★★

When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays, through March 26.

Where: Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City.

Tickets: $25-$70.

Length: 1 hr., 40 mins., no intermission.

Suitability: Mature teens and adults for language and subject matter.

Information: 213-628-2772, http://www.centertheatregroup.org.

Our pasts cannot be changed. We can try to relive them, but in reality all we store in our memories is our reactions to them.

These ideas thread through Good Grief, a psychological, mythological, archetypal and still utterly affectionate and charming work by Ngozi Anyanwu in its world premiere at Culver Citys Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 26.

Set in a Pennsylvania suburb, the play centers on Nkechi, a young first-generation Nigerian-American. Though primed to live her immigrant parents idea of the American dream, she has dropped out of medical school. She says it didnt suit her, but in reality she is grieving for the love of her life killed in a car crash and for her lost youth and happy moments that are now mere memories.

The playwright plays Nkechi. Instead of venting too-personal traumas, however, the writer-actor gives us a thoroughly universal picture of growing pains and a wonderfully specific picture of an exceedingly bright, perceptive, funny girl who thinks no one understands her.

The enchanting Nkechi is surrounded by totally relatable characters, played by a flawless casts. On opening night, they won giggles, groans, cheers and sighs as the various characters wafted through Nkechis recalled life.

First in importance to Nkechi are the boys she liked. Her dream boy is Jimmy Deering (Mark Jude Sullivan), for whom she spent her adolescence pining. But her best friend, possible romantic interest and likely soon-to-be lover is Matthew (Wade Allain-Marcus). He, to his endearing credit, has loved Nkechi since the moment he met her, in their grade-school homeroom.

Gods and godlike archetypes watch over and help recount her story. Nkechis mother (Omoze Idehenre) is the intellect, a psychiatric-nursing student with clipboard in hand, objectively observing how Nkechi processes grief. Meanwhile, other mothers (Carla Renata) overreact in exaggerated emotions, including a World Wrestling Entertainmentstyle bout in Ahmed Bests fight choreography.

Nkechis brother (Marcus Henderson) is the jester, likewise trying to usher the grieving process along. Hilariously, his coping mechanisms are marijuana, booze and 1990s rap. Papa (Dayo Ade) is the pragmatist, sternly but lovingly urging Nkechi to just move on.

This is a memory play, not a straightforward chronology. Its fragments of recollections, or perhaps dreams, are carefully sorted out by director Patricia McGregor. She also adds much humor, none of it mean, most of it universal.

The 1990s references pile up as Nkechi recalls her youth. Sound designer Adam Phalen ensures that the soundtrack of Nkechis life seems to come from the tiny radios onstage, though audiences unfamiliar with the songs might have trouble hearing the lyrics.

But the fact that gossip and reputations fill our minds, sometimes barring us from getting to know the person, is unfortunately timeless.

Advertisement

The scenes take place in and around Matthews bedroom and Nkechis. Theyre designed, by Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, with white LED lights that outline the homes as if a child drew them, constructed on moving platforms so that the scenery swiftly swings into place. The area between the houses becomes a wrestling ring, a road on which Papa urges his shell-shocked daughter to learn to drive, and the living room where Papa shouts at the Eagles from his armchair.

Nkechi dropped out of her Philadelphia med school. Perhaps her imagination was too vivid to allow her to focus on such objective studies. Or, perhaps all of us seek solace in imagination and memory when our souls are taxed by death and disappointments.

Whatever the case, Nkechi would make a great medical doctor, the type who takes the whole person into consideration in her diagnoses and who clearly explains causes and effects to the patient. On the other hand, that also describes a great playwright.

Dany Margolies is a Los Angeles-based writer.

Rating: 4 stars.

When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays, through March 26.

Where: Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City.

Tickets: $25-$70.

Length: 1 hr., 40 mins., no intermission.

Suitability: Mature teens and adults for language and subject matter.

Information: 213-628-2772, http://www.centertheatregroup.org.

See more here:

'Good Grief' is a funny, poignant meditation on memory at Kirk ... - LA Daily News

Youve worked 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday, and youre looking forward to the weekend.

That is, until you remember youve got a fun run on the shcedule, and your sisters cousins husbands nieces first birthday on Sunday, and youve got a long list of chores around the house that need attention.

If your weekend is shaping up to be less than relaxing, try incorporating 10 minutes of meditation into your weekend routine, to give your brain a break.

RELATED: Meditation apps for the smartphone-obsessed athlete

The key to meditation is calming the mind. For most people, this may seem impossible, but with a few minutes of focused breathing, sitting still and letting yourself be truly calm, it will start to seem less impossible to find your zen.

The benefits of mediation range across many areas of life, from reduced stress to improved concentration. An article from the Huffington Post on the subject says that meditation encourages a healthy lifestyle, increases self-awareness, increases happiness, increases acceptance, slows aging, and improves cardiovascular and immune health.

RELATED: 6 office stretches to get you through the workweek

There are thousands of videos for guided meditation online, some with specific goals like decreasing anxiety, and others with more general aspirations.

If videos arent your style, you can also download a meditation app that can guide you to enlightenment, whenever you need it. Some of the more popular apps include Headspace, Buddhify and Sattva, but there are hundreds more to choose from.

Whatever your method, by incorporating meditation into your weekend routine (busy or not), youll be your most prepared for the week ahead.

See the article here:

Busy weekend? Try this 10-minute meditation routine to relax - GrindTV

Jan and I were walking into the parking lot after a quick run to one of our local grocery stores, when we noticed a bumper sticker. At first glance it seemed one of those co-exist stickers with the letters twisted out of symbols from the world religions. However, as we looked more closely we could see it was a parody of that sticker and instead, while using world religions letters it read contradict.

Im certainly okay with that. I mean, after all. But, then in smaller print was a citation of a popular chapter and verse from the Gospel of John. So, it appears the meta message here is that while the worlds religions do indeed contradict each other all over the place, there is, actually, among them, a true one. And, in case were confused, heres a pointer to which one that is. Okay. We all have the right to an opinion.

But, I have to say, if I had to pick a true or, more accurately the truer one among the many, as fond as I am of my natal lineage, and how much the stories of the Bible have a place in my heart, it just wouldnt be Christianity. In Arthur C. Clarkes novel Childhoods End theres a kind of time machine, it cant be used to travel, but one can look at the events of the past. Once people got to see how all the religions got going the only one left was a very modified and deeply simplified form of Buddhism.

Me, I think that would be true, although I believe a simplified form of Daoism based exclusively on the so-called philosophical Daoists, and a similarly pretty pared down form of Confucianism might be able to stand the scrutiny of that time viewer. I fear thats it.

That said,I think that slogan contradict is important, and a wise complement, as well as challenge, to cooperate. Among the difficulties with the cooperate, is the impliedthey all teach the same truth. You dont have to go very far into a study of comparative religions to know how deeply they are not all the same. And, even to make the claim, somewhere way, way down at bottom they are all the same is going to be rough slogging. Some believe in creator, some do not. Some see an end to time, while some do not. Some see souls and some do not. Its pretty hard to find that very far to the bottom place where they are all the same.

But, there is one area where near as I can tell all the religions seem to in fact agree. Interestingly, most, maybe none consider it their primary teaching. But they all have it, and they all consider it pretty important. And that common thing is the Golden Rule, which most of us here in English speaking North America know in its formulation in the Gospel of Luke, in the King James version, as do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The golden rule goes way back and it is found all around. As far as written records go some see it as far back as two thousand years before the common era in the Egyptian story the Eloquent Peasant. Reading it, frankly, I find that a stretch. The Odyssey, which might trace as far back as seven hundred years before the common era, has the goddess Calypso tell Odysseus shell be as careful for him as for herself, because she knows what is right and fair. Among the pre-Socratic philosophers of Greece both Thales and Pittacus of Mytilene, call us to not do that which we would not have done to us. And, while the rule isnt particularly obvious in Socrates, Plato or Aristotle (although I thank them deeply for that other bit of gold, the Golden Mean), the current continues to pop up among the Greeks here and there.

The Hebrew scriptures with strata that approach the Eloquent Peasants composition although as we understand the text more likely written closer to four or five hundred years before the common era in Exodus we are admonished to not oppress the foreigner, and in Leviticus to straight out love your neighbor as yourself. It is found in the hadith, the recorded sayings of the prophet Mohammed, and throughout muslim and particularly Sufi literature.We can find the Golden Rule in the Dhamapada, a collection of sayings attributed to Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha of history. Confucius, from about the same period, tells us in his Analects not to do to others, what you would not want them to do to you. And the list just goes on and on. There are Muslim, Jewish, and Christian version, there are Hindu, Jain, and Buddhism versions, there is a Zoroastrian version. The gold rule abides among them all.

Even in our more secular era, we see it continue to be presented. For instance, some see a philosophical variation in Immanuel Kants categorical imperative, Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law. And for me, even more intriguing, Charles Darwin, writing in the Descent of Man opines that the social instincts the prime principle of mans moral condition with the aid of active intellectual powers and the effects of habit, naturally lead to the golden rule. As ye would that men should do to you, do ye to them likewise, and this lies at the foundation of morality.

And it may be even reflect natural patterning. Donald Pfaff, author of the Neuroscience of Fair Play: Why We (Usually) Follow the Golden Rule, tells how he read a paper by William Hamilton and Robert Axelrod showing that they could teach computers to behave in a according to what you could call reciprocal altruism, a fair-play principle.

Im moderately confident that the intuition that gives us the Golden Rule, and incidentally the Golden Mean, are built in, about as close to the hard wiring of our humanity as it gets. I am pretty sure it has something to do with our being mamas and herd animals. Although there is more to it, as the fact a computer can find a fair-play principle, suggests. Cooperation is critical to our survival.

All rather wonderful.

And, yes, shall we say, of course theres a fly in the ointment. This sense of fair does indeed seem to be built into our human consciousness. Generally we dont need an admonishment for something we all do. And, at about an equal level of strength so is a predilection to cheat, to advance ourselves over others. Human beings constantly are doing things that hurt others.

And, of course, we need that sense of self and that impulse for survival and advancement. Both of these goods, taken to extremes become destructive. Although, frankly, while absolutely see people who miss that the care for one another also means themselves, the excess that is more common, and dangerous in many directions is the preservation of ones self at all costs.

So, of course, the reality is we human beings live within a tension between these poles of our hearts.

And I suspect we may be looking at the deep structures of something else common among religions here. That is the problem of evil. Here we see something else common among the religions, a condemnation of the strong preying upon the weak. While there have always been a handful of people who value selfishness, Im looking at you Ayn Rand, these have always been outliers. The overwhelming majority of human beings and our religions rest upon a foundation of cooperation, of looking out for ones neighbors, of treating the other as we would treat ourselves.

But there is this conflict between selfishness and altruism. In some religions it becomes a cosmic war. And while in most good eventually prevails, I can think of at least one example where the forces of chaos eventually wins. The tension runs deep.

And, then, we can look around at the world we live in today. We have just elected a president who draws the smallest possible circle of who gets to be a neighbor, whose actions seem vastly more in concert with Ayn Rand than with Jesus, Buddha, or, for that matter, Darwin.

Now, in Jewish history in such harsh times when the rich put their boot on the neck of the poor, prophets arise and rail against the imbalance.

I consider these things, and I wonder if that prophet isnt getting ready to stand in front of the White House?

It feels that time is at hand.

View original post here:

In the Neighborhood: A Meditation on the Golden Rule, Cheaters, and Prophets - Patheos (blog)

GoldLink takes fans on an artistic trip inside of a nightclub in the video for his Jazmine Sullivan and KAYTRANADA-assisted single Meditation.

The clip shares an animated depiction of the club scene while GL raps about a complicated relationship with an ex. I still call ya, he raps. Whichever way you want it, baby girl, its on ya / I got the money, you got the problems, so I can solve it / But I still need ya / I still see ya.

Then, Jazmines soothing vocals shine throughout the KAYTRANADA-produced cut. I want to be more than homies, she sings. I just want to be your baby, your one and only.

While the song is soothing and romantic, things end in chaotic fashion, as gunfire erupts, and the visual fades to black.

Speaking of the track, GoldLink reveals the inspiration is rooted in his hometown. Meditation is a quick glimpse into DC Go-Go and street culture, he said. Its kind of like a West Side Story, in a way as far as its a guy who sees a girl. This guy is from one neighborhood and the girl is from another rivaling neighborhood. They see each other across the room. He talks to her, they reminisce, they laugh, and then a confrontation happens.

Meditation and the previously-released single Crew (featuring Shy Glizzy and Brent Faiyaz) are both set to appear on GoldLinks forthcoming project, which will be his first since 2015s And After That, We Didnt Talk.

Next, GoldLink is heading out on a string of separate shows with KAYTRANADA, Little Dragon, and Denzel Curry, starting with Coachella next month.

Read more:

New Music: GoldLink feat. Jazmine Sullivan & KAYTRANADA ... - Rap-Up.com

Alexander C.N., et al. Treating and preventing alcohol, nicotine, and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: A review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 13-87, 1994.

Aron E.N. and Aron A. The patterns of reduction of drug and alcohol use among Transcendental Meditation participants. Bulletin of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors 2: 28-33, 1983.

Clements G., et al. The use of the Transcendental Meditation programme in the prevention of drug abuse and in the treatment of drug-addicted persons. Bulletin on Narcotics 40(1): 5156, 1988.

Gelderloos P., et al. Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation program in preventing and treating substance misuse: A review. International Journal of the Addictions 26: 293325, 1991.

Gelderloos P., et al. Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation program in preventing and treating substance misuse: A review. International Journal of the Addictions 26: 293325, 1991.

Orme-Johnson D. W. Transcendental Meditation as an epidemiological approach to drug and alcohol abuse: Theory, research, and financial impact evaluation. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 11, 119-165, 1994.

Royer A. The role of the Transcendental Meditation technique in promoting smoking cessation: A longitudinal study. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 219-236, 1994.

Shafii M. et al. Meditation and marijuana. American Journal of Psychiatry 131: 60-63, 1974.

Shafii M. et al. Meditation and the prevention of alcohol abuse. American Journal of Psychiatry 132: 942-945, 1975.

Wallace R.K. et al. Decreased drug abuse with Transcendental Meditation: A study of 1,862 subjects. In Drug Abuse: Proceedings of the International Conference, ed. Chris J.D. Zarafonetis (Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger): 369-376, 1972.

Walton K. G., and Levitsky, D.A. A neuroendocrine mechanism for the reduction of drug use and addictions by Transcendental Meditation. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 89-117, 1994.

See more here:

Transcendental Meditation (TM) Technique - Tulsa

Email Print Police Chief Sylvia Moir said it helps officers make smarter decisions in the field and allows them to be more thoughtful of other perspectives in tense situations

By PoliceOne Staff

TEMPE, Ariz. Police departments are developing new ways to help officers decompress from the stresses of the job. One agency in Arizona is using meditation as a part of officer development.

Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir told ABC News that encouraging her officers to mediate has helped them respond, not react in tense situations.

Without a doubt I think the [meditation] practice shows promise, getting us to be present, not take triggers, not take the bait that makes us react and if the practice can get us to see the perspective of another to enhance our compassion, then I think it does lend itself to broader application in policing, she said.

Moir has instilled the meditation practice in officer training and told ABC that its important for officers to be as tactically sound as they are physically fit. She believes it helps officers slow their mind in the field and make smarter decisions.

Were really good at I call them perishable skills, the shooting, driving, defensible tactics, she said. And what were doing with mindfulness practices is were saying, Look, were going to give you a set of tools, you take it, you use it for the whole you, personal and professional, make it what works for you.

Meditation has helped Moir realize microcues she may send unintentionally when shes at a scene.

I meet with people who are suffering, who dont feel like they have been served by the justice system ... with family members who have lost someone, [with] officers that have done wrong and Im holding them accountable, she said. Its in those moments where I have to really engage but also listen.

Continued here:

Police chief: Meditation key part of officer development - Police News

Lack of interpersonal skills can be a career crusher. A deleterious emotional state can have serious ramifications on the way you think and process information, and of course, it also affects the way others relate to you. Are you confident and calm when dealing with high-stakes, or high-stress conversations? It's something many people struggle with due to various reasons such as differences of opinion, competing priorities, contrasting frames of references, misunderstandings or tension from past conflicts that shrouds your judgment.

Attaining alignment with another --- with emotional composure and resiliency -- is indispensable when developing and maintaining relationships. The good news is that there are several practices and techniques you can learn to help you regulate your emotions. One of these foundational skills is mindfulness.

Mindfulness refers to an awareness of what is happening emotionally -- right here, right now -- within your body and mind. It can be practiced through a powerful meditative process called mindfulness meditation. It is specifically designed to provide you the strength to be more mindful when the occasion dictates, such as when you are in a high stress, high impact conversation. When it is practiced regularly, it is easier to go from being highly reactive to a more stable and productive state of being.

Try this five-minute mindfulness meditation exercise several times a week. With practice you'll begin to exude calm reassurance and confidence in any situation:

Minute 1: Rest your hands on the tops of your thighs with your legs hip-distance apart and your feet flat on the floor. Relax your eyelids, allowing your gaze to soften and rest unfocused. Breathe deeply, inhaling through the nose and then exhaling through pursed lips, like you are gently letting the air out of a balloon. Inhale for a count of six then exhale for a count of seven.

Minute 2: Stop counting and allow your breathing to fall into a natural and easy rhythm. Pay attention to what your breaths feel like -- not overly deep or shallow -- and compare that with your usual cadence. Tune into the rising and falling sensation in your body from your belly to your shoulders.

Minute 3: Continue to be aware of your breathing. If random thoughts (work tasks, errands, deadlines) pop into your head, do not push them out or linger on them. Instead, imagine each one as a harmless cloud floating on by. This helps you to acknowledge the thoughts and pre-occupations of the mind without responding to them emotionally. If a thought still doesn't drift away from your mind, take a few seconds to acknowledge it then gently return your focus to your breath. If this occurs again, just repeat the process without judgment or reaction. They are just clouds floating by our field of awareness.

Minute 4: Release your focus and simply sit. Remind yourself that there is nothing to fix, nothing to do and nothing to change.

Minute 5: Think about something you are grateful for, such as spending time with friends or even having the chance to meditate in that moment. Then gradually transition your thoughts to how you feel physically; the relaxed state of your muscles and the steadiness of your heartbeat. Open your eyes, take one deep breath in -- and then out.

Emotional connections are the building blocks that support commitment and trust. Strong emotional regulation skills are vital in building and nurturing relationships. Mindful meditation can help you achieve a more balanced and grounded presence -- freeing you from stress and impulsive emotions.

Originally published on Entrepreneur.com

Continued here:

A Simple 5-Minute Meditation to Melt Away Tension - Huffington Post

Bradenton Herald

Meditation classes on Anna Maria Island introduce participants to Buddhism Bradenton Herald Gen Kelsang Demo, 37, is a Buddhist nun at the Kadampa Meditation Center, a Buddhist temple at 730 N. Washington Blvd. in Sarasota. Demo leads meditation classes on Wednesday at The Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

Link:

Meditation classes on Anna Maria Island introduce participants to Buddhism - Bradenton Herald

We live in an era of everything smart smartphones, smartwatch, smart homes and smart cars. Unarguably, theyhave gone out of the way to make things easierbut alsocome with their own share of troubles. With the evolution of the smart gadgets, the concept of spending some alone-timehas changed dramatically and is being replaced by anxiety and stress (remember that escalation e-mail that kept you awake all night?).

So how do we clear this cluttered mind? Surely, setting aside our smart gadgets is not a practical solution nor is the choice of going up to the Himalayas to meditate.

So why not go by the old English saying of killing two birds with one stone and turn to our smartphones for help?

There is no dearth of apps in the Play Store and the same holds true for meditation apps. So heres a list of four wonderful meditation apps that help in achieving inner peace much like our very own Master Shifu.

Calmhas a varied list of topics which you can choose depending on your sour spot, including the free seven-day guided meditationexercises. And if you are among the new age crowd who have trouble falling asleep, Calm has a collection of soothingbed-time audio stories that will help you to fall into natural sleep.

Then there is the Breathe program, which is a compilation of short breathing exercises coupled with soothing music.

Plus, this app comes with amazing themes, so even if you arent doing any meditation the theme music will make sure that you leave all the worry behind.

If you ask me, my favorite is the rain theme, nothings more calming than listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops.

The paid version which opens up much more programs including the 21-day guided course for the general well-being,among many others.

An app with 1.1M registered user,Insight Timerdoes ahell of a job when it comes tomeditation. It has over 3000+ guided meditations and the best part is that its completely free with no locked contents.

The app is huge, with a ton of contents like guided meditation, basic meditation, and self-meditation.

So if you want to grab a few minutes of zen, tap on Timer and loose yourself to the hum of guitar strings.

Most of the contents are free, however, you might need to shell out few bucks for some of the audio tracks in the Timer tab.

If you are a beginner to the field of meditation, Headspace will make it easy for you to break ground. The free course consist of a 10-day program which lasts for 10 minutes each, helping you to create a habit out of it.

Unlike the other apps, this one has a few features beyond the zen circle. For instance, one of them is designed to reduce the fear of flying while another one promises to increase mindfulness.

The downside ofHeadspace is most of the cool programs are hidden behind the paywall. But then, whats the harm in investing in a good lifestyle choice when you see the [free] courses yielding results.

People say that music is the ultimate stress buster and if you are one who goes by this mantra, then you will love theMeditation musicapp. As indicative of its name, this app has a collection of meditation music.

The timer can be set to turn off the music automatically. The UI is super-simple, one merely needs to choose the music, adjust the timer and sit back and relax.

Our mind is an incredible place where thousands of thoughts and creative ideas are born daily, but its dimmed by stress, anxiety, and over-thinking. And meditation is one of the many ways by which we can keep a healthy mind. The best thing about these apps is they can be used almost anywhere, even during your work hours or on your way home. So when are you starting?

Read the original:

4 Apps to Help You Keep Calm and Relaxed - Guiding Tech (blog)

Rockland Rockland Shambhala, 16 School St., will launch Meditation in Everyday Life, a five-week course taught by Rachel Nixon, Shambhala Guide, Tuesday, March 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. The class is by donation and open to both beginners and experienced practitioners. Pre-registration is requested.

This series provides participants with the basic tools and support to establish or deepen a meditation practice. Each class includes mindfulness-awareness instruction and sitting practice, as well as talks and discussion about Sakyong Mipham Rinpoches book, "Turning the Mind into an Ally."

Participants will learn to cultivate stability and will explore how to bring mindfulness and courage to the everyday complexities of jobs, responsibilities and relationships, as well as to the desires, concerns and uncertainties of life. This is the first class in the Way of Shambhala program. It offers a glimpse of the Shambhala vision of an enlightened society created through mindfulness-awareness meditation.

Nixon was first introduced to the Shambhala Buddhist teachings in 1999 through Pema Chodrons book, "The Wisdom of No Escape." She has been studying and practicing meditation ever since. Nixon has trained at Shambhala centers in Maine, Colorado, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, including a month-long Dathun this past winter.

The suggested donation for the class is $75, or register with a friend and pay half-price. Donations in any amount are graciously accepted. For more information and to register, contact Nixon at rocklandshambhala@gmail.com or 594-1694.

See more here:

Meditation class to begin Way of Shambhala March 21 - Courier-Gazette & Camden Herald (subscription)