Mindful Meditation - WGN News Cover Story, 3/18/15

Hello all,
Just thought I'd share this since it's our local station, and most wouldn't see it.
Last night on Chicaggo's local WGN News at 9, the cover story was on "Mindfulness Meditation," and meditation being taught in schools.

I find it pretty cool that it was the cover story for the night on what would be considered "MSM."
I watched it live, and this cuts off, but after Lourdes' report, back in the newsroom, the anchors discuss meditation, and the male (I forget his name) talks about his own experience with meditation.

I also have two personal ties to the story - I use the same EEGs and software the kids at Loyola U are using, and I used to date Lourdes' sister, so I was cool it was her doing the reporting.

Enjoy!

wgntv.com...

Great to see this implemented. I have often thought this would be a great idea.

I once saw someone here on ATS commenting on the same topic complaining about how it would be wrong to force kids to meditate. Didn't make much sense to me since school itself is forced on kids..

Meditation has been shown to have all kinds of positive effects so I think this is a great idea.

Meditation in schools, huh? Before even reading the article I already shared the following sentiment, but not for why you might think:

Some schools are giving it a try with some pretty good results. There are critics though, that say introducing it in schools is a little too much like prayer.

They call it "mindfulness meditation", but the real name for it is Vipassana (WikiNazis, take a pill):

Vipassanā-meditation is a modern Theravada practice, reintroduced by Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw and popularized by Mahasi Sayadaw, S. N. Goenka and the Vipassana movement, in which mindfulness of breathing and of thoughts, feelings and actions are being used to gain insight in the true nature of reality. Due to the popularity of Vipassanā-meditation, the mindfulness of breathing has gained further popularity in the west as mindfulness.

Emphasis mine. It is a Buddhist practice that has been repackaged for Western consumption.

There is a spiritual (oh no! I said it) component of Vipassana (and indeed, all forms of meditation). You cannot remove the spiritual aspect of the practice and expect it to be of full benefit to you. It simply doesn't work that way, and I know that might tee some of you off.

"Secular meditation" is a contradiction in terms. You are doing the practice itself an egregious disservice by secularizing it. The only reason they want it in schools is to make students perform better. The only reason businesses want it is to make their employees perform better. They want you to be mindful of their incessant stream of bulls#, and nothing else. They want you to be the best hoop-jumper you can be.

They are bastardizing the practice by removing Vipassana's spiritual foundation, which is the only way they can get it into the schools. The article is quite right to point out that meditation is a little too close to prayer. When you look at both of them closely (prayer and meditation), you'll see that they're really not much different. Two sides of the same coin--one active, one passive. If you're going to have a secular society, you shouldn't teach meditation in public schools.

Or, if you're going to take the religion out of it, teach it all you want just don't call it meditation. Because that's not what you're doing.

I know when people imagine meditation, they imagine calm and peace (and sometimes it is) but as this news article mentioned, it can also be the most difficult frustrating thing in the world.

It is also hard to say what exactly is the best or correct way to meditate.

a reply to: NthOther

I don't know if I agree with that.

While I agee Buddhism can be a "Spiritual" practice, Satipatthana or Vipassana does not have to be. It is about seeing things as they are.

I was put on an 8 week mindfulness course at my local hospital. It was presented in a very secular way, with no religious dogma attached to it. The course was given by a neuro phycologist. It has done wonders for me. I've spent the last 10 months in hospital and the meditation helps me cope with being here, the stresses of being here and the dissapointment of being here. Without the meditation I think I'd have gone mad or needed to have been put on anti depressants or put in a mad house. I do it mostly because it is enjoyable and helps me sleep, which is vital at the moment. Maybe when I get out of here, I won't need it as much, but it keeps me level headed and in relative good humour despite my circumstances. I'm currently on a 12 hr cycle drip of antibiotics to fight of meningitis. After spending the last 3 weeks having to deal with brain surgery and complications with leaking csf fluid from my scar. It's made me more interested in the religions of the Far East and India as a result. Something I wasn't interested in before. I guess once you start to practice, you become interested in where the techniques originated and why people do them

a reply to: NthOther

You really have a focus on this that is totally incorrect.
Somehow, someone has cornered your thinking and poured it full of very one-sided BS. If you did all of this wrong thinking to yourself, start over.

To KOAStheory:

I've racked about 40 years into consciousness work as a lay person, personal EEG machine, TM training and other "mindful" practices. If everyone could learn to meditate the world would be in a better situation and some people would slide off of their high horse to get a better feel of being grounded.

a reply to: KAOStheory

BTW: Two attempts and the video did not play.

a reply to: TheLaughingGod

Yes it is wrong to force kids to meditate. It is a way to divert attention away from their current condition and to further avoid dissent. It is conformism of the highest order: a whole school at once sitting silent with eyes closed. They are diagnosing kids as sick and forcing them to take a cure of their choosing, which has as much benefit as getting a good nights rest. Meanwhile, they do away with recess and water down physical education. It is all about growing a passive citizen.

A school is for learning, not spiritual practices.

a reply to: Aliensun

Did you do the flying yoga? In the TM brochure it shows people seemingly floating in the air, but really it's just a bunch of people sitting lotus bouncing on dirty mattresses.



How'd that 40 years of consciousness studies pay off?

a reply to: KAOStheory
Thanks for the thread.

It can be very useful to have children understand that no matter what is going on, they are fundamentally being or awareness.

When they are actually encouraged and allowed to be founded in this most basic depth of being, it can also enable the whole body-mind to relax in the primary feeling of being, rather than constantly being required to always stimulate conceptual and even perceptual processes.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope


A school is for learning, not spiritual practices.

Maybe meditation increases attention span and that way more is learned.
If school is for learning what better way to make schooling more efficient.

a reply to: KAOStheory

Just tell them God will give them super powers for reaching Nirvana, or meditation was how Jesus became a super sayian zombie, they'll trick themselves into doing it.

I doubt anyone can really force someone to meditate due to the fact that the experienceee has to force themselves to let themselves consciously go, and to allow their brain to adjust to the mind states as to maintain them longer.

It like forcing someone to pray, sure they could act like they are doing, but would it matter if it didn't come from the heart.

Any clue as to where I look at this EEG equipment?

that is great news. To me it seems that this could help the kids in wondrous ways. Meditation is much more than spiritual technique. It has many other beneficial effects on the mind and body. And I bet the word spirit or spiritual is not even mentioned while doing meditation so the kids are not swayed into the philosophy or religion behind it.

They are just learning and experiencing their bodies and mind in unusual way - mindfulness. How can that ever be bad if you know yourself better? Pure nonsense.

if school is supposed to be for learning which it is. Then meditation is the best free tool available and anyone can do it. Pure meditation should be present in schools from the start. IMO!

Oh but then governments would have a problem. People/kids would actually start thinking for themselves and they would realize in what a mess everything is and live with more compassion and love without many superficial fears which todays modern society has.

BEWARE! If you are a staunch conservative, love the GOP and Republican party -- mindful meditation can turn you into a liberal!

However, what is truly new is the other finding of the study—that meditation makes you more liberal, at least in the short term. The researchers arrived at this conclusion by comparing the political views of people who had just participated in a guided meditation with those in a control group. The meditators expressed more liberal views—including a reduced support for "tough on crime" policies, and a preference for liberal political candidates—than the non-meditators.

Some thoughts from the researchers themselves:

"We suspect that meditation lowers the rigid boundaries between self and other that people normally experience in their lives, promoting a more egalitarian mindset (it's hard to maintain a competitive frame with another person when you don't believe that you are separate from one another!). Preferences for egalitarianism, in turn, are one of the key motivational factors underlying support for liberal political attitudes."

Study: Meditation Makes You More Liberal

Now, might there be something to this? Could meditation really change your political/moral/social beliefs? Yes! Mindful meditation has been shown to shrink an area of the brain; the amygdala:

MRI scans show that after an eight-week course of mindfulness practice, the brain’s “fight or flight” center, the amygdala, appears to shrink. This primal region of the brain, associated with fear and emotion, is involved in the initiation of the body’s response to stress.

As the amygdala shrinks, the pre-frontal cortex – associated with higher order brain functions such as awareness, concentration and decision-making – becomes thicker.

Scientific American

So how does this all come together? Well it turns out that conservative-minded people have larger amygdala's and live in more fear than their liberal counterparts:

Peering inside the brain with MRI scans, researchers at University College London found that self-described conservative students had a larger amygdala (link is external) than liberals. The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure deep in the brain that is active during states of fear and anxiety. Liberals had more gray matter at least in the anterior cingulate cortex, a region of the brain that helps people cope with complexity.

Psycholoy Today

So it would appear if you want to stay conservative, don't meditate and shrink your "fight or flight" center.

a reply to: Specimen

Exactly - no one forces anyone to do anything in school.
When we had to stand and give the pledge of allegiance -every morning - and mention God - I mouthed the words.
When we had to jog around 3 city blocks - I fell behind with the other "cool kids," walked, and smoked cigs.
It's being OFFERED - not forced.

Anyways, yours is the one out of all about that that I clicked "reply" to, Specimen, so I could tell you to look up the NexNeuro MindWave EEG site. They have several different models of EEGs, a ton of awesome apps, ande now you can get an RC helicopter you can fly with your mind. Can't wait to get one!

The ones I have are only $80.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

There IS a sect of Yogis who are said to be able to achieve levitation.
TM does NOT do it. They do indeed bounce on mattresses.
I was about to sign up for TM two years ago - they were offering a huge discount, and their prices aren't low to begin with. Suddenly one of my cats got sick, and there went what I had saved and earmarked for TM.
I honestly think the universe was saying either, "Not yet," or, "Don't do this."

I've always been curious about it, my Mom went to Fairfield to study it in the '70s.
I have a book on it, maybe I'll read it as long as it's been brought up again.
Maybe Aliensun can provide some insight as to how it differs from "regular" meditation?

Sorry about the vid btw - worked fine when I watched it again yesterday. I suppose I should Fraps it before the interwebs disappears it.

a reply to: KAOStheory

WHAT!!!???

Is NexNeuro and MindWave two separate sites, also I'm looking at Neurosky right now debating about buy it right now.

I'm more or less looking for a product that could provide some form of measurement or scale as to help give me an idea of what I'm doing sometimes as it would give me some understanding. The EEG would be a great tool then.

As for me, I was one of the scary kids in gym class, even the cool kids were scared of me.

a reply to: Specimen

lol about gym class -

sorry, yes Neurosky is it. NexNeuro is a vibro-acoustic systems company. I get the two mixed up sometimes.

It's totally worth the $ IMO - the float the ball app is really fun, and if you have a fast enough processor (mine keeps freezing) they have some new very realistic ones where you're levitating, or race-car driving (attention to accelerate, meditation to shift smoothly.)

I bought a 2nd one, so I can watch brainwaves synch during Reiki sessions. It's been done a few times before, but very cool to see for yourself.

a reply to: KAOStheory

Im interested, and looking at the reviews at the moment about it, and there is mixed views about.

So far the only real con of using such a device is that it might give headaches, and that the apps could be a little more developed, and they can very dodgy about money back guarantees.

The price is okay especially for a neurological device.

Not so interested in the games though as much as I'd like the idea of using my brain as controller instead of hand eye coordination which would of been great, but I've thought up other practices I can think about that are similar to such an idea. I just want something of gauge or measurement more or less.

Ill keep my eye on it for now, til I feel more confident about it. Thanks though.