Country

United States of AmericaUS Virgin IslandsUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsCanadaMexico, United Mexican StatesBahamas, Commonwealth of theCuba, Republic ofDominican RepublicHaiti, Republic ofJamaicaAfghanistanAlbania, People's Socialist Republic ofAlgeria, People's Democratic Republic ofAmerican SamoaAndorra, Principality ofAngola, Republic ofAnguillaAntarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S)Antigua and BarbudaArgentina, Argentine RepublicArmeniaArubaAustralia, Commonwealth ofAustria, Republic ofAzerbaijan, Republic ofBahrain, Kingdom ofBangladesh, People's Republic ofBarbadosBelarusBelgium, Kingdom ofBelizeBenin, People's Republic ofBermudaBhutan, Kingdom ofBolivia, Republic ofBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana, Republic ofBouvet Island (Bouvetoya)Brazil, Federative Republic ofBritish Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago)British Virgin IslandsBrunei DarussalamBulgaria, People's Republic ofBurkina FasoBurundi, Republic ofCambodia, Kingdom ofCameroon, United Republic ofCape Verde, Republic ofCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChad, Republic ofChile, Republic ofChina, People's Republic ofChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombia, Republic ofComoros, Union of theCongo, Democratic Republic ofCongo, People's Republic ofCook IslandsCosta Rica, Republic ofCote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of theCyprus, Republic ofCzech RepublicDenmark, Kingdom ofDjibouti, Republic ofDominica, Commonwealth ofEcuador, Republic ofEgypt, Arab Republic ofEl Salvador, Republic ofEquatorial Guinea, Republic ofEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFaeroe IslandsFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Fiji, Republic of the Fiji IslandsFinland, Republic ofFrance, French RepublicFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabon, Gabonese RepublicGambia, Republic of theGeorgiaGermanyGhana, Republic ofGibraltarGreece, Hellenic RepublicGreenlandGrenadaGuadaloupeGuamGuatemala, Republic ofGuinea, RevolutionaryPeople's Rep'c ofGuinea-Bissau, Republic ofGuyana, Republic ofHeard and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)Honduras, Republic ofHong Kong, Special Administrative Region of ChinaHrvatska (Croatia)Hungary, Hungarian People's RepublicIceland, Republic ofIndia, Republic ofIndonesia, Republic ofIran, Islamic Republic ofIraq, Republic ofIrelandIsrael, State ofItaly, Italian RepublicJapanJordan, Hashemite Kingdom ofKazakhstan, Republic ofKenya, Republic ofKiribati, Republic ofKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwait, State ofKyrgyz RepublicLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanon, Lebanese RepublicLesotho, Kingdom ofLiberia, Republic ofLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtenstein, Principality ofLithuaniaLuxembourg, Grand Duchy ofMacao, Special Administrative Region of ChinaMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascar, Republic ofMalawi, Republic ofMalaysiaMaldives, Republic ofMali, Republic ofMalta, Republic ofMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritania, Islamic Republic ofMauritiusMayotteMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonaco, Principality ofMongolia, Mongolian People's RepublicMontserratMorocco, Kingdom ofMozambique, People's Republic ofMyanmarNamibiaNauru, Republic ofNepal, Kingdom ofNetherlands AntillesNetherlands, Kingdom of theNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaragua, Republic ofNiger, Republic of theNigeria, Federal Republic ofNiue, Republic ofNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorway, Kingdom ofOman, Sultanate ofPakistan, Islamic Republic ofPalauPalestinian Territory, OccupiedPanama, Republic ofPapua New GuineaParaguay, Republic ofPeru, Republic ofPhilippines, Republic of thePitcairn IslandPoland, Polish People's RepublicPortugal, Portuguese RepublicPuerto RicoQatar, State ofReunionRomania, Socialist Republic ofRussian FederationRwanda, Rwandese RepublicSamoa, Independent State ofSan Marino, Republic ofSao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic ofSaudi Arabia, Kingdom ofSenegal, Republic ofSerbia and MontenegroSeychelles, Republic ofSierra Leone, Republic ofSingapore, Republic ofSlovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaSolomon IslandsSomalia, Somali RepublicSouth Africa, Republic ofSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSpain, Spanish StateSri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic ofSt. HelenaSt. Kitts and NevisSt. LuciaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudan, Democratic Republic of theSuriname, Republic ofSvalbard & Jan Mayen IslandsSwaziland, Kingdom ofSweden, Kingdom ofSwitzerland, Swiss ConfederationSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailand, Kingdom ofTimor-Leste, Democratic Republic ofTogo, Togolese RepublicTokelau (Tokelau Islands)Tonga, Kingdom ofTrinidad and Tobago, Republic ofTunisia, Republic ofTurkey, Republic ofTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUganda, Republic ofUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited Kingdom of Great Britain & N. IrelandUruguay, Eastern Republic ofUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet Nam, Socialist Republic ofWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambia, Republic ofZimbabwe

Excerpt from:

MEDITATION: Some Advent thoughts | Religion | djournal.com - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

YOUVE NO DOUBT heard about the scientifically proven benefits of meditation. The practice has been shown to lower blood pressure, improve athletic performance, enhance relationships, and even help grow new brain cells.

All that said, youre an active guy with an active mind. You might think you dont have time to meditate. You might think you cant meditate.

But what if most things you thought you knew about meditation werent true? What if you didnt have to practice for all that long? What if you didnt have to sit to meditate?

And what if meditation was actually ... easy?

Welcome to our 30-Day Meditation Challenge, which will bust all the myths about what qualifies as meditation.

The biggest myth about meditation is that you have to quiet your mind. You cant stop thoughts. Instead, effective meditation is about creating the conditions necessary to help your mind calm and your thoughts to slow.

And you dont have to go anywhere to meditate. You can meditate right where you are while doing ordinary things you do all day long. Plus, if you already exercise, you can make meditation part of your regular fitness plan.

If you subscribe to our exclusive membership program, Men's Health MVP, you'll get exclusive access to PDFs of our top-notch guides to fitness and nutrition, including this 30-Day Meditation Challenge plan.

DOWNLOAD OUR 30-DAY MEDITATION CHALLENGE HERE

P.S.: If you become an MVP, you'll also get an exclusive members-only discount to our online shop to get much more from Mens Health.

Writer

Nita Sweeney is a certified meditation teacher, ultrarunner, and award-winning author whose latest book is Make Every Move a Meditation.

Continue reading here:

The Men's Health 30-Day Meditation Challenge to Beat Stress - Men's Health

Wisconsin volleyball celebrates national championship, beats Marquette

The Wisconsin women's volleyball team unveiled its championship banner and handed the players their rings before defeating Marquette in the home opener at UW Field House.

Mark Stewart, Wochit

MADISON The significance of the moment wasnt lost on Chad McGehee.

Wisconsins volleyball team was playing in the NCAA tournament a few years ago. It was the night before a match and the team was going through its final preparations, getting its last film study and some final points from the coaches.

Then, Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield gave him the floor.

The first time he did it three or four years ago and I remember feeling hes giving me the keys to his Ferrari, McGehee said. This is precious. You just dont let anybody get into the head space of your elite athletes the night before competition. So, I felt very fortunate to have that opportunity.

With four straight Big Ten championships, three straight Final Four appearances (and a fourth trip in a row still possible), the defending national champion is setting the standard for the UW athletic department these days.

The players and coaches are on the front line of that success. Behind them is a support team with the usual staffers: the trainer, a director of strength and conditioning, a nutritionist.

And then there is McGehee. As UW's Director of Meditation training, he helps the players keep their minds focused by integrating meditation into the teams training.

Few athletic departments have leaned into meditation to develop mindfulness like Wisconsin has and perhaps no team within the department has woven the process into its day-to-day operation as much as volleyball.

It has become essential.

More:Wisconsin volleyball team sweeps TCU to advance to its 10th straight Sweet 16 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament

More:Marquette and Wisconsin will play first volleyball match at Fiserv Forum next September

What weve come to realize is that its not just about training the body, its also equally about training the mind and how youre intentionally going about reps, senior Danielle Hart said. What youre doing physically, if you have the power of the mind behind it, you can enhance that skill or that rep.

This season the practice helped the Badgers (27-3) earn a top-four seed overall for the NCAA Tournament and advance to the Sweet 16 this week. UW will play Big Ten rival Penn State (26-7) at approximately 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the UW Field House. A win puts the Badgers in the regional final against Pittsburgh or Florida for a spot in the Final Four at 7 p.m. Saturday.

To be mindful is to give something your full attention and not let your mind wander. It is to be relaxed.

This time of year is a test of that for the Badgers. There is the attention and pressure of the tournament. How do you handle the pre-game jitters? How do you shake off a bad point or avoid getting too caught up in success? How do you balance the most important time of the season with the most important time of the semester?

Consider mindfulness, strength and conditioning for the mind.

No elite athlete would ever take the field of competition without training their bodies, yet all the time we talk about the importance of the mental game yet we dont set aside time to train for it, McGehee said.

Thats not true for Wisconsin. Last summer Kevin Schultz, the team's director of Olympic strength and conditioning, gave 30 minutes per week of his time with the team to McGehee for work on mindfulness meditation.

During the season it's common for McGehee to come to practice and meet with the team as it faces unique challenges. He spoke to the group about handling the hoopla of the NCAA championship banner reveal and ring ceremony and then taking the floor minutes later against Marquette. He talked to the team before its match with Florida at the Kohl Center in September. Those were special dates on the schedule, but something special doesn't have to be going on for him to visit the team.

We want to give our players tools on the court and off the court and so from an on-the-court perspective how can you quiet your mind when youre in the eye of the hurricane, Sheffield said. How can you quiet your mind when everything else around you is nuts, crazy. How do you quiet your mind and get yourself into a place where you can perform at your best.

McGehee is a trail blazer. In March 2020, he was named UW's Director of Meditation Training, and according to UW, was the first full-time meditation specialist dedicated to a college athletic department.

His work with the athletic department started a year earlier after he ran a training for retired NFL players on campus at the Center for Healthy Minds. Athletic director Chris McIntosh, then the deputy AD, and Ross Kolodzieg, an assistant football coach, were there and asked McGehee would he be interested in working with the university's student athletes.

At around the same time, Sheffield was looking for a way to help his players calm themselves and McIntosh directed him to the Center for Healthy Minds and McGehee. He has been working with the volleyball team since 2019 and help the lay the ground work for him to eventually join the athletic department.

I think its common for athletes who havent been around it to question its value, Hart said. I think what was cool and what really grabbed the teams attention was in one of the first meetings he showed actual statistics that showed how quickly peoples heart rate got back to normal after something caught them off guard.

That study showed that individuals who practiced mindfulness were able to return to their resting heart rate after being caught off guard faster than someone who did not practice it.

Sophomore Sarah Franklin and junior Caroline Crawford, transfers new to the program this year, had never done mindfulness meditation before getting to Wisconsin but quickly found it beneficial.

Junior Devyn Robinson, initially a skeptic, has used it to help with social anxiety and the night before the national championship last year, she used it to help her get to sleep. Hart sometimes journals as part of her mindfulness exercises and during a match might wipe her feet to help her move on from one play to the next.

That ability to lock in and focus can pay off in major ways.

In the fifth set of the national final with Nebraska, the Badgers had the unique experience of clinching the title twice. The first time it scored match point, a replay review overturned the call. The call added to a furious comeback the Cornhuskers were making, but rather than dwell on a tough call, UW refocused and won the title.

It is the kind of adversity that could face the Badgers this week as they go for their fourth straight Final Four appearance.

They had to reset from the highest of highs - they had just won the first national championship in program history to 'Oh we have to take the floor again', McGehee recalled. Emotions all over the place. Thoughts racing through the mind. The athletes talked how they found ways to use this training in that moment, to be aware of it, not suppress it, not run from it.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

Read more from the original source:

Strength and conditioning for the mind: Meditation helps Wisconsin volleyball focus on NCAA tournament run - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Meditation practitioners and teachers know that mindfulness is all about present-moment awareness.

I have been teaching mindfulness to students since 2016 to calm behaviors, transition from one activity to another and to be more aware of the body in space and thoughts in the mind. The overarching idea is that with the awareness skill of mindfulness, students who struggle to pay attention or who are anxious in school could notice where their focus is and manage themselves more effectively. The following are but a couple of the many scientific studies showing how mindfulness helps improve focus and attention.

According toneuroscientistDr. Amishi Jha, author of "Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day" and professor of psychology at the University of Miami, the neuroplasticity of the human brain is at the heart of why mindfulness helps with focus. Attention is your super power. Attention regulates how you perceive your life, think your thoughts, feel your feelings, enjoy your memories and daydream about the future. Dr. Jha and her team taught people with high-stress jobs how to place attention where it matters most using mindfulness. What we gain from mindfulness [is] the capacity to keep our attention where we need it, in the form we need it Mindfulness training does indeed have a dose-response effect, which means the more you practice, the more you benefit.

Another article, entitled "Your Childs Brain on Mindful Meditation," published in ADDitude, an online magazine for ADHD, explained the results of a Harvard study in which some areas of the brain, including areas related to emotion regulation, grew during an 8-week mindfulness program. And studies involving both imaging and patterns of activation in the brain have shown alterations correlating with greater emotional control, wellbeing and happiness.

Since I have been guiding and practicing meditation with adults and children, most self-report that they feel more in tune with what is going on around them, in their body and in their mind. As they learn to sit in silence and notice what is going on inside and around them, they realize how meditation benefits their life.

Please note that meditation is not a mental health or emotional therapy. Meditation is, however, an effective supplemental practice that can help generate peace of mind and self-control. The key to a successful practice is time and repetition. To reap the greatest benefit, meditation should be a daily activity of at least 10 minutes, and according to Jhas study, the optimal amount of time is at least 12 minutes per day.

This month's short practice is inspired by Dr. Amishi Jhas "STOP practice," in which we "Stop what we are doing for a moment, Take a breath, Observe whats happening in and around us, and then Proceed with greater focus and intention."

When you notice you are losing focus, whether in class or in a meeting, try this practice and invite your child(ren) to try it with you. By practicing this regularly, children will be able to do it on their own at school.

Lets say you are in a meeting or classroom and you notice your mind wandering or your body getting jittery. First thing is to acknowledge that you have lost attention to what is going on. You cant remember the last thing the speaker or the teacher said, or what you were doing, maybe. The first step in mindfulness is simply noticing that attention has been lost.

When we notice this, we bring our attention to a mindfulness anchor commonly the breath. We take one to three deep breaths, intentionally noting the air coming in and going out the body at the nose, the chest or the belly. Counting these breaths is also a worthwhile practice to bring attention to the moment.

After inviting a few calming breaths, we bring our attention to the body. Where are the feet right now? Where are my hands? Where am I sitting right now? Bring awareness to any feelings in the body. Then, notice the head balanced on top of the shoulders and, if comfortable, take a few seconds to close the eyes and to quickly scan the body for any sensations.

Finally, with the enhanced present moment awareness this short practice has generated, we make the choice to come back to what is going on right now and what we should be doing: listening to a speaker or teacher or working on a project or assignment. We can bring renewed focus and clarity to what we are doing and feel more productive and aware.

This practice can be done anytime we want or anytime we notice ourselves drifting off task. In time, mindfulness of what is going on right now and what needs to be happening will hone the brains focus and attention systems.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, an education-based mindfulness meditation center offering workshops, classes and coaching for children, families, individuals and classrooms. For more information please visit mindfulfrontiers.net.

See more here:

Mindfulness, meditation can help focus the brain on tasks at hand - taosnews

Meditation can have adverse effects.* Just look at the above image of Bodhidharma does his face give you the impression that theres nothing adverse going on here?

Now if youve practiced meditation in any form (with the possible exception of soaking-in-a-hot-tub zazen) for more than about ten minutes, youll know this is true. You will almost certainly have had some uncomfortable sensations of a psychological and/or physical nature pass through, if only an itch that you couldnt scratch. This, in fact, is the first noble truth of the buddhadharma the truth of itching, more commonly known as the truth of suffering. Meditation is a reality zone.

Yet, reading through a contemporary organizations website on the topic, I get the impression that only now have they alone noticed that meditation can be a powerful practice and unless one is careful, it can cause (or be related to) adverse effects.

This is not new information. More on that below from one of classical source, the great meditation master Zhiyi (538-597). But for now, just this teaser:

One must know well the methods for employing the inward mind during sitting meditation to treat disorders. If someday one activates a disorder, it may not simply be a matter of developing an obstruction to practice of the Path. It may be that one has to even contemplate the loss of this one great life.

Wow!

Reminds me of the time when I was a new Zen priest and asked Katagiri Rshi if it was okay for me to move during zazen. It is better that you die, he said.

So it is indeed true that intensive meditation practice (something more than an hour a day) is simply not appropriate for some folks. And doing intensive retreats (more than six hours or so of daily sitting meditation for a week or more) is likewise not appropriate for some. Granted, not so many people these days are doing such intensive practice.

Still, intensive practice can cause (or at least be related to) a range of intense symptoms, some of which can be long-lasting and can impair functioning. These can include dysphoria, paranoia, dissociation, delusions, and parasomnias. Therefore, if you are doing intensive practice or plan to do such, it is important how to know how to work with symptoms that can lead to adverse effects.

For other symptoms, check out the list of 59 categories of meditation-related experiences that can be distressing or associated with impairment in functioning at Cheetah House. Meditation practice, after all, is a serious endeavor and in recent years some organizations like Cheetah House have worked to raise awareness about such things in what had been the one-sidedly glowing and naive world of secular mindfulness. Kudos to them for so doing. Its as if a balanced view of the risks involved just wasnt good for business.

While acknowledging the contributions groups like Cheetah House are making, in my view, it is also important to recognize that many of the 59 symptoms they list are completely normal, fleeting states of life, let alone of meditation practice. Some of those symptoms that might lead to adverse effects include irritability, positive affect, change in worldview, clarity, mental stillness, breathing changes, pain, and change in self-other or self-world boundaries. Many of the 59 symptoms look like they are pathologizing the fruits of the path and/or normal human experience while using quasi-scientific language to lend credibility (and scareiness) to their efforts. Unfortunate.

Ive personally experienced many of the 59 symptoms during intensive meditation retreats as well as daily practice and I only occasionally get locked in the Bodhidharma scowl.

From what Ive seen in my forty-five + years in the meditation realm, the incidence of the above and other symptoms at a level of intensity and duration that significantly impairs functioning is really quite low, although such things do occur. And because they do occur, if even infrequently, it is a bad idea for anyone who isnt in a teacher-student relationship to engage in intensive meditation practice.

By that problematic little word teacher, in this context, Im referring to someone who

If you are looking for such a person, it is best to inquire directly about a prospective teachers training. To become this kind of teacher, it is necessary to have done your own intensive meditation practice for years and to have studied buddhadharma literature so that you have resources to help people beyond your own limited personal experiences.Dont assume that the teacher at your local dharma shop is such a person. Many people are now authorized as teachers with little actual training. Check out their credentials. Ask questions.

In addition, for a student working with a teacher, it is necessary to be forthcoming about your mental and physical health history, what you are experiencing in your current practice, and to follow the teachers instructions (or if you change your mind about working with someone, find another teacher).

In my view, sometimes an adjustment is called for, but most often, experiences are just passing through and the important thing is to turn upstream into the perceptual field and illuminate the karmic consciousness that is creating the symptom.The symptoms when worked through skillfully, have the possibility to be the field of awakening.

Speaking of awakening, if one is determined to get to the root of this one great life, to realize great awakening, then, rest assured, there will be some difficulties, and probably some serious difficulties. Indeed, following major shifts in practice, many people are not-so-functional for a while. In our hyper-functional culture, this might sound horrifying, but in the received tradition, its just part of the landscape.

Indeed, it is because our functionality might not be at its peak for a while that the sacred fetus period of training came to be. After a definitive awakening, a teacher might assign some years of quiet, hermit-like living, while the person deepens and clarifies their realization. In the past, this style of training was often recommended to people prior to their appearing in the world as teachers. Dgen is one such teacher who did this practice, as is Wansong (see Going Through the Mysterys One Hundred Questions, p. 17-18).

In addition to finding a skilled teacher, given that difficulties, even serious adverse effects, may well arise in intensive training, it would be wise for students considering such to do some intention-searching and cost-benefit analysis. Some of the questions such a person might ask:

In conclusion, some adverse effects may happen as a result of meditation practice. Clear intention and working with a competent teacher are the best ways to avoid and/or work with adverse effects when they occur.

__________________

From Zhiys The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation, pp. 59-60:

What is meant by making adjustments? Now, to draw upon familiar subjects as analogies for this dharma, it is just as when a common potter wishes to create various sorts of vessels. They must first skillfully make adjustments in the clay such that it is neither too sti nor too soft. Afterwards they may move to the potters wheel. It is also like playing the lute. One should first make adjustments to the strings, properly setting their tension. Then one may proceed to play, producing all sorts of marvelous melodies. When the practitioner cultivates the mind, it is just the same. One must make skillful adjustments in five dierent matters (food, sleep, body, breath, mind) and must make those adjustments appropriately. Then samdhi will develop easily. If there is some factor which has not been properly adjusted, then there will be all sorts of obstructive diculties and it will be hard for roots of goodness to develop.

And from Zhiyis The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation, p. 111:

Now, as for the dharma of sitting in dhyna absorption, if one is able to skillfully apply the mind, then the four hundred and four kinds of disorders will naturally be cured. If, however, one fails in the correct placement of the mind, then the four hundred and four kinds of disorders may arise on that very account. For these reasons, whether one is engaged in practice oneself, or whether one is teaching others, one must become skilled in recognizing the causes of disorders. One must know well the methods for employing the inward mind during sitting meditation to treat disorders. If someday one activates a disorder, it may not simply be a matter of developing an obstruction to practice of the Path. It may be that one has to even contemplate the loss of this one great life.

* Tetsugan Sensei contributed even more than usual to this essay.

Follow this link:

On the Adverse Effects of Meditation | Dosho Port - Patheos

Director X in the Q studio in Toronto. (Vivian Rashotte/CBC)

Julian Christian Lutz sometimes known as Director X, formerly known as Little X never thought he'd find himself on Canada's Walk of Fame.

The Brampton, Ont.-native is one of this year's nominees. He first shot to fame in the late 1990s and early '00s, becoming one of the world's top music video directors byworking with acts like Sean Paul, EPMD, and Redman. He's won a Juno and a BET Award, been nominated for a Grammy, and moved into both television and feature film. (He directed the hockey drama Across the Line, as well as the 2018 remake of Superfly.)

Q31:11Director X reflects on his path to Canada's Walk of Fame

Still, as he told Tom Power in a recent interview on Q, he said that as someone who comes from the world of hip hop, he was "very surprised" by the nomination.

"Hip hop and kind of 'institutional structure' awards normally don't go together so well," he said. "I guess I'm just used to being overlooked by these things like, 'Oh, of course, they're never going to recognize us. They're never going to recognize me.'"

Lutz started his career as an intern for MuchMusicbefore reaching out to Hype Williams. In the 1990s, Williams was the first hip hop music video director and one of the first music video directors period to become a celebrity in his own right. He adds that Williams showed him what it takes to be a truly great director.

What sets a great director apart, he says,is that they're conversant with every job on set. Williamsunderstands lights, colour, cinematography, everything that goes into making a music video. And while he's worked with other directors who don't have that knowledge, directors who "hire a bunch of people who know their things" and leave them to it, the truly great directors can talk to everyone on set from a place of equal knowledge.

In 1998, Lutz directed the video for "Northern Touch," the Canadian all-star posse cut that helped launch artists like Kardinal Offishal to mainstream fame. The song was the first Canadian rap single to make the Top 100 singles since 1991. Lutz says that looking back at it now, objectively "it's not a great music video we did it [for] pennies" buthe's still proud of the impact it had.

Prior to "Northern Touch," Canadian rap videos, and videos in many other genres, tended to look and feel "Canadian," by which he means substandard and done on the cheap. "Northern Touch" didn't. It showed that Canadian hip hop could compete with what was coming from New York and Los Angeles. By doing that, he says, he and the artists he was working with were able to set the table for the success of artists like Drake, The Weeknd and Nav.

"For my generation, [global success] looked impossible," he says. "[Music] sounded Canadian. It looked Canadian. Nothing looked like it was on the [U.S.] level then. My generation actually was doing things on the level. I'm on the other side of the border, working with these major artists. So for that Drake generation, that doubt wasn't there."

Right now, in addition to being added to the Walk of Fame, Lutz is focused on promoting two things.The first is his forthcoming TV series Robyn Hood, a modern retelling of the story of Robin Hood. In Lutz's version, the titular character is a woman, and her and her band of merry men (and women), known as The Hood, fight oppression and gentrification in the fictional city of New Nottingham.

"We shot [interiors] in Pickering; the exteriors are in Hamilton," he says. "It's just exciting to create this show. It's filled with music and fashion. The cast is gorgeous. I constantly look at the cast and go, 'Goddamn, they're beautiful.' It's what TV's supposed to be, right? It's going to be coming around in 2023 some time."

The other thing he's promoting is meditation. Lutz became interested in meditation after he was shot in a nightclub in 2015. He began looking for holistic solutions to gun violence, and discovered the value of meditation in changing behaviour.

He helped found Operation Prefrontal Cortex which promotes meditation in school, correctional facilities, among law enforcement, and in communities with the goal of helping reduce violence. Abuse and trauma shrinks the prefrontal cortex the part of the brain that deals with decision making and executive function and enlarges the amygdala, or emotional part of the brain. Meditation reverses that process. In study after study, he says, meditation has been shown to radically reduce violence in schools, in prisons, and amongat risk youth.

"Meditation needs to be in our school system top to bottom, all the way through," he says. "They need this mental exercise. Not just for the kids that are coming from traumatic traumatic environments, but even for the kid that doesn't. It doesn't just fix the trauma. Once you get past repair, you get into the all these amazing benefits."

He adds that meditation has changed his life for the better, and that not giving the benefits of meditation to children is neglectful.

"For us to know what meditation does in a school environment, and for us not to implement it, is neglect," he says. "It's negligence. It's incompetence. Whoever is listening that's in the education system: you're neglecting your duty. You're incompetent right now. But you can change [that]."

Follow this link:

Director X on his Walk of Fame star, the power of meditation, and the legacy of Northern Touch - CBC.ca

Dr. Nena Nimit guides her PCEC audience through some practical exercises about how to use mindfulness and meditation to relieve stress and burnout.

The benefits of Meditation to deal with stress and burnout was the topic at the Pattaya City Expats Club meeting on Wednesday, November 30. The guest speaker, Dr. Nena Nimit, M.D., has been meditating for over 15 years. In addition to being a child psychologist.

Dr. Nimit underwent a 3-month residential training and is a certified Mindfulness and Meditation Trainer. She helped to co-found and volunteer at a non-profit organization, the Meditation Center of Alabama, for over 10 years as well as helping to co-found the University of South Alabama Meditation and Mindfulness Club. She is also a Life Coach with the iRetreat group.Dr. Nena began by explaining how she became more interested in meditation. During her undergraduate studies, she did not really know what she wanted to pursue. She became friends with those that were not a good influence. Her mother, who practiced meditation a little each day, encouraged her to go to Thailand and learn how it could help. She did, it did, and when she returned, she was more motivated in pursuing a degree in medicine which she obtained in the field of child psychology. Through this experience, she learned firsthand what meditation can do to help deal with stress and burnout.

Dr. Nena described three levels one may be in; Calm (a state of tranquility), Eustress (healthful, stimulating kind and level of stress), or Distress (strain, anxiety). She noted that distress is brought on by over engagement, while burnout is characterized by under engagement. When you are stressed, your emotions are overactive, but when you are burned out, they are blunt. Stress creates hyperactivity, but burnout leaves the individual feeling helpless and hopeless. Burnout is a loss of motivation and ideals.

Her talk focused on how meditation and mindfulness can be beneficial. She noted that mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally. To accomplish the reducing of stress, you need to understand how the brain works. You can train your mind to be more calm, clear away mental chatter, and see more clearly. Every problem in your life has a solution. You need to step back, do not focus solely on the problem.

To illustrate the benefits, Dr Nena, offered a guided practice for the audience to follow. Doing this for 5 minutes at the beginning and end of the day can be very helpful to reduce/remove stress from your life. She first suggested stretching, finding a comfortable position, and then letting your mind relax, clear the cares and worries from your mind which may take repetition relax, clear, relax, clear until you mind is clear and free.

In conclusion, Dr Nena invited everyone to attend iRetreats Road Show Doing What Matters in Times of Stress. It is free and will be held at on two dates at Pattayas Siam @ Siam Hotel from 9am to 11:30am. More information is available at https://iretreat.co/iretreat-road-show-in-pattaya/.

For more information about the PCEC, visit their website at https://pcec.club/. Dr Nenas presentation, is available on the PCECs YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dWb75AYEbo. The guided practice begins at about the 26 minute mark.

Continued here:

Pattaya City Expats Club: Meditation to relieve stress and burnout - Pattaya Mail

One of the things which keep me going is a positive attitude towards life and seeing the best in each situation and most people, says Vikaas M Sachdeva - Managing Director - Alternates.

In an interview with ETMarkets, Sachdeva who manages about Rs 4500 cr and has almost 30 years of experience, said: Being physically fit is one of the key tenets to being mentally fit. I believe a regimen of regular workouts and disciplined eating had kept me going through life, Edited excerpts:

With 3 decades of experience under your belt in corporate and leadership roles. How do you keep yourself mentally fit and energized at all times?One of the things which keeps me going is a positive attitude towards life and seeing the best in each situation and most people.

Talking to people from various backgrounds and skill sets is quite an energizing experience. My association with the India Fintech Forum, for example, has introduced me to highly intelligent people with different skill sets and a technology-backed solution mindset which, in turn, has made me evolve further as a leader

I enjoy mentoring students and my junior colleagues helping them learn from my experiences and sharing life hacks. Equally, it is a pleasure being reverse mentored by them and understanding the dynamics of the world from their perspective.

One of the advantages of being a voracious reader is that it keeps your thinking agile and your perspective contemporary. I enjoy reading books from various walks of life and am into two books simultaneously at any point of time

Being physically fit is one of the key tenets to being mentally fit. I believe a regimen of regular workouts and disciplined eating had kept me going through lifeWhat is your way of dealing with stress?

Planning much in advance, while trying to anticipate potential situations which I might have to deal with, helps me play out multiple alternatives. This helps me handle situations more objectively and consequently, less stressfully.

Having conversations about what stresses you out, either with the person or with people in the know of the situation, helps you find a more lasting solution to the problem.

Sports, reading, running, meditating, movies, time with near and dear ones all are life hacks for me when it comes to handling stress.

I have read that you also do Acupressure. How did that come along? What is the story?Indeed, this is one of the life skills I picked up quite by chance after meeting Dr Ketan Shah, a very renowned acupressure practitioner.

Someone I know was suffering from tinnitus, which is usually supposed to be something which is non-reversible. He was the only person who told me with great confidence that if done right, acupressure would relieve this person in 3 months.

Seeing it actually work, convinced me of the utility of this skill. I have since kept trying to improve my technique and can help with mitigating some basic health issues like migraines, stomach disorders, anxiety and back pain. The more I learn, the more I realize how profound the wisdom of the ancients is.

Being physically fit is one of the key tenets to being mentally fit. I believe a regimen of regular workouts and disciplined eating had kept me going through life, Vikaas M Sachdeva - Managing Director - Sundaram Alternates, said.

A course in voice modulation interested me and I went ahead and enrolled for it.

Over the last few months, I have had the chance to host a few shows digitally and my training as a voice modulator did help me.

The most amazing part of the journey has been to meet people behind voices I admired, as well as people who could literally act with their voices.

What about sports? Any sports you like to play?I am a high-energy sports enthusiast, a big cricket aficionado, and a hockey supporter, I play decent lawn tennis and TT and am a runner to boot. Give me a high-energy activity any day and I will be up for it!

I also plan vacations and trips around major sporting events that I have always wanted to see. I have seen the French Open, The Asian Games in Jakarta, the inaugural F1 races in Kuala Lumpur and Bahrain not to mention the world cup cricket in India, the inaugural NBA Basketball tour in Mumbai, and of course, some games of the IPL each year ! In 2023, I hope to start the year by seeing the FIH hockey world cup early next year in Odisha

What is your message to our viewers for the year 2023? Will it be as stressful as 2022?Our generation has probably seen the maximum change, but at a pace at which we have been able to adapt to, and master.

Change is happening too fast for the conventional human mind, and hence stress happens when we try to adapt and control as fast as it happens.

Social media also manifests picture perfect (Pun intended) people's time which stresses out those who want the same. So yes, stress is now part of our lives

The way forward is to not ride the tiger but sidestep it. One needs to adapt rather than control. Maturity is realizing that you are not answerable to anyone but yourself.

Hence, enjoy what you doseek out experiences rather than material stuff. Meditate, pray and keep fit.

You live only once, so live your life rather than trying to live out someones expectation of what it should be

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

More here:

Mind Over Money: Meditate, pray and keep fit is the mantra for this Rs 4,500 cr money manager with 30 year - Economic Times

Mindfulness in the Museum is an event series with several different activities throughout the semester, all with the goal of teaching students how to care for themselves and their mental health, no matter the challenges they may face.

Darren Chen

The sign for Mindfulness in the museum is seen at the Stanley Museum of Art, in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. The event happens every Friday

Student Wellness at the University of Iowa is partnering with Koru Mindfulness and the Stanley Art Museum to teach students stress management and relaxation techniques through meditation.

The museum will host the event series called Mindfulness in the Museum scheduled every Friday.

With reopening the museum, we wanted to connect with students, as they are our primary audience here on campus, Kimberly Datchuk, Stanley curator of learning and engagement, said. We wanted to offer programs that would be interesting and useful to them.

As well as hosting several Koru Mindfulness sessions, which uses teachings to give students stress management techniques through meditation, the museum also hosts drop-in sessions for students to connect with the museum and relax, including the Chill and Create session. It allows students to draw in the galleries and attend a meditation led by an art therapist. Students can also drop-in on any Friday to participate in self-guided meditations, a drawing activity, and more.

Were constantly readjusting that program to fit the needs of students and take feedback into consideration, Datchuk said.

Datchuk added that the event is supposed to end at 4 p.m., but it always goes late.

The students come, and they are just getting so much out of it that they dont want to leave it, Datchuk said. Seeing that it is something that they are really connecting to has been the most awesome part of any of our programs.

The goal is to help students develop healthy mindsets. Spending time around art, creating art, and learning how to be more present creates healthier mindsets for students when they are overwhelmed by the all-work attitudes that follow them throughout the world, especially on a college campus.

I think its important to introduce mindful habits, student gallery host Josie Duccini said. Especially to college students, I think that things can get really stressful, and I think that with the museum opening weve been promoting it as a space to come and relax and take a break between classes.

She went on to share that mindfulness offers a similar attitude, promoting taking a break and the importance of relaxation.

Ive attended mindfulness through the rec center, and Ive always really enjoyed it, Duccini said. The instructors are super knowledgeable, and I think its always useful to take care of yourself in that way.

Visiting Stanley is just one opportunity to attend a mindfulness event, and Koru Mindfulness practices also take place through Student Wellness.

Karen Grajczyk-Haddad, UI Student Wellness senior behavioral health consultant, said while turnout at latest events has not been what they hoped, they are continuously working to make the event better for students.

The whole practice of mindfulness is pretty great, Grajczyk-Haddad said. I wish every college student knew about it and practiced it.

While most places on campus will not be open during winter break, mindfulness sessions will still happen over Zoom to help students even when they are not on campus. These virtual sessions will occur on Wednesdays over winter break.

Weve promoted it pretty widely, but there are still students who have never heard of it, Grajczyk-Haddad said. Sometimes students are like, Oh Im too busy during the semester, and were like, Well can you do it over winter break?

After winter break, mindfulness events will continue in the spring, as they did during the fall semester.

View post:

Stanley Museum of Art partners with Student Wellness and Koru Mindfulness to bring students 'Mindfulness in the Museum' - UI The Daily Iowan

Why does stress surface? Why does my mind perceive something as a threat to my security, something that I would consider beyond my capability to handle, causing me stress? Well, it may appear that outside situations or circumstances are the reasons; office colleagues got me upset, the workplace environment is such and so on.

However, know that stress is an internal response to an external stimulus. Why do I get triggered in the first place? It is the result of internal preparedness and the degree of preparedness that the mind says, I can handle this or I cant.

What determines the degree of preparedness? My own feelings, belief-system, and unprocessed, suppressed or repressed emotions. The essential nature of stress is emotional and belief-based. If I feel vulnerable to the fact that colleagues dump work on me, then I ought to check if I have a pattern of people taking advantage of me. And whether I have had to courage to say no. If I utilise the inner resource of healthy boundary, say no, stress will not play me up.

Overcoming stress is a practice, a learnt behaviour. It is an internal cleansing process too. Whether a victim of stress or a perpetrator, below six practices when carried around, will relieve both from stress.

Collective Energy

While it is true that being receivers and transmitters of vibrational energy, we get impacted by others energy, however, there is a way to come back to ones own alignment. This again, is a matter of practice, that keeps one insulated from the outside triggers.

At workplaces it is the collective energy of several individuals. A work culture is nothing but a mirror of peoples dominant energy. If an individuals dominant energy field is unsteady, stress-prone, it will set up that vibrational mood/ current within the work environment. The work actually begins at the individual level.

Outside triggers will always be there on which you will have no control. The only control is over self, and hence, tuning ones own vibrational energy to navigate the externals is the answer. This is not an opinion but Cosmic Laws at work. For example, the principle of as within, so without, dictates that ones outside world is an exact reflection of ones inner world. Not to forget the law of oneness which is about creating bridges, honouring our own humanness and acting as such. Or, the law of what you sow is what you reap; every thought, deed bounces back.

1. Cooperate: Move with the feeling of cooperation. Honour the differences in people.

2. Smile: Smile at people, issues, tough situations. This will take the edge out of the difficulty. How? You become a witness instead of getting embroiled and getting played by situations.

3. Move your body, still your mind: Body stores a lot of stress evident in aches, pain and inflammation. A mindful movement of the body and barefoot walk on Mother Earth restores alignment.

4. Breathe mindfully: Harmonise breath with body movement. Utilise yoga postures and yogic breathing techniques. Whether sitting at your work desk, or standing in a queue, one can breathe mindfully and maintain clarity over mental lowdowns.

5. Appreciation: appreciate and congratulate people on their achievements. Good intention lifts the spirit of people and places. Places are conscious. Whether you desire to work at a place or not, irrespective, bless the place and people. It will answer back.

6. Humanness: Dont lose ground with your humanness and heartfulness.

Disclaimer: Urmila Rao is an emotional healer and a forgiveness teacher. All the ideas expressed herein are her own, and not professional advice or medical prescription. Her website is: http://www.karmicwellness.in Email: hellokarmicwellness@gmail.com

See the article here:

Meditate with Urmila: Stressed at work? - Gulf News