Mind Body Medicine

I’ve been visiting the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). If you didn’t know already the new precedent for natural forms of therapy like taijiquan, yoga, and qigong have been officially dubbed “mind body medicine” as viable forms of alternative medicine. This national recognition puts natural therapies in the mainstream alongside current traditional therapies which is excellent news for CAM practitioners.

I’ve also been trying to get a handle on what most people believe and/or understand about mind body medicine. Take meditation for instance. As of late, Mindfulness Meditation has been discovered as a viable means for controlling the advance of HIV in patients.

Now, I’ve looked at the Wikipedia definition of Mindfulness. I also found an interesting reference on the therapeutic applications: “Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. MBSR is a form of complementary medicine offered in over 200 U.S. hospitals and is currently the focus of a number of research studies…”

Mindfulness Meditation is having so much success in the U.S. that U.C. San Francisco is seeking “Participants Sought for Study of Mindfulness Meditation, HIV Progression: The UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine is looking for participants for a study to determine whether mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) slows the progression of HIV. ”

According to Wikipedia, Mindfulness is a deep subject, but is quite simple in practice. I assume that these departments of integrative medicine are pretty much going with the NCCAM concept of mindfulness meditation:

“Mindfulness meditation originated in Buddhism. It is based on the concept of being mindful, or having an increased awareness and total acceptance of the present. While meditating, the meditator is taught to bring all her attention to the sensation of the flow of the breath in and out of the body. The intent might be described as focusing attention on what is being experienced, without reacting to or judging that experience. This is seen as helping the meditator learn to experience thoughts and emotions in normal daily life with greater balance and acceptance…”

Let me tell you how different I am from most people: I thought everyone practiced mindfulness already – until now. Let me ask you something: What are you doing if you’re not in the present moment? Where’s your mind right now if it’s not in the present moment? Is your head swimming with voices pulling you in all different directions? Are you feeling stress from all those inner voices?

I imagine that you’re in the present moment right now, which is why you’re here. But what about all those other people who seek out these experts in “psychoneuroimmunology” at these departments of integrative medicine at these big, expensive hospitals? Aren’t they just relearning their natural functions? It’s like they’re seeking out expert advice to learn how to sneeze again. That’s how I feel about it.

The way I see it, there must be a certain mind pattern that caused these people to become HIV patients in the first place. Think about it.

I’ve already discussed Law of Attraction and power of attraction wherein Heart Knowledge leads to Success. I’ve already discussed mind patterns and how they resonate with other mind patterns through social mood. I’ve also discussed social mood which precipitates all of these social behaviors of which the mind patterns are the root.

You know me. I’m into all sorts of esoterica. This Mindfulness Meditation is child’s play to me because we were born with it. Kids get hyper and distracted because of sugar and mainstream sensationalism like video games, otherwise, kids are extremely focused – when they understand and appreciate the importance. If anything, decadent society trains the natural abilities to focus out of kids what the “experts” want to put back.

I’m all about mind body medicine, but I tend to go over the heads of most people. Like I said, what the “experts” are teaching to people in hospitals and schools is child’s play to me; it’s just a warm up to the meditation exercises that require real discipline. For most people, this is more than enough. Just getting back to your roots and recovering your natural abilities to relax and focus is all you really need. The esoteric stuff has to be something you want.

The difference is you don’t need to seek out “experts” at some department of integrative medicine at a big, expensive hospital, although I might decide to become one of those “experts” if that’s what floats your boat. You have the ability to recover for yourself. All you need is some guidance.

All you need is to follow a few simple instructions. In fact, I provide those few simple instructions for your convenience to take with you in a little book:

HealingMindN Meditation Guide

by

HealingMindN Medicine Man

How to relax and focus instantly in any situation:

• Natural deep breathing opens your higher consciousness
• Remain relaxed and focused in any crisis
• Simple step by step guide

This meditation guide helps you relax in a few easy steps, so you can have a disciplined approach to take away valuable self improvement and healing experiences.

I’ve listened to a lot of people concerning meditation. There are all kinds of meditation. The problem that I’ve encountered is that people have trouble getting into meditation and staying with it. This guide is meant to help you get into meditation, so you can take away something valuable from your experience… DOWNLOAD NOW – LIMITED OFFER!

Thanks for your time.

Yours Truly,

Randolph, HealingMindN Medicine Man

P.S. Subscribe to Way of the MindGate Newsletter and get two more free eBooks: Effortless Power, 12 step mini course on the secrets behind true power and Visual Ray Psionics, a step by step manual for creating your own orbs or thought forms using your visual ray:

Two More Reality Changing, Self-Improvement Courses are Yours for the Asking… P.S. Next time I bring up NCCAM, I’m going to cover their erroneous treatment of taijiquan. I’ve decided to take the Taijiquan subject to Bioenergetic Spectrum Science Circle, since there’s a lot of cross over on the subject matter. Please visit NCCAM spin on “Tie Chee” vs Real Taijiquan

P.S.S. Here’s one of the latest stories from the Daily Bruin:

Study shows meditation helps immune system (extracts)

• Published: Monday, August 4, 2008

Sitting back, getting comfortable and concentrating on the breathing patterns of your own body is how some people use mindfulness meditation to focus.

By taking a step back and learning the art of paying attention to the now, people learn from mindfulness meditation to deal more effectively with many aspects of everyday life, including stress, said David Creswell, a research scientist at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA.

In recent years, the practice of becoming more mindful and tuning in to ones internal experiences has gained scientific momentum. Multiple research studies have confirmed its beneficial effects in boosting the immune system and thickening brain areas in charge of decision-making and emotion regulation.

(I’m just now beginning to understand that most people are mindless about their internal experiences.)

A new study recently found initial evidence for mindfulness meditation delaying the progression of HIV, the immune system destroying virus that causes AIDS.

Mindfulness meditation seems to prevent HIV progression by reducing stress and strengthening the immune system of HIV positive adults, said Creswell, the study’s lead author.

“This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowing HIV disease progression,” Creswell said.

By conducting an eight-week mindfulness meditation stress-management training program, it was found that those who completed the training had more CD-4 T cells compared to those who did not.

These CD-4 T cells are attacked by HIV, leading to the decline of the immune system. Through mindfulness training during the recent study, these cells were protected by the stress-relieving effects of the meditation and the progression of the disease was slowed.

(The concept here is completely old school. For example, from eons old Traditional Chinese Medical Theory, Circulation is health, Stagnation is sickness. Stress leads to tension leads to stagnation leads to sickness. These “experts” are rediscovering “the wheel.”)

To further investigate the scientific backbone of the meditative practices of becoming mindfully aware, Creswell and his colleagues are now beginning to investigate the brain. This will be done using brain-imaging techniques to study the specific pathways that are being impacted by the awareness meditation. This meditative state, however, takes practice to achieve. It is usually when a person becomes increasingly aware and tune in to their breathing, the mind and body begin to connect, said Diana Winston, director of Mindfulness Education at the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA.

(I’m sorry if I seem insulting, but that’s like saying “director of Happiness Education at the Happiness Awareness Research Center…”)

It is at that connection when most people report becoming more aware of where and what they are in the present moment, rather than racing with thoughts about the past and future as most people in contemporary society are prone to doing, she added.

(Most people in contemporary society are trained to think that way academically and by culture. This is the same effect as mining gypsum from the soil, so we can go buy it from the local garden supply to put it back in the soil. It all makes sense when you follow the $$$.)

“In our program, we teach people how to apply mindfulness to emotions and become less reactive,” said Winston, who is also an instructor of mindful awareness practices for daily living. “People are always reacting, but this teaches them to be more aware in the process, as well as become more mindful when speaking and listening to others.”

(Winston is saying that people are neurotic – reactionary talking before listening and thinking. Like I said, this is all trained by culture and instilled through social mood. I’ve been in these geschtalt groups where I felt like the odd one out because I always took my time to see from the other person’s perspective. Winston confirms through her reports that “contemporary” attitudes are lacking, but salvagable.)

Mindful awareness meditation is not a new idea and has been around for centuries, but it was in recent years that its therapeutic potential has been demonstrated scientifically, Winston said.

(Actually, Mindfulness has been around for millennia, but trained out of “civilized” people over the last few centuries.)

In addition, it is easy enough for individuals to implement in their daily living and can be done anytime, anywhere, Winston added.

“As our culture gets increasingly sped up and people become overwhelmed by information, media and responsibilities, people are now looking for ways to counteract all of that,” Winston said.

The research center at UCLA offers people from all around the community to participate in mindfulness, take classes, attend lectures and attend day long retreats, Winston said.

(Or you can simply download HealingMindN Meditation Guide
and follow a few easy steps to relaxation to take with you wherever you go.)

The classes start off teaching students the basics of mindfulness and then move on to specific issues of how it can be applied to daily living, Winston added.

“It teaches you to do what your body is doing now,” Gonerko said. “It is the aligning of the mind with the body, whether you are eating, tasting food or talking to a friend.”

(Why does this sound like something out of an Orwell book?)

Winston said the purpose of these classes and mindfulness meditation is for students to incorporate it into their everyday lives to help them deal with physical pain, difficult emotions or other challenges.

(They way you tell it, I get the sense that most people even have difficulty dealing with hangnails.)

Although it is relaxing, mindfulness is not an easy state to come by, especially when it must be applied in everyday life.

(Why are you saying that? We were all born with this ability. Why are you making people out to be so small and incompetent?)

“We have to practice and try to be mindful at all times; it is suggested that we meditate for 20 minutes four to five times a week,” Sims said.

(It’s not the time but the timing and quality of effort you put into meditation that counts.)

The actual meditations done in the weekly class largely stem from focusing on one’s breathing and also addressing issues that interest each particular class, Sims added.

“The instructor would pick specific emotions like depression, anxiety and anger and talk about establishing equanimity through becoming mindful of the emotion itself,” Sims said.

(People can also try Emotional Freedom Techniques. That usually clears negative emotions. People are also spiritual beings; we need to consider their state of spirituality – or lack thereof.)

Individuals involved in the classes and workshops for mindfulness offered at UCLA all had the same root reaction to the practice of the meditation: They felt it had transformed their lives.

(When people rediscover their innate abilities that have been trained out of them by decadent culture, a transformation is usually what happens.)

However, Winston believes that mindfulness is a developing phenomenon that is going to grow more in years to come.

“Mindfulness will be like the introduction of seat belts in cars; at first no one thought they were important and now they are a safety requirement,” Winston said. “Mindfulness may become the seat belt of mental health and one day it will be taught in schools for all people to practice.”

(That means the instructors would have to be mindful. Kids learn to be reactionary from their parents, teachers, and peers who learned from their parents or whatever guardian. Social mood rules. The real cure is to treat kids like individuals with their own minds rather than tell them how to think. Train the adults around them first to be “mindful.”)

HealingMindN Meditation Guide