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https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579806438319-FFRQFRUP72GOCVKRCUUV/Feeling+pain_Slide+05.png Understanding Pain Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579396396571-A9G46JL8XLZK1XDBBQE3/Feeling+pain_Slide+01.png Understanding Pain Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579397320781-AD0IZD5OOU39DYA4ZKAH/image-asset.jpeg Understanding Pain Slideshow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579395766970-S2JHH7T837CY8366N5AV/Feeling+Pain_slide+02.png Understanding Pain Slideshow https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/meditation-retreat-moksha daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1473191696599-3ENMSO03SR698KGU2NEO/meditation.jpg Retreat - Meditation https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/meditation-redefined daily 0.75 2021-04-12 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And it is no longer categorized as a strictly religious practice, although its origins can be traced to the eastern cultures of Asia and China. Meditation has come into its own in the west as both science and medicine have come to validate its unique and important effects on the mind, the body, and the spirit of a person. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1581103046994-J875KYQOF93IP3FTIOXT/power+of+meditation+image.png Info - Discover Meditation - What is meditation? Meditation is a highly personalized practice for enhancing your health and well-being. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1585282375786-AG2FQO87FBOFHB0K8KPP/BW+knitting.JPG Info - Discover Meditation I BELIEVE THAT MEDITATION KNITS ALL THE PIECES OF YOUR LIFE TOGETHER IN THE MOST WONDERFUL WAY! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1576555772108-5CSUBZTXNJ19CL5MEDMH/image-asset.jpeg Info - Discover Meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1581105006722-KRLFPL1INA83PMOYHDU7/Time%2Bmagazine%2Bcover%2Bmeditation.jpg Info - Discover Meditation LOOK, MEDITATION EVEN MADE THE COVER OF TIME MAGAZINE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1581100870850-CF5576KBWJ2GYA9CHXTR/DailyXrcisejpg.001.jpeg Info - Discover Meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1587875817791-DJAG8F830DS2IX8XYWO7/Jewelry.JPG Info - Discover Meditation - Where the GOLD IS Getting to the good stuff in meditation… https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/request daily 0.75 2019-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1487777772741-P50TXT95V4Z8ZIV2RZOZ/Aro-Ha_0348.jpg Training https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/about-beth daily 0.75 2020-07-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1589152497138-F4Z6XS5JPWYU6555P0B8/oak+tree+in+sunlight.jpg About Beth - Oak tree in the sunlight Oak tree in sunlight https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1583091811819-8MOB43Q5N7M8QGTYPPY8/IMG-2404-2.JPG About Beth Yes, you really can meditate any where https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/yoga-meditation daily 0.75 2019-12-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1477667725455-5MZF3MEHQEV8CFG643WX/image-asset.jpeg Yoga and Meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1481210628620-ONBQ2U8PAWW6SWO2QOTC/image-asset.jpeg Yoga and Meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1477947590852-TEZH4M5DUHEUDF6RAEU4/image-asset.jpeg Yoga and Meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1477667120223-PZHXTK0LCPNCD5SRJVPF/image-asset.jpeg Yoga and Meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1472831535478-XO2GXQWO8JP9IBWVMKK9/image-asset.jpeg Yoga and Meditation https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/chronic-pain daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580020259482-GTEAE9N9K11VL9D8LP0J/image-asset.jpeg Chronic Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580020046133-438A1PY5GYCCPAGTUAA2/image-asset.jpeg Chronic Pain https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/health-and-wellbeing-rediscovered daily 0.75 2021-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582401853449-K0NTNXZGOHEPYINT0HWV/image-asset.jpeg Health & Well-Being Rediscovered https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582402051673-K2Z8FNJ45C3QY557T7Z0/image-asset.jpeg Health & Well-Being Rediscovered https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/retreat-meditation-header daily 0.75 2020-01-13 https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/pain-therapy-reinvented daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1576556083315-N86C2LY700XXHPOSZB2N/image-asset.jpeg Pain Therapy Reinvented Pain is real. Your pain is real. And there is help. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582404515956-RWCUBYZTLVSQ0UDQCLAY/image-asset.jpeg Pain Therapy Reinvented https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582403989522-MN9V5GFUV0DIJWTGDSHH/image-asset.jpeg Pain Therapy Reinvented - The type of attention healing requires is specialized. The tools and techniques that are necessary to support healing are specialized. THE TYPE OF ATTENTION HEALING REQUIRES IS SPECIALIZED. THE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO SUPPORT HEALING ARE SPECIALIZED. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582405323831-BZ4C3OAP2QIGRLUYHZNN/image-asset.jpeg Pain Therapy Reinvented - Your pain is REAL. Let us help! Your pain is REAL. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582404849040-0IZOQ2QF6B0UNA9EP90S/image-asset.jpeg Pain Therapy Reinvented The goal is to see that you no longer letting the PAIN LIVE YOUR LIFE. Instead YOU ARE LIVING YOUR LIFE and you experience pain. See the difference? https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/upcoming-retreats daily 0.75 2019-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1478008879948-MCOJOMR721OY8PC2LUVA/image-asset.jpeg Upcoming Retreats https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1575308159700-IQDXBX763DS0QYOPDTEN/JT+2020 Upcoming Retreats https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1575307949979-AWV139X7HJMHD3LGJ27E/SC+2019 Upcoming Retreats https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/workplace-wellness daily 0.75 2021-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580254383235-T0OX3TZAK2BODDHQ6BX4/CostofMentalHealth_SubFull_850x733.png Workplace Wellness https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1577744850720-VSMGZG2DUKDC90IXVIV5/shutterstock_1076065424-1.jpg Workplace Wellness https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1577745003664-YD8UJ3O1F70R23DM1BM0/image-asset.jpeg Workplace Wellness https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/why-meditation daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588520812227-4LFOPADVF0Q1Q1VK4RPY/IMG_6680.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588520844456-8CADN0KE4KTMZ09TMKFH/IMG_1981.JPG Why Meditation? - Always more education.... To be the best teacher, educator, mentor, and leader, I am learning more every year. I want to bring you the best practices and the best resources https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588520868975-T8E5RRULI1NJ4C3LYA6U/IMG_6575+3.JPG Why Meditation? - Sitting in the afterglow of meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588520895062-03G9RG9MH6HDJ24X05AC/IMG_6914.PNG Why Meditation? - A photo of our morning yoga after sunrise meditation It was a surprise to find out that some one took a photo of our morning yoga with the lovely Danielle https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521010255-6P3EV6FFQ5C1ZKNRD316/IMG_6559+2.JPG Why Meditation? - To be alive! To be fully alive after a sunrise meditation followed by yoga The healing power of nature brings all of the energies and resonances in to balance. To feel truly oneself is what each person is deeply seeking https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521017321-NSYY2VK6X09OP9I9WQK8/IMG_6552+2.JPG Why Meditation? - NAMASTE' my friends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521029797-MUQBXMO183D31UUCS8MV/IMG_6916.PNG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521076573-GIK5W0W45C9FI6PVR20I/IMG_7813.JPG Why Meditation? - A beautiful friend from Saudi Arabia Meditation is reaching every corner of the world. It does not compete nor displace religion. It simply complements and enhances all that is good in one’s life. There is nothing to be feared in meditation. It is a practice as natural as breathing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521094249-SBQWWJNMT56DHV45JIM9/IMG_3182.JPG Why Meditation? - Feeling the love from every one during this week of deepening meditation and spiritual practices https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521147017-UGBK9DEW31OO0IKQPMZ2/IMG_6677.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521284319-IX3VOWS7H0BG0TEIK3AH/IMG_5629.JPG Why Meditation? - Deepak doing what he does best, sharing the wisdom of the ancient teachings https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521291067-JEUCX2M0POU3C2QG7LQE/IMG_1572.JPG Why Meditation? - English and Sanskrit https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521298492-SWZVQ2WTXOPD4OD27OCT/IMG_6734.JPG Why Meditation? - The clarity of the ocean invites us to be clear with our lives https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521339497-O88IZIFNE4S75EFVAJQ8/IMG_0594.JPG Why Meditation? - Early morning meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521353477-MKWU5WDUHA18XBZP2RUM/IMG_8532.JPG Why Meditation? - The complement to the sun. The moon with it's own message https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521526169-BPYQBSERBU35GNYIZLY7/IMG_4822.JPG Why Meditation? - Chopra events always have a signature look and feel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521570334-9TVAECBAWQWQOHP0YDQ6/IMG_7744.JPG Why Meditation? - Late day yoga After sitting, learning, contemplating, reflecting its always good to connect with the body https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521579525-JUMLZVC6MZYDR9UFY4D1/IMG_9288.JPG Why Meditation? - More yoga, yes please! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588539354131-8EZRBHVE8Z0DEMS777JA/IMG_6010.jpg Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521753012-IWJG2UUZ745PSS7VGLT6/IMG_4437+2.JPG Why Meditation? - I love leading retreats. This one was in late 2019 in San Clemente California A lovely retreat for those who wanted to deepen their understanding of meditation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521738814-5UZFNMDFTHIONZAY6GR8/IMG_6940.JPG Why Meditation? - Retreat location My chair next to the table with all my supportive tools https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521743864-IJQ9S9F5CRCYBQHU023K/IMG_9494.JPG Why Meditation? - California meditating... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521755659-EMIWY95A73ZDF2WD4HHV/IMG_9578.JPG Why Meditation? - Early morning start after a late night One of the most enjoyable parts of my retreats are the late night sharings. We stayed up late to talk, share, get to know one another (maybe a little wine too!) and laugh! But I was tired the next morning. :) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521775500-5N3HDUS0UD3GLPKMAM24/IMG_4011.JPG Why Meditation? - I always provide breakfast at my retreats When you attend one of my retreats breakfast is included. You will find healthy choices, gluten free breads (or not), organic coffee & teas, and fresh fruits along with other healthy goodies https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521765746-0L8AW0B978HX89S44DUA/IMG_1926.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521774910-BJN20O7CRKNHOD49OWSQ/IMG_5085.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588521851370-ROH74CA7YCVARRAARV8N/IMG_7094.JPG Why Meditation? - Asilomar- that's all that needs to be said The location for our silent retreats for the past several years. 7-10 days of silence. While it might seem difficult, its heaven. The gorgeousness of the retreat speaks volumes… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522138250-UTGFLFYBAJAOM39I1C7T/IMG_1201.JPG Why Meditation? - Northern California ocean waves https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522132135-MLY6QD43AE507QDBEZU5/IMG_4342.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522136681-05B0PQVKBZQQMDCT1E28/IMG_4744.JPG Why Meditation? - Brent and Amanda- thank you both for guiding us with your gentle spirits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522144824-VMKCWO3IODEU8TBM6SZB/IMG_3994.JPG Why Meditation? - The beloved chapel at Asilomar https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522146463-05UW788EDOHYD6WFGRUV/IMG_7517+3.JPG Why Meditation? - Dr. David Simon, RIP Dr. Simon continues to influence people around the world with his books and his legacy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522600016-1ZKGF5LT5QZNTAPD70FF/IMG_7471.JPG Why Meditation? - Special prayers before the fireplace This last time I simply found the ‘role’ of keeper of the fire. I loved sitting next to the fireplace and placing another log when needed. It was just what happened in 2019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522645086-ITBM78S9FQ2MJGRO861P/IMG_0966.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522621804-LCKISSXP299XLFR3J1OF/IMG_0904.JPG Why Meditation? - This happened organically There was a blank table at the beginning of the retreat. By the retreat’s end, this was the magic that was created. A metaphor for life. In the proper energy, with the love that humans require to thrive, magic always happens https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522633553-J08H48UF756KRLFK3A7J/IMG_9221.JPG Why Meditation? - The deer strolled through the grounds as we moved quietly with our meditative pace https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522643115-Q6K85850PUG1ZZIXG5U1/IMG_0442.JPG Why Meditation? - The fireplace This fireplace represents many things to me. It is sacred space https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522664794-DRV2R3GE6ROIFBOUUDRT/IMG_8094.JPG Why Meditation? - Rice, and lentils, and beans, and seeds, who knew? :) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522657329-HII9NWLF8PEV01U4676L/IMG_4310.JPG Why Meditation? - This walkway, so memorable https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522668875-JYLV5RQAGW0PF4YVJ6ZQ/IMG_5165.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522674891-U4KIYPANR2Q2CRY1PD2G/IMG_0907.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522679586-BRJ34Y63ZKIEI2AVZYIY/IMG_0490.JPG Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522819299-8R3YGV6P5HG0S88Q7FMI/IMG_8255.JPG Why Meditation? - Southern California hiking https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522822887-70EI97C6W28C84SMLNEK/IMG_7776.JPG Why Meditation? - Mountains in SoCal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588522828093-T6HOBT0WYL1TH74EKNKZ/IMG_5357.JPG Why Meditation? - Nature sharing her bright yellow happiness when the sun is hidden by the clouds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588523271183-AMXBKEN0UHKIWBS29CBL/IMG-2627-2.JPG Why Meditation? - Meditation KNITS every thing together When we meditate regularly (not hit N miss, not a crisis meditator) it is then that the elements of our life are knitted together so perfectly https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588533269065-0WSOF7XZNHP0DOSBPPIF/IMG-2472-6.JPG Why Meditation? - Coffee, tech, busy work day? Why yes, meditation is part of REAL LIFE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588533322962-LLVZF391V5Q8XRVE0Z91/IMG-2565-2.JPG Why Meditation? - I AM SACRED SPACE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588535782544-ANLJMOQ947RGK4SYCPX0/Beth%2Bosher.jpg Why Meditation? - Bringing the centeredness of meditation in to the hard topics I educate and present to the public research and information on a range of topics when I am not sharing health & wellbeing with my clients, students, and in my online programs. The topics can be challenging (terrorism, democracy, international relations, political disorder, globalization, etc.). My meditation practice always helps me at a time when the stress is real and the public is seeking clear information. I cannot be part of the confusion and meditation helps me to remain centered when I am around others who are upset, confused, afraid, angry, or disheartened. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588534374764-J1ICZB0C49GFUE3ICMGB/Beth+leading+a+workshop.jpg Why Meditation? - Teaching a workshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588534396560-7Z8UM8D4X4QNFC6D8B6E/Beth+with+two+little+ones.jpg Why Meditation? - Sharing meditation with young adults who want to lessen the stress in their lives See the section for MILLENIALS under the section for STRESS https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588534414398-2NMPP0ZXL9RCWS9VXUY5/retreat+in+san+clements.jpg Why Meditation? - Retreats are essential for your health & wellbeing Attend one of my retreats or book me to co-lead or lead a retreat for your organization. Go to SPEAKER in the ABOUT BETH section https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588534431213-P87SM0VD24JFRWH8ZU1Y/Resized_20191102_195901-1.jpeg Why Meditation? - Meditation calms the mind https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588534458294-08J7QGOZYSDC91IRFHZN/retreat+with+DavidJi.jpg Why Meditation? - Retreating with DavidJi Many years ago, DavidJi named his retreat location “The Nest”. And it certainly is. It is a nest to help us grow and develop so that we become better meditation teachers, share-rs, and practitioners. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588536033035-SSQHCRLD5WB0BGTSWRL7/I%2Blike%2Bthis%2Bone%2Bfor%2Bcomtemplative%2Blook.jpg Why Meditation? - Seeing through the 'eyes' of meditation Meditation is for REAL PEOPLE. Real people with real jobs and real challenges in life. Meditation is for you. It isn’t for ‘those people’, its for You! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588535973208-INB11ZYSKSQFCJ735QXV/smaller.jpg Why Meditation? - Gloves for meditation It was just a fun idea I had several months ago. Just some thing fun, wearing gloves during meditation. And then,,,, the Covid19 pandemic hit the entire world. Now we wear masks & gloves because so much has changed. I had no idea at the time of this photo the significance these gloves would have… STAY SAFE EVERY ONE! KEEP MEDITATING BUT PROTECT YOUR SELF AS NEEDED. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1588536118119-DJOR4UDM4K3GJ6DBFP3T/Resource_Slide.png Why Meditation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582406623758-LWYA9SPSIN8HDBZF9160/image-asset.jpeg Why Meditation? - Ten Benefits of Meditation 1. Helps to calm overactive mental activity associated with stress 2. Shifts bio-systemic imbalances to support improved immune response 3. Elevates supportive brain chemicals 4. Decreases depression 5. Enhances focus and the creative mind 6. Improves problem-solving skills 7. Regulates left brain/right brain communication 8. Strengthens overall positive experience of life 9. Lowers stress and burnout 10. Improves quality of sleep https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579974976257-JM06C5R1PP7VDVFTI97W/starswhomeditate.jpg Why Meditation? https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/whats-good daily 0.75 2020-08-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1585280846951-C8UYYDNYLJRZPTILE1IA/osea+products.jpg What's Good? Find out more about Osea Skin Care https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1596660643244-6D5CH4ZNX5TL406ZQNAM/deva+and+miten.jpg What's Good? Learn more about Deva and Mitten. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1590013710774-GG5Z9JIWOANC97EA3M4C/image-asset.png What's Good? Find out what Boku Foods offers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1591311969868-J5IS21JBIXQINF22IPPK/seattle+chocolate.jpg What's Good? Learn more about Seattle Chocolate https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1590013229172-R1PZNWR66W5L5RU8MX2K/image-asset.jpeg What's Good? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1596660261469-F30VG71N1LQ7OO8UWEVO/luciana-circle.png What's Good? Learn more about Luciana Bomeny’s work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1578723198629-PMLSVWXXBGCW78IN2ZJ2/bTYY1prb.jpeg What's Good? Learn more about Zion Health https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/ayurvedic-medicine daily 0.75 2022-01-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1578338536105-BRLDL3YOSHVAHQTH0PCW/Medicone+Definition.png Ayurvedic Medicine For Wellbeing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1577744603257-DVBT4DHR9BVRSJ1K1N2Y/image-asset.jpeg Ayurvedic Medicine For Wellbeing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1577743691721-X9IXFWJJ4GMXOKD5E6E1/image-asset.jpeg Ayurvedic Medicine For Wellbeing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1577744216070-EFYE18AP3WJ8T8UVC70L/Ayurveda Ayurvedic Medicine For Wellbeing https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/millennials daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582411833634-Q9JXDDWM1MW4YD8EUIK0/image-asset.jpeg Millennials https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1595310192016-B54U0FM5EGJ4LHLKICEM/Email+Broadcast+Image.png Millennials - Have you ever tried meditation for stress? Beth offers a special meditation membership exclusive to Millennials and older Gen Z’rs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582411977051-LEYBEMZLIWJJX25KO06T/image-asset.jpeg Millennials https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/understanding-pain daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580239820574-STQWX932A3OOEXWR9DGQ/image-asset.jpeg Understanding Pain - We can help you with your pain •Meditation •Acupuncture •Appropriate types of movement •Pranayama •Integration therapy •Adaptive biofeedback •Acceptance and commitment therapy •CB therapy •Lifestyle assessment therapy •Adaptive response therapy •Psychological support •Spiritual support •Physical therapy •Modified framework therapy •Sleep modification therapy •Education •Acknowledgement of atypical (to western medicine) natural substances •A new understanding of HEALING https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580256133831-FQ78PFL46UXWRLM3LW27/image-asset.jpeg Understanding Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579396409922-AFXDUXXXTQJ39IXQ0A3P/Feeling+pain_Slide+02.png Understanding Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579399153361-YZ4MBAXBT2KLEJH8B57N/Feeling+pain_Slide+04.png Understanding Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579806416922-UHCWBLRNFLEOK2YQPAZN/Feeling+pain_Slide+03.png Understanding Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1579806438319-FFRQFRUP72GOCVKRCUUV/Feeling+pain_Slide+05.png Understanding Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1578878852942-0VT2XBR6UJKVM4P1OO4H/CDC_Pain+Quote.png Understanding Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1578879242632-WG4FZ7J0WH6S2PYB8TJU/CDC_Workplace+Pain+Effects.png Understanding Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1578880200242-SHPV4IQGMXPBYKAZC8ZW/Melzack_Pain+Theory.png Understanding Pain https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/the-science-and-medicine-of-meditation daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1596149160689-DDOMGX47H7CZUL0A3QE8/brain-body-mind-connection.jpg The Science and Medicine of Meditation - The importance of understanding your brain Self-awareness as the key to brain health… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1596149136808-EKH4XXRT87TLR5NK6XDA/slide1.jpg The Science and Medicine of Meditation - When science meets mindfulness Researchers study how it seems to change the brain in depressed patients… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1581190023152-S2XKLBQBH3PB328598IL/meditation-lotus-head-1080x675.jpg The Science and Medicine of Meditation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1596149268218-XOYCXQA3NKSVK6B9PLGD/meditation%2Band%2Bmedicine.jpg The Science and Medicine of Meditation - Meditation, Prayer and Spiritual Healing: The Evidence How meditation assists healing… https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/the-problem-of-stress daily 0.75 2021-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1581646468162-9312PQTPOD2NE41EB7Y8/650x350_bipolar_back_to_work_video.jpg The Problem of Stress - The Way We Work Is Killing Us An interview with the author of Dying for a Paycheck By Brigid Schulte April 24, 2018 5:50AM In the United States, workers work among the longest, most extreme, and most irregular hours; have no guarantee to paid sick days, paid vacation, or paid family leave; and pay more for health insurance, yet are sicker and more stressed out than workers in other advanced economies. U.S. companies fret about rising health care costs—health spending per capita in the U.S. increased nearly 29 fold in the past 40 years, outpacing the growth of the economy—and institute wellness programs like lunchtime yoga, meditation, anti-smoking, or obesity prevention. But Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business, says companies are completely missing the point. Offering lunchtime yoga to stressed-out workers ignores the real reason why workers are so stressed out in the first place—management practices like long work hours, unpredictable schedules, toxic bosses, and after-hours emails. It’s not individual workers making bad choices about their health that’s making them so sick. It’s the way corporate America expects workers to work. And in his new book, Dying for a Paycheck, he argues that the costs have become so great that it’s time for companies and the government to take responsibility and create real change. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580020537301-XYM5BMGG8H04YRNPTK1I/image-asset.jpeg The Problem of Stress https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1578937197253-7C8WTOBPLJNOJ3FZJ121/image-asset.jpeg The Problem of Stress https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/cont-the-way-we-work-is-killing-us daily 0.75 2020-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1581648091094-FCFTLXJV47SW84EMQ1HM/dying+for+a+paycheck.jpg cont. The Way We Work Is Killing Us - The Way We Work Is Killing Us BUY THIS BOOK ON AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Dying-Paycheck-Management-Employee-Performance%C3%87and/dp/1974904091 https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/what-is-health-and-wellbeing daily 0.75 2021-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1581201104252-PVV69XLXLJYQX8ILNBTR/image-asset.jpeg What is Health & Wellbeing? https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/testimonials daily 0.75 2020-01-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57bf309d46c3c410fdf9cc34/1478196374287-LP3D5PSZZ2S07TJMGCFU/_resized-Aro-Ha_0031.jpg Testimonials https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/corporate-stress daily 0.75 2021-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582414456545-BIBW803LUNIRJ71A5Z1K/image-asset.jpeg Corporate Stress https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582415914935-P7GW2GDA32193LL875DS/image-asset.jpeg Corporate Stress https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582415063401-9PWET9D5JBBOEYLFKKYA/image-asset.jpeg Corporate Stress https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1582412949833-FB2KX1ECF69TE0E9NUJ8/image-asset.jpeg Corporate Stress - Every workplace has a distinct culture. Every workplace has a distinct culture. What is the culture of your workplace? It’s time to start thinking about the impact that your workplace has on your health and wellbeing. [ beth, get in,,,,,And if you are the owner, CEO or HR manager, what are the bottom-line costs to the company?] When you “have it all” but you feel stressed all the time, does “having it all” really matter? https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/the-western-way-for-pain daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580333535074-H6O93GYT8C4XWGRXZFLV/images.jpeg The Western Way For Pain - Types of pain medications •Peripherally active analgesics- aspirin, Motrin, Tylenol, etc. •Centrally active analgesics-narcoticsthat bind to opiate receptors in the brain such as oxycodone, morphine, codeine, etc. •Local analgesics-Novocain, sometimes ice or heat to blunt the nerve ending, etc. •Indirectly acting drugs- alcohol,Xanax, SSRI’s, and SNRI’s https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580334089627-Y47Z5B4KI154ELYT7WI9/image-asset.jpeg The Western Way For Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580330881904-TSS9S7DGEFPV1BBKX0X6/image-asset.jpeg The Western Way For Pain https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1580334476997-6AFG2UD9SPEB13EG1EWM/image-asset.jpeg The Western Way For Pain - “I want you to have lots of tools to use for improving the quality of your life” - Beth https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/research-millenials daily 0.75 2020-06-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1592430756880-W64SJ4C9HFMILUO4UP9E/1592430517880-0O2XF4Y4GYHC9OV80D78.jpeg Research /Millenials https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/why-prescribed-medications-pharmacological-answers daily 0.75 2020-06-17 https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/meditation-and-healing daily 0.75 2020-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1592407854897-XRVN3C9R0P76PO76KX1N/meditation+and+medicine.jpg Meditation and Healing - Meditation, Prayer and Spiritual Healing: The Evidence What does science have to say about healing? Dr Schlitz:This is a remarkable time in human history—never before have so many world views, belief systems, and ways of engaging reality come into contact. On one hand are the remarkable successes of science and technology: an orbiting space station, cloned sheep and cats, and a computerized chess champion that has outsmarted even the best of the human chess champions. On the other hand, through the Internet, awareness of the world's wisdom and spiritual traditions has expanded: we now have access to practices that were once isolated in the Himalayas or deep in the Amazon and available only to a very small group of adepts. Today we are experiencing a convergence of these different ways of knowing, science on one hand and diverse religious, spiritual and cultural traditions on the other. Nowhere is this more clear than in the case of medicine. There are various ways of responding to the unprecedented convergence we now experience. One is conflict; we need only turn on our radios to see how widespread this response is at a global level. Another response is co-option, where one tradition—typically the Western technological, scientifically based rationalist model—overpowers indigenous wisdom, often in very covert ways. A third response takes the form of creativity: As differences come together, we have the opportunity to birth new ideas and new ways of being together as a collective humanity. My focus this morning is on the research perspective that lies at the interface of science, spirituality, and medicine. How can science begin to offer insights into these wisdom and spiritual practices? And how are these wisdom practices influencing science and medicine in ways that may lead to a more integral approach to health and healing? Primary Areas of Evidence There are five primary areas of data or evidence: the crosscultural data, survey studies, public health research, basic science related to mind-body medicine, and clinical studies of distant healing. Crosscultural Perspectives Indigenous cultures hold no separation between healing and a connection to the sacred. If you examine various traditions, it is only within our own culture that we make this demarcation between what is the rationalist approach and what is our deep engagement with the mystery. From the survey studies, it is clear that people are hungry for a deeper sense of meaning and for a connection to their spirituality. Seventy-three percent of adults believe praying for someone else can help cure their illness; this is based on a CNN poll. Fifty percent of patients wanted physicians to pray with them. This says something about what people are calling for; how people will feel happier, more contented; how they feel satisfied in terms of the therapeutic encounter. A recent survey1published by the National Institutes of Health looked at the ten most common complementary and alternative practices or modalities that are used by Americans today, and they found that of the top ten, three involved prayer: prayer for self, 43%; prayer for others, 24%; and prayer groups, a very common modality for people to engage in. Public Health Studies In terms of public health research, through the use of epidemiological methods and tools, we are beginning to understand the correlations between spiritual and religious practice and physical outcomes. Jeff Levin, a social epidemiologist, notes that more than 1600 studies have been conducted examining the correlation between religious and spiritual participation and health.2The evidence is overwhelming. Findings persist regardless of religious affiliation, diseases or health conditions, age, sex, race or ethnicity, or nationality of those studied. This finding is positively correlated with education. People who have a strong educational background believe that these kinds of practices and principles are important for health and well-being. It's clear from the correlational studies within the epidemiology data that positive relationships exist between religious and spiritual practice and health outcomes on a variety of different conditions. Basic Science on Mind-Body Medicine So let's talk about the mind-body connection. From cross-cultural perspectives, it appears that people believe in and practice spirituality in the context of healing and, in fact, don't make a separation. Within the Hawaiian Kahuna tradition, healers and religious spiritual practitioners are one and the same. It's clear from the correlational studies within the epidemiology data that positive relationships exist between religious and spiritual practice and health outcomes on a variety of different conditions. We hear so much about the placebo effect as a mind-body piece for example. In our new book, Consciousness and Healing,2we consider an integral approach to medicine in that healing and consciousness is not only a part of this mind-body connection but also is a part of our connection to our relationships—our interpersonal relationships, our relationship to the environment, and our relationship to the transpersonal or the spiritual. Harris Dienstfrey, contributor to Consciousness and Healing,writes, “The mind as a source of medicine is waiting to be explored.”2:p 60It is very interesting to me as a researcher that the placebo effect is something that we tend to put aside. It's the control condition. And yet if we really wanted to understand the innate capacities of the body to heal, wouldn't we want to focus in there and look at the ways in which our body can take an inert substance and produce a physiological change? More so, this inert substance knows the whole cascade of responses that are necessary to lead to a particular kind of outcome. How does that happen? It is a profound mystery and one that needs to be explored more fully. Wound-Healing Study We received an NIH grant to look at the effects of prayer and spirituality on wound healing; research we are conducting at California Pacific Medical Center. This is a three-arm clinical trial with women, primarily breast cancer patients, who are undergoing reconstructive surgery after mastectomy. We have recruited healers from across the country to participate in this study—people who believe they can use their minds, their prayers, and their intentions to influence other people at a distance. These healers include: Chi Gong masters, Johrei practitioners, Reiki practitioners, Carmelite nuns, Buddhist monks, and Christian groups. All the healers in our research study keep a daily log that describes their practice and their experience. People report making use of techniques such as directing healing energy toward the distant person, using some kind of focusing tool, such as a photograph, to focus their attention on the distant person, or making use of petitionary prayer to call on divine help from supernatural forces. The women who come into the surgery unit are randomized into two blinded arms: Either they receive distant healing or they don't. In the third arm of a distant healing or prayer and intention healing group, patients are called every day and are told that they are getting healing. The outcome in this study is the rate of wound healing by measuring collagen deposition in a little GORETEX®patch inserted in the groin area, a standardized location. We're also looking at a variety of psychosocial measures. This is an example of bringing spiritual and religious practices, what we call compassionate intention, into a laboratory setting and looking at the role of expectancy and placebo as it relates to the particular outcome measure. We are framing the possibility that our intention can actually influence the physical well-being of another person, even if that person is unaware of that intention. Distant Healing Research In the recent National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) survey study I mentioned, a significantly high percentage of the population makes use of prayer for other people. Many people believe that if I pray for you, you will become better, or if you pray for me I'll become better, and yet we know very little of the mechanism to explain how this might happen. So this is a frontier area for research. To date, more than 180 studies have been done in this area, with more than half of them producing significant results. In these experiments, one person through their intention tries to influence the physiology or the physical condition of a target system, such as cell cultures, animal models, and there are human studies. As of March 2004, there have been nine controlled clinical trials looking at intercessory prayer (compassionate intention at a distance). Six of these have produced statistically significant positive results. For a complete list of these studies, one can visit the distant healing research site at the Institute of Noetic Sciences Web site (www.noetic.org). As an example, Dr Elizabeth Targ at California Pacific Medical Center did a series of trials looking at AIDS patients.3She selected AIDS as a condition because, at the time of the study, it was very resistant to conventional allopathic medical intervention. Patients were randomized into standard care alone or they got standard care plus a booster, which was this intercessory prayer at a distance. This was a blinded study. In both a pilot study and a confirmation study, the prayer groups had statistically significant improvements in outcome, suggesting that the intervention has clinical relevance. Compassionate Intention and Cancer Patients: The Love Study Anyone who works with cancer as a condition knows that partners of cancer patients can feel very disempowered: There is very little to do to help your partner. The Love Study is another project that is relevant to the translation of basic science into clinically relevant outcomes. Specifically, one of our goals was to promote psychological robustness in the partner of the cancer patient. We trained the cancer patient partner in compassionate intention. When the training program was over, we conducted a distant healing experiment in our lab at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. We monitored the patient's physiology, looking at autonomic measures: skin conductance, respiration, heart rate, and EEGs. One person was situated in a 2000-pound electromagnetically shielded room to rule out any conventional explanations that might account for the results. We asked the couple to exchange meaningful items—a psychological activity that helps them stay connected. For example, a man gave his wife his boots and she gave him her doll, which they held while doing the experiment. The job of the partner of the cancer patient, at random times throughout a session, is to try to calm his partner's physiology. This is a “proof of principle” type study to show that physiological changes occur as a result of this kind of exchange. The man watched a closed-circuit television as his wife's image intermittently appeared on the screen. Neither he nor she knew when those viewing periods were going to occur. The experiment is based on a randomized double-blind-type protocol. This study can be seen in light of other studies using this same testing paradigm. A study published in the British Journal of Psychology4examined 35 studies that looked at whether the intention of one person can interact with and influence the physiology of another person. They found a statistically significant positive difference across the studies. We feel we have established the proof of principle that there is some kind of nonlocal or transpersonal exchange of information between two people. So, now the question for all practitioners is: How does that relate to our practice? How do we bring these ideas of spirituality and compassionate intention into our practice, and how do we begin to see whether or not it helps clinically? Practical Application In the introduction to Consciousness and Healing, Ken Wilber notes that the most important aspect of this integral approach to medicine is the transformation that happens in the healer.2Rather than thinking about this as something outside of ourselves, how do we really bring these principles into our own lives. Key to an integral approach is not the content of the medical bag, but the holder of the bag: one who has opened herself or himself to the multidimensional nature of healing, including body, mind, soul, spirit, culture, and nature. Many people believe that if I pray for you, you will become better, or if you pray for me I'll become better, and yet we know very little of the mechanism to explain how this might happen. Spiritual Education Today, 101 medical schools incorporate patient spirituality in their curriculum, up from 17 in 1995. This fact suggests that these principles are being incorporated into medical education, albeit at an elective level. Some hospitals such as UCLA Medical Center encourage physicians to include spiritual histories in patients' charts. This acknowledges that in fact these kinds of principles are being incorporated into mainstream medicine. Harold G Koenig, MD, who works at Duke University, recommends that physicians ask every patient if they consider themselves spiritual or religious. Doctors should encourage prayer and religious participation if that is a source of comfort.5Religion has the power to heal, and we have an obligation to value that power alongside medicine. Conclusion By way of conclusion, each of us in some way represents both the hospice worker who is helping in a very loving, kind, gentle way to let the old paradigm die, to watch and release it from its own suffering, and at the same time, each of us acting as midwives for the birth of something new. As these different cultures and different world views converge, we can begin to see the birthing of a creative solution to many of the problems we face today. References Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. Adv Data. 2004 May 27;(343):1–19.[PubMed] [Google Scholar] Schlitz M, Amorok T, Micozzi MS, editors. Consciousness and healing.St. Louis: Elsevier: Churchill-Livingston; 2005. [Google Scholar] Sicher F, Trag E, Moore D, 2nd, Smith HS. A randomized double-blind study of the effect of distant healing in a population with advanced AIDS. Report of a small scale study. West J Med. 1998 Dec;169(6):356–63.[PMC free article][PubMed] [Google Scholar] Schmidt S, Schneider R, Utts J, Walach H. Distant intentionality and the feeling of being stared at: two meta-analyses. Br J Psychol. 2004 May;95(Pt 2):235–47.[PubMed] [Google Scholar] Koenig HG. Spirituality in patient care: why, how, when, and what.Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press; 2002. See also Web site: www.beliefnet.com/story/131/story_13132_1.html. [Google Scholar] https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/data-millenials daily 0.75 2020-06-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1592410845190-FSOV2BZPI657Q5Y3C42E/genz.png Data /Millenials - What about Gen Z? Those born after 1996 have known a life of social shifts. What do we know about this generation? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1592431247113-0NRWYS5VMGVK2QBYXIRU/image-asset.jpeg Data /Millenials https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/personal-experiences-millenials daily 0.75 2020-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1593627974375-5ZA01AP38L9LPF2W207D/MEDITATION+OUTDOORS Personal Experiences /Millenials https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1592433328944-DF2LC1HN75UMNZJSWEKJ/image-asset.jpeg Personal Experiences /Millenials Time away from your computer is a good thing! https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/millennials-and-meditation daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1592411038608-HFMJNCNDMKLRTW1AMALZ/groupmeditation.jpg Millennials and Meditation MILENNIALS and MEDITATION https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/when-science-meets-mindfulness daily 0.75 2020-06-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1592406412885-17951P201XZ4X2YGJ2BI/slide1.jpg When Science Meets Mindfulness - When science meets mindfulness Researchers study how it seems to change the brain in depressed patients First of two parts In 2015, 16.1 million Americans reported experiencing major depression during the previous year, often struggling to function while grappling with crippling darkness and despair. There’s an arsenal of treatments at hand, including talk therapy and antidepressant medications, but what’s depressing in itself is that they don’t work for every patient. “Many people don’t respond to the frontline interventions,” said Benjamin Shapero, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School(HMS) and a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s(MGH) Depression Clinical and Research Program. “Individual cognitive behavioral therapy is helpful for many people; antidepressant medications help many people. But it’s also the case that many people don’t benefit from them as well. There’s a great need for alternative approaches.” Shapero is working with Gaëlle Desbordes, an instructor in radiology at HMS and a neuroscientist at MGH’s Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, to explore one alternative approach: mindfulness-based meditation. In recent decades, public interest in mindfulness meditation has soared. Paralleling, and perhaps feeding, the growing popular acceptance has been rising scientific attention. The number of randomized controlled trials — the gold standard for clinical study — involving mindfulness has jumped from one in the period from 1995‒1997 to 11 from 2004‒2006, to a whopping 216 from 2013‒2015, according to a recent article summarizing scientific findings on the subject. Studies have shownbenefits against an array of conditions both physical and mental, including irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. But some of those findings have been called into question because studies had small sample sizes or problematic experimental designs. Still, there are a handful of key areas — including depression, chronic pain, and anxiety — in which well-designed, well-run studies have shown benefits for patients engaging in a mindfulness meditation program, with effects similar to other existing treatments. “There are a few applications where the evidence is believable. But the effects are by no means earth-shattering,” Desbordes said. “We’re talking about moderate effect size, on par with other treatments, not better. And then there’s a bunch of other things under study with preliminary evidence that is encouraging but by no means conclusive. I think that’s where it’s at. I’m not sure that is exactly how the public understands it at this point.” Researcher Gaelle Desbordes is probing mindfulness meditation’s effect on depression, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to take before and after images of the brains of depressed patients who’ve learned to meditate. The work seeks to understand the internal brain processes affected by mindfulness meditation training in this population. Desbordes’ interest in the topic stems from personal experience. She began meditating as a graduate student in computational neuroscience at Boston University, seeking respite from the stress and frustration of academic life. Her experience convinced her that something real was happening to her and prompted her to study the subject more closely, in hopes of shedding enough light to underpin therapy that might help others. “My own interest comes from having practiced those [meditation techniques] and found them beneficial, personally. Then, being a scientist, asking ‘How does this work? What is this doing to me?’ and wanting to understand the mechanisms to see if it can help others,” Desbordes said. “If we want that to become a therapy or something offered in the community, we need to demonstrate [its benefits] scientifically.” Desbordes’ research uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which not only takes pictures of the brain, as a regular MRI does, but also records brain activity occurring during the scan. In 2012, she demonstrated that changes in brain activity in subjects who have learned to meditate hold steady even when they’re not meditating. Desbordes took before-and-after scans of subjects who learned to meditate over the course of two months. She scanned them not while they were meditating, but while they were performing everyday tasks. The scans still detected changes in the subjects’ brain activation patterns from the beginning to the end of the study, the first time such a change — in a part of the brain called the amygdala — had been detected. In her current work, she is exploring meditation’s effects on the brains of clinically depressed patients, a group for whom studies have shown meditation to be effective. Working with patients selected and screened by Shapero, Desbordes is performing functional magnetic resonance imaging scans before and after an eight-week course in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or MBCT. During the scans, participants complete two tests, one that encourages them to become more aware of their bodies by focusing on their heartbeats (an exercise related to mindfulness meditation), and the other asking them to reflect on phrases common in the self-chatter of depressed patients, such as “I am such a loser,” or “I can’t go on.” After a series of such comments, the participants are asked to stop ruminating on the phrases and the thoughts they trigger. Researchers will measure how quickly subjects can disengage from negative thoughts, typically a difficult task for the depressed. The process will be repeated for a control group that undergoes muscle relaxation training and depression education instead of MBCT. While it’s possible that patients in the control part of the study also will have reduced depressive symptoms, Desbordes said it should occur via different mechanisms in the brain, a difference that may be revealed by the scans. The work, which received funding from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, has been underway since 2014 and is expected to last into 2019. Desbordes said she wants to test one prevalent hypothesis about how MBCT works in depressed patients: that the training boosts body awareness in the moment, called interoception, which, by focusing their attention on the here and now, arms participants to break the cycle of self-rumination. “We know those brain systems involved with interoception, and we know those involved with rumination and depression. I want to test, after taking MBCT, whether we see changes in these networks, particularly in tasks specifically engaging them,” Desbordes said. Desbordes is part of a community of researchers at Harvard and its affiliated institutions that in recent decades has been teasing out whether and how meditation works. In the 1970s, when transcendental meditation surged in popularity, Herbert Benson, a professor at Harvard Medical School and what was then Beth Israel Hospital, explored what he called “The Relaxation Response,”identifying it as the common, functional attribute of transcendental meditation, yoga, and other forms of meditation, including deep religious prayer. Benson described this response — which recent investigators say is not as common as he originally thought — as the opposite of the body’s adrenalin-charged “fight or flight” response, which was also identified at Harvard, by physiologist Walter Cannon Bradford in 1915. Related Meditation’s positive residual effects Imaging finds different forms of meditation may affect brain structure Meditation may relieve IBS and IBD Researchers found the relaxation response showed improvements in the two gastrointestinal disorders Eight weeks to a better brain Meditation study shows changes associated with awareness, stress Other MGH researchers also are studying the effects of meditation on the body, including Sara Lazar, who in 2012 used fMRI to show that the brains of subjects thickened after an eight-week meditation course. Work is ongoing at MGH’s Benson-Henry Institute; at HMS and Brigham and Women’s Hospital’sOsher Center for Integrative Medicine; at the Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance, where Zev Schuman-Olivier directs the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion; and among a group of nearly a dozen investigators at Harvard and other Northeastern institutions, including Desbordes and Lazar, who are collaborating through the Mindfulness Research Collaborative. Among the challenges researchers face is defining mindfulness itself. The word has come to describe a meditation-based practice whose aim is to increase one’s sense of being in the present, but it has also been used to describe a nonmeditative state in which subjects set aside their mental distractions to pay greater attention to the here and now, as in the work of Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer. Another challenge involves sorting through the many variations of meditative practice. Recent scientific exploration has largely focused on the secular practice of mindful meditation, but meditation is also a component of several ancient religious traditions, with variations. Even within the community practicing secular mindful meditation, there are variations that may be scientifically meaningful, such as how often one meditates and how long the sessions are. Desbordes herself has an interest in a variation called compassion meditation, whose aim is to increase caring for those around us. Amid this variation, an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course developed in the 1970s by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centerhas become something of a clinical and scientific standard. The course involves weekly two- or 2½-hour group training sessions, 45 minutes of daily work on one’s own, and a daylong retreat. The mindfulness-based cognitive therapy used in Desbordes’ current work is a variation on that program and incorporates elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves talk therapy effective in treating depression. Ultimately, Desbordes said she’s interested in teasing out just what in mindful meditation can work against depression. If researchers can identify what elements are effective, the therapy may be refined to be more successful. Shapero is also interested in using the study to refine treatment. Since some patients benefit from mindfulness meditation and some do not, he’d like to better understand how to differentiate between the two. “Once we know which ingredients are successful, we can do more of that and less, maybe, of the parts that are less effective,” Desbordes said. Research funding includes the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. For more information about the Mindfulness & Meditation program at Harvard University, visit its website. https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/meditation-and-the-brain daily 0.75 2020-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1592408051392-5D2H4TDOWQEBMNKUU5NT/brain-body-mind-connection.jpg Meditation and the Brain - Expanded Awareness: Turning the Tables on Your Brain 20 Aug 2018 Articles-www.choprafoundation.org By Deepak Chopra, MD Sometimes the enormous success of science leads to some wrong assumptions. In the case of brain science, the advent of sophisticated brain scans opened a window to the brain as never before. It used to be said that figuring out the human brain was like putting a stethoscope to the roof of the Astrodome to figure out the rules of baseball. That’s no longer true. In neuroscience, as brain function becomes more and more illuminated, the assumption grows stronger that our brains control our behavior. This idea isn’t true except in a limited sense that needs to be carefully defined. There are things that your brain controls, such as the fight-or-flight response. But for the vast majority of brain functions, you have a choice how to respond. “My brain made me do it” doesn’t hold water even when it comes to things we want to blame it for. Take mental disorders, for example. If you are depressed, there may be a family history involved, which suggests a genetic component, and the drugs to treat depression act on the brain, without a doubt. But consider the following: Antidepressants often don’t work better than the placebo effect. It doesn’t appear that the genetic profile of depressed people is any different from undepressed people. The best basic research doesn’t indicate that serotonin levels are altered by antidepressants, or that these levels, often blamed for depression, are imbalanced in people who suffer from depression. Each sufferer’s depression has its own unique profile of brain activity. There is no standard “depressed brain.” A lifestyle factor like stress and bad sleep can make a major contribution to depression. There is still controversy in this area, but one can reasonably say that depression isn’t a simple disease, and that its complexity is such that no straightforward cause-and-effect can yet be established. The fact that someone responds to antidepressants must be balanced by the fact that another patient won’t respond; in addition, there is the mystery of why traditional couch therapy can improve the same areas of the brain that antidepressant drugs target. Likewise, the simple model for addiction, which holds that the brain causes illicit drugs like cocaine to trap the addict, should be viewed with caution. The Freudian notion that childhood traumas cause adult psychiatric problems is no more than a half truth. Yet millions of people casually accept the assumption that their brain is in control of their behavior, as when someone says, “I’m a bit OCD” or “I have uncontrollable food cravings” or “I’m so addicted to chocolate.” Several years ago I co-authored a book to turn the tables on this kind of thinking, with the noted Harvard Medical School geneticist Rudolph Tanzi. It was called Super Brain, because we wanted to demonstrate that higher brain function is within a person’s capacity as the one who uses the brain instead of the other way around. Not just the user, either. You have the ability to inspire and guide your brain. You are not the victim of its hard wiring. The brain is a flowing, dynamic, ever-changing organ that responds, all the way down to the genetic level, to the kind of input you give it. Every cell in the brain stays in balance by being incredibly sensitive to the input it receives, forming a feedback loop where input alters output. As a result, the brain’s system of soft wiring is highly malleable, as is its ability to heal, produce new pathways, generate new cells, and send better messages to the other trillions of cells in your body. You can assert your control over your brain by becoming a better user of it, which means supplying positive input in place of negative input. That’s the simplest way to put it, and by now the difference between positive and negative input isn’t a mystery. Good sleep, moderate exercise, meditation, stress reduction, a balanced diet, and the absence of toxins like alcohol and nicotine should be seen as input to the brain. But if you want to directly impact your brain to optimize its function, there are mental habits that make a huge difference. Since this post has limited space, I’ll simply list these habits – they are discussed in detail in Super Brain – because they play a major role in making sure that your brain doesn’t get stuck in old pathways and functions. Remain open to as much input as possible. Don’t shut down the brain’s feedback loops with judgment, rigid beliefs, and prejudices. Don’t censor incoming data through denial. Examine other points of view as if they were your own. Take possession of everything in your life. Be self-sufficient. Work on psychological blocks like shame and guilt – they falsely color your reality. Free yourself emotionally – to be emotionally resilient is the best defense against growing rigid. Harbor no secrets – they create dark places in the psyche. Be willing to redefine yourself every day. Don’t be judgmental of yourself and others. Don’t regret the past or fear the future. Both bring misery through self-doubt. Pay attention to one thing at a time. Avoid distractions and multitasking. Cultivate self-awareness through meditation, contemplation, and self-reflection. Life has become so materialistic that it’s easy to assume that your brain’s functioning is beyond your control, or that the strongest way to change it is through prescription drugs. The truth is far otherwise 99 percent of the time. Nothing is more powerful for changing the brain than being the best user of the brain that you can be, and hopefully you can go further to guide and inspire it. Deepak Chopra MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation and co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Chopra is the author of more than 85 books translated into over 43 languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His latest books are The Healing Self co-authored with Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D. and Quantum Healing (Revised and Updated): Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine. www.deepakchopra.com https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/articles-millenials daily 0.75 2020-07-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddecd176afddc171f9f5a1f/1593627940227-IYKP5ICV638SSJPVUZ3D/image-asset.jpeg Articles /Millenials - Why Millennials Are Turning To Meditation For Work-Life Balance by Jules Schroeder Meditation. I remember the first time I heard a speaker mention it at a conference I attended a few years ago. I immediately thought of every stereotype in the book. It wasn’t until after my friend insisted I try it and I actually took him up on the offer that I soon realized meditation isn't just for “super spiritual people.” There’s a reason behind why it's becoming mainstream. Forty-two percent of millennials have meditated at least once in the past year, while meditation is nearly a $1B industry. So why is it becoming so popular? The American Psychological Association reports that millennials are the most stressed out generation in history. With so much pressure to perform at work or make an impact on the world we often end the day carrying a heavy load with us. Mindfulness and awareness, benefits reported from meditation, offer us the ability to resolve stress from the work day before it negatively impacts our life, health and relationships. Below, check out seven powerful ways meditation can restore a healthier balance to your work and life. According to experts, you can start experiencing these benefits with as little as ten minutes of meditation a day. 1. It Reduces Your Stress Levels. Millennials average at a 5.4 out of 10 on the stress scale, while 3.6 is considered healthy. If you suffer from stress overload, you aren’t alone—and fortunately, there’s something you can do about it. Dr. Elizabeth Hoge, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School says, “People with anxiety have problem dealing with distracting thoughts that have too much power. But you can train yourself to experience those thoughts completely differently. You might think, ‘I’m late, I might lose my job if I don’t get there on time, and it will be a disaster!’ Mindfulness teaches you to recognize, ‘Oh, there’s that thought again. I’ve been here before. But it’s just that—a thought.” Johns Hopkins University concludes that just 30 minutes of meditation a day can help ease psychological stresses like anxiety, depression, and pain. 2. It Promotes Healthier Eating. 41% of millennials say that stress makes them overeat, particularly filling up on junk foods. Besides being a remedy for stress, meditation directly promotes mindfulness around eating and is linked to weight loss. TIME says mindfulness sharpens a person’s ability to recognize hunger cues and ignore cravings for unhealthy foods. 3. It Can Help You Achieve Your Goals. Have you noticed that many of the world’s most successful people meditate? Influential figures like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Russell Brand, Ellen DeGeneres, and Lady Gaga have been public about their meditation practices. Meditation could equal success because of its link to goal-setting. The Oxford Mindfulness Centre foundthat after just eight weeks of daily meditating, study participants were able to identify more specific life goals than before, and were more likely to achieve those goals than a control group. 4. It Improves Your Productivity. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a “magic pill” that helped us get more done in a day, with a fraction of the effort? According to science, meditation could be that pill. Studies show that regular meditation supports higher functioning of attention and focus, improved memory recall, and more efficient multitasking, all of which are essential to productivity. 5. It Can Make You More Compassionate. In one study, a team of researchers from Northeastern University and Harvard University found that participants exposed to meditation sessions were 50% more disposed to help a person in distress while others stood by. A researcher said, “Meditation made people more willing to act virtuous—to help another who was 6. It Can Lower Your Health Bill. In the American Journal of Health Promotion, a five-year study compared the annual physician costs of meditators versus non-meditators. At the end of the study, the meditators reduced their physician costs by a cumulative 70%, as well as showed reduced rates of illness in all disease categories. With the averageannual cost for health care at $10,345 per person, meditation could translate to real savings. 7. It Can Make You Happier. Why is it that some people just seem to be “happier people” than others? And is there anything we can do about it? According to scientists, we each have a “set point” of happiness that remains relatively stable throughout our lives. Even after experiencing a significant loss or trauma, our set point eventually returns to normal. But research shows that meditation can increase our set point of happiness—in one study, after just eight weeks of meditating for an hour a day, participants saw an increase in their “set” happiness levels. Jules Schroeder I am the founder of Unconventional Life, a global community of entrepreneurs, creatives, and thought leaders. We host masterminding events for entrepreneurs in exotic… https://www.bethhillwellbeing.com/appointments daily 0.75 2022-01-09