midterm meditation and mindfulness

shamatha

tranquility, sanskrit

vispassana

penetrating insight, pali

taoism

the way, chinese

buddha

the awakened one

samsara

cycle of birth and death

nirvana

heaven, nirvana, enlightenment

chakras

wheels of energy

mantra

repetition of words or phrases used to tame the mind, sacred utterance

yoga

union, unity

shanti

peace beyond our understaning

rinpoche

precious teacher

samadhi

detached equilibrium

gom

familiarity 

la ma

high mother

yantra

magical image

siddhartha

one who achieved their goal

satcinada

bliss and joy from knowing the truth

sat

truth/existence

meditation - zin

the awareness, that comes from paying close attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally 

c

crown chakra

“a,” white, openness/space, leads to peace and clarity 

throat chakra

“om,” red, awareness, clarity, completeness 

heart chakra

“hung,” blue, 4 immeasurables, leads to enlightened mind

4 immeasurables

joy, peace, compassion, equinimity

tsa

channels

lung

breath

tibetan sound healing

meditative healing practice of sacred sound that brings balance and peace to the body speech and mind

4 components of tibetan sound healing

sound, visualization, breath, awarenss

4 noble truths

all life is suffering, suffering is causes by desire, to stop suffering you must stop desire, this is achieved by the 8 fold path

satyam

the truth

samana

wandering monk

om

sacred hmm, perfection and absolute

Siddhartha objections to

1) unity of karma broken by nirvana, 2) teachings could never actually achieve the full experience of enlightenment  

benefits of meditation: general

increases awareness in the present moment, promotes relaxation, enhances spiritual growth, reduces aging, increases self esteem and confidence, better relationships, more focus and better attention span, better ability to get good sleep, increases blood flow and decreases hearth rate, helps reverse heart disease, improves memory, decreases procrastination 

alters substance abuse, ulcers, chronic pain, helps with skin conditions like psoriasis, emotional intelligence, equanimity, better cognitive functioning, lower cholesterol levels

benefits of meditation: brain

increased activity in insula, temporal lobe, paralimbic cortex (mind body connection of the brain). makes insula and prefrontal cortex thicker, so better integration of senses and emotions and better decision making. decreased activity and sometimes even shrinking of amygdala, which is associated with agresssion and arrousal and fear and rage, increase in gray matter (organizing, planning, reasoning)

2 types of meditation

focus (single object), mindfulness (open awarenss)

3 appraoches to meditation

transcendental, relazation response, MBSR

mindful attitude towrads thoughts

becoming awarem not judging, then letting go

what is necessary to let go of sources of suffering?

tenderness and care for oneself, self compassoin

sogyal: main purpose in life

understand and transform the mind and tame it

2 aspects of the mind

appearance of mind, essense or nature of mind

ultimate purpose of meditation

to awaken the nature of mind

proper attitude going into meditation

trust

big 4

calm environment, muscular relazation, letting go or “let it happen” attitude, focus on object 

what did the buddha call suffering

attachment and aversion 

what prevetns us from the calm state? aaijip

anger, ignorance, attachment, jealousy, pride

medititoan can be broken down into 3 points?

body, speech mind, or stillness, silence, spaciousness

natural mind 

lucid and perspicacious