Another reason to meditate

Colleen Grace brought in the most recent copy of National Geographic yesterday. The issue is devoted to the nature of the mind and reports on current brain research. Fascinating. I really do recommend that everyone make an effort to get hold of this marvelous issue. One short article talks about research on the brain activity of Buddhist monks. Here's an excerpt:

For 2,500 years Buddhists have employed...strict training techniques to guide their mental state away from destructive emotions and toward a more compassionate, happier frame of being. Spurred by the cascade of new evidence for the brain's plasticity, Western neuroscientists have taken a keen interest. Can meditation literally change the mind?
...
[Richard] Davidson [of the University of Wisconsin-Madison] recently tested the prefrontal activity in some volunteers from a high-tech company in Wisconsin. One group of volunteers then received eight weeks of training in meditation, while a control group did not. All the participants also received flu shots.

By the end of the study, those who had meditated showed a pronounced shift in brain activity toward the left, "happier," frontal cortex. The meditators also showed a healthier immune response to the flu shot, suggesting that the training affected the body's health as well as the mind's.

Look folks, this stuff really works. Let the research speak for itself. Make meditation a regular part of your life. And remember, we have opportunities for you to meditate at the Center 365 days a year. So in addition to coming to class regularly, why not pick one or two days a week to come to daily meditation? Those sittings are scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Monday - Friday, for 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays and for 5:30 p.m. on Sundays.