I am by nature a wanderer and a loner. A group of us preachers-in-training sat in a room one day years ago, and I asked the question: I wonder what it would be like to be on staff at a huge church? A colleague laughed his patootie off, then opined: You need to command your own starship and boldly go where no one has gone before!

People in our neck of the woods like to poke good-natured fun at me for my MINI Cooper, my combat boots and cargo shorts and my frenetic, kinetic ways. If my hair was as thick and rich as it used to be, I suppose Id grow my hair out long again and give folks something else to talk about, too. I am not, by nature, a country gent. And yet I have been told on more than one occasion that I somehow embody the best of the red-neck spirit.

Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God. Ive learned to dance in New England, on the outskirts of the Mississippi Delta, and currently, I am enjoying an extended jig in these lovely foothills of Appalachia. And on reflection, it becomes quite apparent that the rabbis were correct: Man plans, God laughs.

When I started preacher school, I didnt realize that my destiny was to be a small-town country parson or any number of other things that I am today. I do still dream sometimes of biking across Great Britain or exploring the African plains or a thousand things Ive never done before. But the real surprise present? You can be a tourist in your own hometown. Unlock treasures outside your back door. Traverse the cosmos without leaving your easy chair. It takes faith. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). Good journey.

The Rev. Eugene Stockstill is pastor of Ebenezer United Methodist Church and Myrtle United Methodist Church in Union County.

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MEDITATION: Don't miss the adventure of a lifetime - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

GENEVA Nanci Rose-Ritter recognizes that people in todays world are leading busier lives than ever before and many are unable to slow down, breathe deeply and reflect.

A Zen meditation workshop and retreat she planned in conjunction with Hobart and William Smith Colleges Associate Professor John Krummel can offer tools to help people.

A good portion of it is geared in that direction, said Rose-Ritter, a teacher and practitioner in the Japanese and Tibetan Buddhist methods of Zen meditation. Some of it will be specific to our current times, but the overall emphasis is on the benefits of meditation for individuals and society at large.

Certainly, the element of compassion, this being a Zen Buddhist-style retreat, will be incorporated, and is always incorporated into this approach compassion for ones self, compassion for ones immediate family, compassion for the wider community and for the world as a whole.

Sessions are planned for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the Fisher Center of HWS Demarest Hall. It costs $10 to participate in one or $20 for both. As of Wednesday, limited spots remained.

The retreat will be offered in the style of Japanese Zen Buddhist sesshin, a focused period of group meditation and personal guidance. There will be information and discussion on specific techniques and philosophies.

Its the first time Rose-Ritter has opened the event to the community at large; she worked with Krummels first-year students on one prior occasion. Krummel, a member of the Colleges Religious Studies department, teaches a class about the Japanese form of Zen meditation.

Part of the workshops focus will be on the heart-mind connection.

Bringing those two together is always important, she said. We dont want to be just thinking creatures or just feeling creatures. We want to be balanced.

Rose-Ritter began studying the Japanese form of Zen meditation about seven years ago. She has taught and practiced the Tibetan Buddhist method for more than 35 years, first becoming interested in meditation as a 20-something.

I was interested in meditation, like many of my friends. I am a child of the 60s, after all, she said. A group of us opened a meditation center on Seneca Lake, near Watkins Glen, back in the early 1970s. We did d lot of comparative philosophy, with a strong emphasis on meditation. From there I found the Buddhist tradition.

She spent six months in Dharamsala, India, where the Dalai Lama lives. Eventually, she co-authored a book, Living Tibet, that includes a forward written by the Dalai Lama.

Rose-Ritter works as a trauma counselor, and uses meditation with her clients.

She said people have expressed an interest in learning more about meditation, so much so that she is considering the possibility of creating a regular group. Anyone interested in becoming a part of that group should contact Rose-Ritter at (315) 651-2570 or mindfulnanci@gmail.com.

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Meditation workshop, retreat later this week | Lifestyle - Finger Lakes Times

Meditation is a refuge from the business of our livesIllustration by Lisha Zhong for Varsity

Meditation has been practised for thousands of years around the world, with many modern forms of meditation rooted in Buddhism or Hinduism (though other religions have also adopted meditation in different forms). Studies show that regular meditation reduces, among other things, stress, anxiety and increases perceived wellbeing. Meditation can seem very alien at first for anyone who has never tried the practice before, but there are many different types and it is about finding the type of meditation that is right for you. There are different Buddhist forms of meditation, as well as Yoga meditation in Hinduism, Judeo-Christian meditation, chanting (mantra) meditation and more modern meditations. These practices all differ slightly but all allow us to develop greater awareness of ourselves and allow for emotional calm and clear thinking.

The go-to position people usually imagine when they think of meditation is the lotus pose or semi lotus (with legs crossed and one or both feet positioned on top of the leg). You can sit like this if you wish but for a lot of people it is not comfortable; instead you can sit cross legged, in a chair, lying down whatever is most comfortable for you. Often with meditation we focus on one thing, either something external from the body, for example a candle flame or something within the body, such as the breath. This helps our minds to focus, as I talked about in breathing last week, on the present moment and the exercise. For example, with a breathing meditation, we can bring our awareness to our breath and notice where we feel the breath, and bring our awareness to this moment, to the here and now. We can also visualise the breath entering and travelling down into our core and being released again.

There is no right or wrong way to meditate

An important part of mediation is letting go of judgement and allowing thoughts to arise and pass if they occur. It is normal to have thoughts appear in our heads as we meditate (often about tasks we have to do, deadlines or what we should be doing in this time), but we must be gentle and patient with ourselves. Acceptance is key to meditation and allowing any thoughts that occur to arise and pass without judging ourselves for becoming distracted, we can observe our thoughts and then return our focus back to our breathing or mantra. Meditation is about letting go of control, of accepting this present moment and though we focus to bring awareness and calm the mind we are kind to ourselves if we lose that awareness momentarily. Everyone is on their own path and it takes time to find a meditation that works for you and begins to bring you peace. Particularly in loving kindness meditations, where the purpose is to imagine sending loving kindness and compassion to yourself and others, it is emphasised to just allow thoughts to appear and if they do to acknowledge that and let them pass we are gentle with ourselves.

You can meditate in silence, along to meditative music, or there are guided meditations that take you slowly through the process. (There are various apps that provide guided meditations but some are much more beneficial than others so it was worth looking around for the right one for you.) Walking meditation is also a form of meditation that focuses on bringing awareness to very step to become aware and connected to the earth, aware of each step, our attention being on our next step, our next connection with the earth. When we walk it is one of the times we are probably most in our thoughts and thinking about tasks to do or where we are having to go to walking meditation is a way of bringing us into the present and letting go or our thoughts.

There is no right or wrong way to meditate and no set time you should meditate for. Often it is best to start with a short amount of time and work upwards. It can sometimes feel, particularly at Cambridge, that we do not have enough time or that we can be using our time for something more useful but allowing ourselves to stop, meditate and focus our awareness into the here and now benefits us for the rest of the day and is one of the most useful things we can do. Meditation (in whatever form) is a refuge away from the business of our lives, the business of our thoughts it is time that is completely for you to be able to discover who you are beneath the noise, when you allow yourself to just be.

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Meditate, and help bring calm to yourself - Varsity Online

BY SWAMI KRIYANANDA

Meditation is any practice of which the goal is superconsciousness. Its the process of retraining our awareness to operate not from the conscious or subconscious level, but from the superconscious.

The essential attitude for correct meditation is one of listening. The mind must be kept receptive, because we cant think our way into deep meditation. Nor, indeed, can you think your way to true guidance and inspiration. You can only receive wisdom: you cannot concoct it.

A truth must be perceived in that calm awareness that is superconsciousness. Meditation, then, is not creating answers: it is perceiving, or receiving them. And this is the secret of true guidance.

To understand what meditation is we must learn to listen to what is, and not keep insisting on what we think it ought to be. We must try to tune in to things as they are. Meditation is the opposite of imposing your will on the world. Try to relinquish, even for just a few minutes, the process of concocting plans and projects for the future. Be more, not less, conscious, however.

Meditation is a state of intense awareness achieved by stilling and concentrating the thought.

Its a journey to the centre of our being, a process so perfectly natural that we dont have to learn how to meditate. Rather, we have to unlearn those habits and attitudes that keep us from experiencing our natural state of expanded awareness. Deeper states of meditation come automatically as we peel away the layers of tension and attachments that prevent us from being more aware.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Meditation is awareness - Economic Times

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) Meditation in schools has grown increasingly popular in cities across the country.

Now, this national trend may be coming to a classroom in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS).

Julia Corin, a student at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), came up with the proposal to bring mindfulness activities into SCCPSS schools.

Knowing the impact mindfulness made on her, Corin says she felt it was important to bring spread how useful mindfulness techniques are.

Elementary schools in Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco are just some of the districts that have already implemented mandatory meditation classes for students.

After seeing their successes, Corin says she knew she had to propose the idea to the school district a few weeks ago.

SCCPSS says Corin met with Dr. Quentina Miller-Fields, Director of Student Affairs, and agreed that the district will be implementing mindfulness for elementary students starting at the Success Center.

Theyre open and theyre looking for positive solutions to bring into primary education in Savannah, says Corin.

According to Corin, mindfulness practices include breathing techniques, yoga poses and meditation. She says bringing these into the classroom has shown to enhances emotional intelligence, lessen violence, improve test scores.

Its really important to start putting mindfulness into younger students so that they have the skills at an early age to deal with all the things theyre going to have to deal with, says Corin.

Corin says the plans are still in the very early stages of development, but she has a rough idea of what is needed for the program to be implemented.

The first thing you need to do is to train the teachers how to be mindful, says Corin. The second step in the process is to teach the teachers how to facilitate mindfulness or meditation or a guided meditation session. And the third step is to then teach the children.

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Only On 3: Bringing meditation and mindfulness into the classroom - WSAV-TV

Drazen Zigic/iStockPhoto / Getty Images

Her newborn was sleeping, but Sarah Lynch wasnt tackling household chores, or having a shower, or even napping herself any of which would have been preferable to what she was doing, which was mindlessly scrolling on her phone. I realized it was making me feel bad about myself, anxious and more tired than I needed to be, she says. I understand, because Ive been to therapy, the kind of person that I am I can get caught up in negative thinking or feeling anxious. And I didnt need any more of that stress in my life.

What she did need was meditation, as it turns out. She downloaded an app, committed to a years subscription and started doing guided meditations when her son went down for his morning nap. And she saw the benefits immediately. After about 10 minutes, its over and I feel better. It doesnt even take that long but Ive taken that moment for myself, Ive actually paid attention to my breath.

Lynchs meditation practice is just one example of mindfulness, which is anytime we are purposefully paying attention, says Stephanie Kersta MSc, RP, a psychotherapist and the co-owner of Hoame, a meditation studio in Toronto. According to Kersta, you can eat mindfully by paying attention to the sight, smell, texture and taste of your food. You can drink coffee mindfully. You can even walk mindfully. And there are real benefits, including decreased anxiety, decreased depression, improved sleep, increased energy, increased productivity, increased focus, increased immunity, decreased pain response and [an] overall happier mood, she says.

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This is especially true for new moms, who may feel isolated from their partners, family and friends while on maternity leave, which can make anxiety and other negative emotions worse. Kersta points to a 2017 study published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, which found mindfulness practices during the postpartum period may contribute to a mothers psychological wellbeing. And, a 2016 study in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found pregnant women with a history of depression who tried mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reported significantly lower rates of depressive episodes and when they did have those episodes, they were not as severe.

And Lynch is right it really doesnt take much. If you can swing it, it can be easier to get into a meditative state at a class outside of your home. But apps are great options, too. Try Calm, Headspace, or we really love Insight Timer as it is a free option, which is helpful with reduced mat leave pay! Kersta says. We also really encourage to start small: three minutes per day, and build on that.

You can also add mindfulness into other parts of your day, whether thats while youre drinking your morning sup of coffee, as you take your baby for a walk or while youre having a shower. And, she says, its important to breathe deeply. Stress can cause us to take shallow breaths, which signals to our brain that theres an impending threat.

Your brain kind of scrambles after you have a baby, Lynch says. But programming mindfulness into my world is a positive thing for me. Its giving myself permission to be kinder to myself. I know, on one level of my brain, to take care of myself first is to take better care of my son.

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Why new moms should carve out time for mindfulness and meditation - The Globe and Mail

(Facebook Photo/Shannon Woodruff)

PHOENIX Approximately 40 million American adults roughly 18% of the population have an anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

People are focusing on their mental health more than ever and small, mindful practices can do wonders for overall well-being.

Mindfulness is being aware of what your mind is doing and kind of keeping it in check, Shannon Woodruff, modern mindfulness advocate and certified meditation instructor, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday.

Woodruff owns and operates a local business, ManifesTEEN, that offers meditation workshops for both adults and teens who want to improve their mindfulness.

Even the act of just meditating is mindful because youre saying, I am the one in control here. Woodruff said.

Sitting and knowing you are sitting and slowing down a racing mind can help calm you down. In return, it can impact your overall mental health.

It helps with things like anxiety, insomnia, and mental health in general just feelings of well-being and positivity and just being aware that you are not your thoughts, Woodruff said.

How can you start practicing mindful thinking?

Witnessing your breath, and once you start witnessing your breath, you are witnessing an internal motion you dont have control over, Woodruff said.

Woodruff added guided meditations can get adults to use their imaginations in a positive productive way. You can find free tutorials on her Facebook or Instagram or at ManifesTEEN.

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Mindful thinking, meditation can help with anxiety, depression - KTAR.com

As the sun set on Friday night, a group of certified wellness coaches held a guided meditation session on the UC lawn. Dinesh Kashikar, also known as Kashi, found meditation beneficial during college and now travels to campuses to help other stress-filled students.

The event did not include yoga mats, calm music or candles. Kashi and his comrades simply sat with students to focus on their breath and mind, and he mentioned the need to demystify meditation.

People think my mind is too crazy to meditate but once you follow the algorithm its easy, Kashi said. Meditation is for everyone, our goal is for people to learn they can do it with no intervention.

During Fridays event, Kashi informed students of how the mind handles stress. He said that people try to stop focusing on a stressful thought, but the more they push their mind to stop thinking about it, the stronger the thought become. Meditation can bring relief to this problem.

He also said that the basis of what people do begins with their state of mind. Meditation is a way to take more control of that state of mind, and is the best way to work with ones self.

When we have the key to the car (our mind) driving it is easy, Kashi said. Thoughts like clouds come and go, and the key to meditation is to be in thoughts.

Kashi has been meditating for more than 25 years and has guided meditation sessions for more than six years. He knew meditation was an important tool to share when he saw his need for sleep shrink two hours by adding only 20 minutes of daily meditation.

Kashis project is called The Art of Living and has benefited over 370 million people through SkyCamps, their system of bringing meditation resources and education to college students. The benefit of meditation is apparent through the stories of these students, including one instance where Kashi saved a life.

About 5 or 6 years ago two students came to me after a program and thanked me for saving their life, Kashi said. They were going through a traumatic break-up, but they got back together because of meditation.

Seated across from Kashi on Friday was his partner, Deepika Konakanchi. Konakanchi, a University of Memphis graduate, also discovered meditation during college and sees the practice as immensely valuable.

Konakanchi is part of The International Association of Human Values, and obtained a Ph.D at Memphis while raising young children. She credits meditation for her ability to stay focused despite her many responsibilities.

It was possible because of meditation, I made it without being stressed out, Konakanchi said. Theres a bigger high in meditation than any other recreational means.

About 38% of college students use marijuana during school, according to a 2018 study by The University of Michigan. Contrary to medicating, a 2016 study by Biological Psychiatry showed that mindful meditation can change the brain and lower the risks of inflammatory disease.

Konakanchi said there is always a need to relax and keep the mind calm. Like Kashi, Konakanchi remembered a moment where meditation changed someones life.

Seven years ago I guided 100 students doing meditation for the first time, Konakanchi said. I received an email six years later from an attendee who still remembered and valued the 6-minute practice.

The Art of Living has been in service for 37 years and has 3,000 centers worldwide. The group is open to starting a SkyCamp at the UofM via their website, artofliving.org.

One UofM student felt an impact from Fridays meditation session. Sophomore marketing major, Saran Panchakunathorn, grew up in the Buddhist country of Thailand, where meditation was common.

Since I was a child my parents would take us to the temple and monks would meditate, Panchakunathorn said. I just know the basics, but you get positive vibes and drop everything youre thinking, definitely worth trying.

Panchakunathorn also said that when he couldnt sleep or was struggling, he would meditate. He said that meditation could help recover both your mind and body, and that Fridays session was beneficial.

Skepticism around meditation still exists, but it is a healthy substance-free approach to handling stress. Free resources are available on YouTube and anybody can meditate according to Kashi.

Its a profound experience. Our vision is to bring more smiles and happiness to more people, Konakanchi said.

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Meditation group held outside UC to share practice with students - Daily Helmsman

Hundreds of students sang and meditated Tuesday evening during an on-campus celebration of Diwali, an annual four to five dayHindu festival of lights.

We want to be able to live a true life and be true to what we really are, event organier Hemali Patel said. We want to have integrity and stick to our values. We want to have simplicity because things in our society are getting more and more complicated, so its important to be simple and true to our core values.

During the event, students attended five information booths representing each of the five days of Diwali before participating in devotional songs and a question and answer segment. The devotional songs throughout the celebration called upon the presence of God and promoted practicing mindfulnessand meditation.

The whole program is centered around truth, simplicity and integrity, so were gonna be pushing how we can live a life with those three values, said Meet Patel, who acted as Master of Ceremonies for the event.

The event was hosted by Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha in the William C. Powers, Jr. Student Activity Center Ballroom. BAPS has organizations and universities all over the country and hosts Campus Diwali annually in several cities, including Houston and Los Angeles, Hemali Patel said.

Several years ago, economics senior Meet Patel and event organizer Manav Patel decided to help BAPS put on Diwali after the group was inactive for years. Manav Patel said they had a group of people willing to be involved but had not taken advantage of that yet.

The focus of this event is not aimed towards Hinduism its aimed towards everyone and how to incorporate the basic values of all religions, said Manav Patel, a government and philosophy senior. Were teaching people its okay that there are some failures in your life. The messages were trying to teach are universal. Were not trying to doDiwali just for Hindus.

Psychology sophomore Hemali Patel said that the turnout had been much smaller in past years. She said they were surprised at how organized and well-attended the event was.

Communications and leadership freshman Natasha Sagar, who was at the event Tuesday, said she appreciates that the event includes all studentsregardless of their religion.

Its really cool that its a cultural event as opposed to just a religious event, Sagar said.

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Hundreds of students begin on-campus Diwali celebration with songs, meditation - UT The Daily Texan

In a world seemingly dominated by bad news, we all need a little escapism now and then. Yes, the video game space in general is good at immersing us in their digital worlds, but trying to save the world, again, can be a taxing business. It's refreshing, then, to see a game take a different tack, offering a way to put your real-world blinkers on in a manner that's deliberately crafted to calm you to your very soul. And that's exactly why we all need Lifelike in our lives right now. Go on, turn away from Twitter for 10 minutes.

Don't be fooled by its title either. Thankfully, Lifelike is anything but a reflection of our present reality, instead presenting a journey of discovering, gathering and learning about different particle groups, with the ultimate aim of reaching a level goal. Like thatgamecompany's Flower, though, playing Lifelike is less about the destination than the Journey. Created by developer Kunabi Brother, it's described as a particle symphony, and as silly as that might sound, it's probably the perfect way to explain it.

(Image credit: Kunabi Brothers)

Inspired by the meditation concept of 'undivided attention', or 'focused attention', Lifelike encourages you to get lost in the gameplay through an immersive spectacle of sight and sound. A low-fi chill beats soundtrack ebbs into your ears and I'd recommend playing with headphones for the purest experience reactively morphing and evolving as you move through the particle types.

You play as a ball of light that can connect and collect different particles. Some look like feathers or leaves, others like fish, but most are not unlike that of your own playable glowbug. Gathering up each of these different species will cause your screen to explode with colour. Part of the process, though, is finding out how the different particles interact.

Some don't like to be touched, for example, and will follow you but never directly interact, instead choosing to swarm around your dot like a swarm of bees. Others will happily mingle together with you, and other nearby particles, creating a blanket of colour that pulsates across the screen like a shoal of fish in the sunlight. Often you'll find them wanting to take flight, leading you from point to point instead of following behind, creating rivers of bioluminescent energy that you can ride to discover more about this strange yet beautiful landscape.

(Image credit: Kunabi Brothers)

Puzzle elements slowly seep their way in, too. In one level, particles are trapped inside a gelatinous blob, and you must force your own orb through its centre with enough force to release the captives. It's all simple enough to feel satisfying without taxing your brain in the way other mobile games might, which is exactly what Kunabi Brother is aiming for.

Lifelike is about absorption and immersion in its purest form. There's no real story here, just the immensity of synesthesia: beautiful calm beats that combine with the movement and tinctures of the particles. It's a sight to behold, and the kind of calm we should all be clutching to our chests to protect right now. It'll be joining the Apple Arcade roster very soon, so look out for it on a mobile or tablet device near you in the coming weeks.

Until you can play Lifelike for yourself, why not check out our pick of thebest Apple Arcade gamesright now?

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Turn off the news and play Lifelike, Apple Arcade's latest dose of mobile meditation - GamesRadar