This study investigated whether altruistic social interest behaviors such as engaging in helping others were associated with better physical and mental health in a stratified random sample of 2016 members of the Presbyterian Church throughout the United States.Mailed questionnaires evaluated giving and receiving help, prayer activities, positive and negative religious coping, and self-reported physical and mental health.
Multivariate regression analysis revealed no association between giving or receiving help and physical functioning, although the sample was highly skewed toward high physical functioning. Both helping others and receiving help were significant predictors of mental health, after adjusting for age, gender, stressful life events, income, general health, positive and negative religious coping, and asking God for healing (R2 =.27). Giving help was a more important predictor of better reported mental health than receiving help, and feeling overwhelmed by others' demands was an independent predictor of worse mental health in the adjusted model. Significant predictors of giving help included endorsing more prayer activities, higher satisfaction with prayer life, engaging in positive religious coping, age, female gender, and being a church elder. Frequency of prayer and negative religious coping were not related to giving help.
Helping others is associated with higher levels of mental health, above and beyond the benefits of receiving help and other known psychospiritual, stress, and demographic factors. The links between these findings and response shift theory are discussed, and implications for clinical interventions and future research are described.
<p>This essay examines the consequences of Said's critique of orientalism for Tibetan studies, particularly in relation to Lopez's claim that we are all "prisoners of Shangrila." The paper takes up this critique in relation to Lopez's treatment of the present Dalai Lama, arguing that although his critique is useful, it exaggerates the scope and power of orientalism, and in the process ends up de-historicizing and reifying Tibetan culture into a closed totality that either remains unchanged or becomes debased through the intervention of the West. This, the essay argues, leaves little room for alternatives to orientalism, both in the West and among Tibetans, and thus ends up repeating the exclusionary gesture that this critique had sought to debunk. (Than Garson 2005-09-22)</p>
<p>A Tibetan-English dictionary. (Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)</p>
OBJECTIVES: Fatigue and other treatment-related symptoms (e.g., sleep disturbance) are critical targets for improving quality of life in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Yoga may reduce the burden of such symptoms. This study investigated the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled study of a brief yoga intervention during chemotherapy for colorectal cancer.DESIGN: We randomized adults with colorectal cancer to a brief Yoga Skills Training (YST) or an attention control (AC; empathic attention and recorded education).
SETTING: The interventions and assessments were implemented individually in the clinic while patients were in the chair receiving chemotherapy.
INTERVENTIONS: Both interventions consisted of three sessions and recommended home practice.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was feasibility (accrual, retention, adherence, data collection). Self-reported outcomes (i.e., fatigue, sleep disturbance, quality of life) and inflammatory biomarkers were also described to inform future studies.
RESULTS: Of 52 patients initially identified, 28 were approached, and 15 enrolled (age Mean = 57.5 years; 80% White; 60% Male). Reasons for declining participation were: not interested (n = 6), did not perceive a need (n = 2), and other (n = 5). Two participants were lost to follow-up in each group due to treatment changes. Thus, 75% of participants were retained in the YST and 71% in the AC arm. Participants retained in the study adhered to 97% of the in-person intervention sessions and completed all questionnaires.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the feasibility of conducting a larger randomized controlled trial to assess YST among patients receiving chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. Data collected and challenges encountered will inform future research.
"In this unprecedented book, contributors use Buddhist philosophical and contemplative traditions, both ancient and modern, and deploy critical philosophy of race, and critical whiteness studies, to address the proverbial elephant in the room-whiteness"--
<p>Professor George has ventured into a comparatively unchartered area seeking, as he does, to explore the art and concept of performance in Buddhism -- more specially in the context of Buddhist meditation and theatre. Spelling out the epistemology of performance in all its different connotations and definitional nuances, his study opens out an astonishingly vast panorama of the Buddhist theatrical practices in Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Nepal, Tibet . . . and goes on to demonstrate how, within this panorama, three kinds of theatrical practice can be identified, each corresponding to one of the three paths open to a Buddhist: the karma path, the Bodhisattva option, and enlightenment, and each representative of one of the three main cultures of Buddhism -- the Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana. Supported by extensive endnotes and bibliographic references, Dr. George's book also carries a range of case studies of the art of performance in Buddhism, with definitive examples, among others, of the Sri Lankan Kandy dance and Karma drama, Tibetan Chams and Chod, and Japanese Noh.</p>
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Aging involves a gradual increase in disorder of the systems that sustain living. Although stress is a major driver of this process, one stressor, caloric restriction (CR), is the only intervention proven to extend life span in multiple species as well as extend the persistence of those characteristics that are associated with youth. CR has been used since ancient times to enhance many of those characteristics: principally, increased activity levels and heightened levels of mental acuity. Religious ascetics, often living in monastic communities, have provided long-term opportunities to observe the effects of CR, or fasting, in humans. Tibetan medicine has made use of observations, which include that of enhanced immune function, in its dietary prescriptions. In the hopes of reaping these benefits for the general population, scientists focusing their research on the aging process have sought mimetics that will deliver the benefits of CR without requiring the discipline of fasting. The search begins with discovering the processes that make CR work.
An ethic of care and caring—such as people manifest for one another, for companion animals and plants, and for favorite places—must be extended to all of nature. Extending the moral scope of care in this way is important because it has the potential to change human behavior on a large scale. The moral and emotional power of care can give new vigor and broaden horizons for conservation. It can foster behaviors and policies to create a thriving, resilient planet for humans and other creatures to inhabit.
This chapter argues that the major role of the nervous system involves initiating actions in response to challenges in the environment. In humans, the most important system for control of activity of the skeletal muscles starts in the motor area of the cerebral cortex, which in humans lies just in front of the central sulcus. A large fiber tract, called the cortico-spinal tract, connects the motor cortex with the spinal cord. The primary motor cortex is the source of most of the cortico-spinal axons, but its activity is strongly influenced by the pallidum, striatum, cerebellum, and many other cortical regions, including the somato-sensory area of the cortex. The brain translates these high-level plans into the initiation of contraction of dozens of muscles needed to carry out the required movements. All motor control systems act through alpha motor neurons, which are the final pathway to muscles. These motor neurons in the ventral horn of the spinal cord activate the skeletal muscles of the limbs and trunk.
Background: Neuropathic pain and complex regional pain syndrome are complex responses of the nervous system. The interaction of nociceptive neuropathic input with learned stress responses, beliefs, expectations, and societal pressures make each patient's experience unique. Design: A review of the recent clinical research and scholarly work in the treatment of neuropathic pain was undertaken. Principal Findings: A review of clinical pain research has demonstrated that treatment programs that focus solely on the resolution of neuropathic pain by treating nociceptive generators and symptom modulation have had limited success. Recent studies have demonstrated that coordinated interventions that address the peripheral, central, behavioral, and social generators of the pain experience offer the best opportunity for successful management. Conclusion: A biopsychosocial approach to rehabilitation that uncovers and addresses the nociceptive, psychological, and social triggers of the patient's response is essential to either resolving the pain or building the patient resiliency necessary to manage more persistent pain states. A pain education program structured to the specific needs of the patient is the core component of biopsychosocial rehabilitation. Graded activity, neurosensory training, neuromobilization, bracing/taping, stress management, and pain modulation programs and activities can be important components of the rehabilitation plan. Early intervention after the acute onset of neuropathic pain with an activity-based, comprehensive, biopsychosocial management plan may be effective in preventing more persistent pain states. Rehabilitation plans for both acute and persistent neuropathic pain should focus on building patient self-efficacy, self-management, and resiliency.
<p>This chapter looks at the question of whether traditional Buddhist typologies of mind are commensurable with the Western concept of emotion. The concept of emotion is, as the author notes, complex and has been the subject of multiple competing theories coming from Plato, Aristotle, William James, and others. The various views assume their own frameworks for defining emotion with some emphasizing their mental aspect and others their physicality. While traditional Buddhists certainly experience emotions and have words for particular emotions, the concept of emotion itself is absent in Buddhist typologies of the mind. The author describes the traditional understanding of mind according the Buddhist point of view (specifically from the Abhidharma tradition), noting the distinction between (1) the mind (or primary mental states; Sanskrit: citta; Tibetan: sems) and (2) mental factors (secondary mental states that accompany primary states of mind; Sanskrit: caita; Tibetan: sems 'byung). In general, the mind and mental factors operate together to make for full-blown cognition of objects and include, amongst other things, a feeling tone, a directedness and awareness of objects, and an intention. A mind may be virtuous, non-virtuous, or neutral. Some mental states, both virtuous and non-virtuous, can be thought of as emotions, although, as the author points out, it can become problematic to map English words for certain types of emotions onto Buddhist mental states. From the Buddhist perspective, compassion, for example, can- at certain instances- be an immediate feeling that arises in response to suffering, and in this way it possesses the characteristics often associated with emotions. However, compassion is also thought of as a mental state that has been developed gradually through spiritual practice. Unless the concept of emotion is extended, the latter understanding of compassion (i.e. compassion as a cultivated mental state) can not be thought of as an emotion. In the end, the author concludes the Buddhist and Western typologies of the mind are incommensurable. However, this does not mean that the experiences of traditional Buddhists and the experiences of those with other mental typologies are significantly different. English words for emotion can be used intelligibly to <em>describe</em> Buddhist mental states as long as the difficulties inherent in such translations are recognized. (Zach Rowinski 2004-12-29)</p>
This article examines the lay meditation movement occurring in contemporary Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The lay meditation movement represents a different perspective from the nationalistic Sinhala Buddhism that has dominated the discourse in the wake of the intractable ethnic conflict in the country. The lay meditation movement reflects the contemporary ferment in Buddhist discourse among the laity. One of the key themes in this movement is the privileging of experience because it gives the lay groups authority to challenge contemporary orthodoxy and it has empowered a new class of spiritual leaders, the lay gurus. Paraphrasing Stirrat, we can say that these lay gurus are leading the lay meditation movement towards ‘a series of different interpretations of what it means’ to be a Buddhist today. In its overall effect the lay meditation movement not only reconstructs what it means to be a Buddhist today but also points in the direction of establishing new forms of sectarianism that could be considered to be ‘new religious movements’ under the umbrella of Buddhism.
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Positive emotions promote adjustment to aversive life events. However, evolutionary theory and empirical research on trauma disclosure suggest that in the context of stigmatized events, expressing positive emotions might incur social costs. To test this thesis, the authors coded genuine (Duchenne) smiling and laughter and also non-Duchenne smiling from videotapes of late-adolescent and young adult women, approximately half with documented histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), as they described the most distressing event of their lives. Consistent with previous studies, genuine positive emotional expression was generally associated with better social adjustment two years later. However, as anticipated, CSA survivors who expressed positive emotion in the context of describing a past CSA experience had poorer long-term social adjustment, whereas CSA survivors who expressed positive emotion while describing a nonabuse experience had improved social adjustment. These findings suggest that the benefits of positive emotional expression may often be context specific.
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Explores the philosophical, psychological, and sociological roots of today's environmental movement, the human-centered assumptions behind most approaches to nature, and the possibilities of an expanded human consciousness. It also offers specific direct action suggestions for individuals to practice.
Explores the philosophical, psychological, and sociological roots of today's environmental movement, the human-centered assumptions behind most approaches to nature, and the possibilities of an expanded human consciousness. It also offers specific direct action suggestions for individuals to practice.
Explores the philosophical, psychological, and sociological roots of today's environmental movement, the human-centered assumptions behind most approaches to nature, and the possibilities of an expanded human consciousness. It also offers specific direct action suggestions for individuals to practice.
The celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Trumpeter is a good time to take another look atthe deep ecology movement and its development. A so-called “new conservation” movement
has recently emerged that claims the traditional conservation/environmental movement (and
deep ecology) had it all wrong. I will offer an informal summary of the deep ecology movement,
while referencing more detailed analyses of the issues. Finally I will refer to a powerful new
critique of the “new conservation” movement, inspired by the leading conservation biologist
Michael Soulé: Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of Earth.
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