waves denote intense focus and are usually weak and transient in normal brain activity. In experienced meditation practitioners, it was particularly noted that gamma brain waves in meditation were especially high in the left prefrontal cortex of the brain. This is an exciting finding, since this area is often associated with decreased anxiety and fear, positive emotions, and a decrease in depressive feelings or symptoms.
Theta brain waves in meditation are said to help open the “third eye” for practitioners. This “etheric eye” is said to be the channel through which practitioners gain illumination wisdom via vibrations received through the third eye. In practical terms, theta brainwaves in meditation also invoke a deep sense of relaxation and also encourage creativity and make problem solving and memorization easier. Most people have also experienced a theta state, for example, in the condition known as “highway hypnosis,” wherein drivers can perform driving tasks so automatically that they don’t remember making the drive home from their office. Theta waves also present themselves for most people when they do any task that is automatic or nearly so, such as folding clothes, washing hair, etc.
Finally, delta brain waves in meditation are the slowest of all. Everyone experiences delta waves in deep sleep, but delta brain waves in meditation are said to help experienced practitioners access the unconscious mind. Their existence may also be part of the reason that newly learned skills may be best integrated if one “sleeps on them," since they are associated with people's ability to integrate newly learned tasks.
By Amy Barnfeld

AURA COLOURS

Colors are one of the most beautiful and also one of the most under-appreciated aspects of the physical realm. We are surrounded by colors, but how often do we notice the numerous subtleties in the myriad shades.
Spiritually, color can impart both information - as in aura colors, and energy - as in healing. The aura is the spiritual energy field surrounding living beings which is "visible" to the psychically sensitive.
This short article presents the meanings generally associated with the most common colors. Use these meanings as a starting point in your own explorations. We are each unique individuals and colors may hold different meanings for us than for others, just as a piece of music inspires different feelings in different people.
Use colors to promote those qualities you wish to emphasize. Use them in your surroundings for qualities you wish to emphasize permanently. Wear clothes of appropriate colors to promote those qualities in a particular situation. You can also use colors simply by visualizing them, whether to promote their qualities or to exploit their healing energy for yourself or others.

WHITE

White is associated with truth, purity, cleansing, healing and protection. It is a good general healing color for the removal of pain and suffering. In the aura it signifies a high level of attainment, a higher level soul incarnate to help others.

RED

Red symbolizes energy, passion, strength, courage, physical activity, creativity, warmth, and security. It is also associated with aggression. In healing, use red to bring warmth and burn out disease. Red is a powerful color and should be used in moderation. In the aura red signifies materialism, materialistic ambition, a focus on sensual pleasures and a quick temper.

ORANGE

Orange symbolizes the individual's relationship to the external world, the needs and wants of the physical body and the ways in which these are satisfied, the world of work. In healing orange may increase immunity and sexual energy. In the aura orange signifies thoughtfulness and creativity.

YELLOW

Yellow symbolizes intellect, creativity, happiness and the power of persuasion. It is also associated with cowardice. In healing use yellow to promote clarity of thought. In the aura yellow signifies intellectual development, for either material or spiritual ends.

GREEN

Green symbolizes money, luck, prosperity, vitality and fertility. It is also associated with envy. Green is the color of healing; it is beneficial in all healing situations. In the aura green signifies balance, peace and often indicates ability as a healer.

BLUE

Blue is the color of spirituality, intuition, inspiration and inner peace. It is also associated with sadness and depression (the "blues"). In healing blue is used for cooling and calming, both physically and mentally. In the aura blue indicates serenity, contentment and spiritual development.

INDIGO

Indigo is associated with psychic ability. In healing, use indigo for relaxation, reassurance and promoting psychism. In the aura indigo signifies a seeker, often of spiritual truth.

PURPLE

Purple is associated with power, both earthly and spiritual. In healing, purple is used for mental disorders and also for becoming one with Spirit. In the aura purple signifies higher spiritual development.

GOLD

Gold represents understanding and luck. Remember though that nothing comes from nothing, It is the most powerful healing color, but so powerful that many are not able to stand it initially and must be conditioned to it via other colors. In the aura it represents service to others.

PINK

Pink represents unconditional love, love requiring nothing in return. It is also the color of friendship and conviviality. In the aura it signifies balance between the spiritual and the material.

BROWN

Brown is the color of the earth and represents practicality, material success, concentration and study. In the aura it indicates "down to earth-ness" and common sense.

BLACK

Black is the absence of color. It represents the unconscious and mystery. Its visualization can help promote deep meditation. Black also stands for evil (eg black magic). In the aura it signifies some kind of blockage or something being hidden.

HOLI

In India the festivals are either associated with God Himself or with some important event in the life of Satyuga or Treta yuga. It is therefore a plain truth that the festivals of Bharat would neither have any meaning nor would have any real advantage if they were not celebrated with real knowledge of Incorporeal God and of the time when. He descends in the corporeal human form plays his divine sport and perfoms. His superhuman, extraordinary act of establishing religiousness, i.e. creating the Deity world (satyuga).

Did the Sermonizer of Gita Celebrate Holy in this fashion?

There can be no denying the fact that every act of God is Divine and dignified in manners, spiritual in its essence and ideal from the point of view of its around perfection. There can be no act of God that has no potentiality of a moral lesson for us and that is not handsome and illustrious, charming of purposeful. Then how could the foul and untoward practices of today via garlanding each other with a necklace of shoes besmearing one another with the paste of lamp, black prepared in kerosene oil. Eric. Called the Divine Why the Moral or the Sublime Way of celebrating this otherwise spiritualistic festival?

Two Performances Mark Celebrations of The Holy

Today the people of Bharat celebrate Holy in two ways. During the days of the festival they sprinkle wet colors and hues on one another, and on the concluding day they light up a bonfire to commemorate the obsequies of HOLIKA. Therefore an understanding of the significance of both these practices is necessary for knowing how to celebrate Holy in the true manner.

USE OF COLOUR AND HUEDURING THE HOLI FESTIVAL

The truth is that the Bhagwan of Gita did not sprinkle the bazarhues on the Gopes and Gopis Rather; he gilded their very Souls with the saffron of ‘Yoga’. He did not play watercolors with them; rather He imparted the unfading color of knowledge to their very spirits. He did not toothed and refreshes their bodies by showering the fragrant rose water on them; rather He delighted their souls through the elixir of purity. He gave them not transitory jovial mood but permanent geniality and everlasting cheerfulness by teaching them holiness rather than playing with them the vulgar Holy in the vulgar fashion as it is played to day. Every act of God was addressed to the task of establishment of a cultured religious, righteous, virtuous and Divine State. But, just as the charming flute of Godly Knowledge played by Him later represented by means of a studded and bejeweled metallic flute in portraitures, pictures and works of sculpture, even so, the rose water of Knowledge the sadiron of Yoga have come to be replaced by the ordinary hues, color and rose water for celebration of the festival, called Holy.

COMPULSION TO PLAY WITH COLOUR

Today, if some people have no inclination to get be spoiled with color, even they are compelled to accept a color coating on their face a Syringe-shower on their clothes, and dry hue on their head. This compulsion to get colored had originally different form and a different purpose. It had a spiritual significance.
The origin of the present-day untoward custom of using force to impart color to others was the persuasion to others to take a dip in the knowledge. For, the God Sermonizer of Gita, ordained to His Gopes and Gopis “Go and besmear all and sundry with this magic color of Godly Knowledge that I have imparted to you. Leave none untouched, be he man, woman, child rich or poor belonging to any caste or creed”.
Of such a spiritual Holy with the hue of knowledge we find mention at two places in the Gita. At one place, it has been said that, having established Gyan Yagya through Brahma God bade “Do you please uplift others also to the status of Deities through the knowledge I have imparted to you”. In another chapter the term on of God implies,” Dear ones please impart (the color of) this most esoteric knowledge and yoga to my devotees”.

MANGAL MILAN i.e.AUSPICIOUS RE-UNION

On the concluding day of Holy, the acquaintances or the neighbors meet and embrace one another. Even persons nursing enmity against each other, meet and besmear each other’s face with color. The masses believe that the persons so uniting would from the time of their meeting, give up feelings of enmity jealousy, etc., towards each other.
But it is a matter of common understanding that the vices cannot vanish unless the souls were giver worship with miraculous water of knowledge. Unless the auspicious communion of the Soul and God has infect, taken place, there can be no Mangle Milan or propitious union between human beings also. Hence, the really auspicious union was taught and brought about by the God sermonizer of Gita Himself by enabling human souls to renounce jealousy, enmity and other lobo through the Gulal of Godly knowledge and the saffron of Yoga. Infect that was the real Holy.

THE BONFIRE OF HOLI

Lighting a large heap of cow- dung fuel, which represents the pyre of Holika, marks the end of the festival of Holy. The myth on which this ceremony is based, relates that on this day. Holika the sister of one Hirna- Kasha (who had the ambition for being regarded as God) took Paroled (who practiced the consciousness that he was a soul, an eternal child of God) in her lam as she sat on a fire heap. She believed that she would be able to come out of the fire safe and that Paroled would be devoured by the baling fire. But the tables were furled. To commemorate this holi miracle, year after year have the people here been lighting bonfire. But even today, they practice rot the lesson that is demonstrated by burning the imitation Holika. The bonfire of Holika reminds one of the moral that even a small boy emerges out safe and victorious, our mounting all hurdles with the help of none but faith an God and that on the other hand a person feeling vainly proud of come occult powers and giving to Himself the airs of God, faces untimely death and dire consequences. But indifferent to the spirit of the myth on which the very name of the festival is based, the people of Bharat have neither true knowledge of nor faith in God.

GREETING HOLI IN BEFITING MANNER

The befitting and proper way of celebrating the festival of Holy to day would therefore, make the Soul golden with PURITY, PEACE AND HAPPINESS.

OM SHANTI

WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK?

Don’t waste a moment of your precious life worrying about what other people will think of you. No good can come of it.
The truth is that you’ll waste far more energy imagining what others think of you than those people will ever invest in it themselves. Most people are far too preoccupied with their own lives to devote considerable attention to what you’re doing. While you’re worrying about what they think of you, they’re worrying about what you think of them. Just worrying your lives away…
Instead of being concerned with that others think, become concerned with what you think of yourself. Your opinion of yourself matters far more than the opinions of others, no matter how wise, intelligent, or well-meaning you think they are.
Realize that other people’s opinions of you are theirs alone and have very little to do with you. No one else really knows what you’re capable of. When you allow others to have their reaction without taking ownership of it yourself, you empower yourself.
Don’t fear that you’ll turn into some kind of inconsiderate, anti-social jerk if you stop being concerned with what others think of you. Even as you meet with resistance from others, you’ll be serving as a role model to help them overcome their own fears.
Whenever you stretch yourself to take bold new actions, like starting a new business or entering a new relationship, don’t be surprised to get a negative reaction from those around you. It’s common. Others may launch into long-winded explanations about why you’re doomed to failure. But there’s no need to let that stop you. Most of the time they’ll be speaking from fear, not love, anyway. Fear speaks from limitation; love speaks from possibility.
What happens if those other people were actually right though? What if you go out and fail big even after they warned you it would happen? It doesn’t matter. Even when they’re right, they’re still wrong. You’re supposed to go out and fail a lot. It’s perfectly OK for everyone around you to tell you you’re going to fail and for you to go out and fall flat on your face right in front of them. That’s supposed to happen. The real lesson is for you to learn to be OK with that.
Quite a number of times I’ve been warned by others not to do something, but I went ahead and did it anyway and failed just as they predicted. However, by failing on my own, I learned valuable new insights, and my future attempts along those same lines eventually led to success, sometimes even a major breakthrough. Those successes would never have occurred if I’d never set foot out the door.
The truth is that you’re going to fail — a lot. Get used to it! Make failure your friend. Those failures are not the opposite of success — they’re an integral part of success. Understand that it’s absolutely, perfectly fine to go out and start a new business and watch it go bankrupt. It’s fine to enter a new relationship and watch it blow up in your face. It’s fine to give a speech and get booed off the stage.
You’re supposed to fail. Failure is one of the best ways we humans learn and grow. Allow yourself to be human.
But even more importantly than that, you need to build self-confidence, self-knowledge, and self-trust. You need to learn what your true capabilities are. And you’ll never discover that by sitting still. Even you don’t know what you’re capable of until you’ve tried it, so how can other people possibly know? Just because they sound certain doesn’t mean they’re right.
Sometimes you’ll find that other people were indeed right about you (but only in the short term). But other times you’ll find they were dead wrong. It doesn’t matter what other people think you can do. What matters is what you can actually do. And in order to figure out what that is, you’ve got to go out and take some risks. You must attempt some of those things you aren’t sure you can accomplish.
Self-trust is a far greater possession than anything you might lose along the way. It’s not the end of the world if you lose all your material possessions, blow a big project, or make a complete fool of yourself. You can dust yourself off and keep right on going. But if you can’t trust yourself to take action on what you believe is best, then for you, that is the end of the world.
Consider what it was like for me to say to my friends last year, “You know… I’m going to stop doing game development and launch a new personal development business. And it’s going to be great.” Do you think I received loads of support and encouragement to pursue this goal? Not remotely. Many people thought I was nuts. Some probably still do. And that’s perfectly OK, but it doesn’t affect my actions in the least. Why? Because I trust myself. Other people can’t see into my soul and know what I’m capable of. When they tell me I can’t do something, all I see is a person who’s very afraid and needs help breaking the pattern of fear.
If other people around you are showering you with “can’ts” and “shouldn’ts,” simply ignore them. Their fear has nothing to do with you. Put your faith in yourself. You may make some bad decisions at first, but in the long run, you’ll stretch way beyond your current limitations. And that’s when your greatest dreams will start to become reality.
Faith in yourself isn’t a result of success. It’s the cause of it.

Science Explores Meditation's Effect on the Brain

by Allison Aubrey
People who meditate say it induces well-being and emotional balance. In recent years, a group of neuroscientists has begun investigating the practice, dubbed "mindfulness." As NPR's Allison Aubrey reports, they are exploring the hypothesis that meditation can actually change the way the brain works.
Scientists are taking advantage of new technologies to see exactly what goes on inside the brains of Buddhist monks and other so-called "Olympian" meditators -- individuals who meditate intensively and regularly. The neuroscientists hypothesize that regular meditation actually alters the way the brain is wired, and that these changes could be at the heart of claims that meditation can improve health and well-being.
But the rigors of the scientific method might never have been applied to studying the practice of meditation if it weren't for a vocal population of scientist-meditators. For decades, several of these individuals have been spreading the word about the beneficial effects of this traditional Eastern practice to the Western world.
In 1998, Dr. James Austin, a neurologist, wrote the book Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness. Several mindfulness researchers cite his book as a reason they became interested in the field. In it, Austin examines consciousness by intertwining his personal experiences with Zen meditation with explanations backed up by hard science. When he describes how meditation can "sculpt" the brain, he means it literally and figuratively.
Before Austin, others had aimed to teach meditation to individuals without experience and without interest in spirituality, people who hoped to reap mental and physical health benefits. In 1975, Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Mass., where they continue to practice and teach meditation. Salzberg has written several books, including Faith and Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Kornfield holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India. He's written an introduction to the field, called Meditation for Beginners.
Jon Kabat-Zinn brought mindfulness into the mainstream by developing a standardized teaching method that has introduced multitudes of beginners to the practice of meditation. In 1979, he founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. He is professor emeritus of the university's medical school. Kabat-Zinn has written several books that show readers how to incorporate meditation into their daily lives.
One center with which Kabat-Zinn has had a long-standing association -- the Mind and Life Institute -- took a particular interest in partnering "modern science and Buddhism -- the world's two most powerful traditions for understanding the nature of reality and investigating the mind." The institute sponsors scientific conferences for meditation researchers. At the most recent one, scientists discussed how meditation might change activity levels in the brain.
Some 150 centers around the country are shaped in the mold of Kabat-Zinn's Stress Reduction Clinic, and about 150 more teach meditation with slightly different philosophies.
More than 1,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles have been published on the subject of meditation. Until recently, most of them simply observed correlations between meditating and improved mood or decreased disease symptoms. But with so many scientists -- and thousands of consumers -- becoming "believers" in meditation, researchers seek to move beyond simply showing that meditation can influence the brain, to knowing exactly how that influence is accomplished.

Katie Unger is an intern for NPR's science desk.

BIG Change - BIG Crisis

Changing economic conditions

destabilize world food supply

The globe's worst food crisis in a generation emerged as a blip on the big boards and computer screens of America's great grain exchanges. At first, it seemed like little more than a bout of bad weather.
In Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City, traders watched from the pits early last summer as wheat prices spiked amid mediocre harvests in the United States and Europe and signs of prolonged drought in Australia. But within a few weeks, the traders discerned an ominous snowball effect — one that would eventually bring down a prime minister in Haiti, make more children in Mauritania go to bed hungry, even cause some Costco and Sam's Club stores to restrict sales of large bags of rice.
As prices rose, major grain producers including Argentina and Ukraine, battling inflation caused in part by soaring oil bills, were moving to bar exports on a range of crops to control costs at home. It meant less supply on world markets even as global demand entered a fundamentally new phase. Already, corn prices had been climbing for months on the back of booming government-subsidized ethanol programs. Soybeans were facing pressure from surging demand in China. As supplies in the pipelines of global trade shrank, prices for corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, rice and other grains began shooting through the roof.
At the same time, food was becoming the new gold. Investors fleeing Wall Street's mortgage-related strife plowed hundreds of millions of dollars into grain futures, driving prices up even more. By Christmas, a global panic was building. With fewer places to turn, and tempted by the weaker dollar, nations staged a run on the American wheat harvest.
Foreign buyers, who typically seek to purchase one or two months' supply of wheat at a time, suddenly began to stockpile. They put in orders on U.S. grain exchanges two to three times larger than normal as food riots began to erupt worldwide. This led major domestic U.S. mills to jump into the fray with their own massive orders, fearing that there would soon be no wheat left at any price.
"Japan, the Philippines, [South] Korea, Taiwan — they all came in with huge orders, and no matter how high prices go, they keep on buying," said Jeff Voge, chairman of the Kansas City Board of Trade and also an independent trader.

Hunger threat for poor
The food price shock now roiling world markets is destabilizing governments, igniting street riots and threatening to send a new wave of hunger rippling through the world's poorest nations. It is outpacing even the Soviet grain emergency of 1972-75, when world food prices rose 78 percent. By comparison, from the beginning of 2005 to early 2008, prices leapt 80 percent, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. Much of the increase is being absorbed by middle men — distributors, processors, even governments — but consumers worldwide are still feeling the pinch.
The convergence of events has thrown world food supply and demand out of whack and snowballed into civil turmoil. After hungry mobs and violent riots beset Port-au-Prince, Haitian Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis was forced to step down earlier this month. At least 14 countries have been racked by food-related violence. In Malaysia, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is struggling for political survival after a March rebuke from voters furious over food prices. In Bangladesh, more than 20,000 factory workers protesting food prices rampaged through the streets two weeks ago, injuring at least 50 people.
To quell unrest, countries including Indonesia are digging deep to boost food subsidies. The U.N. World Food Program has warned of an alarming surge in hunger in areas as far-flung as North Korea and West Africa. The crisis, it fears, will plunge more than 100 million of the world's poorest people deeper into poverty, forced to spend more and more of their income on skyrocketing food bills.

Responding to demand
Prices for some crops — such as wheat — have already begun to descend off their highs. As farmers rush to plant more wheat now that profit prospects have climbed, analysts predict that prices may come down as much as 30 percent in the coming months. But that would still leave a year-over-year price increase of 45 percent. Few believe prices will go back to where they were in early 2006, suggesting that the world must cope with a new reality of more-expensive food.
People worldwide are coping in different ways. For the 1 billion living on less than a dollar a day, it is a matter of survival. In a mud hut on the Sahara's edge, Manthita Sou, a 43-year-old widow in the Mauritanian desert village of Maghleg, is confronting wheat prices that are up 67 percent on local markets in the past year. Her solution: stop eating bread. Instead, she has downgraded to cheaper foods, such as sorghum. But sorghum has jumped 20 percent in the past 12 months. Living on the 50 cents a day she earns weaving textiles to support a family of three, her answer has been to cut out breakfast, drink tea for lunch and ration a small serving of soupy sorghum meal for family dinners. "I don't know how long we can survive like this," she said.
Countries that have driven food demand in recent years are now grappling with the cost of their own success — rising prices. Although China has tried to calm its people by announcing reserve grain holdings of 30 to 40 percent of annual production, a number that had been a state secret, anxiety is still running high. In the southern province of Guangdong there are reports of grain hoarding, and in Hong Kong, consumers have stripped store shelves of bags of rice.
In India, the government recently scrapped all import duties on cooking oils and banned exports of non-basmati rice. As in many parts of the developing world, the impact in India is being felt the most among the urban poor who have fled rural life to live in teeming slums. At a dusty, nearly empty market in one New Delhi neighborhood, shopkeeper Manjeet Singh, 52, said people have started hoarding because of fear that stocks of rice and oil will run out.
"If one doesn't have enough to fill one's own stomach, then what's the use of an economic boom in exports?" he asked.
Even wealthy nations are being forced to adjust to a new normal. In Japan, a country with a distinct cultural aversion to cheaper, genetically modified grains, manufacturers are risking public backlash by importing them for use in processed foods for the first time.
In the 15-country zone that uses the euro as its currency — which includes France, Germany, Spain and Italy — inflation hit 3.6 percent in March, the highest rate since the currency was adopted almost a decade ago and well above the European Central Bank's target of 2.0 percent.

Food and oil prices were mostly to blame.
In the United States, experts say consumers are scaling down on quality, and scaling up on quantity if it means a better unit price. In the meat aisles of major groceries, said Phil Lempert, a supermarket analyst, steaks are giving way to chopped beef and people used to buying fresh blueberries are moving to frozen. Some are even trying to grow their own vegetables.
The root cause of price surges varies from crop to crop. But the crisis is being driven in part by an unprecedented linkage of the food chain.
A big reason for higher wheat prices, for instance, is the multiyear drought in Australia, something that scientists say may become persistent because of global warming. But wheat prices are also rising because U.S. farmers have been planting less of it or moving wheat to less fertile ground. That is partly because they are planting more corn to capitalize on the biofuel frenzy.
This year, at least a fifth and perhaps a quarter of the U.S. corn crop will be fed to ethanol plants. As food and fuel fuse, it has presented a boon to American farmers after years of stable prices. But it also has helped spark the broader food-price shock.
"If you didn't have ethanol, you would not have the prices we have today," said Bruce Babcock, a professor of economics and the director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University. "It doesn't mean it's the sole driver. Prices would be higher than we saw earlier in this decade because world grain supplies are tighter now than earlier in the decade. But we've introduced a new demand into the market."
In fact, many economists now say food prices should have climbed much higher much earlier.
The global food trade never became the kind of well-honed machine that has made the price of manufactured goods such as personal computers and flat-screen TVs increasingly similar worldwide. With food, significant subsidies and other barriers meant to protect farmers — particularly in Europe, the United States and Japan — have distorted the real price of food globally, economists say, preventing the market from going through normal price adjustments as global demand has climbed.
If market forces had played a larger role in food trade, some now argue, the world would have had more time to adjust to more gradually rising prices.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
By Anthony Failora
The Washington Post

MEDITATION FOR HEALTHY LIFE

Meditation for health purposes is a mind-body practice in complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM).* There are many types of meditation, most of
which originated in ancient religious and spiritual traditions. Generally, a
person who is meditating uses certain techniques, such as focusing attention
(for example, on a word, an object, or the breath); a specific posture; and an
open attitude toward distracting thoughts and emotions. Meditation can be
practiced for various reasons—for example, with an intent to increase physical
relaxation, mental calmness, and psychological balance; to cope with one or
more diseases and conditions; and for overall wellness. This Backgrounder
provides a general introduction to meditation and suggests some resources for
finding out more.

Key Points
• People practice meditation for a number of health-related purposes.
Resources for published research results on meditation are listed at the end
of this Backgrounder.
• It is not fully known what changes occur in the body during meditation;
whether they influence health; and, if so, how. The National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and some other
components of the National Institutes of Health are sponsoring studies to
find out more about meditation’s effects, how it works, and what diseases
and conditions it may be most helpful for.
• Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative
practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your
health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

What Meditation Is
The term meditation refers to a group of techniques, most of which started in Eastern religious
or spiritual traditions. These techniques have been used by many different cultures
throughout the world for thousands of years. Today, many people use meditation outside of its
traditional religious or cultural settings, for health and wellness purposes.
In meditation, a person learns to focus his attention and suspend the stream of thoughts that
normally occupy the mind. This practice is believed to result in a state of greater physical
relaxation, mental calmness, and psychological balance. Practicing meditation can change how
a person relates to the flow of emotions and thoughts in the mind.

Most types of meditation have four elements in common:
• A quiet location. Many meditators prefer a quiet place with as few distractions as possible.
This can be particularly helpful for beginners. People who have been practicing meditation
for a longer period of time sometimes develop the ability to meditate in public places, like
waiting rooms or buses.
• A specific, comfortable posture. Depending on the type being practiced, meditation can be
done while sitting, lying down, standing, walking, or in other positions.
• A focus of attention. Focusing one’s attention is usually a part of meditation. For example,
the meditator may focus on a mantra (a specially chosen word or set of words), an object,
or the breath.
• An open attitude. Having an open attitude during meditation means letting distractions
come and go naturally without stopping to think about them. When distracting or
wandering thoughts occur, they are not suppressed; instead, the meditator gently brings
attention back to the focus. In some types of meditation, the meditator learns to observe
the rising and falling of thoughts and emotions as they spontaneously occur.
Meditation is practiced both on its own and as a component of some other therapies, such as
yoga, tai chi, and qi gong. This Backgrounder focuses on meditation practiced on its own.

Meditation for Health Purposes
Meditation used as CAM is a type of mind-body medicine (one of the four domains, or areas of
knowledge, in CAM). Generally, mind-body medicine focuses on:
• The interactions among the brain, the rest of the body, the mind, and behavior
• The ways in which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioral factors can directly
affect health
People use meditation for various health problems, such as:
• Anxiety
• Pain
• Depression
NCCAM-3
• Mood and self-esteem problems
• Stress
• Insomnia
• Physical or emotional symptoms that may be associated with chronic illnesses and their
treatment, such as:
o Cardiovascular (heart) disease
o HIV/AIDS
o Cancer

Meditation is also used for overall wellness.
A large national survey on Americans’ use of CAM, released in 2004, found that nearly 8
percent of the participants had used meditation specifically for health reasons during the year
before the survey.
Examples of Meditation
Mindfulness meditation and the Transcendental Meditation technique (also known as TM) are
two common approaches to meditation. They are also two types of meditation being studied in
NCCAM-sponsored research projects.
Mindfulness meditation originated in Buddhism. It is based on the concept of being mindful, or
having an increased awareness and total acceptance of the present. While meditating, the
meditator is taught to bring all her attention to the sensation of the flow of the breath in and
out of the body. The intent might be described as focusing attention on what is being
experienced, without reacting to or judging that experience. This is seen as helping the
meditator learn to experience thoughts and emotions in normal daily life with greater balance
and acceptance.
TM originated in the Vedic tradition in India. It is a type of meditation that uses a mantra (a word,
sound, or phrase repeated silently) to prevent distracting thoughts from entering the mind. The
intent of TM might be described as allowing the mind to settle into a quieter state and the body
into a state of deep rest. This is seen as ultimately leading to a state of relaxed alertness.

Looking at How Meditation May Work
Practicing meditation has been shown to induce some changes in the body, such as changes in
the body’s “fight or flight” response. The system responsible for this response is the autonomic
nervous system (sometimes called the involuntary nervous system). It regulates many organs
and muscles, including functions such as the heartbeat, sweating, breathing, and digestion,
and does so automatically.
The autonomic nervous system is divided into two major parts:
• The sympathetic nervous system helps mobilize the body for action. When a person is under
stress, it produces the fight-or-flight response: the heart rate and breathing rate go up, for
example, the blood vessels narrow (restricting the flow of blood), and muscles tighten.

• The parasympathetic nervous system creates what some call the “rest and digest”
response. This system’s responses oppose those of the sympathetic nervous system. For
example, it causes the heart rate and breathing rate to slow down, the blood vessels to
dilate (improving blood flow), and activity to increase in many parts of the digestive tract.
While scientists are studying whether meditation may afford meaningful health benefits, they
are also looking at how it may do so. One way some types of meditation might work is by
reducing activity in the sympathetic nervous system and increasing activity in the
parasympathetic nervous system.

Scientific research is using sophisticated tools to learn more about what goes on in the brain
and the rest of the body during meditation, and diseases or conditions for which meditation
might be useful. There is still much to learn in these areas. One avenue of research is looking
at whether meditation is associated with significant changes in brain function. A number of
researchers believe that these changes account for many of meditation’s effects.

Side Effects and Risks
Meditation is generally safe. There have been a small number of reports that intensive
meditation could cause or worsen symptoms in people who have certain psychiatric problems,
but this question has not been fully researched. Individuals who are aware of an underlying
psychiatric disorder and want to start meditation should speak with a mental health
professional before doing so.
Any person who is interested in using meditation as CAM should consider the following:
• Meditation should never delay the time it takes you to see your health care provider about
having a medical problem diagnosed or treated, and it should not be used as the only
treatment without first consulting your provider.
• Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you
use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure
coordinated and safe care.
• If you are interested in learning meditation, ask about the training and experience of the
instructor (see also NCCAM’s publication “Selecting a CAM Practitioner”).
• Find out whether there have been any research studies published on meditation for the
health condition you are interested in.

NCCAM-Supported Research
Some recent studies supported by NCCAM have been investigating:
• The potential effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation technique to prevent and
treat heart disease
• Mindfulness-based stress reduction to relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and, in a
different study, chronic lower back pain
NCCAM-5
• What happens to the brain’s activity and structures during Buddhist insight meditation
(which includes mindfulness) in a study that uses a brain scan called fMRI
• The long-term impact of meditation on basic emotional and cognitive functions and on
mechanisms in the brain that are involved in these functions

References
Sources are drawn from recent reviews on the general topic of meditation in the peer-reviewed
medical and scientific literature in English in the PubMed database, selected evidence-based
databases, and Federal sources.
Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States,
2002. CDC Advance Data Report #343. 2004. Accessed at http://nccam.nih.gov/news/report.pdf on January 31, 2006.
Bonadonna R. Meditation’s impact on chronic illness. Holistic Nursing Practice. 2003;17(6):309-319.
Cardoso R, de Souza E, Camano L, et al. Meditation in health: an operational definition. Brain Research. Brain Research
Protocols. 2004;14(1):58-60.
Caspi O, Burleson KO. Methodological challenges in meditation research. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine. 2005;
21(1):4-11.
Edwards L. Meditation as medicine: benefits go beyond relaxation. Advance for Nurse Practitioners. 2003;11(5):49-52.
Luskin F. Transformative practices for integrating mind-body-spirit. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
2004;10(suppl 1):S15-S23.
Manocha R. Why meditation? Australian Family Physician. 2000;29(12):1135-1138.
Meditation. Natural Standard Database Web site. Accessed at http://www.naturalstandard.com on June 23, 2005.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Expanding Horizons of Health Care: Strategic Plan
2005-2009. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; 2005. NIH publication no. 04-5568.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview. National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Web site. Accessed at http://nccam.nih.gov/health/backgrounds/mindbody.htm
on June 30, 2005.
Newberg AB, Iversen J. The neural basis of the complex mental task of meditation: neurotransmitter and
neurochemical considerations. Medical Hypotheses. 2003;61(2):282-291.
Pettinati PM. Meditation, yoga, and guided imagery. Nursing Clinics of North America. 2001;36(1):47-56.
Tacon AM. Meditation as a complementary therapy in cancer. Family & Community Health. 2003;26(1):64-73.

For More Information
NCCAM Clearinghouse
The NCCAM Clearinghouse provides information on CAM and NCCAM, including publications
and searches of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature. The Clearinghouse does
not provide medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals to practitioners.
Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226
TTY (for deaf and hard-of-hearing callers): 1-866-464-3615
Web site: nccam.nih.gov
E-mail: info@nccam.nih.gov