Medley

Why Meditation?

Details: Published: Friday, 06 October 2023 06:22

Cecil Messer – USA

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When embarking on the spiritual search, we may be drawn towards a symbol of that which is beyond our reach. The silhouette of a distant mountain top, shrouded in mystery, framed in the dawn of a rising sun, beckons with hidden promise. It holds in trust a secret and sacred jewel of meaning. Our inquiry into meditation approaches this mountain, the way to which is obscured by the mist of unknowing. There are ways of cutting through obstacles and breaking out of our chrysalis of self-absorption and entering the clear light. The caterpillar is instinctively compelled to find a quiet place to begin its process of pupal envelopment. But it is only after it dissolves itself and sheds the cocoon that the glorious butterfly emerges. We too must dissolve our ego clinging and shed our self-cherishing to liberate the luminous nature of our mind.

New evidence indicates patients recall death experiences after cardiac arrest

Details: Published: Wednesday, 20 September 2023 12:32

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Image © Cornelia Li for National Post

More on the artist: https://www.collater.al/en/cornelia-li-conceptual-illustration/

Up to an hour after their hearts had stopped, some patients revived by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had clear memories afterward of experiencing death and had brain patterns while unconscious linked to thought and memory, report investigators in the journal Resuscitation, published by Elsevier.

Enter Sandman: Study shows dreams spill over into the workplace and can be channeled for productivity

Details: Published: Tuesday, 29 August 2023 16:12

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Before heading to work each day, most people have spent the night dreaming. Studies show that on any given morning, about 40 percent of the working population recalls their dreams.

New research from the University of Notre Dame shows that when dreams are first recalled, people often draw connections between their dreams and waking lives, and the connections they draw alter how they think, feel and act at work.

African Traditional Religion

Details: Published: Monday, 28 August 2023 15:26

Andrew Rooke – Australia*

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Africa is a huge continent with a population of 1.28 billion people (estimated in 2018). It is enormously varied, culturally, racially, and in its kaleidoscope of religions both indigenous and introduced. There are various estimates of how many people follow the various religions. A survey of sub-Saharan Africa in 2010 found that 63% identified as Christians, 30% as Muslims and 3% as followers of traditional religions. The rest followed Eastern religions or did not identify with any at all.

Meditation: making a start

Details: Published: Monday, 31 July 2023 15:34

Esther Pockrandt – Australia

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Many of you will already have an established meditation practice. Yet life does test us sometimes and we lose this temporarily. It happens to all of us. So, here’s a reminder of that which you already know, and for those of you who are new to meditation, this will help set you up. As they say, ‘Practice makes Perfect’!

In-person mindfulness courses help improve mental health for at least six months

Details: Published: Saturday, 29 July 2023 07:49

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Adults who voluntarily take part in mindfulness courses are less likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression for at least six months after completing the programs, compared to adults who do not take part, a new analysis pooling data from 13 studies has confirmed.

University of Cambridge researchers looked at participants of group-based and teacher-led mindfulness courses, conducted in person and offered in community settings.

Everyone's brain has a pain fingerprint -- new research has revealed for the first time

Details: Published: Friday, 30 June 2023 04:50

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New research has revealed everyone's brain has a 'pain fingerprint' that varies from person to person.

The University of Essex-led study, in collaboration with the neuroscience of pain group at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, found fast-oscillating brain waves linked to brief pain and touch can differ widely in scans.

Half of world's largest lakes losing water

Details: Published: Tuesday, 23 May 2023 12:44

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Lake Urmia in Iran was once the world’s second largest salt lake, but since 1998 its area has shriveled by more than 90 percent.

Climate change, human consumption and sedimentation contributing to decline

More than 50 percent of the largest lakes in the world are losing water, according to a groundbreaking new assessment published today in Science . The key culprits are not surprising: warming climate and unsustainable human consumption.