War and Psychics

It has been revealed that in 2002, the Ministry of Defence funded secret tests to see if a group of people could psychically see into remote hidden objects.

At first, the researchers tried to recruit established psychics for the experiments but when all refused they had to use volunteers.

The subjects were asked to identify contents hidden in brown sealed envelopes. 28% of the volunteers made some close guesses. But for the most part, the volunteers did not even come close. One reportedly fell asleep during the testing.

The Ministry of Defence did not disclose their reasons for spending approximately £18,000 on these tests.

Because of the timing and the nature of the experiments, there has been speculation that the defence experts were looking at the possibility of using remote viewing in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden or the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Their study concluded that remote viewing could not be put to great use for the purposes of the nation's defence.

The Happiest Man in the World

Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk, photographer, author, former biologist and translator for the Dalai Lama, has written a new book called Happiness: A Guide To Developing Life's Most Important Skill which contains simple meditation exercises.

Matthieu Ricard is the son of artist Yahne Le Toumelin and philosopher and journalist, Jean-François Revel. He has led a fascinating life and is suitably qualified to write a book about Happiness.

He has been declared the Happiest Man in the World following rigorous clinical tests by neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin using MRI scanning to monitor his brain activity. (Read the scientific ins and outs of the study and an interview here)

Meditation for Beginners

When you are starting out with meditation, it can be difficult to settle or 'empty your mind' as you sometimes may be told. Besides our minds are never really empty.

But one simple meditation exercise which can be used to focus your mind is to count your breath. This helps you to notice when your attention has wandered.

Five-Minute Breathing Exercise

Observe yourself as you breathe.
Don't try to breathe any deeper or slower, just observe your natural breathing cycles.
You may notice that your breathing slows down and deepens all by itself without any effort on your part.

Once you have settled into a rhythm, after the next out-breath say 'One' silently to yourself.
Then after the next out-breath say 'Two'.
Keep doing this until you reach up to the number ten.
Then start all over again.

If your mind is really scattered, you may start thinking about other things by the time you get to five or six. You may even momentarily forget that you are doing this exercise.
If this happens, simply go back to the number 'one' and repeat the exercise again.

If you find this exercise easy, you may wish to prolong the technique for ten or fifteen minutes.

Read about some of the Benefits of Meditation

Alice Walker on God

When you close your eyes and tune into God, what do you see?
I don’t close my eyes. Why would I close my eyes? It’s everywhere. I mean it just is. What is this if it’s not God?

Do you have a preferred word for God?
I like “Mama.”

Alice Walker (author, The Color Purple)

Read the full interview here.

Words on Water

Meditation and water are wedded for ever.
Herman Melville

Feeling Stressed?

A survey carried out earlier this month by The Samaritans revealed that Britain was one of the most stressed nations in Europe.

Factors such as long working hours, financial pressures, lack of sleep and emotionally draining family problems contributed to the prevailing feeling of stress in those who were questioned.
Meditation can help with insomnia and reduce general stress levels.

The following links contain simple exercises which may be helpful in combating stress:

Relaxation Technique

Settling the Mind

Breathing

Aromatherapy and Cancer

Extensive research carried out at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London has shown that aromatherapy sessions can significantly ease anxiety and depression in cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or other forms of medical treatment.

The study examined the affects of aromatherapy treatments on people who had been experiencing panic attacks, insomnia, anxiety or depression following chemotherapy. These individuals had different types of cancer and were at different stages of the disease.
Selected individuals were monitored over 12 weeks and given a course of weekly aromatherapy treatments.

Although the aromatherapy did not seem to ease the physical side-effects of their cancer treatment, it did alleviate the feelings of stress, panic, anxiety and depression in those who undertook the course of aromatherapy massage sessions.

Read More

UFOs in London

Eyewitnesses in Islington, North London saw UFOs hovering in the sky at approximately 5.30 pm on 1 February.

The mysterious group of 10 to 15 orange lights were seen moving in silent formation across the Archway skyline stopping traffic and alarming witnesses.

The Islington police informed Contact International UFO Research about the sightings.

Read More

Mind Readers

In the sci-fi movie, Minority Report, police could read criminal minds and stop crimes from happening before they were committed.

Now a team of neuroscientists from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany, University College London and Oxford University have developed a powerful technique.

Using high-resolution brain scans to identify patterns of activity in the brain, they are learning which patterns are associated with which particular thoughts, emotions, wishes and ideas.

They believe they are developing the ability to discover people's intentions before they carry them out.

This has huge ethical implications for the future - not only in the area of crime prevention - but for society as a whole.

Snowy Weather

Yesterday, snowy weather threw travel services into chaos in London.
"A little bit of snow," moaned one bus passenger. "And everything grinds to a halt."

"Brace yourselves for a wet and windy weekend,"said the DJ on the radio this morning. Presumably he meant wetter and windier than usual.

Yesterday I staggered through the snow.
Today I slithered through the slush.

Anyway here's a slightly more romantic and meditative spin on snowy weather for reflective contemplation:

Snowflakes

Out of the bosom of the Air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent, and soft, and slow
Descends the snow.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Blind Faith

Speaking at an international seminar entitled '21st Century and Buddhism' in India this week, the Dalai Lama said, "Buddhist faith must come from analytical meditation. Analyse using our intelligence maximum way, throughout that way. Faith should not just be blind faith or without reason."

We don't switch off our brains when we meditate.

Meditation can make us more focused and alert, improve our learning ability and our memory skills and increase our sense of awareness and perception.

In a wider context, we need to apply common sense and judgement when being introduced to new systems of thought.

We don't need to accept fads or gurus blindly and without discernment nor should we reject unusual (to us) ideas with dismissive cynicism.

It is sometimes a challenge to remain open-minded and grounded at the same time.

"Believe not because some old manuscripts are produced, believe not because it is your national belief, believe not because you have been made to believe from your childhood, but reason truth out..." Buddha

Mantras

Mantra meditations involve the slow repetition of a seed word.

In Hinduism, the seed word or bija is a sound which carries energy and that purifies the mind and body when chanted.

The Sanskrit mantra Om is one of the most famous sounds used for chanting.

By chanting ‘Ommmmmm' as slowly as possible, it is believed that you become one with creation.

The longer you chant, the more energy you accumulate and this in turn creates beneficial and sometimes powerful results.

For another example of a mantra meditation exercise, see the Shalom Meditation.

Eternal Embrace

Yesterday, archaeologists discovered two buried skeletons from the Neolithic period locked together in an embrace.

The skeletons were found at a dig outside Mantua in Northern Italy, 25 miles south of Verona, the city where Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet was set.

They have been hugging for 5000 - 6000 years.

Words on Water

Don’t say, don’t say there is no water
to solace the dryness at our hearts.
I have seen
the fountain springing out of the rock wall
and you drinking there.

Denise Levertov

Words on Water

Here are your waters and your watering place.
Drink and be whole again beyond confusion.

Robert Frost

Positive Vibrations

At its simplest, meditation can be described as the focus of the mind on one thing.
This focus could be an image, painting or a photograph.

My Positive Vibrations Page contains a photograph of waterfalls which has been infused with universal energy.

When I spend some minutes contemplating the photograph, I sometimes feel a tingling in my head, inner vibrations or a feeling of calm.

The other Monday, I turned up at work expecting to have a relatively peaceful week and was shocked to receive an unexpectedly angry e-mail over a relatively trivial matter. I felt mortified and a bit humiliated.

I decided to spend a few minutes looking at the Positive Vibrations Page to calm myself down. I guess I was too ruffled to feel peaceful tingles or expansive vibrations.

But at least I went from feeling completely mortified to slightly miffed. So it's all good stuff.

Water Meditations

Water is an innate part of our being. About 60% - 70% of the human body is composed of water.

In some philosophies, water is symbolic of the transitional stages that we pass through in our life cycle, including birth and death.

Water is used as a symbol of the Tao, the great Void, out of which everything emerges and to which everything returns.

Evoking or picturing images of water can bring about cleansing, invigorating and refreshing sensations.

Using one of these visualisations for as little as three to five minutes can have a positive therapeutic effect.

Evoking Peace
Picture yourself walking through a forest. Notice all the different shades of green - the leaves on the trees, the grass and the wild flowers. You walk down a path which leads to a stream. You sit down at the bank and allow your bare feet to dangle in the water. Sometimes you trail your fingers in the water too. You listen to the sound of the stream as it babbles over the pebbles.

Evoking Stillness and Calm
You are rowing across a still lake. You row to the centre of lake then stop and look at the silent white landscape that surrounds you. Watch your reflection in the water. Observe the salmon and trout as they swim by. Notice the gentle ripples in the lake.

Evoking Power
You are standing above two enormous waterfalls. The roar of the water gets louder and louder. Observe the unstoppable power and vastness of the water as it rushes down the landscape.

New Website

I launched my new meditation website on 12 December 2006.

It will explore meditation techniques for healing, creativity, manifestation and spiritual inspiration.

Creative Healing Meditation

This blog will explore the wider role of imagination and creativity as well as meditation and related topics.