Thursday, March 01, 2007

Meditation

The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation teaches meditation and other skills based on Eknath Easwaran’s Eight Point Program for spiritual growth. The following is taken from their website:

EIGHT POINT PROGRAM FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

1. Meditation: Silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world’s great religions. Practiced for one-half hour each morning.

2. The Mantram: Silent repetition in the mind of a Holy Name or a hallowed phrase from one of the world’s great religions. Practiced whenever possible throughout the day or night.

3. Slowing Down: Setting priorities and reducing the stress and friction caused by hurry.

4. One-Pointed Attention: Giving full concentration to the matter at hand.

5. Training the Senses: Overcoming conditioned habits and learning to enjoy what is beneficial.

6. Putting Others First: Gaining freedom from selfishness and separateness; finding joy in helping others.

7. Spiritual Companionship: Spending time regularly with others following the Eight Point Program for mutual inspiration and support.

8. Reading the Mystics: Drawing inspiration from writings by and about the world’s great spiritual figures and from the scriptures of all religions.


See their website for more information: http://www.easwaran.org/

6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. It just goes to show that when you're reading too fast you can see "mediTation" as "mediation" and from there go off on a total tangent. :-)

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  3. LOL you didn't have to delete it! I wondered about that, but didn't want to say anything.

    And anyway, I would think meditation would come in handy while preparing for or even participating in mediation...

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  4. I think that it would. One of the things that Fisher and Ury talk a lot about is how to deal with the emotional side of negotiation and how to channel the emotions of your clients and opposing party into a constructive win-win and not let them interfere with "getting to yes". This is where an attorney will typically play upon negative emotions like fear, aggression, and anxiety to push home for a victory for his or her client. A good negotiator or mediator will try to separate the emotional issues from the bargaining points or figure out what motivates the emotional intensity around an issue and address it fairly. Sometimes addressing an emotional concern is the turning point in a difficult negotiation, I've seen it happen in some of mine.

    Thanks for not ratting me out on my ramble. I figured you'd still see it. A boob I am sometimes. :-)

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  5. his is where an attorney will typically play upon negative emotions like fear, aggression, and anxiety to push home for a victory for his or her client.

    Do you watch Boston Legal? This made me think of last week's episode. I'm still bothered by how Alan acted towards Jerry.

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  6. Other than the playful "Ally McBeal" I haven't really been able to enjoy watching law shows since attending law school. I still think that the original "Law and Order" is an excellent show though. I can't speak for the rest except to say I was appalled by "L&O:SVU".

    It never surprises me to see lawyers act like jerks though. I was in an Inn of Court for 4 years after finishing law school and one of the frequent topics of discussion was civility in the practice and how lawyers are becoming more aggressive toward each other than they used to be and how that is a bad sign.

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