|
|
Post by Daniel on May 29, 2015 8:59:42 GMT -5
"The dark side of meditation and mindfulness: Treatment can trigger mania, depression and psychosis," studies shows
By Harriet Crawford
The Daily Mail (UK)
Meditation and mindfulness is promoted by celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Russell Brand, who boast of its power to help people put stress out of their minds and live for the moment.
But the treatment can itself trigger mania, depression, hallucinations and psychosis, psychological studies in the UK and US have found.
The practice is part of a growing movement based on ancient Eastern traditions of meditation.
However, 60 per cent of people who had been on a meditation retreat had suffered at least one negative side effect, including panic, depression and confusion, a study in the US found.
And one in 14 of them suffered ‘profoundly adverse effects’, according to Miguel Farias, head of the brain, belief and behaviour research group at Coventry University and Catherine Wikholm, a researcher in clinical psychology at the University of Surrey.
The shortage of rigorous statistical studies into the negative effects of meditation was a ‘scandal’, Dr Farias told The Times.
continue reading
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3092572/The-dark-meditation-mindfulness-Treatment-trigger-mania-depression-psychosis-new-book-claims.html#ixzz3b9WRrV00
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jan 7, 2016 10:23:36 GMT -5
mindfulness: no-mind over matter By Marcia Montenegro,
Mindfulness is a Buddhist concept and practice, the seventh step of the Eightfold Path. Mindfulness is more than a meditative practice; it is an outlook on life and reality that ideally results from a type of meditation designed to cultivate detachment. Detachment in Buddhism is necessary, because Buddhism teaches that attachment to this world, to your thinking, to your identity as an individual self, and other attachments, such as desires, keep you in the cycle of rebirth.
Buddhism holds that the self does not exist, and identification with the self keeps you in that cycle of rebirth. Therefore, to achieve liberation from this cycle, one must break the attachment, so detachment is necessary. Mindfulness is the method, and detachment with ultimate liberation is its goal. Mindfulness is often defined as a moment-by-moment nonjudgmental awareness of the present. For many years, this writer attempted to incorporate mindfulness into her life prior to becoming a Christian.
Though thoroughly Buddhist, mindfulness has been heavily promoted to the secular world by Jon Kabat-Zinn (b. 1944), a Zen Buddhist, whose book, Wherever You Go, There You Are, brought him into the public eye; and by Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926), a Zen Buddhist from Vietnam whose books have enjoyed great success in the West. Both lecture around the United States.
Kabat-Zinn, however, is no secular person. He was a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn and is a founding member of Cambridge Zen Center. Kabat-Zinn started a system now called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at the University of Massachusetts Hospital a few decades ago.
News article
Below is an excerpt from an article in the Los Angeles Times. (If the link expires, you may need to Google it by looking for Los Angeles Times articles on mindfulness and/or on Jon Kabat-Zinn).
learnmindfulness.co.uk/la-times-fully-experiencing-the-present-a-practice-for-everyone-religious-or-not/
Excerpt====An emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, [Jon] Kabat-Zinn developed the system known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and founded the first MBSR clinic at the university's hospital more than 30 years ago.
. . . Today there are more than 200 medical centers in the United States and abroad that employ the MBSR model to complement conventional therapies.
Kabat-Zinn is reluctant to use the word "spiritual" to describe the approach to healthy living that he promotes, characterizing it instead as being "grounded in common sense." . . .
"I don't have to use the word 'spiritual,'" he said. "Part of it is the power of silence and stillness. And part of that power is the power of healing that happens when you move from the domain of doing to being. It's transformative."
In fact, there have been rabbis, priests and even an imam who have taken Kabat-Zinn's eight-week MBSR training course and told him that it deepened their experience of their own faiths.
The imam told him the practice was "totally consistent" with Islam, Kabat-Zinn said. Priests said MBSR reminded them of why they first went into the seminary and allowed them to transmit their faith more effectively to their flocks. =====<more>
Comments from a former meditator
Kabat-Zinn states in the article that mindfulness is "grounded in common sense" and is not necessarily spiritual. However, there is no basis for this statement. Mindfulness is based on a specific worldview found in Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism. In Buddhism, the mind is a barrier to grasping ultimate reality and truth; therefore, the mind must be bypassed. Mindfulness is designed to do this.
The concept of mindfulness has spread into the health care community, as noted in the article. It is usually taught as a form of stress reduction. If one practices mindfulness meditation on a fairly regular basis (not even necessarily every day), that person may eventually adopt the worldview behind it, leading one to believe that the process of detachment is at work. However, since the self is real, there can be no true detachment; therefore, no liberation or true peace results from mindfulness.
The techniques of mindfulness meditation lead one to enter an altered state, the same state one is in when under hypnosis. In this state, the meditator's critical thinking and judgment are suspended, and anything can enter the mind.
Ironically, since even the mind in Buddhism is not real and one is to achieve no-mind, the term mindfulness becomes an oxymoron. Moreover, the liberation so dearly sought through Buddhism is nirvana, which is not a sort of Buddhist heaven as many think, but is actually the extinction of all illusions, including the illusion of self.
Buddhism has no supreme God, no mind, no self. Ultimate reality is sunyata, a term loosely translated as the void, or emptiness. It is not emptiness in the sense of nothingness, but rather the ultimate reality of formlessness from which all has arisen (similar to the Tao in Taoism). The belief is that the world is full of rising and falling, and peace comes with the cessation of rising and falling. But there can be no joy or peace in formlessness, because the self is not there, since there is no self.
Should you practice Mindfulness?
If you are a Christian, the basis, rationale, and goal of mindfulness is in complete conflict with a Christian worldview and with the reality presented by God in his word. Mindfulness has nothing in common with biblical meditation, which is thoughtful contemplation of God's word.
Biblical meditation and prayer are not matters of trying to go beyond thought, either to achieve a mystical oneness with God, or to "hear" from God. Nothing like this is taught anywhere in the Bible. Prayer in the Bible is always presented as verbal praise, petition, confession, and expression of gratitude to God.
Furthermore, the concept of needing detachment goes against biblical teaching that we should remember what God has done, and vividly keep before us Christ's atonement on the cross and his bodily resurrection. There are many desires that are good, and desire to know God more deeply through prayer, Bible study, and worship nourishes believers in Christ. There is no need to fear attachment or good desires.
Mindfulness and the practice of Christianity do not mesh and cannot co-exist.
If you are not a Christian, consider whether or not you wish to attach yourself to a teaching of non-attachment that stems from teachings that reject God, the concept of self, and the concept of an individual mind, while exalting a belief that the ultimate state is one of extinction from all desire, in which you essentially do not exist.
If you are not a Christian
This article is not to attack anyone, but to show mindfulness in the light of God's word, the Bible. If you do not know Christ, consider reading about him in the Bible or see the article, "Who Is Jesus" to the right of this article.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25, 26
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians. 4:6, 7
posted with permissionwww.christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_Mindfulness.html
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jan 7, 2016 10:30:20 GMT -5
Here's a little about hypnosis, also by Marcia, which is also often used:
Is Hypnosis okay?
Hypnotists perform on stage and increasingly now, in schools. Many people also consult hypnotherapists to stop smoking or get rid of some other bad habit. Hypnotherapy is used in counseling sessions. Even if the results seem harmless or good, there is much more to hypnosis than meets the eye.
A hypnotic state, even a very mild one, is a state where critical thinking and judgment are suspended. Therefore, the person in such a state has their mind open to whatever influences want to come in, from the suggestions of the therapist or counselor to the spiritual realm. The mind in this state is very receptive and malleable. No matter the intent of the hypnotist or hypnotherapist, the hypnotist or therapist is not in total control.
The hypnotic state is the same as the altered states one goes into in Eastern meditation and in occult "centering." This state is very desired in the occult because occult practitioners (psychics, tarot card readers, mediums, etc.) know that in this state they are more sensitive and receptive to their supposed sources of information and the guidance of their "guides" or other disembodied beings (i.e., fallen angels, though of course, they do not see it this way). All of the popular mediums go into this kind of state to "hear" from the dead and recommend it to others as a way to contact their "guides."
The hypnotic state is the state one is put in or goes into in order to meet their "guides." This is how I was introduced to my spirit guide. When I practiced astrology, I would naturally fall into this state during the reading (consultation for the client). It is like having your mind in neutral, open to external or alien guidance that is not from God.
The hypnotic state is not normal, natural, or healthy.
There have been incidents of people becoming depressed, suicidal, or having psychotic breaks or nightmares, as a result of having been hypnotized. Hypnosis affects the mind; often in a negative manner. It can alter a person's psyche and, over time (as in Eastern meditation), their worldview.
This is a link from a former hypnotist warning people of hypnosis:
www.dangers-of-hypnosis.co.uk/
Although the article at the link below advocates a "safe use" of hypnosis (I think the dangers and risks are too high for any "safe" use), they do explain some of the possible complications and negative repercussions of hypnosis:
www.brooksidecenter.com/possible_dangers_and_complicatio.htm
posted with permission
www.christiananswersforthenewage.org/AboutCANA_FAQs3.html
Sadly, when I was involved in the new age and occult, I too practiced hypnosis and can honestly say, no Christian should allow themsevles to be hypnotized or hypnotize themselves. It can open you to demonic oppression and all kinds of nasty things!
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jan 7, 2016 10:54:16 GMT -5
Here's some info from one of my books:
What is mind–body medicine?
Mind–body medicine explores the influence of people’s thoughts and emotions on the health of their bodies. Most ancient healing systems operated by this mechanism. As modern science revealed the causes of many illnesses to be physical in nature (bacteria, viruses, genes, and so forth), the role of the mind was minimized. Even gastric ulcers, once firmly believed to be caused by stress alone, are now known to be linked to certain bacteria and therefore to be treatable with antibiotics. Only if a physical cause cannot be found for an illness are the mind or emotions typically believed to play a role in these so-called psychosomatic illnesses.
However, this is not the only contemporary illustration of the mind–body connection. The placebo effect remains an enduring evidence of the importance of mind–body interactions. Moreover, increased stress contributes significantly to the development of some illnesses, especially heart disease, although not to others, such as cancer. The body’s immune and hormonal systems are also affected by stress.
Numerous ways to alleviate stress by eliciting the “relaxation response” have been examined by Herbert Benson at Harvard Medical School. Some of the most popular mind–body therapies are biofeedback, hypnosis, meditation, visualization, Yoga, and breathing exercises. The common belief is that the body will benefit from training or manipulating the mind in various ways. Health insurance companies are actively promoting mind–body therapies as cost-effective, safe ways to reduce stress. While many of these bring relaxation, the degree to which they actually improve health or prevent illness is just beginning to be explored.
Claims about mind–body medicine often confuse causation and correlation. For example, many patients with a certain disease might be found to have a very high stress level. Stress and this disease are correlated, but this does not necessarily imply that stress caused the disease. Relieving stress might help the patient, yet it may not change the course of the physical disease. A serious danger here is that patients receiving the benefit of stress reduction might conclude that their disease is also being cured and therefore be less inclined to pursue treatments for the physical disease.
Mind–body therapies emphasize the role of personal responsibility in health, sometimes to the point of blaming patients for their illnesses. If the mind is crucial to curing disease, many conclude that the mind similarly caused the disease. The developer of the Simonton method of visualization notes: “If we are going to believe that we have the power in our own bodies to overcome cancer, then we have to admit that we also had the power to bring on the disease in the first place.” This outlook can lead to significant and unnecessary guilt feelings that have no basis in reality.
Mind–body therapies may alleviate some of life’s stress and bring relief during illness. They may even help prevent the onset of an illness. However, their potentially comforting and preventive roles do not necessarily entail a curative role. Therefore, by all means, pursue appropriate ways to reduce the inevitable stress of daily life—always avoiding any influence from occult or other anti-Christian philosophies and practices. However, when an illness develops, be careful not to use mind–body therapies in place of more effective conventional therapies.
Is alternative medicine in harmony with Christian tradition?
Christian tradition has always emphasized the importance of bringing healing to those who are ill. God declared Himself to be Israel’s Healer (Exod. 15:26), and part of Jesus’ ministry was to heal the sick. The early church continued this tradition of involvement in healing. Historians of medicine have concluded that the early church’s impact on illness and health care was profound. This impact continued through the centuries.
The healing that Christianity supports is holistic in the broadest sense, encompassing physical, emotional, spiritual, moral, and relational healing. The compassionate care given by Christians over the centuries is a far cry from the cold, impersonal ways patients are sometimes treated in modern health-care facilities. In fact, both Christianity and modern alternative therapy respond negatively to any delivery of medicine that focuses on physical and psychological needs at the expense or exclusion of the spiritual.
However, Christian tradition is also at odds with the kind of spirituality that alternative therapies promote. The early church fathers frequently addressed illegitimate, magical means of healing that were especially popular with the cult of Asclepius, the Greek and Roman god of healing. For example, Augustine approved of taking herbs for stomach pain but disapproved of wearing them as charms for the same purpose.
The early church also responded negatively to physicians who, in addition to healing, would promote anti-Christian philosophies. Early Christian leaders were noted for discouraging their disciples from visiting “philosopher-physicians.” In the third century, Origen complained that physicians too often used their influence and position to teach philosophies that contradicted Christianity. He had in mind teachings about reincarnation and the view that human beings and all other forms of life have the same type of spirit—ideas that are common among today’s promoters of alternative therapies.
In contrast to magical or energy healing, the healing power of God is not an inanimate supernatural force. God is a personal, compassionate Being who sympathizes with our suffering and to whom we can bring all our concerns, including physical health (James 5:14–16). When our physical health and well-being are threatened, we go to Him in prayer, dependent on Him even though He may not bring healing. While we actively pursue medications and therapies that have been graciously provided to us in this world by God, we must never subject ourselves to any spiritual force—no matter what its claim—that contradicts the guidelines given to us by God in His holy Word. In the fourth century, John Chrysostom lauds a Christian woman for refusing to recite magical incantations and put magical amulets on her sick child. Unwilling to disobey the Lord, “she chose rather to see her child dead, than to put up with idolatry.” She knew that to turn to magic instead of to the Lord would undermine her testimony to others about the importance of trusting God—and would perhaps have eternal consequences for her in heaven as well.
Living in this fallen world is a guarantee that each of us will die from some injury or illness. How should we live in light of such a reality? Christians must live by faith. We must trust in the Creator whose love for the world provided a complete remedy for physical and spiritual death in the person of His only Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Though we will all die in this world, those who trust in Him will never die again but will live eternally with God. However, even in this world, our faith in God will strengthen and sustain us.
A famous fourth-century leader of the church, Jerome, described in his Letters (39.2) how Christians could cope effectively with illness: “Am I in good health? I thank my Creator. Am I sick? In this also I praise God’s will. For ‘When I am weak, then I am strong,’ and the strength of the spirit is made perfect in the weakness of the flesh.” This faithful outlook was expressed when little was available to help overcome illness. May we who have been blessed with the best health care and public-health resources ever available express such an unfailing faith no matter what challenges to our health we face. We must not forsake the One who has promised never to forsake us (John 14:15–18, 27–28; Heb. 13:5).
Stewart, G. (1998). Basic questions on alternative medicine: What is good and what is not?.
See also Alternative/ Blended/ Complementary/ Integrated Healing
IN THE IMAGE OF MAN:AN OVERVIEW OF THE HUMAN POTENTIAL MOVEMENT AND MOTIVATIONAL SEMINARS
Mindfulness: taming the monkey
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jan 7, 2016 11:15:55 GMT -5
Mindfulness: Taming the Monkey By Marcia Montenegro
Note: Although some Buddhist concepts are explained here, the thrust of the article is to describe the Western take on Buddhism via the New Age and the secular culture, and how some of its practices and concepts, especially Mindfulness, have migrated to the West, particularly the United States. In order to make a distinction between a generic understanding of the term "mindfulness" and the term used for the practice based on Buddhism, Mindfulness in this article will be spelled with a capital M.
"We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness." 1
"Developing wisdom is a process of bringing our minds into accordance with the way things really are. Through this process we gradually remove the incorrect perceptions of reality we have had since the beginningless time." 2
"Be lamps unto yourselves." 3
Mindfulness is a Buddhist concept and practice. Yet we now find Mindfulness taught and practiced in schools, businesses, hospitals, and prisons. People as diverse as educators, health workers, psychologists, corporation honchos, and clergyman advocate it. Its popularity is increasing with rapid-fire speed. Therefore, Christians need to know what it is, how it is being promoted, and if there is any conflict with the Christian faith.
The Meaning of Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a meditative practice and an outlook on life and reality that ideally results from the type of meditation designed to cultivate the Buddhist concept of detachment. (Detachment for the Westerner usually implies not caring or indifference; whereas, according to Buddhist teaching, it is learning to disconnect from desire [grasping at this world] and false views of reality which keep one in the cycle of rebirth).
Mindfulness is often defined as a moment-by-moment nonjudgmental awareness of the present. Why is detachment necessary and what does that mean? To understand, we should know these essentials of Buddhism:
1. Life in this world is suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by desire for and attachment to this world, which will bring further rebirth into this world.
3. The remedy for suffering is to cultivate detachment and thereby reach enlightenment and thus escape rebirth.
4. The final goal is nirvana, a state of release from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. Nirvana means "to extinguish."
The world, as it is perceived in Buddhist thinking, is not substantively real. The individual self has no permanent reality (it is called the no-self, anatman or anatta), and what one recognizes as the individual self is based on faulty perceptions (this is sometimes called the "conventional self"). Feelings, thoughts, physical sensations, and sense of identity, according to this view, have fooled us into thinking we exist as an individual. Continuing to believe this keeps us trapped in this life and the cycle of rebirth.
Desire, which is a grasping at or attachment to this world, is the cause of suffering, and so detachment must be cultivated, mainly through Mindfulness. Moreover, since the mind is part of this nominal reality, thoughts are in the way of realizing the true nature of reality and self. Mindfulness, as a meditation practice, is the tool by which one sees beyond or in between thoughts as a process of awakening to truth. The promotion of Mindfulness often includes the commonly heard maxim, "Be in the present," since the goal includes detaching from past and future.
Practicing Mindfulness as moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental awareness supposedly prepares one for a breakthrough in perception, an awakening to reality, which is formlessness (sunyata, usually translated as "emptiness"). Mindfulness is particularly emphasized in Zen Buddhism and, aside from TM (Transcendental Meditation), is the Eastern meditation practice that has most deeply penetrated the West.
Mindfulness meditation is a technique of sitting still (though there is also a walking meditation), observing the breath, being aware solely of the present moment, and learning to let thoughts pass by without entertaining them. Because there is no permanent content to the present moment since it comes and goes, eventually a state of no-thinking is reached. The goal is to divorce the mind and thinking process from one's observation so that the meditator realizes that he is not his thoughts, eventually understanding that the "I" observing the thoughts (called the Witness) is not the conventional self, but rather the universal or Buddha self (terms vary). This Buddha self is the Buddha nature of the universe, which is the only permanent reality.
For many years, this writer attempted to incorporate Mindfulness into her life prior to becoming a Christian, and can attest to its power in altering one's worldview and conforming thinking to Buddhist concepts.
The Chattering Monkey
How can an anti-individualistic worldview worm its way into a highly individualized culture as exists in the United States? This can happen slowly through meditation, which conditions the mind through employment of certain terminologies and familiar terms, but which have been redefined with Buddhist concepts.
You might notice the term monkey mind popping up here and there. In promoting Mindfulness, the thinking mind is targeted as a chattering monkey. Thoughts are the chatter, and meditation is to tame and silence this monkey mind, so that it can become what is called Buddha mind. As one source puts it:
Often in meditation, that monkey mind doesn't transform into a peaceable primate, but continues to scurry about, distracting attention. Indeed, it is common for thoughts to appear to increase in intensity during concentrated meditation practice. This is either because whilst in the confines of the practice the monkey mind reacts with increased activity, or because in focused meditation thoughts are 'lit up' and are noticed more than they normally are. 4
Thoughts are treated as an independent activity, divorced from one's true self, the Buddha self. The temporal world, including the mind, is part of an alleged rising and falling which is not substantively real. One must transcend this rising and falling through meditation practice. (Rising and falling is a term describing the Buddhist view that we are caught in the web of thinking and feeling which reinforces our identification with our mind and self, thereby continuing a false perception of reality)
Meditation trains the person to watch thoughts so that the meditator does not attach to the thoughts and follow them. Eventually, the space between thoughts widens until there are no thoughts and "No Mind" is reached. The site continues:
Buddha Mind is our real nature, the unconditioned 'Mind' - and words are metaphors here, remember - that lies beneath the conditioned monkey mind that is interdependent with the world with which it interacts. 5
Phrases based in Buddhist thinking include:
Impermanence
Rising and falling
Being not doing
Monkey mind
Chattering mind
These terms and others are appearing more frequently in literature and other media, including Smartphone apps that give advice on reducing stress. This subtle denigration of thinking portrays the mind as the problem and thoughts as a source of confusion. Moreover, when such terms become more familiar and popular, the concepts attached to them also tend to become more widely accepted over time. There is a prevailing assumption that we cannot truly function or have any peace unless we practice this type of meditation.
Mindfulness meditation is therefore the Buddhist way to tame the so-called chattering mind and uncover the silent Buddha mind underneath all the rising and falling. It was not designed for stress reduction or to be a trendy dabbling for harried Westerners. Whatever perceived benefits may accrue from Mindfulness, it is not spiritually neutral.
The Secularization of Mindfulness
Several people have pushed Mindfulness as a concept and practice in the United States. They can't deny its religious basis yet they present it as a secular method. One of the most influential, Zen Buddhist Jon Kabat-Zinn (b. 1944), whose PhD is in Molecular Biology, runs the Center for Mindfulness (formerly the Stress Reduction Clinic), which he founded in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Kabat-Zinn's stress reduction and Mindfulness program, MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction), has spread to over 200 hospitals and medical centers around the country. One news article reports:
Kabat-Zinn is reluctant to use the word "spiritual" to describe the approach to healthy living that he promotes, characterizing it instead as being "grounded in common sense."
"I don't have to use the word 'spiritual,'" he said. "Part of it is the power of silence and stillness. And part of that power is the power of healing that happens when you move from the domain of doing to being. It's transformative." 6
In a self-contradictory statement, he said:
"Mindfulness, the heart of Buddhist meditation, is at the core of being able to live life as if it really matters. It has nothing to do with Buddhism. It has to do with freedom." 7
So Mindfulness is "the heart of Buddhist meditation" but "has nothing to do with Buddhism." Kabat-Zinn himself is no secular person. He was a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn and is a founding member of the Cambridge Zen Center.
Another influential non-secular person in Mindfulness is Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926), a Zen Buddhist monk from Vietnam, who lectures around the country as a Mindfulness enthusiast and whose books promoting Mindfulness have enjoyed great success in the West.
Zen Buddhist Peter Senge (considered by many to be the successor to influential management guru Peter Drucker) incorporates Zen Buddhist concepts such as being "trapped in structures," "trapped in the theater of our thoughts" in his popular book, The Fifth Discipline. Additionally, he recommends "some form of meditation" such as "contemplative prayer" or a method to quiet "the conscious mind," as well as "regular meditative practice." 8
Senge is a familiar figure on the New Age landscape as well, appearing in several interviews on New Age websites, including the website of New Age philosopher Andrew Cohen.
Additionally, Buddhist terms loaded with spiritual meaning are being used as though they have only a secular meaning. The word "compassion" is being joined with the term "Mindfulness" to promote Mindfulness in schools and elsewhere. Buddhist teachers make frequent use of the word "compassion" (this is very common with the Dalai Lama), but the problem is that non-Buddhists do not know all the implications of this term.
Compassion in Buddhism is not simply having empathy or care for people. Compassion includes the Buddhist view that all non-human beings (called sentient beings) are in need of rebirth as humans, because only humans can attain enlightenment. Since rebirth can bring a human into a non-human state,9 the Buddhist must spread Buddhist teachings as well as work at his own enlightenment in order to help advance Buddhist truths so that all can eventually be liberated from the cycle of rebirth. In Buddhism, Buddhist enlightenment is the only way for such liberation. Compassion in Buddhist thinking, therefore, is a religious term, not a secular one, especially when used in the context of Mindfulness.
Stress is the New Bogeyman
At the urging of the Dalai Lama through his Mind and Life Institute, neuroscientists have been doing studies on the brains of meditators.10 A study with only 16 people showed a "decrease in gray matter in the amygdala, a region of the brain that affects fear and stress, which correlated with a change in self-reported stress levels."11 Whether this decrease really indicates stress reduction, temporary or permanent, is not known. Showing cause and effect in the brain is difficult with something as vague and varied as meditation (there are a variety of ways to meditate). Moreover, there are other ways to reduce stress.
Several corporations, such as Google, Target, and General Mills, offer Mindfulness training and seminars to their employees as a stress reduction program, as do business schools Claremont Graduate University and Harvard Business School.12
There has been a great effort on the part of alternative treatment practitioners to emphasize stress in the culture, which then allows them to advocate their particular remedies for it. Mindfulness therapy is now extensively used in psychology and psychotherapy.
Has anyone considered that instead of taking time to learn a stress reduction technique, it would be more valuable and practical to use that time playing board games, taking a walk, strolling in a park, relaxing to soft music, reading a good book, taking a nap, developing a hobby, or one of many other pleasant activities that people enjoy? Studies have shown that such activities lower blood pressure and bring down heart rates.
Mindfulness is the New Education
At least two articles in Scholastic Parent and Child Magazine (October 2011 and May 2014) have featured and promoted Mindfulnesss for children. The 2011 article, "It's All In Your Mind," by Lynne Ticknor, promotes Mindfulness, along with a brief interview of Goldie Hawn and her Buddhist-based Mind-Up program for schools. Hawn, like many other celebrities, is a devotee of Mindfulness. The article refers to Mindfulness as "based in the philosophy of Buddhism" and quickly adds, "But it's not religion" and "there are no spiritual overtones."13
Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful Child, has been teaching Mindfulness and promoting it in inner city schools through her foundation, Inner Kids Foundation. In an interview, Greenland said this about the link of Mindfulness to Buddhism:
"The Buddhist foundations/applications of the secular mindfulness work can be a great strength rather than an Achilles heel if reframed as a well-established, evidence based training protocol shown to reduce stress, improve immune function, develop executive function and attention with measurable results when it comes to changes not just in the health and wellness of the individual but also in the likelihood of an individual who has undergone that training in engaging in social, compassionate action."14
She acknowledges that Buddhism is the foundation of Mindfulness, but implies that if Mindfulness can be "reframed" using terms related to mental health and stress reduction, then the messy issue of religion can be circumvented.
The Scholastics article states that children are taught to focus on their breathing, "an age-old exercise in finding calm and balance -- or their 'center.'"15 One photograph in the print edition shows a mother and child sitting in lotus position with eyes closed. Another shows two young children (about age 6) sitting side-by-side in a lotus position with eyes closed. Clearly, there is more than just breathing going on.
Zen Buddhism is primarily a mixture of Taoism and Buddhism which came from China, called Chan (Zen in Japan). Controlling breath was part of controlling and balancing chi (viewed as a universal life force), thus achieving health and longevity (in Taoist thinking). This idea of the breath as centering is very similar to the Taoist teaching that one must base one's self in the flow of chi and thus balance the two forces of yin and yang.
Even if the children are not doing a full-on Mindfulness meditation (which would be difficult for most children), they are being introduced to it, taught how to do it, and told that it is the way to deal with their feelings. Being told that this is how to deal with anger or fear may also give the subtle message that emotions are a bad thing.
Mindfulness as taught in schools is communicating to a child that he should always be calm, always clear-headed, always in control. This certainly could convey a negative message to more emotional children, and to children with various psychological, neurological, and emotional problems, as well as making them self-conscious about their feelings.
Some educators are using visualization, meditation CDs and an iPad or iPhone app called BellyBio, "that helps regulate breathing rhythms."16 Guided visualization is a form of hypnosis, so this should cause alarm, if indeed this form of visualization is being used.
Interestingly, Scholastic is the parent company of MindUP, the program started by actress and practicing Buddhist Goldie Hawn. Scholastic is a global enterprise, creating and distributing
"...educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, feature film, videos and toys. Scholastic distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and Scholastic.com."17
The advocacy of Mindfulness by a corporate giant such as Scholastic is a prime example of how Eastern beliefs are being endorsed and disseminated in the culture. Is this not a type of therapy being foisted on children without parental consent? Are children, especially in the lower grades, able to handle such information? Should children be made to worry about their emotions? At the very least, using Mindfulness should be a decision for a parent, not for the school or educators.
Parents would benefit from monitoring carefully what is going on in their child's classroom. They need to ask for information on all the activities are that take place in the class. Parents can talk to the teacher or principal and ask to opt their child out based on religious views. Even if the school denies that Mindfulness is religious, the parent can state that it conflicts with his or her faith.
The Mind and God
Whereas thoughts and thinking get in the way of spiritual enlightenment according to Mindfulness, God tells us that thinking and reason are part of how God wired us, since man is made in His image and having a mind is part of that. Reason and thought are rooted in God's character. "And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind'" (Matt. 22:37).
Moreover, the world is God's creation. It is not a mere illusory phenomenon of rising and falling. The world was created good, became corrupt through man's sin, but one day will be restored (Genesis 1, 3; Romans 5; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).
Any teaching that the mind or thinking is negative or prevents spiritual understanding is at odds with the nature of God as an intelligent Being of reason. In giving us His word in the 66 books of the Bible, He expects thinking and reasoning since language cannot function without them. Using the terms chattering mind or monkey mind denigrates the mind God gave us.
Should You Practice Mindfulness?
Practicing Mindfulness meditation on a fairly regular basis may eventually lead the person to be open to or adopt the worldview behind it, because that is the purpose and effect of this meditation. Mindfulness experience tends to validate itself, leading the practitioner to believe that the process of detachment is at work. However, since the self is real and permanent, there can be no true detachment. Therefore, no liberation or true peace ever results from Mindfulness.
Buddhism teaches that there is no supreme God, no mind, and no permanent individual self. Ultimate reality is sunyata, a term loosely translated as the void, or emptiness, which refers to the ultimate impersonal reality of formlessness from which all has allegedly arisen. Mindfulness rests on the belief that the world is full of rising and falling, and peace comes only with the cessation of rising and falling. But how can there be experience of joy or peace in formlessness, when nothing with self or identity is there?
If you are a Christian, the rationale and goal of Mindfulness is in conflict with a Christian worldview. Mindfulness has nothing in common with biblical meditation, which is thoughtful contemplation and pondering of God's word; nor is it prayer. Biblical meditation and prayer do not intend to go beyond thought, either to achieve a mystical oneness with God, or to "hear" from God. Prayer in the Bible is always presented as verbal praise, petition, confession, and expression of gratitude to God.
The tests on Mindfulness and its effects on the brain and behavior, often at the behest of the Dalai Lama's organizations and those who promote Mindfulness, are yielding what appears to be evidence of positive changes in terms of clarity and calmness. However, the tests cannot measure spiritual effects or the possible spiritual cost. Engagement in a method designed with a spiritual purpose has the high potential to bring about spiritual effects. Furthermore, why encourage a practice that promises a counterfeit peace? Christians know that true peace comes solely through reconciliation with God through faith in Christ?
The concept of needing detachment goes against biblical teaching on necessary ties to the past and future: that we should remember what God has done for us through the atonement and bodily resurrection of Christ, and vividly keep before us the imminent return of Christ, our true Hope. There are many desires that are good, and desire to know God more deeply through prayer, Bible study, and worship nourishes believers in Christ. There is no need to fear attachment or good desires.
Mindfulness and the practice of Christianity do not mesh and cannot peacefully co-exist.
Posted with permission:www.christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_MindfulnessMonkey.html
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
|
Post by fearnot on Jan 11, 2016 0:47:09 GMT -5
Great article I have read it twice but need to read it a few more times
So much good info:
"Has anyone considered that instead of taking time to learn a stress reduction technique, it would be more valuable and practical to use that time playing board games, taking a walk, strolling in a park, relaxing to soft music, reading a good book, taking a nap, developing a hobby, or one of many other pleasant activities that people enjoy? Studies have shown that such activities lower blood pressure and bring down heart rates."
Also:
"The concept of needing detachment goes against biblical teaching on necessary ties to the past and future: that we should remember what God has done for us through the atonement and bodily resurrection of Christ, and vividly keep before us the imminent return of Christ, our true Hope. There are many desires that are good, and desire to know God more deeply through prayer, Bible study, and worship nourishes believers in Christ. There is no need to fear attachment or good desires."
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jan 11, 2016 14:01:32 GMT -5
Amen! Glad you were able to get some useful help from it!
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jan 12, 2016 12:42:31 GMT -5
I was asked:
The answer is because he's trying to separate the body from the mind by controlling your breathing, or rather have you separate them. He seems to be talking about mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a meditative practice and an outlook on life and reality that ideally results from the type of meditation designed to cultivate the Buddhist concept of detachment.
Mindfulness is often defined as a moment-by-moment nonjudgmental awareness of the present. Why is detachment necessary and what does that mean? To understand, we should know these essentials of Buddhism:
1. Life in this world is suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by desire for and attachment to this world, which will bring further rebirth into this world.
3. The remedy for suffering is to cultivate detachment and thereby reach enlightenment and thus escape rebirth.
4. The final goal is nirvana, a state of release from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. Nirvana means "to extinguish."
Mindfulness meditation is a technique of sitting still (though there is also a walking meditation), observing the breath, being aware solely of the present moment, and learning to let thoughts pass by without entertaining them. Because there is no permanent content to the present moment since it comes and goes, eventually a state of no-thinking is reached. The goal is to divorce the mind and thinking process from one's observation so that the meditator realizes that he is not his thoughts, eventually understanding that the "I" observing the thoughts (called the Witness) is not the conventional self, but rather the universal or Buddha self (terms vary). This Buddha self is the Buddha nature of the universe, which is the only permanent reality.
He's either trying to trick you thinking you don't know about mindfulness and what it really is, or he's been tricked himself and bought into this thinking that there's nothing at all wrong with it. If the doctor is really a Christian, or at least thinks he is, then the information he would have initially been given to study about this wouldn't have anything in it about Buddhism or any of it's goals. They don't give that info out until the person is sold on the idea and ready to jump in with both feet. Then they slowly let them know about other "aspects" of it, all the time assuring them it has nothing to do with religion. Since he's a "professional" and this stuff has already been accepted many places as "normal" and non religious, including schools, the doctor wouldn't ever suspect that this could undermine his Christianity, especially if he's a christian in name only and not truly born again.
Controlling how you breathe isn't meditating, anymore then reading a book is always reading God's Word. It depends on why you're controlling your breathing - what the purpose for it is. If it's to meditate in a non biblical way, then it's wrong and bad for us. it's a sin. Because we are not to empty our minds, or give control of them up. Controlling your breathing can also be used for self hypnosis or to hypnotize others, both of which are sins for us for the same reason I gave before.
Meditation trains the person to watch thoughts so that the meditator does not attach to the thoughts and follow them. Eventually, the space between thoughts widens until there are no thoughts and "No Mind" is reached.
See, they want to convince you that you are not your thoughts, that your thoughts are not you. But the bible says differently doesn't it? I know you're very familiar with these verses, but I want to include them anyway. For those who don't know, the word "heart" includes what we think of today as the "mind". So these are all talking about our thoughts, the thoughts that they want people to disassociate with:
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV)
“As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.” (Proverbs 27:19)
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
But the Lord tells us that instead of disassociating from our thoughts, we're to be alert and self controlled: “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:13) We're to make our thoughts obedient to Christ, not get rid of them, or pretend they don't mean anything: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) We're to let His word be constantly in our thoughts: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly ....” (Colossians 3:16) When we do that, His Word changes us: “to be made new in the attitude of your minds;” (Ephesians 4:23) and makes us new. Again we're told what to think about and never told to empty our minds or to think that our thoughts aren't important: “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” (Hebrews 3:1) “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)
“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” (Psalm 143:5)
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
“The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.” (Psalm 37:31)
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Jan 24, 2016 17:45:05 GMT -5
Again thank you so much...great info.
I canceled my appointment and so far have not heard anything from either one so that is good news. Perhaps my PCP will ask me when I see him in April why didn't I go.
At which point I will say again that it is against my Christian beliefs. If he asks in what way ( cuz I hate to sound rude) can I say, there just isn't enough time to discuss it, but if he is sincerely interested he could read the Bible?
I would love to say that mindfulness and hypnosis ( mentioned on the stomp site) were 2 obvious reasons.
However, I know you have warned me that he would almost certainly try to convince me that it really has nothing to do with Buddhism ( or as the originator of Stomp said something to the effect it was Buddhism without the religion) ...right!
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jan 25, 2016 13:00:31 GMT -5
We always want to believe that the person asking us something like that is really looking for the truth and open to it, but sadly, 99% of them aren't. In this case, we know your doctor isn't looking for the truth, because you've given him ample opportunities to hear it and understand it. So if he asks you in what way this is against your beliefs, simply tell him that it goes against what the Bible teaches us about ourselves, our thoughts, and feelings and how we're to handle pain and illness. If he stills presses you for more information or tries to get you to give him an example, tell him that it would take too long to explain it more then that, but that if he's interested you'll be happy to tell him some books in the bible that he could read, which would help him understand it better.
Don't say "scriptures", say "books" because otherwise he could very well say he'd like you to do that and if you did, the ones you would give him (like the ones I gave above) wouldn't mean anything to him at all and he wouldn't understand them. Plus, the only reason he'd ask you to do so would again be so he could have more ammunition to use against you. It wouldn't be any trouble to him because you'd be doing the work of writing down the verses and he wouldn't have to do anything. This way, by telling him "books", it would give him pause, because he'd realize that it would be a lot of work for him to have to go through and he won't want to do that. If he says yes to book though, just tell him to read 2 Corinthians, Phillipians, 1 Peter, Hebrews, and Job. We know that he still won't understand it, even if he does read the bible because he's going at it with the wrong attitude and doesn't have the Holy Spirit to guide him. But I seriously doubt if he'd go so far as to ask you which books he should read.
If at later appointments he continues to ask you about it, just tell him that you don't want to discuss it with him. Actually, you could tell him that at this next appointment too, if you'd rather. Instead of the above, you could simply tell him that you really don't want to discuss it as it takes a thorough knowledge of the whole bible to understand it, and no one can really understand any of the bible unless they have the Holy Spirit within them and the only way that can happen is if the person is saved by submitting to Jesus and knows Him as their living Savior. (or something like that)
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Jan 26, 2016 0:36:55 GMT -5
Thank you again Cindy. He has been my PCP for 15 years now.
And we have talked about the Bible, Christianity etc. way before this latest situation.
I had told you once ( one of the reason I keep hoping he might really be interested) that he told me years back about some Christian friends visiting he and his family. They had talked most of the night about Jesus, the Bible, Christianity etc.
However still unconvinced his friends suggested he go across the from his home to the beach and sit ( late that night) and ask God very sincerely if He is real, to speak to him.
Of course, the Lord did no such thing, and my PCP was disappointed. He did say at the time that he was reading the Bible ( but like you said, without the Holy spirit....)
I don't know about his wife, (they have 3 children) but he did tell me his daughter was a devote Christian. She is in college studying to be a surgeon....so I wonder if college has chipped away at her faith. Yet God sometimes put just one believer in a family ( right?) so that they might lead the rest of their family to the Lord over time?
I am going to re-read your answer tomorrow and write it down so I will be prepared when I see him in April.
It was the psych that 'sounded' at least like he knew a lot about the bible and Christianity...he could somewhat talk the talk.....but I am thinking that is because he is a psych and perhaps they study a bit about Christians etc. thinking it is part of their 'sickness'?
Still, tho, he is into stomp which is quasi-Buddhism.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jan 26, 2016 12:49:28 GMT -5
Yes, you have to study comparative religions to get the psych degree. I'm sure he can talk the same way about Hinduism and many other religions too.
I know you've spoken to your primary doctor a lot about God, which is why I said what I did. I'm not sure why you said that the Lord "of course" didn't speak to him that night though. Is it that you don't think the Lord does that? If he walked away from that night thinking that the Lord did not speak to him, then it can only be because He didn't recognize the Lord's voice. (I don't mean an audible voice) He most likely had expectations as to how God would speak to him and when those expectations weren't met, instead of examining what happened carefully, he sadly just assumed God hadn't done anything to speak to him. Either that, or he's lying about it and simply doesn't want to admit that God spoke to Him because He doesn't really want anything to do with God. Regardless of what really happened that night, there have obviously been a lot of times that God has reached out to him through numerous people and many seeds have been planted. However, from everything you've told me, especially over the last year, it doesn't sound like he's willing to submit himself to God, at least not yet. Therefore, I still recommend putting it the way I suggested in my last post.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Oct 13, 2017 10:02:19 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Oct 13, 2017 10:09:14 GMT -5
There's a new report on mindfulness in the news that I'd like to share here too:
'Mindfulness' Is a Meaningless Word With Shoddy Science Behind It
The benefits of meditation may have been seriously overhyped, a group of psychologists, neuroscientists, Buddhist scholars and mindfulness teachers warn—and the evidence to support mindfulness as a treatment certainly has been.
A new study by a multidisciplinary group of researchers at several universities calls out the "misinformation and propagation of poor research methodology" that pervade much of the evidence behind the benefits of mindfulness. They focus in particular on the problem of defining the word mindfulness and on how the effects of the practice are studied.
“Mindfulness has become an extremely influential practice for a sizable subset of the general public, constituting part of Google’s business practices, available as a standard psychotherapy via the National Health Service in the United Kingdom and, most recently, part of standard education for approximately 6,000 school children in London,” the authors write in their paper, published Tuesday in Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Much of the research around meditation and mindfulness has serious flaws, the authors state. Among those flaws: using various definitions for mindfulness, not comparing results to a control group of people who did not meditate and not using good measurements for mindfulness.
More:www.newsweek.com/mindfulness-meaningless-word-shoddy-science-behind-it-682008
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Oct 13, 2017 22:39:00 GMT -5
This is a great article!!
I was re-reading this thread and realized I didn't answer the question you asked about why I said:
Of course God did not answer him.....
What I meant was, he was looking for an audible voice...and tho I know God has done so from time to time....
I guess, I should have said, it would have been unlikely...that God would 'talk' to him in that manner, yes God could have
but then
I even wonder IF God choose to do that
my doctor might have though he was hallucinating.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Oct 30, 2017 11:08:56 GMT -5
No, the way you said it was fine, I was just curious as to why. It would be better to include the why when stating something like that so others don't misunderstand. It can be so hard to explain things at times because we have to be so careful how we say things, thanks to all the false teaching that's around. I've even realized that a number of things I have often said can be taken the wrong way because of how false teachers have twisted things. Like when I've said things like, "the Lord told me or showed me something". I certainly don't mean that I heard a voice or that the Lord actually spoke to me. I mean that He led me to something in His Word and I gleaned it from what I read -either right away, or maybe later when talking to Him about it. Or even when I tell people to study "with Him" and talk to Him about what they're studying and ask Him if they have a question. They could think that I'm saying that every idea they get when studying or praying is from God and that's not true. Like the woman who asked God to send her someone to be her husband and then decided that He had sent a man who was nice to her at church, even though he was married and had children! Wrong!!! So I try to be more careful about how I say things, but even so I'm sure that some could misinterpret things I say if they wanted to. It's really frustrating at times.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Oct 30, 2017 11:26:34 GMT -5
Marcia Montenegro did a great job showing how what may at first glance appear to be just another tool to use to improve health or reduce pain, is actually New Age mumbo jumbo that goes against God's Word. Many doctors are pushing this New Age alternative healing on chronic pain patients due to the so called "war on drugs". What's worse is that some threaten to stop prescribing pain meds if their patients don't agree to use these methods. (Of course they stop prescribing them anyway once the patient starts the program - regardless of whether it works or not because the New Age belief is that we -not God - create our own reality) We need to understand what we're really being asked to do: To stand up for our faith and trust our Lord, or deny Him and His Word. That honestly is the bottom line.
Here is Marcia's post about mindfulness and how it's infiltrated the medical community:
THE BITTER FRUIT OF “WELLNESS”
By Marcia Montenegro
...Remember when I warned about the word “Wellness?” Well, the seeds planted by Wellness concepts are blooming into a poisonous plant.
The Swedish Hospital in Seattle promotes ways to manage pain such as Guided Visualization, Walking Meditation, Tai Chi, Mindfulness, and Hypnosis. Patients are offered this instead of medications for pain.
Insurance companies, due to the opioid crisis, are pressuring doctors to offer alternative methods to manage pains, and thanks to the infiltration of alternative modalities via “holistic” and “wellness,” some patients who truly need pain meds for pain are being forced off medications and told to accept what are essentially spiritual practices.
See this for yourself. Look through pages 19 to 41 of the PDF brochure on Pain Management at goo.gl/hSG6d2
*H/T Cynthia LaFreniere
Whether you agree or not, it is wrong to
1) Include spiritual techniques as part of treatment
2) Pressure patients to do this instead of getting medications
Related to this, I just heard from someone in Germany that overt Eastern spirituality is taught in some hospitals there for patients to "manage" their health and/or pain. They are told they are responsible for their health and illness. (this is part of Wellness philosophy). This is New Age idea "wellness" blossoming into its full hideous manifestation.
What is happening in Germany we can see taking form in this Seattle hospital and other health care centers in the U.S. (and probably elsewhere). The Swedish brochure even uses the word "spirituality."
Truly disturbing is what is found on the Resources page in the brochure: the first 5 books listed are overtly New Age books/authors:
The Wise Heart
by Jack Kornfield, Ph.D.
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
byDon Miguel Ruiz
Anatomy of the Spirit
by Carolyn Myss, Ph.D.
A New Earth
by Eckhart Tolle
Vibrational Medicine
by Richard Gerber, M.D
***Comments***
I am familiar with all of these authors and have 2 articles on Tolle's book, A New Earth. Kornfield is a Buddhist author whom I read when I was in the New Age. I have warned about Carolyn Myss as a New Age “healer.” Vibrational medicine is New Age energy philosophy, including the "subtle body," which I have warned against.
"Vibrational medicine is also known as energetic medicine, energetics medicine, energy medicine, subtle-energy medicine, Vibrational healing, or Vibrational therapies. It is a healing philosophy whose main tenet is that humans are dynamic energy systems (body/mind/spirit complexes) and reflect evolutionary patterns of soul growth.
Vibrational Medicine is a "large tent" which, amongst others practices, embraces acupuncture, aromatherapy, Bach flower therapy, chakra rebalancing, channeling of occult spirits, color breathing, color therapy, crystal healing, absent healing, remote viewing, automatic writing, Electroacupuncture According to Voll (EAV), etheric touch, flower essence therapy, some aspects of homeopathy, Kirlian/aural photography, laserpuncture, the laying on of hands, meridian therapy, mesmerism, moxibustion, some variations of orthomolecular medicine, Past-life Regression, Polarity Therapy, psychic healing, psychic surgery, radionics, the Simonton method, sonopuncture, Toning, Transcendental Meditation, and Therapeutic Touch. Catch your breath...there are indeed more.
The expressions "energy healing", "energy work", and "energetic healing work" appear synonymous with Vibrational Medicine."==From goo.gl/qZahti
***Comments***
This is the New Age view of the body. For a hospital to promote this and the other New Age books is inexcusable.
In addition to the New Age books, several New Age websites are offered, including the Institute of Noetic Sciences (it is not science) and Wisdom at Work. These sites both are evidence of how the New Age can appear to be merely another psychological and/or scientific based approach.
Wisdom at Work includes the categories of Mindful Leadership and Wisdom and Wellness on their main page, along with this:
==We often partner with local wisdom keepers and these special gatherings in the Aloha Spirit have served both our local Island community as well as guests and groups from communities and organizations around the globe......Common themes for these gatherings include: immersion in the living wisdom of natural systems; living in balance, self-family-&-team renewal, meditation, integral medicine, change resilience, eco-tourism and lessons on sustainable living from Island cultures and the wonders of our natural world.==
***Comments***
The above paragraph is full of New Age buzz terms.
I suggest not accepting the advice to do spiritual activities being promoted by health care institutions and doctors. As time goes by, it will become more difficult to take a stand, so we might as well practice now.
--------------------------------
Resources
CANA Posts
Frequencies, Vibrations, and Energy
goo.gl/XQm7ZU
Energy Medicine: Is it Real Medicine?
goo.gl/uj0EkG
Radionics and Frequency Machines
What’s Your Frequency? The Truth About Rife Machines (Including Radionics, Zyto Scanners)
goo.gl/Y1cPTt
Radionic and Frequency Machines Can Kill
goo.gl/my49hO
Zyto Scanners
tinyurl.com/zfsgpno
CANA Articles
Out of Your Mind: Meditation and Visualization
goo.gl/TxPNzG
Energy Concept
goo.gl/bxbfph
Chi Therapies
bit.ly/1KpySiG
Hospitals: A New Dark Age?
bit.ly/1gB756d
Reiki
bit.ly/1KrFgoA
Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"
goo.gl/wMhwKg
goo.gl/z97wqc
Acupuncture Links
bit.ly/1X0sPdf
bit.ly/1JtaHS6
Debunking Vibrational Medicine
goo.gl/edfBj3
~~~~~~~~~~
**Links below from Cynthia LaFreniere re the opioid crisis and pain
**Note: I am providing this information for those who may want it but this issue is not directly related to the New Age, so I would prefer not to have any discussion on this but rather on the New Age in health care. I am a steward of the time God gives me and have to make good use of my time.
Misconceptions on opioid crisis
Quote==Some claim a large percentage of opioid abuse in the US is due to drugs “diverted” from legal prescriptions. However, many reports show illegal drugs transported across the US southern border are responsible for most so-called “opioid deaths.” NIH graphs seem to show that about half of opioid overdose deaths are actually heroin related. According to CDC, fewer than half of opioid deaths involve prescription opioids.2
It is hard to sort out the facts because most media reports combine statistics for illegal heroin and fentanyl and legal opioid medications. Compare the images from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) page created with CDC statistics. And according to a CNN report, “Epidemiologists in several states blame the increasing number of drug-related deaths on greater use of heroin and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.”
In Florida, most illicit opioid use has been linked to illegal activities of “pill mill” doctors.==More at goo.gl/PHWxto
More on the fallout from the opioid restrictions
goo.gl/Gehu9m
(you'll have to click on her post to get the links to work though)
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Nov 8, 2017 17:58:45 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Nov 9, 2017 12:56:10 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Nov 9, 2017 13:23:28 GMT -5
STEALTH BUDDHISM: THE INVISIBLE TAKEOVER IN EDUCATION, CORPORATIONS, PSYCHOLOGY, & THE HEALTH FIELD THROUGH ADMITTED DECEPTION
As those following my posts know, I have warned about Mindfulness being a Buddhist practice - one which I once did -- many times. Please read this very important piece in the Huffington Post by Candy Gunther Brown:
Quote==Indeed, the Associated Press notes that the Portland, Oregon high-school mindfulness program it features, Peace in Schools, is the "brainchild" of European-American Caverly Morgan, who "trained at a Zen Buddhist monastery for eight years," and who, according to Morgan's personal website, remains committed to "Zen Awareness Practice" and "maintains her own spiritual practice while offering the gift of practice to others." Peace in Schools boasts being the "first for-credit mindfulness course in a U.S. public high school."==End quote from goo.gl/Xm0Juq
*Thanks to Lori Baker Galloway for this article
COMMENT
Please note how various school systems will use different names for Mindfulness; Oregon calls it Peace in Schools. So you can't just ask your school or county about Mindfulness - you must be specific. It can be called Quiet Time or Calm Moments or anything.
Quote==Trudy Goodman, founder of Insight LA, California, confesses in an interview with Vincent and Emily Horn of BuddhistGeeks.com that what she advertises as "secular" mindfulness for public schools is really, in her words, "stealth Buddhism." Although the "secular" classes use a "different vocabulary," getting children to engage in the same practice of mindfulness that is taught in Buddhist classes transforms students "whether they want it or not," and many go on to enroll in explicitly Buddhist classes. The podcast interview records Goodman and the Horns laughing while discussing this intentional deception.==End quote
COMMENT
The above speaks for itself - secular Mindfulness is admitted by some who push it to be "stealth Buddhism."
More deception:
Quote==She explains her tactic to a group of Buddhist insiders at the 2013 Heart-Mind conference at The Dalai Lama Center for Peace-Education: "We have to be able to bring contemplative practice into the classroom under a different name because obviously people that say 'oh meditation' they think oh this is 'Buddhist.'" So she instead uses the terms "Core Practice" and "brain breaks" as euphemisms for Buddhist meditation.
....When speaking to Buddhist coreligionists, Hawn says MindUP "all started" with "His Holiness" (who gave Hawn her own personal mantra) and with the Dalai Lama Center. But, in presenting her program to the public, Hawn drops all references to Buddhism or meditation and claims that she is simply teaching children how the brain works.==
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note how a sound - usually a chime -- is used to start and end the session. Using a sound plays into the hypnotic effect as well as being a behavioral control to induce compliance with Mindfulness:
Quote==Cued by a resonant sound to begin and end practice, students are instructed to focus attention on their breath and cultivate "non-judgmental awareness" of passing thoughts and emotions. This Core Practice, the curriculum promises, habituates children to respond to experiences in a mindful way that develops moral and ethical virtues of "empathy, compassion, patience, and generosity." If the Core Practice of mindfulness is reducible to paying attention while breathing deeply, it is unclear how it makes one virtuous--except as a tenet of the eightfold path of Buddhist awakening.==
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I've pointed out in my 4 articles on Mindfulness and many times here on FB, Mindfulness is designed to alter your view of your mind as being part of you, and to realize your self is not the real you, either:
Quote==As I explain in more detail in my previous post, meditating on one's breath and present-moment bodily sensations and cultivating non-judgmental awareness of passing thoughts and emotions trains the mind to perceive experiences and the notion of a "self" as transitory.==End quote
COMMENT
The article I quoted from above is no very long. Everyone should read it, as well as Brown's article on the specifics behind how Mindfulness got started and the agenda that goes with it (link to this is posted below).
I am feeling vindicated as I read this, because the Mindfulness pushers themselves are admitting they are changing and hiding language to sneak Mindfulness in as secular. The sad thing is is that everyone is buying it.
Mindfulness will soon become a dividing line in many ways: which side will you stand on?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RESOURCES
Article by Brown on Mindfulness Meditation
goo.gl/pBbRwV
CANA article on Mindfulness (I have 4 in total)
bit.ly/1gRROhH
Article on lack of science on Mindfulness
tricy.cl/1uecdkq
Variety of feelings is good for mental and emotional health
bit.ly/1xVFuT3
Warning from Scientific American on how Mindfulness with children is behavior modification/conditioning and can lead to negative results:
goo.gl/lZyqL9
Huffington Post article on Buddhism hidden in Mindfulness
goo.gl/Xm0Juq
Articles on Meditation Dangers
goo.gl/ttpSXN
goo.gl/xTKqXJ
goo.gl/ZIO2Iu
goo.gl/mZ5MYi
goo.gl/6slhDu
goo.gl/E1eK63
Posted with permission
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Nov 9, 2017 13:25:32 GMT -5
What's scary to me is how much Christians have come to trust completely the so called medical field of psychology and psychiatry, just as though it was as legitimate as regular medicine. They don't seem to understand that it's nothing more then another "theory", no different then evolution (in fact evolution plays into it a lot!) or any other man made philosophy. There's a huge difference between the two fields. Regular medicine is founded on facts, not theories, while this has nothing at all to do with fact, (except in some folks imaginations where they've given it that title even though it's not deserved; again, just like what's happened with evolution. One of Satan's oldest tricks has always been that if you tell a lie long enough, people will start to believe it, and that seems to be exactly what's happened with these things.)
In the "old days" before we became so "civilized", if there was a tragedy or crisis of some sort, pastors were the ones who were called in to minister to the people. Not anymore though. Now it's "professionals". Sadly, the only thing they can do professionally is mess people's heads up even more then they were before as they bring people further and further away from God.
It's funny, but I've been reading a commentary written back in 1909, and over and over again, it talks about how selfishness is at the core of our sin nature and constantly points people away from what the world calls self centeredness and self confidence, and toward God centeredness instead. I've seen that back then, they still understood the Truth about God, His word and our sin natures and it makes me wonder at how quickly all of that began to be left out of sermons, and many pastors instead began embracing what the world had begun teaching about the self. How very sad, for it's left the majority of Christians quite weak when they could have been giants for the Lord.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Nov 9, 2017 13:42:44 GMT -5
This is really scary if you think about it. All of this kind of stuff is clearly against God's Word, and yet it's being pushed and taught at our schools, from kindergarten up through college; many employers are making their employees attend seminars about this and are asked to practice it; doctors, hospitals and clinics are asking and in some cases forcing their patients to take classes in these things and practice them; and finally it's also infiltrated the church and is being taught there as well! Talk about great deception, we have to be alert and discerning in every area of life now! Because of this and because of some thing mentioned in the above articles, I want to also share links to some other articles I wrote, and a couple by another author, that reflect how this is playing out in other areas of our lives.
The war on Drugs
Getting the World ready for the Antichrist.
The war on drugs by people with no common sense
And
Opioid Restrictions Versus Patient Needs
Opioids and Chronic Pain
|
|
!!
