A Look at Meditation
In this modern day and age, the negative effects of stress are
unavoidable. People have tried various methods to help cope with stress,
everything from exercise and diet to alternative methods like biofeedback.
However, the most effective method to deal with stress is not one of these
modern methods but rather a 5,000 year-old idea: Meditation. Meditation not only
helps reduce the negative effects of stress, but also leads to a better sense of
well-being by uniting mind and body.
The basic principles and practices of meditation are rooted in Hinduism,
an Asian religion whose followers believe that the soul is eternal and maintains
an eternal relationship with God. Hindus believe that because the soul is
eternal, it must reincarnate in various forms to retain this everlasting
relationship. Thousands of young people flocked to the ideas of Hinduism in the
1970's to escape the drug culture of the times.
As the troubled youth of the 1970's matures into the professionals of
the 1990's, the practice of meditation has been incorporated into the medical
field and studied for its effect on the body and mind. The physical practice of
meditation slows and calms the body, lowering blood pressure and heart rate with
the use of deep breathing exercises.
The calming of the body in itself works to fight stress but those who
meditate say that meditation also helps to replenish the mind. The mind, along
with the body, needs to feel at peace. In the hustle and bustle of the
technological age, we often seek out materialistic means of happiness. Some
pursue hobbies that like rock climbing that present both physical and mental
challenges to satisfy this need while others stretch out in front of the
television to relax.
We approach our search for a better sense of well-being on a
superficial level instead of dealing with the issues that are the root cause of
our pain. We don't really understand what happiness is and therefore spend our
time and energy trying to get rid of the pain instead of confronting it. If we
turn to meditation to guide us through the journey of self-awareness. If an
individual is aware of the cause of his pain, he can better understand it and
cope instead of letting it determine the course of his life. It is not the
actual event that produces a stressful response, but r...
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and healthier than she did in college due to the growth of consciousness.
"Whatever you apply yourself to, you are more successful."
La Fave says that with time and practice, the mind and body can be
peaceful and potentially stressful situations no longer have power to cause the
body harm.
The Maharishi Vedic University is currently putting together a
curriculum for the development of human consciousness that not only teaches
meditation but also a healthier way of life. They are located off the capitol
square at 23 N. Pickney and can be reached at (608)255-4447. La Fave encourages
anyone interested in learning about meditation to call or stop by.
The search for a better sense of well-being is a life-long one. What
makes an individual feel satisfaction and inner peace changes as time goes by
but are rarely achieved without training the mind. Meditation forces its
practitioner to return to the self, to confront the obstacles of life, not push
them away.
Works Cited:
"Krishna-izing the World" by Richard Vara, "The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 2, 1991.
"Opening Up to Happiness" by Mark Epstein, M.D., "Psychology Today", July August 1993.
We all know that cosmetics existed thousands of years ago. Cleopatra used a heavy arsenal of beauty aids to help her shake the foundations of the Roman Empire. Yes, cosmetics and perfumes have a long history, but the consumer industry we live in is relatively recent, a creation of the decades 1890 through 1920. The products hawked in the 19th Century by druggists, perfumers, barbers, physicians, and a colorful assortment of other enterprising individuals were primitive by our standards. Certainly, active ingredients were used with abandon, notably arsenic, lead, and mercury. These were products that really made visible differences, and the consumer was well-advised to be wary of the majority of these mysterious concoctions.
Hare used these core factors to develop the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised assessment tool that helps detect psychopathy in people. They developed this theory because psychopathic behavior was thought of as miscellaneous of a topic to be categorized in one or two factors. The four recommended factors proposed by Hare and Neumann are: Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle and Antisocial. The first factor, interpersonal consists of superficial charm, manipulation, pathological lying, and a grandiose sense of self-worth. Secondly, the affective factor involves the lack of remorse or guilt, shallow affect, callous and/or lack of empathy, and failure to accept responsibility for own actions. The third factor is lifestyle, which comprises of need for stimulation and/or proneness to boredom, parasitic lifestyle, impulsivity, irresponsibility, unsatisfactory work habits, and lack of realistic long-term goals. Finally the fourth factor is antisocial and contains poor behavioral controls, early behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, criminal versatility, and revocation of conditional release (Hare & Neumann, 2005, p.58-59). According to Hare and Neumann “The 4 psychopathy factors are significantly interrelated, and thus can be comprehensively explained by a single superordinate (that is, psychopathy) factor.” (Hare, R. D., & Neumann, C. S.
Kosson, David S. “A New Method for Assessing the Interpersonal Behavior of Psychopathic Individuals: Preliminary Validation Studies.” Psychological Assessment. 9.1 (1997): 89 pp. 3 May 1997.
The main aim of his research was to show the differences between the children’s and adults’ way of thinking. It means that different factors influence the way of thinking of people at different stages of development. Piaget focused attention on the fact that children actually have a rather basic mental structure that is based on knowledge and experience that is formed in a particular way. He argued that cognitive development is a process that takes long period of time and can be influenced by huge amount of different internal and external factors.
In Eastern cultures, meditation has been practiced for over two thousand years. Through this training a culture has developed in which an individual is empowered to engaged in preventative behaviors, which reduce stress and morbidity, resulting in a general state of wellbeing, with stability and mental peace in the face of everyday challenges (Richardson and Lutz, 2008). Over the last half-century, the western-scientific community has begun to evaluate the efficacy of the eastern methods of meditation. In the modern western world there is an over abundance of stress, pressure and over stimulation. These conditions often result in stress-related morbidity, high levels of anxiety and mental illnesses. This cause and effect relationship is well established, and typically emphasis is placed on symptom control and less on preventative behavior modification. There are clinically documented see table 1, meditation practices that can be taught over a short period of time to an individual which have been shown to have positive results. Meditation can be used preventatively in supporting immune function and during illness as a method to aid healing and wellbeing for nominal costs. This paper will make an literary examination of a variety of studies of which examine the role of meditation training in regards to promoting immune function in athletes, recovering cancer patients, in addition to reducing stress and promoting well being in business professionals, cancer patients and seasoned meditation practitioners.
“The influence of Piaget’s ideas in developmental psychology has been enormous. He changed how people viewed the child’s world and their methods of studying children. He was an inspiration to many who came after and took up his ideas. Piaget's ideas have generated a huge amount of research which has increased our understanding of cognitive development.” (McLeod 2009). Piaget purposed that we move through stages of cognitive development. He noticed that children showed different characteristics throughout their childhood development. The four stages of development are The Sensorimotor stage, The Preoperational Stage, The Concrete operational stage and The Formal operational stage.
Memory is a group of related mental processes that are involved in acquiring, storing, and retrieving information (Hockenberry and Hocenberry page 232). I will be addressing two specific types of memory: short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory holds temporary information transferred from sensory memory or long-term memory. Sensory memory is the first stage of memory and obtains information for a brief amount of time. Short-term memory is also called active memory and is stored in the prefrontal cortex which is the most active part of the brain during an activity. Short-term memory can hold information for roughly twenty seconds, but sensory memory holds information for a shorter amount of time. We usually store things such
Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that children's cognitive development took place in stages. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.149). However they were distinguished by different styles of thinking. Piaget was the first t reveal that children reason and think differently at different periods in their lives. He believed that all children progress through four different and very distinct stages of cognitive development. This theory is known as Piaget’s Stage Theory because it deals with four stages of development, which are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. (Ginsburg, Opper 1979 P. 26).
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
psyche. It is shown through the book that in order to be a healthy individual in society as well as
of hassled, 3) alive, instead of burned out, 4) at peace, instead of angry, 5) refreshed/renewed,
The third stage is the Concrete Operational stage (7-11 years); this is when children are starting to solve problems mentally and develop concepts and are beginning to get better at understanding and following rules. Piaget’s fourth and final stage is the Formal Operational Stage (11 years and over); this stage is where the child is able to think not only as in the terms of the concrete, but also think in the abstract and is now able to think hypothetically. Piaget’s theory is one where children learn in a different manner to that of adults as they do not have the life experiences and interactions that adults have and use to interpret information. Children learn about their world by watching, listening and doing. Piaget’s constructivist theory has had a major impact on current theories and practices of education. Piaget has helped to create a view where the focus is on the idea of developmentally appropriate education. This denotes to an education with environments, materials and curriculum that are coherent with a student’s cognitive and physical abilities along with their social and emotional
Piaget’s stage theory of cognitive development demonstrates a child’s cognitive ability through a series of observational studies of simple tests. According to Piaget, a child’s mental structure, which is genetically inherited and evolved, is the basis for all other learning and knowledge. Piaget’s
In everyday life, it is possible to see the different stages of his theory at the ages thathe describes them as happening. For example, when I think about different children that I knowthat are in each of the four stages it is very easy to see how Piaget’s theory describes the way that each one of them think and behave. I think that Piaget was able describe the details of each stagewith the great accuracy that he did because as the textbook states, he developed the theory by watching his own children grow up and learn. I think by watching and studying his own children every day of their lives, Piaget was able to perfectly form the thoughts he had of how childrenlearn in different ways as they get
At present, cosmetics are always used in daily life. When we talk about cosmetics, most people will think of the things that only use for make-up such as lipstick, eye-shadow, mascara, blusher etc. But in fact cosmetics are not only mean to the things that only use for make-up but also shampoo, lotion or sunscreen. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains “Articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body… for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance.” (2014) The reason why people use makeups have different ways such as some people use for more confidence, some people use for protect the sunlight, and some people use for maintain their skin. However, there are a lot of people still worry about using the cosmetics since they believe that cosmetics are contained the dangerous chemicals that damage their body so they afraid of using them and try to avoid to use them. Although many people will be concerned that applying cosmetics may destroy their health, in fact, many experts have been confirmed that the use of cosmetic is not harmful to the human’s body. Moreover, cosmetics are also useful for users.