During this bake off, at first we discussed a little bit of Heart Math. For those new members that had never heard of it before, we outlined how it works. Heart Math refers to a technique of seizing a moment, time or episode of strong gratitude in your life such as holding your newborn child, experiencing a sacred moment, anything that you can think of that fills you with gratitude. Then you hold that sensation in your chest where your heart is and focus on this feeling. Heart Math works with a pulse ox type machine that registers your pulse rate in a finger tip and applies a computer calculation to this pulse to calculate not just the heart rate but the variation of the rate of the heart beat. When focusing on gratitude, the variability of the heart rate reaches what is called coherence. That is it forms a sine wave of heart rate variability. When this happens the blood pressure lowers, and other autonomic functions in the body calm down. The sympathetic nervous system slows its firing. It is thought that the electromagnetic waves generated by the heart during coherence have a beneficial effect even on the brain, even calming the brain. One can work with the Em Wave machine which gives biofeedback information to the wearer to determine if he/she is practicing the appreciation and gratitude exercises appropriately. With practice, a person no longer even needs the Em wave pulse readings. The feeling itself produces the necessary body function changes itself. People can keep sort of a Rolodex of gratitude experiences to call on and can achieve this sense of well-being readily in all external situation.s This technique achieves the relaxation response much like meditation does, but it seems to do it much quicker. I had seen that the Em Wave machine, a hand held device that changes color to show coherence, is being sold in airline magazines.
Someone commented that HeartMath is "The World according to Garf (not Garp). -- gratitude, appreciation, reverence, and friendship.
Paul commented that the science of spirituality may be distracting. Eve if science doesn't explain or we can't understand , for example, 26 dimensions, so it just is -- whether science proves it or not. Science is a system of faith.
A common source of spirituality is awe. Some people pursue the religious way of this awe. Some pursue science as the source of this awe. Science confirms religion and vice versa. You can be comforted by these thoughts and you can hopefully get past the historical conflict of science and religion.
Dick brought an excerpt from the Upanishads he wished to share with the group.
Sacred song of the Chandogya Upanishad
Chapter VIII
The city of Brahman
1.1 In the city of Brahman is a secret dwelling,
the lotus of the heart. Within this dwelling is a space, and within that
space is the fulfillment of our desires. What is within that space
should be longed for and realized.
1.3 As great as the infinite space beyond is
the space within the lotus of the heart.
Both heaven and earth are contained in that inner
space, both fire and air, sun and moon, lightning
and stars. Whether we know it in this
world or know it not, everything is contained
in that inner space.
1.5 Never fear that old age will invade that
city; never fear that this inner treasure of all
reality will wither and decay. This knows no
age when the body ages; this knows no dying
when the body dies. This is the real city of
Brahman; this is the Self, free from old age,
from death and grief, hunger and thirst. In the
Self all desires are fulfilled.
The Self desires only what is real, thinks
nothing but what is true. Here people do what
they are told, becoming dependent on their
country, or their piece of land, or the desires
1.6 of another, so their desires are not fulfilled
and their works come to nothing, both in this
world and in the next. those who depart from
this world without knowing who they are or
what they truly desire have no freedom here or
hereafter.
But those who leave here knowing who they
are and what they truly desire have freedom
everywhere, both in this world and in the
next.
1.1 Would they see their departed mother
2 or father? Lo, they see them and are happy.
1.3 Would they see their family and friends?
6 Lo, they see them and are happy. Would
they enjoy the world of music, or spring
flowers, of elegance? Lo, by their mere will
1.10 they enjoy these things. Whatever they
desire, the object of that desire arises from
the power of their own thought; they have
it and are happy.
3.2 Here our selfless desires are hidden by
selfish ones. they are real, but they are
covered by what is false. Therefore whoever
of our own departs from this life, not one can
3.2 ever be brought back before our eyes. But
all those we love, alive or departed, and all
things we desire but do not have, are found
when we enter that space within the heart; for
there abide all desires that are true, though
covered by what is false.
Like strangers in an unfamiliar country
walking over a hidden treasure, day by day
we enter the world of Brahman while in deep
sleep but never find it, carried away by what
is false.
3.3 The Self is hidden in the lotus of the heart.
Those who see themselves in all creatures go
day by day into the world of Brahman hidden
4 in the heart. Established in peace, they rise
above body-consciousness to the supreme
light of the Self, Immortal, free from fear, this
5 Self is Brahman, called the True. Beyond the
mortal and the immortal, he binds both worlds
together. Those who know this live day after
day in heaven in this very life.
4.1 The Self is a bulwark against the confounding
of these worlds and a bridge between
them. Day and night cannot cross that bridge,
nor old age, nor death, nor grief, nor evil nor
good deeds. All evils turn back there, unable
to cross; evil comes not into this world of
Brahman.
4.2 One who crosses by this bridge, therefore,
if blind, is blind no more; if hurt, ceases to be
hurt; if in sorrow, ceases sorrowing. At this
boundary night itself becomes day: night
comes not into this world of Brahman.
4.3 Only those who are pure and self controlled
can find this world of Brahman. That world is
theirs alone. In that world, in all the worlds,
they live in perfect freedom.
Some comments on these Upanishads:
What can be said of a state of being in which even the separate observer disappears? "Words turn back frightened," the Upanishads say: every attempt to explain produces contradictions and inconsistencies. But the sages of the Upanishads must have longed so ardently to communicate that they had to try, even if the picture was doomed to be inadequate.
Some time ago I remember watching footage of how the Titanic was discovered -- two and a half miles below the surface of the ocean, far beyond depths that light can penetrate, where the sheer weight of the sea would crush a human being. Scientists designed a twelve-foot robot called Argo and lowered it little by little through those black waters right to the ocean floor. At those blind depths, probing with cameras and sonar, they began to piece together a vivid picture of a world no one could have seen before. The video seemed to take us through doors that had not been opened for seventy years, down that famous staircase into a silent crystal ballroom uncorrupted by time -- eerie, disjointed shots of a lightless landscape. That is how I think of the Upanishads, probing depths where individuality itself dissolves and sending up pictures of treasures sunk in the seabed of the unconscious.
What do they report" They tell us, first, that whatever we are, whatever we may have done, there is in each of us an inalienable Self that is divine:
As the sun, who is the eye of the world,
Cannot be tainted by the defects in our eyes
Nor by the objects it looks on,
So the one Self, dwelling in all, cannot
Be tainted by the evils of the world.
For this Self transcends all!
(Kathat II.2.II
Some comments from the Upanishads are talking about exceeding the speed of light you are in the same place and time. As yo approach the speed of light there is no time -- you are in the moment. Then all is one.
Someone cautions to be careful. Some scientists are ruled by the fear of what they know and what they don't know. We must realize we can't comprehend the universe. It is incredible arrogance to believe we can comprehends something so incomprehensible.
As a change of pace, we commented on the following weekly Phillip Chard column on our technological world.
As we increasingly replace face-to-face or phone-to-ear communication with e-interaction (chat, email, social networking), loneliness becomes more prevalent.
Someone commented that HeartMath is "The World according to Garf (not Garp). -- gratitude, appreciation, reverence, and friendship.
Paul commented that the science of spirituality may be distracting. Eve if science doesn't explain or we can't understand , for example, 26 dimensions, so it just is -- whether science proves it or not. Science is a system of faith.
A common source of spirituality is awe. Some people pursue the religious way of this awe. Some pursue science as the source of this awe. Science confirms religion and vice versa. You can be comforted by these thoughts and you can hopefully get past the historical conflict of science and religion.
Dick brought an excerpt from the Upanishads he wished to share with the group.
Sacred song of the Chandogya Upanishad
Chapter VIII
The city of Brahman
1.1 In the city of Brahman is a secret dwelling,
the lotus of the heart. Within this dwelling is a space, and within that
space is the fulfillment of our desires. What is within that space
should be longed for and realized.
1.3 As great as the infinite space beyond is
the space within the lotus of the heart.
Both heaven and earth are contained in that inner
space, both fire and air, sun and moon, lightning
and stars. Whether we know it in this
world or know it not, everything is contained
in that inner space.
1.5 Never fear that old age will invade that
city; never fear that this inner treasure of all
reality will wither and decay. This knows no
age when the body ages; this knows no dying
when the body dies. This is the real city of
Brahman; this is the Self, free from old age,
from death and grief, hunger and thirst. In the
Self all desires are fulfilled.
The Self desires only what is real, thinks
nothing but what is true. Here people do what
they are told, becoming dependent on their
country, or their piece of land, or the desires
1.6 of another, so their desires are not fulfilled
and their works come to nothing, both in this
world and in the next. those who depart from
this world without knowing who they are or
what they truly desire have no freedom here or
hereafter.
But those who leave here knowing who they
are and what they truly desire have freedom
everywhere, both in this world and in the
next.
1.1 Would they see their departed mother
2 or father? Lo, they see them and are happy.
1.3 Would they see their family and friends?
6 Lo, they see them and are happy. Would
they enjoy the world of music, or spring
flowers, of elegance? Lo, by their mere will
1.10 they enjoy these things. Whatever they
desire, the object of that desire arises from
the power of their own thought; they have
it and are happy.
3.2 Here our selfless desires are hidden by
selfish ones. they are real, but they are
covered by what is false. Therefore whoever
of our own departs from this life, not one can
3.2 ever be brought back before our eyes. But
all those we love, alive or departed, and all
things we desire but do not have, are found
when we enter that space within the heart; for
there abide all desires that are true, though
covered by what is false.
Like strangers in an unfamiliar country
walking over a hidden treasure, day by day
we enter the world of Brahman while in deep
sleep but never find it, carried away by what
is false.
3.3 The Self is hidden in the lotus of the heart.
Those who see themselves in all creatures go
day by day into the world of Brahman hidden
4 in the heart. Established in peace, they rise
above body-consciousness to the supreme
light of the Self, Immortal, free from fear, this
5 Self is Brahman, called the True. Beyond the
mortal and the immortal, he binds both worlds
together. Those who know this live day after
day in heaven in this very life.
4.1 The Self is a bulwark against the confounding
of these worlds and a bridge between
them. Day and night cannot cross that bridge,
nor old age, nor death, nor grief, nor evil nor
good deeds. All evils turn back there, unable
to cross; evil comes not into this world of
Brahman.
4.2 One who crosses by this bridge, therefore,
if blind, is blind no more; if hurt, ceases to be
hurt; if in sorrow, ceases sorrowing. At this
boundary night itself becomes day: night
comes not into this world of Brahman.
4.3 Only those who are pure and self controlled
can find this world of Brahman. That world is
theirs alone. In that world, in all the worlds,
they live in perfect freedom.
Some comments on these Upanishads:
What can be said of a state of being in which even the separate observer disappears? "Words turn back frightened," the Upanishads say: every attempt to explain produces contradictions and inconsistencies. But the sages of the Upanishads must have longed so ardently to communicate that they had to try, even if the picture was doomed to be inadequate.
Some time ago I remember watching footage of how the Titanic was discovered -- two and a half miles below the surface of the ocean, far beyond depths that light can penetrate, where the sheer weight of the sea would crush a human being. Scientists designed a twelve-foot robot called Argo and lowered it little by little through those black waters right to the ocean floor. At those blind depths, probing with cameras and sonar, they began to piece together a vivid picture of a world no one could have seen before. The video seemed to take us through doors that had not been opened for seventy years, down that famous staircase into a silent crystal ballroom uncorrupted by time -- eerie, disjointed shots of a lightless landscape. That is how I think of the Upanishads, probing depths where individuality itself dissolves and sending up pictures of treasures sunk in the seabed of the unconscious.
What do they report" They tell us, first, that whatever we are, whatever we may have done, there is in each of us an inalienable Self that is divine:
As the sun, who is the eye of the world,
Cannot be tainted by the defects in our eyes
Nor by the objects it looks on,
So the one Self, dwelling in all, cannot
Be tainted by the evils of the world.
For this Self transcends all!
(Kathat II.2.II
Some comments from the Upanishads are talking about exceeding the speed of light you are in the same place and time. As yo approach the speed of light there is no time -- you are in the moment. Then all is one.
Someone cautions to be careful. Some scientists are ruled by the fear of what they know and what they don't know. We must realize we can't comprehend the universe. It is incredible arrogance to believe we can comprehends something so incomprehensible.
As a change of pace, we commented on the following weekly Phillip Chard column on our technological world.
As we increasingly replace face-to-face or phone-to-ear communication with e-interaction (chat, email, social networking), loneliness becomes more prevalent.
Studies show that loneliness has increased in recent decades. For instance, research subjects in 2005 were three times more likely to report feeling lonely than those in 1985.
But just what is loneliness? It's not the same as solitude, which introverted folks need to sustain their well-being. Rather, those who feel lonely have a decreased sense of heartfelt belonging, experience fewer meaningful connections with others, and are without true confidants.
In other words, one's social space may be packed with people, but if these connections are superficial, one still feels alone.
What's more, loneliness is largely a matter of perception. It emerges when there is a significant disparity between your actual level of meaningful social contact and your desired level of such contact. If you want to feel more connected with others but don't, you're lonely.
But it's not all in one's head. Research shows that loneliness is a health risk comparable to obesity or smoking. Also, lonely folks carry biological markers consistent with chronic stress, which wreaks havoc on mental and physical well-being.
The reason electronic communication can't diminish loneliness is because interacting in a transactional way (information minus the emotions) doesn't cut it. Why not? Because emotional self-disclosure is what drives personal connections, not factual self-disclosure, and email, chat and the rest are poor conduits for conveying feelings, which mostly come from facial expressions and vocal intonations.
Granted, if you already have a strong bond with someone, then computer-mediated communication can enhance your connection. And new technologies, such as video chat, may help, but it remains uncertain how well they will substitute for face-to-face interactions.
Addressing loneliness has generally relied on four approaches: (1) improving one's social skills, (2) increasing social support, (3) creating more opportunities for interaction, or (4) addressing the thinking process in one's head. Surprisingly, the last option yields the best results.
Studies show that lonely people usually harbor erroneous assumptions about themselves and about how other people see them. They tend to believe they are not interesting or desirable to others.
This encourages them to withdraw, which effectively shuts down their emotional self-disclosure - the very thing that greases the skids of connecting meaningfully with others. Their dysfunctional thinking creates emotional suppression, spawning a self-defeating cycle.
So if you're lonely but that klatch of Facebook friends or full email inbox aren't helping, consider cognitive behavioral therapy or another approach that addresses your inner thoughts. Changing our thoughts changes our behavior.
Mother Teresa said that, "Loneliness is the most terrible poverty."
And, for most, it's a poverty that begins in their minds.
Philip Chard is a psychotherapist, author and trainer. Names used in this column are changed to honor client confidentiality. Email him at pschard@earthlink.net or visit philipchard.com.
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