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The importance of stress
The importance of stress
The importance of stress
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Maharishi’s Technology to Enhance National Consciousness
Maharishi (1986) clearly points out “The basis of stress in world consciousness is the violation of natural law by the people” (p. 83-84). Violation of natural law means that the individuals are not able to live harmoniously with the environment, because the thoughts and actions are disconnected from their basis due to the accumulation of stresses in the nervous system. Thus, the pure consciousness is remain hidden from individual awareness as the mind is only aware of the outward sensory world. In this state the mind is only object-referral. However, as Maharishi explains, during the practice of Transcendental Meditation, one transcends all the activities of the mind and experiences transcendental consciousness where the consciousness is only aware of its own unbounded nature. At this state the mind is Self-referral.
Transcendental Meditation is a scientifically proven technique to develop the full potential of the individual consciousness by releasing stresses in the nervous system. It allows the mind to go inward natur...
Leaving civilization behind and moving to a cabin in the woods would be a challenge for man in today’s society. People today often live complex lives with massive focus on material goods. This is the opposite of living a transcendentalist lifestyle. Transcendentalists believe thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things. A few of the many ideas Transcendentalism follows are; God as nature, less government and the search for meaning.
Transcendentalism was a movement that began in the 1830s through the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. It has to do with self reliance, nature and the connection between man, God, and nature. It tells you to listen to oneself and go by one's own choices instead of what society tells one to do. It shows the beauty in nature and all of what can come out of it. People today often don't think that way anymore and have argued that Transcendentalism has died out over the years. However, one may need to take into account modern conception of individuality and the beauty of nature. Transcendentalism has not died out and is still thriving in American culture through music of Twisted Sisters, Nirvana, kendrick Lamar, and The Beatles
Modern day transcendentalists are not easily found anymore in society. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what a transcendentalist is. By being your own self, following your own standards and being yourself, you become transcendental. By looking at the Robertsons’ way of life, they would make a tremendous example of modern day transcendentalists. Their religion, love of nature, and individualism create a transcendental lifestyle.
What is Transcendentalism? Though this may sound like a new topic to you, its major tenets have been around for almost a century and many are still influencing modern life today. Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around the premises of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Along with Emerson, other important Transcendentalists including Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickenson, and Walt Whitman also took on the unconventional morals of this movement. Today, we are going to delve into a few of these major premises practiced by Transcendentalists. The first principal is that God can be found in both nature and human nature. The second principal is embracing individualism. Both of these aspects play key roles in creating the foundation for Transcendentalism that was both seen in the 19th century and modern society.
“The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy.”(Emerson 196). These two lines written by Ralph Waldo Emerson exemplify the whole movement of transcendentalist writers and what they believed in. Though to the writers, transcendentalism was a fight for a belief, unknown to them they could have been fighting for the betterment of human health. The transcendentalist writings of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson have directly affected the health of modern society through the idea of transcendental meditation. Through modern science, scientists have linked increases in health among individuals through the use of transcendental meditation.
In Eastern cultures, meditation has been practiced for over two thousand years. Through this training a culture has developed in which an individual is empowered to engaged in preventative behaviors, which reduce stress and morbidity, resulting in a general state of wellbeing, with stability and mental peace in the face of everyday challenges (Richardson and Lutz, 2008). Over the last half-century, the western-scientific community has begun to evaluate the efficacy of the eastern methods of meditation. In the modern western world there is an over abundance of stress, pressure and over stimulation. These conditions often result in stress-related morbidity, high levels of anxiety and mental illnesses. This cause and effect relationship is well established, and typically emphasis is placed on symptom control and less on preventative behavior modification. There are clinically documented see table 1, meditation practices that can be taught over a short period of time to an individual which have been shown to have positive results. Meditation can be used preventatively in supporting immune function and during illness as a method to aid healing and wellbeing for nominal costs. This paper will make an literary examination of a variety of studies of which examine the role of meditation training in regards to promoting immune function in athletes, recovering cancer patients, in addition to reducing stress and promoting well being in business professionals, cancer patients and seasoned meditation practitioners.
In the unit “The Spirit of Individualism” there are two parts, “Celebrations of the self” and “The Dark side of Individualism” with pieces that present very different perspectives on human nature. “The Dark side of Individualism” portrays human nature as greedy, confused, easily caught up in fame, and addicted to wealth and possessions. In “Celebrations of the Self”, human nature is viewed in a more positive light. The characteristics shown are self reliance, independence, wisdom and selflessness. “The Dark side of Individualism” pieces are written in a more macabre tone, whereas “Celebrations of the Self” pieces have a more positive and uplifting tone to them. The generalizations of human nature are different because of the pieces in “The Dark side of Individualism” and “Celebrations of the Self” have entirely different views on life and human nature.
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
Our present way of thinking; our perceptions, desires, feelings, and reactions control how we experience the world. Our minds are the core of our existence, everything we have thought is everything that we are, for everything is mind-made. If we are experiencing suffering, it is because our minds created it, and only our minds have the power of relieving it. Buddhist meditation is the practice of transforming the mind through the cultivation of mindfulness, concentration, detachment, insight, and objectivity. My background in psychology made me interested in discussing the concept of Buddhist mediation due its immense focus on mastering the mind. It has the crucial transformative effect on the mind that leads to new perspectives of oneself,
05 May 2014. Barbor, Cary. " The Science of Meditation.
Many of today's so-called mystical experiences can be practiced in a single day. Sleep deprivation, raves, repetitive monotonous sounds, and so on can change a person. But for how long and how does a person feel? Quite a different question is asked of Jewish mystical tradition and meditation. That question can very well be what are the stages, what is to be risked, and what is to be received? What a turn this topic takes with the application of the Jewish model. "The West might be said to emphasize action. The East concentrates on perfection of the spirit. Judaism seeks to unite both
Deleanu, Florin. "Agnostic Meditations On Buddhist Meditation." Zygon: Journal Of Religion & Science 45.3 (2010): 605-626. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Story, Francis. "Buddhist Meditation." Access to Insight: Readings in Theravada Buddhism. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Eastern enlightenment religions have been gaining popularity throughout the western world for the past few decades, with many people attracted to a "different" way of experiencing religion. As with many other enlightenment religions, Buddhism requires disciples to understand concepts that are not readily explainable: one such concept is that of no-self. In this essay I shall discuss the no-self from a number of modern perspectives; however, as no-self is difficult to describe I shall focus on both the self and no-self. Beginning with psychological aspects, and neurophysiological research on transcendental meditation, I shall discuss the impact of modern brain science on our understanding of the self and transcendence. Next I will outline the relationship between quantum physics and non-locality, as this gives a western scientific explanation for no-self. Returning to the original source of Buddhism, I will briefly outline the discussion between Siddhartha and Vaccha regarding atman, then discuss the mind and no-self and their relationship to liberation. Finally I will summarize a few issues that the western mindset may face approaching this topic.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). (2010). Health info. Meditation: An introduction. Retrieved from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm