Buddhism today, East and West

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• Buddhism today, East and West
• The Man of Steel Myth Debunked
• More US Adults Getting Some Exercise
• Perception, reaction & mindfulness
• The Obstacle is the Path
• Co-Sleeping with Baby Raises SIDS Risk
• Compassion, bliss, and beyond
• Don't take the bait
• Not My Kid: Most Parents Unaware Teen Is Using Study Drugs

Buddhism today, East and West Posted: 21 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT Jonathan DeHart, The Diplomat: Last Friday, millions of Mindfulnesss across Asia gathered to celebrate a rather hazy date, but one with deep cultural import nonetheless: the so-called birthday of Siddhartha Gautama (better known as the Buddha). Depending on the country, the day is recognized as any time from the first full moon in May to April 8, the latter being steadily adhered to by the practical Japanese. In reality, "Western scholars would tell you that we don't even know the year in which the Buddha was born, much less the actual month and date," José Ignacio Cabezón, professor of Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural… Read the original article » Read More @ Source

The Man of Steel Myth Debunked Posted: 21 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT The summer of 2013 is gearing up to be an action movie junkies' dream come true. With releases set from Hollywood heavy hitters like DeNiro, Smith, Hanks and Cruise, I have already prepared to beat the heat of summer in the movie theaters. As usual, I look forward to a couple of films that were adapted from comics. Last year was the Dark Knight's run, this year it's none other than the man from Krypton, Kal-El. Most recognize him from his earth name, Clark Kent. I can't tell you the times I wrapped a towel from my mother's linen closet around my neck and ran off to simulate flying. Every boy has once dreamed of being faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive. But somewhere between adolescence and high school our once lofty dreams approach life from a safer perspective. There are unspoken rules of conduct that men abide by. See, the worst insult you could give a man is that he's somehow acting less than what a 'real' man should. So we go through great lengths to ensure our manhood is not questioned. In this we often lose sight of transparency or being authentic. Instead we are working overtime to keep up a facade. This behavior is passed down time and time again. But as men, we can never grow pass what we refuse to confront. Here are a few 'myths' we carry as men of steel: Men don't having feelings, therefore they cannot be hurt:  This is a flat out lie. As I often say, we have the same feelings as women with a much different expression. Any guy who says a woman has never broken his heart or let him down needs to get his head examined. As men, we are occupational while women tend to be relational. So we find our identity in what we do, not who we know.  Men just don't like to talk:  The ! truth is, we don't like to talk at the exact moment women do, but we do talk. We speak about things that affect us or inspire us. If you ever want to see a guy really get chatty, tap into what he's passionate about. That's what matters most to men. Men avoid commitment at all costs:  What connects us to our manhood is how well our families are taken care of. I don't believe I have been more ashamed or disappointed in myself than when my finances fell too short to take care of my family. I felt less than a man. Often if we have a doubt about our ability to provide, we tend to shy away from that commitment. Men never get depressed:  Absolutely we do! The difference is, early in boyhood we were told, big boys don't cry. We took that mantra to heart. In fact, we added on that big boys don't share their emotions. We took it as a sign of weakness. But anything without a pressure valve to give release will likely explode. I have always been fascinated with the story of Superman. Not just because of his incredible acts of heroics, but because the people closest to him never made the connection. Somehow he could come up missing, he could save their lives and spend time with them, and no one ever thought Clark was really Superman. I guess that's appropriate. As men, we have lived the truth that it's the other way around. Superman, was really Clark Kent all along. See you at the TOP! Early Jackson Written on 5/21/2013 by Early Jackson. Early Jackson, happily married to his wife Cherese, is a heavily sought after teacher and conference speaker. He is the author of "Groomed For Greatness: 31 Days To An Empowered Life", "50 Affirmations For Next Level Living", "Tweet Your Way To Greatness" and "10 Mistakes I Made Before 30 & How To Avoid Them" as well as! a variet! y of Coaching CD series. Photo Credit Have a bucket list? Create yours today with this list of 101 things to do before you die! Grab your free pdf e-book in the next second by signing up for the free newsletter. Read More @ Source

More US Adults Getting Some Exercise Posted: 21 May 2013 11:00 AM PDT Perhaps people exercise more in Colorado, but whatever the reason, the state has the fewest obese people in the country. CREDIT: Dreamstime. More U.S. adults are getting up off the couch to exercise, a new report suggests. The report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows a decrease in the percentage of adults who are physically inactive. Between 2008 and 2010, about 34 percent of U.S. adults said they were physically inactive (they did not engage in any physical activity lasting 10 minutes or more), down from nearly 40 percent of adults who said they were physically inactive between 2005 and 2007. "To me, that's very good news," said study researcher Charlotte Schoenborn, a health statistician at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The new report cannot determine the reason for the decline. But it's possible increased attention to the importance of physical activity, including physical active guidelines that were announced in 2008, played a role. "Perhaps the message is being heard," Schoenborn said. However, the decline in physical inactivity did not seem to translate to weight loss. The percentage of adults who were obese increased, from 25.4 percent in the 2005 to 2007 period, to 27.4 percent between 2008 and 2010. The new report is based on a survey of nearly 77,000 U.S. adults ages 18 years and over who answered questions about various health behaviors. Between 2008 and 2010, nearly half of adults (46 percent) met federal guidelines for physical activity: they engaged in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (such as brisk walking or gardening) per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity (such as running or jumping rope) per week. Men were less likely to be physically inactive than women, and men were more likely to be smokers and heavy drinkers. About 25 percent of adults drank "unhealthy" amounts of alcohol, meaning they had five or more drinks in one day at some point during the past year. One in five adults were smokers, and about three in 10 did not get sufficient sleep (seven to eight hours per night). The report also found differences in unhealthy behaviors among racial groups. Asian adults were less likely to be heavy drinkers, smokers or obese than white, black or American Indian adults. White adults were about twice as likely to be heavy drinkers as black adults, while black adults were more likely to be physically inactive, obese and get insufficient sleep. Hispanic adults were less likely than other adults to smoke cigarettes, engage in heavy drinking and get insufficient sleep, but were more likely to be inactive and obese. Compared to adults living in other regions, those in the South had the lowest prevalence of heavy drinking, and the highest prevalence of physical inactivity. Adults in the West had the lowest smoking rates, and were more likely to get sufficient sleep. "This report offers specific information about which subgroups lag in terms of adopting healthy behaviors, and may serve as a reference document for the public health community in deciding how best to allocate resources to reduce disparities," the researchers wrote. Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily @MyHealth_MHND, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on LiveScience. Read More @ Source

Perception, reaction & mindfulness Posted: 21 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT Codie Surratt, PsychCentral: I am frequently asked "What is mindfulness?" I start by saying something poignant like "It's being aware and in the present moment" or "It's about allowing each experience to wash over us like a cool spring rain, without attachment or judgments." I love these answers and they generally tend to spawn a lively conversation about experiences, judgment and simply allowing ourselves to be present. Mindfulness, though, is also about perception and reaction. Here's what I mean… I love Viktor Frankl, the Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who survived a World War II concentration camp. He is a genuine hero of mine… Read the original article » Read More @ Source

The Obstacle is the Path Posted: 21 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT By Leo Babauta Often we're discouraged because of some tough challenge or obstacle in our way. But a shift in mindset from a Zen proverb can change everything: "The obstacle is the path." The obstacle isn't something standing in our way. It's the way itself. That might seem strange, so let's look at a few examples: You are struggling with writing, and procrastinate. Procrastination is the symptom, but it also illuminates the path you should take: you are dreading something about the writing, you are shying away from discomfort, you are afraid of the writing or what will happen when you publish the writing. So work with that dread, the discomfort, and the fear. You'll be stronger for having done that. You are shy and can't meet people. This can be seen as an obstacle to social happiness, or as a path for something to work with. Many people will avoid this obstacle of shyness, and instead stay home and not socialize. Instead, go towards this shyness, explore it, find out what you're afraid of, work with that fear. You'll get better at handling the fear, even let go of it, and it will no longer stand in your way. You are stressed out and overwhelmed at work. You can complain about this problem (and it will then continue for the rest of your life), or you can immerse yourself it, let it lead you to self-exploration, and deal with the source of that stress and overwhelm. You'll learn that you have unrealistic expectations and ideals, learn to let go of them, and the stress will go away. You'll now have a tool for dealing with stress for the rest of your life. People criticize you for doing things different, and don't understand what you're doing. You can get mad at them, rage against the unfairness of the world, or avoid them. Or, instead, you could embrace this concern, thank them for caring about you, and engage them in a conversation about what you're going through, why you decided to do it, and how you could use their support. They might not completely understand, but they also might understand you better, which is great. And you'll now be better at dealing with this forevermore. You are jealous, angry, weak, impatient, grieving. You can deal with any of these issues, if you are willing to go into them, and be OK with experiencing these discomforts. The examples can go on forever, but the principle becomes clear: when there's an obstacle, don't go around it. Don't run from it. Go into it. Work with it. Explore it. Learn how to be with it and deal with it, and you'll have a skill for life. And what's more: you will no longer be limited by obstacles in your path. Read More @ Source

Co-Sleeping with Baby Raises SIDS Risk Posted: 21 May 2013 01:00 AM PDT CREDIT: Alexander Raths | Dreamstime Babies who sleep in bed with a parent are more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome compared with babies sleeping separately, even when parents follow other recommendations that lower the death risk, a new review of studies finds. The increase in SIDS risk was greatest in the youngest infants. Among babies younger than 3 months old, those who slept with a parent were five times more likely to die of SIDS compared with infants who slept separately in the same room, even when researchers only considered babies who were breastfed, and whose mothers did not drink or smoke. Among babies between 3 months and 1 year old, the risk increased by three times, according to the study. "This is areally important study, because it does what no other study has done before," in that the researchers separated out each factor linked with increased SIDS risk, said Dr. Rachel Moon, a pediatrician at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C., and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics task force on SIDS.  The study should send a message to parents who consider their babies at low risk for SIDS, Moon said. Parents who are highly educated, who breastfeed and put their babies to sleep on their backs (a major recommendation for lowering SIDS risk) may think the recommendation about not sleeping with the baby doesn't apply to them, she said. "Even if you do everything right, bed-sharing increases a baby's risk," Moon said. In the new review, researchers led by Robert Carpenter, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, pulled data from five previous studies. They looked at nearly 1,500 cases of SIDS, and about 4,700 babies who didn't die but were matched to the SIDS cases. The increased risk of SIDS linked with bed-sharing rose even more sharply if the mother or her partner smoked, or if the mother had more than two alcoholic drinks in the previous 24 hours. The researchers estimated that about 88 percent of SIDS deaths while bed-sharing would not have occurred if the baby had not been bed-sharing.  "It's become really uncommon to encounter a baby who dies of SIDS who wasn't bed-sharing," Moon said. About 2,100 infants in the U.S. die yearly from SIDS. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends: Placing babies on a firm mattress to sleep, and not using pillows or bumper pads in cribs. Staying current onall recommended immunizations. Making sure a baby does not get too warm while sleeping. Not smoking, drinking alcohol, or use drugs while pregnant, and avoiding exposing baby to secondhand smoke. Breastfeeding, if possible. Putting a baby to sleep with a pacifier (But if a baby rejects the pacifier, don't force it.) Putting babies to sleep in the same room, but not the same bed, as parents. It's still not exactly clear what happens in SIDS. Moon said that researchers think in some cases, a baby's brain stem, which controls breathing, may not function correctly. If a baby with this risk factor is in an environment where there is not enough oxygen, they may die. But it's not known what makes a baby vulnerable. Eventually, Moon said, researchers would like to have a test that looks at a baby's arousal capabilities, and reveals whether they may be at an increased risk of SIDS, but such a test is a long way off, she said.  Follow Karen Rowan @karenjrowan. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily @MyHealth_MHND, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on LiveScience. Read More @ Source

Compassion, bliss, and beyond Posted: 20 May 2013 11:00 PM PDT People often think of compassion as being a sombre, even depressing experience, but that doesn't have to be the case. In fact when our compassion is sorrowful, this is just a sign that we have attachments to work through. (Which is fine, by the way. This is work we all have to do.) We might be attached to the idea that suffering shouldn't exist, or that it's "unfair" for it to affect someone we know, or that it shouldn't reserve its attentions for those we deem to be bad, sparing the good, or that we shouldn't feel discomfort. But those kinds of thoughts fly in the face of reality, and simply lead to our suffering. With practice, the development of compassion can become very joyful. In fact it's possible to be in jhāna, which is a focused, easeful, relaxed, joyful state of mind while doing this practice. Here's one of the Buddha's teachings on this. "When this concentration [lovingkindness] is thus developed, thus well-developed by you, you should then train yourself thus: 'Compassion, as my awareness-release, will be developed, pursued, handed the reins and taken as a basis, given a grounding, steadied, consolidated, & well-undertaken.' That's how you should train yourself. "When you have developed this concentration [compassion] in this way, you should develop this concentration with directed thought & evaluation, you should develop it with no directed thought and a modicum of evaluation, you should develop it with no directed thought and no evaluation, you should develop it accompanied by rapture… not accompanied by rapture… endowed with a sense of joy; you should develop it endowed with equanimity. For those who don't recognize these terms, this is an abbreviated description of moving progressively deeper into the experience of jhāna. In the first level of jhāna there's still some thinking going on, and this is accompanied by feelings of pleasure (rapture) in the body, and joy. If you benefit from my work, please consider supporting Wildmind. Click here to make a one-time or recurring donation.   Later, thought dies away, and there's simply pleasure (intensified because we're paying more attention to the body now that we're not thinking), joy, and compassionate intention. Then we focus more on the feeling of joy that accompanies our compassion. And then we simply experience compassion, accompanied by equanimity (which you can best think of as deep, refreshing peace). So it's clear from these traditional descriptions that it's possible to experience deep joy alongside compassion. In fact we're encouraged to do so. It's not a good idea to stive for this, however. This joy comes about from letting go and relaxing into the experience of meditating, rather than from striving. But at the same time, don't freak out if you feel joy while bearing people's sufferings in mind. This isn't a sign of callousness. In fact it's a sign that you're letting go more deeply, and becoming better able to be comfortable with discomfort. Read More @ Source

Don't take the bait Posted: 20 May 2013 10:00 PM PDT The administrator of the Stress Reduction Forum, an Internet discussion group, introduces prospective discussants to Buddhism by writing stuff like this. "The ancient Vedic society from which Buddhism emerged understood the self or ego as eternal and unchanging -- the true essence of the nonphysical body. But Gautama Buddha believed that nothing was permanent, and change was the only constant. Therefore, according to the Vedic definition of self, the Buddha concluded that the self could not exist. Buddhism has since then been strongly centered around the idea that there is no such thing as the self. The consequences of this one precept are multitudinous, and informs the entirety of the religion's canon." Is any of this true?  Well, let's find out.  Regardless of the mention of âtman or self in the Vedas which, for example, could mean no more than breath in the Rg-veda, there is no explicit denial of the self by the Buddha in the Nikayas and the Agamas.  On the other hand, there is no scarcity of negation by the Buddha when it comes to the Five Aggregates or pañca-khandhas.  We are not to regard any aggregate as our self.  The common refrain for each aggregates is invariably: This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my  self/na meso attâ.  We might also think of the Five Aggregates as being the temporal or conditioned self whereas what is not the aggregates is the unconditioned, true self, which truly we are.  The problem the Buddha realized is not with the self but with what common people (puthujjana) imagine the self to be which is never other than impermanent which leads to suffering.  This, we might say, is the self the Buddha tells his followers is not the self (anâtman), which is none other than the Five Aggregates, all of which belong to Mara the killer.  According to the Buddha, the real self is the island and the refuge (D. ii. 100). Next, did Gautama Buddha believe nothing was permanent; that even nirvana was impermanent?  No he did not.  Nirvana is transcendent reality.  It is what lies beyond phenomena. "Monks, there is a not-born, a not-become, a not-made, a not-compounded.  Monks, if that unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded were not, there would be apparent no escape from this here that is born, become, made, compounded.  But since, monks, there is an unborn ... therefore the escape from this here is born, become ... is apparent" (Udâna 80).   Nirvana is also changeless (anaññathâbhâvi) and immortal (amata). It does not rest on any other (appatittha); it is infinite (accanta).  What are we to conclude from all this?  Beware of Stress Reduction forums.  Often their bait appears to be Buddhism to those who have never studied Buddhism, but what is being taught is materialism.  Also, keep in mind, too, that what is not the self or anâtman, cannot attain nirvana.  Nirvana is only realized by the inmost self or in Sanskrit, pratyâtma.  Said another way, conditioned reality will never uncover nirvana which is unconditioned.  Read More @ Source

Not My Kid: Most Parents Unaware Teen Is Using Study Drugs Posted: 20 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT Credit: Brian Hoskins | Stock Xchng Many parents are not aware that their teenage children abuse "study drugs," a new poll suggests. In the poll, just 1 percent of parents said their teenage children had taken drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin without a prescription. That is much lower than the percentage of teens that surveys suggest are using the drugs. For example, a 2012 study of high schoolers found that about 10 percent of sophomores and 12 percent of seniors said they had used the drugs without a prescription. The new finding highlights the growing issue of stimulant drug abuse, or when teens take stimulant medication (or "study drugs") to help them study for a test or stay awake to do homework. Such medications are prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Teens without the condition may fake symptoms in order to get a prescription, or obtain the drugs from friends. The new findings, from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, examined parents' awareness of the issue, surveying parents of U.S. children ages 13 to 17. About 11 percent of parents said their teens had been prescribed stimulant medication for ADHD. Among parents of children who were not prescribed ADHD medications, 1 percent said their teens had used these drugs for study purposes. About 4 percent said they didn't know if their teen had abused these drugs, and 95 percent said their teens had never abused the drugs. This disconnect between teen drug abuse and parents' awareness of drug abuse may be in part due to the fact that study drugs have more subtle effects than drugs such as heroin and cocaine, allowing teens to more easily hide their drug use, the researchers said. About half of parents polled said they were very concerned about teens in their communities abusing study drugs. And more than three-quarters supported school policies aimed at stopping this type of drug abuse, such as rules that would require children with prescription ADHD medications to keep the pills in a secure place like the school nurse's office. The findings "underscore the need for greater communication among public health officials, schools, parents, and teens regarding this issue," the researchers said. Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily @MyHealth_MHND, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on LiveScience. Read More @ Source

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