More on the benefits of meditation

As I was driving home from church today, I happened to hear an interview of Jon Kabat-Zin on NPR. Kabat-Zinn is the founder and director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, as well as Associate Professor of Medicine in the University's medical school. Today he mentioned a study done with psoriasis patients. Apparently those who meditated while receiving ultra-violet treatment for their disease experienced skin healing that was four times faster than those who didn't meditate. That's really quite extraordinary.

I found the transcript of another interview of Kaba-Zinn on line and I want to share with you this story that he tells:

There was a famous trial in Massachusetts a few years ago. The defense lawyer was a long-term Vipassana student. After the jury had been selected, the judge delivered instructions on how to listen to evidence. It was pure mindfulness teaching: moment-to-moment, dispassionate, non-judgmental awareness - listening mind. The lawyer approached the judge later and asked, "Where the hell did you get that?" The judge replied "Oh, I'm taking the stress reduction class at the U. Mass, Medical Center, and it seemed we could use a little more mindfulness in our judicial proceedings."

Benefits abound!