Possible mentors and teachers can be found everywhere and
anywhere. Everyone has something they could teach you –
a skill, a bit of wisdom, or a personal secret to success.
In the end, though, you still have to think for yourself.
It’s still your job to take the knowledge you gain and turn it into
your own value system for solid decision-making.
"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." - Michael Jordan
One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change peoples minds. - Frank Zappa
"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." - John Wooden
Life is a gift of the immortal Gods, but living well is the gift of philosophy - Seneca
"He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life" - Victor Hugo
Emotions play a huge role in your physical health. Stressful emotions create damaging hormones and toxins in the body.
The
adrenal glands, the body’s main “stress” glands, secrete hormones to
help us deal with short-term stresses. However, in our modern times,
many people live under constant stress.
The
body does not differentiate between life-threatening stresses, such as
being chased by a bear, and our current stresses, such as job stress,
relationship difficulties, or money worries.
It is important that we learn mechanisms to release stress buildup and improve our abilities to cope with stress. Research in a field of study known as psycho-neuro-immunology found that every part of our immune system is linked to the brain.
Researchers
discovered that every thought, experience, and emotion sends messages
to the immune system, either strengthening or impairing its functioning. Emotions that boost the immune system: - happiness - optimism - joy Pessimism and depression are linked to an increased risk of disease.
Emotional
or mental stress impairs the function of the digestive system, as well.
That is why it is best not to eat when you are upset. Avoid eating
while you are very stressed.
Research has proven that stress affects our hormones, which can be damaging to our health over the long term.
Research
also suggests that emotions can become stored at the cellular level.
This could be part of the reason why we can become stuck in the traumas
we endure. Other studies demonstrate that stress can cause blockages in our energy systems. When all is said and done, stress is really a figment of our imaginations. Life is only as stressful as we choose to let it be. What to do?
Shift
your view to be one that is positive, and you’ll be amazed at the
discoveries you make along the way. A positive outlook makes a
tremendous difference and can help you to totally transform your
existing life into the life of your dreams.
If you
don’t like something in your life, have the courage to be honest with
yourself. This is more difficult than it seems sometimes. We often
delude ourselves into accepting aspects of our life so we will not have
to put in the effort to make changes. Honesty is an integral part of
remaking your life into the life you would like to have.
While
there may be plenty of social conditioning that affects us, we are the
only ones who can choose to accept thoughts and ideas as part of our
reality.
You are the only thinker of your thoughts. Those thoughts will create your reality. If you don’t like the reality your thoughts are creating, change your thoughts. You become what you think and feel.
“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude.” ― William James
*M.S. shares many symptoms with Parkinsons', so there is no obvious reason why to not use gentle boxing exercises to improve fitness and possibly motor control.
After former Marion County Prosecutor, Scott C. Newman was diagnosed
with Parkinson's disease at the age of 41, he began an intensive,
high-energy one-on-one boxing training program which he claims dramatically improved his agility, daily functioning and overall physical health.
In 2006, thanks to private donations, Newman founded Rock Steady Boxing, the only boxing program in the USA aimed at people with Parkinson's disease. He started off with a small gym and boxing ring.
Newman hired former world champion professional boxer Kristy Rose
Follmar, who helped build up Rock Steady's program during its initial
stages. Today she is head trainer at Rock Steady Boxing.
The unique high-intensity boxing program gradually became more popular as word-of-mouth recommendations spread. Newman
says there is a program for all stages of Parkinson's - from newly
diagnosed patients to people who have been living with the disease for
decades. Male and female, young and old individuals can find a
program that is suitable for their levels of fitness, age, and severity
of symptoms.
Newman and team explain that boxing training offers Parkinson's patients
targeted workouts as well as lots of fun. It is also a way of forming
friendships with other people who really do understand what it is like
to have to live with Parkinson's disease.
Rock Steady Boxing is a boxing program in the USA aimed at helping people with Parkinson's disease.
By 2010, Rock Steady had outgrown its premises and started looking for a
larger facility. In February 2011, a boxing gym was opened in
Indianapolis thanks to a $100,000 "Impact Grant" and a partnership with Peak Performance Fitness Center.
Thanks to the Impact 100 grant, Rock Steady was able to gradually
increase the number of classes available. Doctors started referring
patients early in their diagnosis to Rock Steady sessions as part of
their regime to slow down Parkinson's progression.
Rock Steady has a simple message:
"If you are living with Parkinson's, you are not alone. Our boxers may not win titles or trophies, but they are all champions in the Rock Steady Boxing ring."
Newman's aim is to reach thousands of individuals with Parkinson's
throughout the USA who need help with coordination, agility, balance,
strength, daily functioning and overall physical health.
Attacking Parkinson's at its vulnerable neurological points
The training classes focus on attacking Parkinson's at its most vulnerable neurological points.
The classes (all non-contact) concentrate on overall fitness and include:
What if I have no boxing experience? - the courses are aimed at people with Parkinson's of all ages, with or without boxing experience.
Is boxing better than physical therapy or going to exercise classes at my local fitness center?
- Newman says that a number of studies carried out during the latter
part of the last century showed that intensive exercise, focusing on
gross motor movement, rhythm, core strength, balance, and hand-eye
coordination can help improve flexibility, range of motion, gait,
posture, and activities of daily living - all serious issues for
patients with Parkinson's disease.
Jay L. Alberts, a neuroscientist at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, and team found that hard and fast cycling on a stationary bike benefits people with Parkinson's disease.
They presented their findings at the Radiological Society of North
America 2012 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting in Chicago. Alberts
explained that cycling, especially at rates higher than what patients
would normally choose for themselves, appeared to make regions of the
brain involved in movement connect to each other more effectively.
Newman explains that the Rock Steady boxing regime stimulates and
exercises the whole body and parts of the brain that improve the
patient's hand-eye coordination, flexibility, agility, speed, power,
strength, and endurance. Boxing training also improves balance.
Do participants need a doctor's recommendation to attend Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) classes?
- Yes. Participants must have a physician's release. They are
encouraged to always discuss any form of exercise they are doing within
or outside RSB with their doctors. Patients with cardiac problems,
especially, must clear their participation with their doctors.
Parkinson's Class
Scott Newman says that people at Rock Steady are learning, on a daily
basis, that they can fight back at Parkinson's disease and improve their
quality of life by building muscle strength, speed and flexibility.
Through exercise with trainers who have been taught the Rock Steady
method, which is specifically aimed at people with Parkinson's, you "can
fight your way out of the corner and start to feel and function
better".
Boxing training moves the human body in all planes of motion, movements
are unpredictable and routines are forever changing as you progress
through the workout. It has been proven, Newman says, that his classes
help reduce symptoms and improve quality of life and overall health.
There are four levels of Parkinson's Classes,
each one based on the individuals' Parkinson's symptoms and general
level of fitness. People wishing to enter a course need to complete a
90-minute assessment with a trained Rock Steady coach to determine which
level suits them best. The assessments are free.
KrossBox Class
Newman refers to the KrossBox class
as "fitness with a punch". They are high-intensity sessions that
combine cardio and strength training. KrossBox Class is available to
males and females aged 18+ years.
Participants train for a real fight (non-contact) and have to undergo a range of demanding activities to achieve total fitness.
Through KrossBox, participants build:
Cardio endurance
More lean muscle mass
Superior strength
Extra power
With the guidance of their trainers, participants go through real boxing workouts "without the stress
of actually competing". There is the option of taking part in sparring
sessions. Individuals have the benefit of one-on-one attention from
trainers who are not concentrating on the fight, but rather its
preparation. According to Newman "We'll get your body in shape by
training you like a pro!"
Acorda's MS Drug Ampyra Helps Stroke Patients Walk An Acorda Therapeutics drug, Ampyra (dalfampridine), which helps people with multiple sclerosis walk, also helps stroke patients who cannot walk, the company announced.
In a proof-of- concept Phase II study, Ampyra (dalfampridine extended release 10mg tablets) significantly improved walking in patients with post-stroke deficits.
Post-stroke deficits include impaired walking, motor and sensory function, as well as manual dexterity - collectively known as chronic neurological deficits.
Ron Cohen, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Acorda Therapeutic Incorporated, said:
"There were clear efficacy signals in the dalfampridine-ER post-stroke
deficits trial and we therefore plan to proceed with a clinical
development program
for this indication. A top-line analysis of the data found
dalfampridine-ER improved walking for people with mobility impairment
resulting from ischemic stroke. Dalfampridine-ER treatment was also
associated with a positive change versus placebo on a scale of
functional independence in this study. We are analyzing the data further to better understand the entirety of
the results. After we complete the analysis, we plan to discuss the
development program with the FDA.
There are more than seven million
stroke survivors in the United
States, and approximately half of them have some lasting mobility
impairment.
There are no medications currently available for these
patients, so new therapies are desperately needed."
Crossover trial
A crossover trial is when the patients spend some time on the drug that
is being studied, and then switch over to placebo or another medication,
participants receive each treatment in a random order. This was a
crossover trial. The trial involved 83 people who had had an ischemic stroke at least six months before enrollment. They all had chronic motor deficits. The participants received dalfampridine-ER 10 mg for 14 days and then placebo for 14 days, or vice-versa. The study's primary outcomes were to examine the medication's
tolerability and safety, as well as exploring various measures of
efficacy (effectiveness).
Ampyra (dalfampridine) - Key Safety Findings from Post-Stroke Deficits Trial
As far as safety is concerned, the findings in this trial were no different from previous ones used on MS (multiple sclerosis) patients, as well as post-marketing data. The following adverse events were reported in this study:
Seizure - one participant on dalfampridine-ER had a seizure, as did
one on placebo (with no prior dalfampridine-ER exposure). Another
patient had a seizure after intentional overdose of dalfampridine-ER
(the study investigator judged this to be a suicide attempt after a
family tragedy). All three made a full recovery.
Ampyra (dalfampridine) - Key Efficacy Findings from Post-Stroke Deficits Trial
Walking- participants' walking improvements were measured by
doing a T25FW (Timed 25-Foot Walk). They found that walking speed among
those on dalfampridine-ER was superior when compared to the patients on
placebo.
Functional Independence Measurement - also known as FIM. The FIM
scale rates a person's ability to carry out everyday tasks, such as
eating, grooming, bathing and walking unaided. Patients on
dalfampridine-ER had better FIM scores compared to those on placebo.
Acorda says the researchers are currently measuring other efficacy characteristics.
Cohen said that the results would need to be confirmed in a much larger
study, something Acorda says it has to discuss with the FDA. Experts say
that Ampyra's usage for stroke patients is likely to be several years
away.
Ampyra (dalfampridine) Cerebral Palsy Study Update
In a separate proof-of-concept study, involving 24 patients with cerebral palsy, dalfampridine-ER 10 mg was compared with placebo. Acorda informs that safety findings were similar to those reported from
previous clinical trials and post-marketing experience of Ampyra in
multiple sclerosis. Dalfampridine-ER 10 mg showed promise for improving walking and hand
strength in patients with cerebral palsy. However, the company
emphasized that the data are currently being analyzed to determine
whether they are robust enough to warrant further trials. Ampyra is approved by the US FDA for improvement in walking among patients with multiple sclerosis.
MS patients with walking problems were shown to walk faster when on Ampyra.
The company added that "the findings in post-stroke deficits and CP do
not impact Ampyra's proven safety and efficacy profile in people with
MS."
Brisk walking can reduce a person's risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol just as much as running can.
The finding came from a new study published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology which examined 33,060 runners in the National Runners' Health Study and 15,045 walkers in the National Walkers' Health Study.
During the six-year study period, the investigators discovered that the
same energy used for moderate intensity walking and vigorous intensity
running lead to comparable reductions in the likelihood for diabetes, high blood pressure, and potentially coronary heart disease.
Paul T. Williams, Ph.D., leading author and staff scientist at Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, Life Science Division in Berkeley, Calif.,
said:
"Walking and running provide an ideal test of the health benefits of
moderate-intensity walking and vigorous-intensity running because they
involve the same muscle groups and the same activities performed at
different intensities."
Walking and running expenditure was evaluated by distance, unlike previous research, which used time. The volunteers were given questionnaires in order to provide their activity data.
"The more the runners ran and the walkers walked, the better off they
were regarding health benefits. If the amount of energy expended was the
same between the two groups, then the health benefits were comparable,"
Williams explained.
The experts compared energy expenditure to self-reported, doctor-diagnosed incident hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and coronary heart disease.
Results showed:
The risk for first-time hypertension was notably reduced 4.2% by running and 7.2% by walking.
The risk for first-time high cholesterol was reduced 4.3% by running and 7% by walking.
The risk for first-time diabetes was lowered 12.1% by running and 12.3% by walking.
The risk for coronary heart disease was lowered 4.5% by running and 9.3% by walking.
Williams revealed:
"Walking may be a more sustainable activity for some people when
compared to running, however, those who choose running end up exercising
twice as much as those that choose walking. This is probably because
they can do twice as much in an hour."
Subjects were between 18 and 80 years old, the majority were in their
40s and 50s. Twenty-one percent of the walkers and 51.4% of the runners
were male.
A study from 2012 indicated that regular exercise in middle age protects the heart.
"People are always looking for an excuse not to exercise, but now they
have a straightforward choice to run or to walk and invest in their
future health," Williams said.
“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the
concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and
grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting,
swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I
dip the pen in ink.”
6 - practice and repetition Remember to seek progress over perfection and seek to do a little every day to achieve your goals.
A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. - Proverb
He who is not contented with what he has will not be contended with what he doesn't have. - Socrates
It takes a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious. - Alfred North Whitehead
"You can't cross a sea by merely staring into the water." - Rabindranath Tagore “Imagination is more important than knowledge” - Albert Einstein
“To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge” - Henry David Thoreau
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand” - Albert Einstein
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will” - Vince Lombardi
“Liberty can not be preserved without a general knowledge among the people” - John Adams
“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge” - Daniel J. Boorstin
American King James Version For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increases knowledge increases sorrow. - Ecclesiastes 1:18
“Three passions simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life; the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind” - Bertrand Russell
“There is no knowledge that is not power” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful” - Samuel Johnson
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination” - Albert Einstein
“The only source of knowledge is experience” - Albert Einstein
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” - Albert Einstein
“A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle” - Khalil Gibran
“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information” - T. S. Eliot
“What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child” - George Bernard Shaw
“The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance” - Socrates
“Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life” - Emmanuel Kant
“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers” - Plato
“Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness” - George Santayana
“All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education” - Theodore Roosevelt
“Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it” - Thomas Fuller M.D.
“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it--this is knowledge” - Confucius
“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is
but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will
forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own
Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives” - James Madison
“The great end of life is not knowledge but action” - Thomas Henry Huxley
“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest” - Benjamin Franklin
“Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers” - Alfred Tennyson
“It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen” - Proverb
“A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms—it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man” - Albert Einstein
Serving Size Is What Drives How Much We Eat More Than Anything Else
Large servings make us eat more, even when we are are
taught about the impact of portion size on consumption, according to
investigators from the University of New South Wales, Australia. People who learned how to engage inmindful- instead of mindless -
eating still ate much more food than those given smaller servings with
no orientation regarding mindful eating.
The researchers explained in the Journal of Health Psychology that we need to find new ways to reduce the impact of portion size on overeating.
Author, Dr. Lenny Vartanian, a senior lecturer in the UNSW School of Psychology and an author of the paper, said:
If no effective approaches are found, it may be necessary to develop
policy-related changes to provide a healthier food environment for
people."
Most experts believe that portion sizes at home and in restaurants,
which have increased considerably over the last 40 years, have
contributed to the obesity explosion. Dr Vartanian said "Studies have consistently shown that increases in
portion sizes for a wide range of foods and beverages result in
increased energy intake. And the impact is not affected by factors such
as hunger or the taste of the food."
The authors say that their study, which involved 96 women, is the first
to examine the effectiveness of educating people about this phenomenon.
The women were randomly selected to be served one of two portion sizes
of macaroni with tomato sauce for lunch:
Large portion - 600 grams
Smaller portion - 350 grams
Half the women in either group were placed in a "mindfulness group",
they were given a brochure about how external factors, including portion
size, social and cultural influences, advertising, and mood can
contribute to overeating. They were then asked to write about how such
factors affected their food consumption in the past. The participants in the mindfulness group were taught how to concentrate
on the internal sensations, such as the feelings of hunger and satiety,
as well as the taste of food, before being given their pasta meal. Dr Vartanian said:
"Neither of these brief exercises reduced the effects of portion size.
Overall, participants in the larger portion group consumed about a third
more pasta - 69 grams - than those in the smaller portion group."
*Note: With multiple sclerosis in its advanced stages, exercise becomes difficult. This means that to maintain a healthy body weight, it comes down to careful management of the calories you consume. My solution has been to follow some of the ideas of Dr. Dean Ornish, like eating a primarily vegetarian diet that is low in animal fats.
A
brain scan of a monk actively extending compassion shows activity in
the medial prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with
reward processing. Photo: SPAN Lab, Stanford University
/ SF
Stanford studies monks' meditation, compassion
Meredith May
Updated 12:02 p.m., Sunday, July 8, 2012
Stanford neuroeconomist Brian Knutson
is an expert in the pleasure center of the brain that works in tandem
with our financial decisions - the biology behind why we bypass the
kitchen coffeemaker to buy the $4 Starbucks coffee every day.
He
can hook you up to a brain scanner, take you on a simulated shopping
spree and tell by looking at your nucleus accumbens - an area deep
inside your brain associated with fight, flight, eating and fornicating -
how you process risk and reward, whether you're a spendthrift or
a tightwad.
So when his colleagues saw him putting
Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns into the MRI machine in the basement of
the Stanford psychology building, he drew a few double-takes.
Knutson
is still interested in the nucleus accumbens, which receives a
dopamine hit when a person anticipates something pleasant, like winning
at blackjack. Only now he wants to know if the same
area of the brain can light up for altruistic reasons.
Can extending
compassion to another person look the same in the brain as anticipating
something good for oneself?
And who better to test than Tibetan monks,
who have spent their lives pursuing a state of selfless nonattachment?
Meditation science
The
"monk study" at Stanford is part of an emerging field of meditation
science that has taken off in the last decade with advancements in brain
image technology, and popular interest.
"There are
many neuroscientists out there looking at mindfulness, but not a lot
who are studying compassion," Knutson said. "The Buddhist view of the
world can provide some potentially interesting information about the
subcortical reward circuits involved in motivation." By
looking at expert meditators, neuroscientists hope to get a better
picture of what compassion looks like in the brain.
1. Does a monk's brain
behave differently than another person's brain when the two are both
extending compassion?
2. Is selflessness innate, or can it be learned? Possible Therapeutic Uses? Looking
to the future, neuroscientists wonder whether compassion can be
neurologically isolated, if one day it could be harnessed to help people
overcome depression, to settle children with hyperactivity, or even to
rewire a psychopath. "Right now we're trying to first
develop the measurement of compassion, so then one day we can develop
the science around it," Knutson said.
Stress reduction
Thirty years ago, medical Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn
used meditation as the basis for his revolutionary "Mindfulness-Based
Stress Reduction Program."
He put people with chronic pain and
depression through a six-week meditation practice in the basement of the
University of Massachusetts Medical School
and became one of the first practitioners to record meditation-related
health improvements in patients with intractable pain. His
stress-reduction techniques are now used in hospitals, clinics and
by HMOs. "In the last 25 years there's been a tidal shift in the field, and now there are 300 scientific papers on mindfulness," said Emiliana Simon-Thomas, science director for the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. People who meditate show more left-brain hemisphere dominance, according to meditation studies done at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Essentially
when you spend a lot of time meditating,the brain shows a pattern of
feeling safe in the world and more comfortable in approaching people
and situations, and less vigilant and afraid, which is more associated
with the right hemisphere," she said.
Effect on aging
The
most comprehensive scientific study of meditation, the Shamatha
Project led by scientists at UC Davis, indicates meditation leads to
improved perception and may even have some effect on cellular aging. Volunteers
who spent an average of 500 hours in focused-attention meditation
during a three-month retreat in 2007 were better than the control group
at detecting slight differences in the length of lines flashed on
a screen.
When researchers compared blood samples between
the two groups, they found the retreat population had 30 percent more
telomerase - the enzyme in cells that repairs the shortening of
chromosomes that occurs throughout life.
This could have implications
for the tiny protective caps on the ends of DNA known as telomeres,
which have been linked to longevity. "This does not mean that if you meditate, you're going to live longer," said Clifford Saron, a research neuroscientist leading the study at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain. "It's
an empirical question at this point, but it's remarkable that a sense
of purpose in life, a belief that your goals and values are coming more
into alignment with your past and projected future is likely affecting
something at the level of your molecular biology," Saron said. Knutson's
monk study at Stanford is in its early stages. He has some data
collected from Stanford undergrads to use as part of the control group,
but he still needs more novice meditators and monks to go into the MRI
machine. It's an expensive proposition. Subjects are in the machine for eight to 12 hours a day, for three days, at $500 an hour.
Knutson's study is funded by Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education,
which was started with a sizable donation of seed money from the Dalai
Lama after his 2005 campus visit to discuss fostering scientific study
of human emotion. Knutson and his team asked the
monks and nuns to lie down in the MRI scanner and look at a series of
human faces projected above their eyes. He asked them to withhold
emotion and look at some of the faces neutrally, and for others, to
look and show compassion by feeling their suffering. Next
he flashed a series of abstract paintings and asked his subjects to
rate how much they liked the art. What the monks and nuns didn't know
was that Knutson was also flashing subliminal photos of the same faces
before the pictures of the art. "Reliably they like
the art more if the faces they showed compassion to came before it,"
Knutson said, "Which leads to a hypothesis that there is some sort of
compassion carryover happening."
Extending compassion
Next
Knutson asked the Buddhists to practice a style of meditation called
"tonglen," in which the person extends compassion outward from their
inner circle, first to their parent, then to a good friend, then to a
stranger and last to all sentient beings.
He wants to see whether brain
activity changes depending on different types of compassion. "There's
a concern that scientists might be 'trying to prove meditation,' but
we are scientists trying to understand the brain," said Matthew
Sacchet, a neuroscience doctoral student at Stanford working
with Knutson. "The research has important
possibilities for medicine, and also it could get rid of some of the
fuzz and help make meditation more empirically grounded," he said.
"If
there is some kind of underlying structure to be understood
scientifically, it could make things more clear for everyone.
Meredith May is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: mmay@sfchronicle.com
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the "Universe," a
part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts
and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for
us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few
persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our
circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of
nature in its beauty.
1. “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” - Yogi Berra
2. “Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.” – Viktor Frankl
3. “To reach a port, we must sail—Sail, not tie at anchor—Sail, not drift.” - Franklin Roosevelt
4. “Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.” - David Ogilvy
5. “A goal properly set is halfway reached.” - Abraham Lincoln
6. “Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.” - Helmut Schmidt
7. “Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive.” – Bill Copeland
8.”Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan,
in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously
act. There is no other route to success.” - Vincent van Gogh
9. “The most important thing about goals is having one.” - Geoffry F. Abert
10. “You can’t reach your goals without occasionally taking some long shots.”- Unknown
11.
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment
to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence –
that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” - Mario Andretti
12.
“The reason so few people are successful is no one has yet found a way
for someone to sit down and slide uphill.” - W. Clement Stone
13.
“Please understand my friend, that where you find yourself tomorrow is a
function of the positive decisions and actions you take today.”- Akin
A. Awolaja
14. “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to
see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” - Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.
15. “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances
are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have
planned for you? Not much.” - Jim Rohn
16. “By recording your
dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the
person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.” –
Mark Victor Hansen
17. “Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” – Aristotle
18.
“Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set
yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and
disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your
plan.” – Paul Meyer
19. “The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes
20.
“The unfortunate aspect about living life without your own goals is
that you may very well reach a point in your life where you will wonder,
‘what would have happened if I had only done…’” - Catherine Pulsifer
*Meditation is an always-available gift of replenishment that we can give to ourselves anytime during our harried work schedule.
Researchers
are exploring the benefits of meditation on everything from heart
disease to obesity. Sumathi Reddy and Dr. Aditi Nerurkar join Lunch
Break.
Doctor's Orders: 20 Minutes Of Meditation Twice a Day
At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, doctor's orders can include an unlikely prescription:meditation.
"I
recommend five minutes, twice a day, and then gradually increase," said
Aditi Nerurkar, a primary-care doctor and assistant medical director of
the Cheng & Tsui Center for Integrative Care, which offers
alternative medical treatment at the Harvard Medical School-affiliated
hospital. "It's basically the same way I prescribe medicine. I don't
start you on a high dose right away." She
recommends that patients eventually work up to about 20 minutes of
meditating, twice a day, for conditions including insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome.
Integrative medicine programs including meditation are increasingly showing up at hospitals and clinics across the country. Recent research has found that meditation can lower blood pressure and help patients with chronic illness cope with pain and depression.
In a study published last year, meditation sharply reduced the risk of heart attack or stroke among a group of African-Americans with heart disease. At Beth Israel Deaconess, meditation and other mind-body therapies are slowly being worked into the primary-care setting. The program began offering some services over the past six months and hopes eventually to have group meditation classes, said Dr. Nerurkar.
Health
experts say meditation shouldn't be used to replace traditional medical
therapies, but rather to complement them. While it is clear that "when
you breathe in a very slow, conscious way it temporarily lowers your
blood pressure," such techniques shouldn't be used to substitute for
medications to manage high blood pressure and other serious conditions,
said Josephine Briggs, director of the National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health. In
general, she said, meditation can be useful for symptom management, not to cure or treat disease. Dr.
Briggs said the agency is funding a number of studies looking at
meditation and breathing techniques and their effect on numerous
conditions, including hot flashes that occur during menopause. If
meditation is found to be beneficial, it could help women avoid using hormone treatments, which can have detrimental side effects, she said.
The most common type of meditation recommended by doctors and used in hospital programs is called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, which was devised at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr.
Nerurkar said she doesn't send patients to a class for training.
Instead, she and other physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess will
demonstrate the technique in the office. "Really it's just sitting in a quiet posture that's comfortable, closing your eyes and watching your breath," she said.
Murali Doraiswamy, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical
Center in Durham, N.C., says it isn't clearly understood how meditation
works on the body.
Some
forms of meditation have been found to activate the parasympathetic
nervous system, which stimulates the body's relaxation response,
improves blood supply, slows down heart rate and breathing and increases
digestive activity, he said. It also slows down the release of stress
hormones, such as cortisol.
Dr. Doraiswamy says he recommends meditation
for people with depression, panic or anxiety disorders, ongoing stress,
or for general health maintenance of brain alertness and cardiovascular
health. Thousands of studies have been
published that look at meditation, Dr. Doraiswamy said. Of these, about
500 have been clinical trials testing meditation for various ailments,
but only about 40 trials have been long-term studies.
It
isn't known whether there is an optimal amount of time for meditating
that is most effective. And, it hasn't been conclusively shown that the
practice causes people to live longer or prevents them from getting
certain chronic diseases. Some short-term studies have found meditation can improve cognitive abilities such as attention and memory, said Dr. Doraiswamy.
Using
imaging, scientists have shown that meditation can improve the
functional performance of specific circuits in the brain and may
reduce age-related shrinkage of several brain centers, particularly
those that may be vulnerable in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
Recent
research found that meditation can result in molecular changes
affecting the length of telomeres, a protective covering at the end of
chromosomes that gets shorter as people age.
The
study involved 40 family caregivers of dementia patients. Half of the
participants meditated briefly on a daily basis and the other half
listened to relaxing music for 12 minutes a day.
The eight-week study found that people
who meditated showed a 43% improvement in telomerase activity, an
enzyme that regulates telomere length, compared with a 3.7% gain in the
group listening to music.
The
participants meditating also showed improved mental and cognitive
functioning and lower levels of depression compared with the control
group. The pilot study was published in January in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Government-funded research also is exploring meditation's effect on dieting and depression.
A
version of this article appeared April 16, 2013, on page D1 in the U.S.
edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Doctor's Orders:
20 Minutes Of Meditation Twice a Day.
New Technique Holds Promise For The Treatment Of Multiple Sclerosis And Cerebral Palsy
15 Apr 2013
Researchers at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine have
discovered a technique that directly converts skin cells to the type of
brain cells destroyed in patients with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other so-called myelin disorders.
This discovery appears in the journal Nature Biotechnology. This breakthrough now enables "on demand" production of myelinating
cells, which provide a vital sheath of insulation that protects neurons
and enables the delivery of brain impulses to the rest of the body.
In
patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebral palsy (CP), and rare
genetic disorders called leukodystrophies, myelinating cells are
destroyed and cannot be replaced.
The new technique involves directly converting fibroblasts - an abundant
structural cell present in the skin and most organs - into
oligodendrocytes, the type of cell responsible for myelinating the
neurons of the brain.
"Its 'cellular alchemy,'" explained Paul Tesar, PhD, assistant professor
of genetics and genome sciences at Case Western Reserve School of
Medicine and senior author of the study. "We are taking a readily
accessible and abundant cell and completely switching its identity to
become a highly valuable cell for therapy."
In a process termed "cellular reprogramming," researchers manipulated
the levels of three naturally occurring proteins to induce fibroblast
cells to become precursors to oligodendrocytes (called oligodendrocyte
progenitor cells, or OPCs).
Tesar's team, led by Case Western Reserve researchers and co-first
authors Fadi Najm and Angela Lager, rapidly generated billions of these
induced OPCs (called iOPCs).
Even more important, they showed that iOPCs
could regenerate new myelin coatings around nerves after being
transplanted to mice - a result that offers hope the technique might be
used to treat human myelin disorders.
When oligodendrocytes are damaged or become dysfunctional in myelinating
diseases, the insulating myelin coating that normally coats nerves is
lost. A cure requires the myelin coating to be regenerated by
replacement oligodendrocytes.
Until now, OPCs and oligodendrocytes could only be obtained from fetal
tissue or pluripotent stem cells. These techniques have been valuable,
but with limitations.
"The myelin repair field has been hampered by an inability to rapidly
generate safe and effective sources of functional oligodendrocytes,"
explained co-author and myelin expert Robert Miller, PhD, professor of
neurosciences at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and the
university's vice president for research.
"The new technique may
overcome all of these issues by providing a rapid and streamlined way to
directly generate functional myelin producing cells."
This initial study used mouse cells. The critical next step is to
demonstrate feasibility and safety using human cells in a lab setting.
If successful, the technique could have widespread therapeutic application to human myelin disorders.
"The progression of stem cell biology is providing opportunities for
clinical translation that a decade ago would not have been possible,"
said Stanton Gerson, MD, professor of Medicine-Hematology/Oncology at
the School of Medicine and director of the National Center for
Regenerative Medicine and the UH Case Medical Center Seidman Cancer Center. "It is a real breakthrough."
"It is a real breakthrough."
References:
Additional co-authors of the publication
include Case Western Reserve School of Medicine researchers Anita
Zaremba, Krysta Wyatt, Andrew Caprariello, Daniel Factor, Robert Karl,
and Tadao Maeda.
The research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health,
the New York Stem Cell Foundation, the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation
and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Case Western Reserve University Citations:
Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:
MLA
Case Western Reserve University. "New Technique Holds Promise For The Treatment Of Multiple Sclerosis And Cerebral Palsy."Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 15 Apr. 2013. Web.
16 Apr. 2013.
APA
Case Western Reserve University.
(2013, April 15). "New Technique Holds Promise For The Treatment Of
Multiple Sclerosis And Cerebral Palsy."Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/259106.php.
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.
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Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration.
Depression can be long-lasting or recurrent, substantially impairing
an individual’s ability to function at work or school or cope with daily
life. At its most severe, depression can lead to suicide. When mild,
people can be treated without medicines but when depression is moderate
or severe they may need medication and professional talking treatments.
Depression is a disorder that can be reliably diagnosed and treated
by non-specialists as part of primary health care. Specialist care is
needed for a small proportion of individuals with complicated depression
or those who do not respond to first-line treatments.
If you suspect that you are suffering from depression, please reach out for help as soon as possible.
Should you feel
uncomfortable talking to your family members or to your friends, there
are other ways to get assistance.
“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at”- S. Hawking
................................................
Stephen Hawking Visits LA Stem Cell Lab
Stephen Hawking, listens to Robert H.
Baloh, MD, PhD, the Director of Neuromuscular Medicine in the Department
of Neurology, as he was given a tour of the Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, April 9, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Eric Reed/AP)
Wisdom: The renowned astrophysicist told more than a billion viewers
worldwide to 'look up at the stars, and not down at your feet... be
curious'
British physicist Stephen Hawking urges continuing space exploration for humanity’s sake
Alicia Chang, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Stephen Hawking, the British physicist who spent his career decoding the universe and even experienced weightlessness, is urging the continuation of space exploration — for humanity’s sake.
The 71-year-old Hawking said he did not think humans would survive another 1,000 years “without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”
Hawking made the remarks Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he toured a stem cell laboratory that’s focused on trying to slow the progression of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Hawking was diagnosed with the neurological disorder 50 years ago while a student at Cambridge University. He recalled how he became depressed and initially didn’t see a point in finishing his doctorate. But he continued his studies. “If you understand how the universe operates, you control it in a way,” he said. Renowned for his work on black holes and the origins of the cosmos, Hawking is famous for bringing esoteric physics concepts to the masses through his bestselling books, including “A Brief History of Time,” which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Hawking held the post of Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge University until his retirement in 2009. Hawking has survived longer than most people with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control the muscles. People gradually have more and more trouble breathing and moving as muscles weaken and waste away.
There’s no cure and no way to reverse the disease’s progression. Few people with ALS live longer than a decade. Hawking receives around-the-clock care, can only communicate by twitching his cheek, and relies on a computer mounted to his wheelchair to convey his thoughts in a distinctive robotic monotone. Despite his diagnosis,Hawking has remained active. In 2007, he floated like an astronaut on an aircraft that creates weightlessness by making parabolic dives.
“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at,”he said Tuesday.
Dr. Robert Baloh, director of Cedars-Sinai’s ALS program, said he had no explanation for Hawking’s longevity. Dr. Baloh said he has treated patients who lived for 10 years or more.
“But 50 years is unusual, to say the least,” he said.
Disabled genius: In his instantly-recognisable
computerised voice, Britain's greatest living scientist told the
audience, 'Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what
makes the universe exist'
Genius: Stephen Hawking at his Oxford University graduation in 1962 - two years before his diagnosis with motor neurone disease
If you find yourself discouraged and ready to give up on your ambitions, consider this:
"Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with the neurological disorder 50 years ago while a
student at Cambridge University. He recalled how he became depressed
and initially didn’t see a point in finishing his doctorate.
"There’s no cure and no way to reverse the disease’s progression. Few people with ALS live longer than a decade."
Who could have faulted Hawking if he had given in to depression and ended his schooling? He was essentially given a death sentence, yet he continued along the academic path he had chosen and is still making headlines....
Multiple sclerosis shares many symptoms with ALS including becoming depressed, discouraged and wanting to give up on their plans. Changes imposed on you by a disease requires adapting to your symptoms and working around them... it is important to see m.s. as a bundle of symptoms so that you can break them down and respond to them individually.
Loss of balance may require you to use a cane for walking. Or unusual fatigue may require you to rest frequently and sleep longer than you did prior to the progression of your disease. M.S. affects us all similarly but with individual differences which is why you need to 'get in touch' with how you feel and respond accordingly.
Hawking gives us these very inspiring words:
“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at”- S. Hawking
