Meditation

To understand the impact meditation can have on the human mind, picture a glass of muddy water. If you stir it, the water stays cloudy and anything that might sink to the bottom is instantly sucked back into motion. But if you allow the glass to become still, slowly the dirt settles to the bottom and the water begins to clear. Meditation means different things to different people, but most agree that it is a means of quieting the mind, of stilling the parade of daily distractions and becoming less reactive to the stimulation that assaults our senses and emotions every waking hour.

Chanting, meditation An "Evening of Chanting and Meditation," led by Rufus Juskus, will be held beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at the Yoga Center of Columbia, 8950 Route 108, Suite 109. The evening consists of chanting in Sanskrit and English with meditation. Free, however, a love offering is requested. Information: 443-745-5855. Art exhibits •The Artists' Gallery's annual "Poets and Painters" exhibit will be on view through Friday, March 29, in the American City Building, 10227 Wincopin Circle in Columbia.

While medical science remains uncertain whether prayer has the power to heal, experts are pretty sure meditation works. Yet another study released last month — this one in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging — reports that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in brain density in areas related to memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. Exactly what those brain changes mean is not clear, but there also have been studies confirming that meditation can reduce blood pressure — in healthy people as well as in those with heart disease.

In today's high-tech world, it's easy to forget to unplug and unwind. If you're in need of a mental break, check out the drop-in meditation classes run by the Kadampa Meditation Center, a nonprofit Buddhist organization - the only one of its kind in Harford County. “In our busy, often distracted daily lives, meditation is an essential tool for helping to develop mindfulness, focus, and a healthy mental perspective on daily life,” says Kelsang Menla, administrative director for the center.

"Toward The End Of Time," by John Updike. Alfred A. Knopf. $25. 342 pages.In John Updike's new speculative novel, "Toward The End Of Time," his 18th, Ben Turnbull, a retired investment counselor, faces the decline of his powers somewhere north of Boston in the year 2020. America has scarcely recovered from a nuclear war with China, the Midwest remaining radioactively uninhabitable. Federal Express is about to relocate the vestiges of the government to Memphis; the dollar has disappeared. To protect their property, people must hire private enforcers.

With the press of a button on the tape deck, four senior women at Florence Bain Senior Center listen to soft music and a gentle voice as they stretch out on floor mats."

Had it up to here with the gridlocked Congress, political lips that lie and blah, blah, blah on your TV screen?Of course you are, says Dr. John Hagelin, presidential candidate of the new Natural Law Party, campaigning yesterday in Baltimore.But has he got a tonic for you:* Savings of 50 percent in the nation's $800 billion annual health-care bill.* Higher levels of moral reasoning.* A perpetual growth phase for the economy.* An end to the "coarsening" and "demeaning" attack mode in politics.

IN OUR FAST-PACED world, time is a precious commodity that we never seem to have enough of to accomplish everything on our long "to do" lists. Jobs, spouses, kids, bills, laundry, groceries - rarely do we take the time to "smell the roses," to experience the calmer, spiritual side of our daily lives. On Sunday, Magothy United Methodist Church, at 3703 Mountain Road, will have an afternoon of relaxation, meditation, and spiritual enlightenment, playing host to a traveling labyrinth and a concert featuring harpist Christina Tourin.

FOR DECADES, open-minded Westerners - patients and doctors alike - have been touting the medical benefits of meditation. It has been shown to lower blood pressure, heart rate and respiration; to reduce anxiety, anger, hostility and mild to moderate depression; to help alleviate insomnia, premenstrual syndrome, hot flashes and infertility; and to relieve some types of pain, most notably tension headaches. What nobody has come close to explaining is how meditation might work. That is, what mechanisms within the brain might explain why changing one's mental focus can have such large effects on mood and metabolism.

So there we sat, 28 of us, on a recent summer evening, munching ever so slowly on, and paying exquisite attention to, the surprisingly complex tastes and textures of gorp, that mixture of dried fruit and nuts so popular with hikers. "Notice whether you're already salivating," prompted the workshop instructor, Jean Fain, a psychotherapist and teaching associate at Harvard Medical School, as we held our chosen dried cranberries, cashews or almonds in our fingers. "Slowly, very slowly, begin to notice the taste, the texture.

To understand the impact meditation can have on the human mind, picture a glass of muddy water. If you stir it, the water stays cloudy and anything that might sink to the bottom is instantly sucked back into motion. But if you allow the glass to become still, slowly the dirt settles to the bottom and the water begins to clear. Meditation means different things to different people, but most agree that it is a means of quieting the mind, of stilling the parade of daily distractions and becoming less reactive to the stimulation that assaults our senses and emotions every waking hour.

Bring your karma and your chameleon to the KarmaFest this weekend at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville. In its sixth year, the festival is the work of Patricia Hawse, a Red Cross volunteer who found solace in meditation during her time in Louisiana, where she helped victims of Hurricane Katrina. Afterwards, Hawse vowed to spread the word about the benefits of yoga, meditation, holistic medicine and the power of the pysche. Whether you're a master of the downward-facing dog or simply a poseur, it doesn't matter because by the end of the week we could all use some good karma.

Like millions of Americans I have watched with amazement how calmly and stoically the Japanese people have reacted to their triple catastrophe of earthquake, tsunami and radiation releases from crippled nuclear plants. I believe that their reaction can be explained if one refers to the Hagakure, also known as the Book of the Samurai, which still forms the basis for many cultural beliefs even in modern Japan. Consider in Chapter Eleven, words written in the 18th century by Tsunetomo Yamamoto: "Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily.

Once the domain of New Agers and suburban moms, yoga has become firmly planted in Baltimore's inner city, and now researchers believe the ancient practice may help elementary school students cope with the stress of growing up in impoverished, violent neighborhoods. Researchers and lay people alike think yoga may help adults reduce stress. The popularity of the practice has surged, and it's used as therapy for cancer patients and battered women, and as a treatment for back pain and depression.

While medical science remains uncertain whether prayer has the power to heal, experts are pretty sure meditation works. Yet another study released last month — this one in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging — reports that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in brain density in areas related to memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. Exactly what those brain changes mean is not clear, but there also have been studies confirming that meditation can reduce blood pressure — in healthy people as well as in those with heart disease.

"Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation" will be held 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. every Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, 333 Dubois Road. A beginner session is open to all to learn the basics of meditation. Information: 410-268-9639.

She's been described as aloof in interviews, and she is that. But perhaps it's because she saves true intimacy for one person alone.Herself."The greatest relationship we have is with ourselves," says Phylicia Rashad, more widely known as Clair Huxtable of "The Cosby Show."The elegant, long-legged actress was at the College of Notre Dame last night to speak not so much about herself as about the Self, "with a capital S." A decade-long adherent of a form of meditation known as Siddha -- which translates to "perfect self" -- Ms. Rashad could be a poster child for the benefits of this practice.

George L. Curnoles, a meditation teacher and karate expert, died Oct. 18 of cancer at Stella Maris Hospice. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 63.Mr. Curnoles, who never considered himself a guru and modestly described himself as just a "guy," nevertheless introduced several generations of Baltimoreans to the meditative exercises and spiritual benefits of tai chi and hatha yoga.Once described in a newspaper article as being "broad-shouldered and balding -- and looking vaguely like Mr. Clean in his fighting robes," Mr. Curnoles conducted classes in the area for nearly 40 years.