This book argues for the central role played by absorption in the functioning of the human mind. The importance of absorption makes itself felt in different ways; the two studies combined in this book concentrate on two of them. The first study, 'The Symbolic Mind', argues that, largely as a result of language acquisition, humans have two levels of cognition, which in normal circumstances are simultaneously active. Absorption is a (or the) means to circumvent some, perhaps all, of the associations that characterize one of these two levels of cognition, resulting in what is sometimes referred to as mysitcal experience, but which is not confined to mysticism and plays a role in various "religious" phenomena, and elsewhere. In the second st...
Publisher description: As David White explains in the Introduction to Tantra in Practice, Tantra is an Asian body of beliefs and practices that seeks to channel the divine energy that grounds the universe, in creative and liberating ways. The subsequent chapters reflect the wide geographical and temporal scope of Tantra by examining thirty-six texts from China, India, Japan, Nepal, and Tibet, ranging from the seventh century to the present day, and representing the full range of Tantric experience--Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and even Islamic. Each text has been chosen and translated, often for the first time, by an international expert in the field who also provides detailed background material. Students of Asian religions and general reader...
The human voice is one of the principal conveyers of social and affective communication. Yet relatively little is known about the neural circuitry that supports the recognition of different vocally expressed emotions. We conducted an FMRI study to examine the brain responses to vocal expressions of anger and happiness, and to test whether specific brain regions showed preferential engagement in the processing of one emotion over the other. We also tested the extent to which simultaneously presented facial expressions of the same or different emotions would enhance brain responses, and to what degree such responses depend on attention towards the vocal expression. Forty healthy individuals were scanned while listening to vocal expressions...
The article's aim is to explore the commonalities in the artistic experiences of the poets and artists in Nepal. It discusses some selected landmarks that are very important from the point of view of introducing the new modes in poetry and art. The subject of the study is modern Nepalese poems and paintings. The article discusses most of the leading painters but could not accommodate all the poets who have written well-known poems in the modern period. It includes translated verses of poems in English. The article concludes that closer ties between the poets and the painters will create new awareness about the creative experience and the relevance of other mediums for the enrichment of each one's own art form. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-18)
The article examines the socio-economic network of a Terai village of the far-western region of Nepal. It attempts to expose the various socio-cultural institutions prevalent among the Rana Tharus of a Terai village in relation to their socio-economic network, which has been in existence since long ago. It discusses major cultural institutions which regulate the economic activities of the Rana Tharus. It also discusses kamaiya, desi mahajans, and munimji. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-18)
The article is a study of concepts of illness prevalent in psychiatric patients in Nepal. It is an ethno-psychiatric study of a mental hospital's in- and out- patients in the Kathmandu valley. It presents the social, demographic, and anamnestic data collected from hospitals. It also discusses the perception of the patient among family and community along with the different treatments which are in practice. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-18)
The article focuses on Badi prostitution and its practice in Nepal, along with its social, economic, historical, and cultural dimensions. The article is based on in-depth interviews conducted with over forty Badi men and women in the districts of Bardiya, Banke, and Dang-Deukhuri between 1990 and 1992. The article begins with an introduction to the Badi. In Nepalese society, the Badi belong to an untouchable Hindu caste with a total population of about 7,000 who inhabit Salyan, Rolpa, Rukum, Dailekh, Seti, Jajarkot, Dang-Deukhuri, Banke, and Bardiya districts of west Nepal. The article gives a brief history of the origin of Badi prostitution. It discusses the socialization and day to day practice of Badi prostitution along with the economics of prostitution. It includes case studies as well. The article analyzes the relationships between Badi women and high caste and low caste men. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-18)
Kumari jatra, Indra jatra, and Bhairava jatra, each one concerned with a specific god. The article discusses the past and present of this jatra. It concludes that Indra jatra is a royal festival in the full sense of term. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-18)
The article presents an approach to human resource planning in Nepal. Specifically it looks at the case of the Nepal civil service prepared under a UN/DESD project to strengthen the institutional capabilities of the Ministry of General Administration. It highlights issues in human resource planning in Nepal and provides an approach towards building a human resource plan for the country. As a case illustration, the report focuses on the Nepal civil service - its environment and current situation, programming action areas, and monitoring and evaluation of its human resource system. It includes a bar-diagram of existing permanent positions of civil servants. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-18)
The article presents the qualitative review of the past and present situation of Sagarmatha National Park (SNP) in terms of conservation of natural resources and analyzes the problems in managing it. Major constraints and their solutions for promoting ecologically sustainable development of the park and its people are also proposed. The article concludes that Sagarmatha National Park, a biospheric reserve, demonstrates all kinds of interactions and demands an integrated approach for sustainable development which needs long-term planning. Absolute and immediate solutions to problems of such dimensions are rare. Reducing the problems to a bearable limit by tackling component problems of the whole ecological complex may be the best solution. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-18)
The article is a research paper which covers three unsuccessful cases of the Women Development Programme (WDP) from different district panchayat in Nepal which were part of the evaluation project of the WDP under the Small Farmer Development Programme (SFDP). These cases not only highlight the activities of WDP, but also the problems faced by the participants and programmes. The case studies are of Ananda Ban, Chandra Nagar, and Taklung. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-18)
The article gives an account of medieval Buddhist art in Nepal. It traces the penetration of Pal influences on art in Nepal. The article names a few of the bahas which show the influence of Pal. It also discusses a few specific examples of Pal-styled Buddhist deities in Nepal. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-19)
The article discusses the use of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction in primary education in Nepal. The article overviews a global as well as a national concern for the use of the mother tongue in primary education. The article focuses on three specific reasons and two objections for which the mother tongue should be used as a medium of instruction at the primary education level in Nepal. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-19)
The article discusses Daitya and Kumar as the protectors of Taleju bhavani of Kathmandu. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-19)
The article discusses the relationship between the development of social and physical infrastructures and the rate of growth of agricultural production in Nepal. It examines the agricultural growth by region and district and the contribution of infrastructures in increasing the rate of growth of agriculture. The study concludes that a mismatched public investment in infrastructures is a key factor behind the lopsided agricultural growth. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-19)
The article is a synopsis of experiences gained in the research of many languages. The author argues that, at present, Kiranti and Newar together form a hypothetical genetic unit within the Tibeto-Burman family which he proposes be known as Mahakiranti. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-19)
The article discusses squatting in the Kathmandu valley. Squatting refers to the occupation of land to which one possesses no Lal purja (land ownership certificate), or in the case of renters, the occupation of land, housing, or rooms for which the landlord possesses no ownership certificate. The article concludes that the incidence of squatting in the Kathmandu valley and the rest of Nepal continues to increase. The author argues that the solutions to the problem begin with an understanding of the phenomenon itself. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-20)
The article discusses the pattern of development in Nepal. It attempts to provide a conceptual framework for understanding the development process in Nepal. It undertakes a historical analysis of the development process in Nepal based on this framework. It also delves into the causes and consequences of the 1990 crisis. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-20)
The article discusses the mass movement in Nepal in 1990. It gives an account of incidences which led to a path for democracy in Nepal. It includes discussion of the new cabinet members who formed the interim government and successfully executed the first poll in Nepal after the mass protest of 1990. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-20)
Creator’s Description: This is a social anthropological study of a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group, the Yakha, based in East Nepal. The field research involved was carried out from January 1989 until October 1990. To the best of my knowledge, the Yakha have never before been the subject of anthropological study, and hence this work aims at filling a void in the ethnographic and linguistic record of Nepal. A central question addressed in this regard is the extent to which the Yakha can be treated as a cultural whole. The twin problems of over-generality and over-specificity in anthropological accounts, highlighted respectively by the diversity encompassed by the term "Yakha" and the many similarities between Yakha and neighbouring ethnic groups, are addressed.
At the same time this study is a contribution to ecological anthropology. Much anthropological work in this genre takes a materialistic, ethnocentric and overly empiricist approach to "environment," regarding it as something with which people interact at a purely subsistence level. While not ignoring the importance of the "natural" environment, this study argues that a wider definition should be used which allows for other analytic perspectives, and people's own perceptions, to be taken into account. Expanding our conception of "environment" thus allows the inclusion of elements such as the household environment, spirit pantheon and the outside world.
The fieldwork conducted took place during a tumultuous period in Nepal's political history, and the ethnography records the outcome of the changes in a village community in the East. The effects of migration, education and development projects in the community observed are also discussed with a view to understanding both how the Yakha are influenced by and involved in the changing world around them.
OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a group stress reduction program based on mindfulness meditation for patients with anxiety disorders. METHOD: The 22 study participants were screened with a structured clinical interview and found to meet the DSM-III-R criteria for generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Assessments, including self-ratings and therapists' ratings, were obtained weekly before and during the meditation-based stress reduction and relaxation program and monthly during the 3-month follow-up period. RESULTS: Repeated measures analyses of variance documented significant reductions in anxiety and depression scores after treatment for 20 of the subjects--changes that were maintained at follow-up. The number of subjects experiencing panic symptoms was also substantially reduced. A comparison of the study subjects with a group of nonstudy participants in the program who met the initial screening criteria for entry into the study showed that both groups achieved similar reductions in anxiety scores on the SCL-90-R and on the Medical Symptom Checklist, suggesting generalizability of the study findings. CONCLUSIONS: A group mindfulness meditation training program can effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety and panic and can help maintain these reductions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or panic disorder with agoraphobia.
Abstract This article presents a model of the structure of emotion developed primarily from a consideration of neuropsychological evidence and behavioural data which have bearing on neuropsychological theories. Valence is first considered and highlighted as a defining characteristic of emotion. Next, the use of facial behaviour and autonomic nervous system patterns as defining characteristics of discrete emotions is questioned on empirical and conceptual grounds. The regulation of emotion is considered and proposed to affect the very structure of emotion itself. If there is an invariant pattern of biological activity across different instantiations of the same emotion, it is likely to be found in higher-order associative networks of central nervous system activity, the very same networks that subserve goal-directed behaviour and other cognitive functions. Drawing upon evolutionary considerations, it is argued that what is basic about emotion are the dimensions of approach and withdrawal. The nature of the linkage between such action tendencies and emotion is discussed.
Examined whether children with dyslexia (DYS) differ from matched controls on visual evoked potential measures of interhemispheric transfer time (IHTT). 20 right-handed boys (aged 9–12 yrs), 10 with DYS and 10 with normal reading ability, were selected to participate based on a battery of neuropsychological and reading tests. Checkerboard flashes were presented to Ss hemiretinally while evoked responses were recorded from right and left side occipital scalp locations. IHTT was computed separately in response to right and left visual field presentations. Ss with DYS were found to have faster IHTT from right-to-left hemisphere and slower IHTT from left-to-right hemisphere compared with controls. Evoked potential measures of IHTT accounted for significant variance in measures of reading and related cognitive skills.
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