Communicating ideas that transcend a given belief system has always been an intriguing creative endeavor for me. For someone entrenched in their own belief system, learned from family or previous study or practice the mind can close off to listening and being present to something new- a new view.
I have found this to be true in spiritual and philosophical discussion where I have felt (note I) that the person wanted to communicate their experience as it related to studying a specific practice or under the tutelage of a given spiritual principle or teacher. It is in these circumstances that I start thinking to myself, 'I want to talk about the glory of 'it', of 'life itself', of your experience, not of how someone taught you to experience it.
And in that vein I am attracted to the Mindfulness work and its going wider stream in public workshops and workplaces. Mindfulness groups, or Mindfulness based stress reduction programs focus on the techniques and outcomes of greater focus, attentiveness, peace when developing and continuing a Mindfulness practice. The benefits listed are identical to those listed as benefits in having a steady meditation practice, with one main difference. Mindfulness consciously avoids explanations and wording that imply or connote having a spiritual or religious experience.
Secondly Mindfulness programs always include language on science based techniques for greater relaxation. With brain activity now trackable with scan technology (cite source) you can successfully argue that Mindfulness techniques give the brain outcome as practices meditators.
I am now tracking web and local sources of tools and descriptions for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for individuals and in the workplace. Here are my top (eventually to be a top 10 list)
1. UCLA Meditation Center- Several to guide you online.
2. Krame Center at Ramapo College runs 1/month free intro to mindfulness talks and practice. Sign up for their newsletter.
short start from his bio- "Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded its world-renowned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic (in 1979)"
