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 discusses a Nepalese women's development project. The article discusses the specific features of the organization in detail, that is, it attempts to indicate how the scheme works on the ground. The article provides an outline of certain features of the personnel a gives a profile of the overall composition in terms of age, sex, caste, and education. The article also tries to draw out the sociological implications of the arrangement, identifying how the patterning relates to outside social relations, whether disjoined or repeating these. It also explains how this particular kind of organization has certain repercussions for the people concerned. The focus of the study is a Nepalese development scheme expressly devoted to women which has been in existence for over twelve years. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-13)
The article describes the musical instruments of Nepal. In Nepal, there is a unique tradition that "baja" (musical instrument) refers to a collection of instruments with one instrument as a lead instrument. In English, the term band is used for 'Vadhya samuha' or 'baja'. It contains a list of bajas which are popular in different places like Lalitpur and Kathmandu. It includes 25 leaves of plates. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-13)
This article on the lexical and syntactic causatives in Newari is an attempt to examine how morphological processes affect the complex patterns of causative formations in the language. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
This article presents the methodology used in determining the influence of caste hierarchy among the Satar of southern Nepal, both in defining themselves within the larger Satar group and between the Satar and other caste groups. It examines the implications of such influence on the Satar social system. It also includes a diagrammatic illustration of the world view of the Satar and their caste group. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
(b) measures affecting only foreign investment, and (c) measures affecting both (a) and (b). (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
Creator's Description: After reviewing scholarly debates regarding the usefulness of distinguishing, descriptively or analytically, the differences between "tribes" and "castes"/ "peasants," the paper proposes a contrast between these two categories in terms of their relationship to land. Thus, whereas most "caste-peasants" in east Nepal enjoyed land under raikar tenure – a form of freehold – which could be bought and sold, the "tribal" Limbus traditionally possessed theirs under what was termed kipat – which was inalienable and acquired only through kinship rights. Kipat was thus more than an economic asset; it was the basis of their identity as a people. In this sense they shared a conception of land as held by countless indigenous or "tribal" people in south Asia and elsewhere. (Lionel Caplan 2010-02-01)
(b) measures affecting only foreign investment, and (c) measures affecting both (a) and (b). (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
The article speculates on a Nepalese ethno-history based on discussions of Gurungs, Gorkhalis, and Gurkhas. It traces the origin of Gurungs, a people who have for centuries inhabited the southern slopes of the Himalaya in central Nepal. The article writes the Nepalese Hindu caste of chetri, or warrior, has also been recruited for Gurkha regiments and share in their reputation. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-13)
ABSTRACT. Ninety children with mental retardation of mild, moderate and severe degree were selected from four special schools in Bangalore, India. Forty-five children underwent yogic training for one academic year (5 h in every week) with an integrated set of yogic practices, including breathing exercises and pranayama, sithilikarana vyayama (loosening exercises), suryanamaskar, yogasanas and meditation. They were compared before and after yogic training with a control group of 45 mentally retarded children matched for chronological age, sex, IQ, socio-economic status and socio environmental background who were not exposed to yoga training but continued their usual school routine during that period. There was highly significant improvement in the IQ and social adaptation parameters in the yoga group as compared to the control group. This study shows the efficacy of yoga as an effective therapeutic tool in the management of mentally retarded children.
Provides guidelines for the use of 3 approaches to stress management in children: guided imagery, yoga and autogenic phrases, and thermal biofeedback. It is advised that counselors, teachers, and parents should have personal experience with these methods before implementing them. Counselors should work with small groups (5–7 children) when they first learn these techniques. It is recommended that a program using these methods should extend for no less than 3 mo and include at least 3 practice sessions each week.
A prototype treatment developed to significantly reduce symptoms of stress among inservice teachers was tested in this experiment. Thirty participants selected for high stress levels were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. They were assessed on environmental, personality, and emotional variables, using self-report and expert-judge measures, at both pre- and posttreatment. The experimental treatment was holistic, incorporating all processes previously found to be related to reducing teacher stress. At posttreatment, the treatment group averaged 1.02 standard deviations lower on the stress measures than the control group. Significant differences in the posttest means, favoring the experimental group, were found for 23 of the 39 variables measured on the three self-report instruments. As a group, the participants demonstrated substantially lower stress levels than the control group after the treatment, with a substantial decrease from their pretreatment stress levels. Since the control group received no treatment, some of the difference may be due to Hawthorne effect.
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