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FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) - Oprah Winfrey meditated with more than 400 women in southeastern Iowa and also talked to students about her spiritual journey. Suzanne Stryker says she was among the women participating in the transcendental meditation Wednesday at the Maharishi School in Fairfield. She says no one in the meditation group knew the TV personality was going to be there until Winfrey, who heads the OWN television network, arrived with a film crew. The private Maharishi School specializes in "consciousness-based education" for kindergarten through 12th grade.

As Wade Rathke, the New Orleans-born community organizer who founded ACORN, prepared to turn 63 this month, he was at a crossroads. The U.S. branch of the activist organization he turned into a powerhouse and a punching bag for the political right was dead, a victim of internal and external strife. Although Rathke has kept busy traveling to the 12 countries that are partners in ACORN International, he wanted something that would let him do some organizing in New Orleans. So he bought a coffee shop. It isn't just any coffee shop. It is the Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, a two-story...

On Meditation "Consistency in Giving Time to God Is a Fundamental Element for Spiritual Growth" CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 17, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are still in the light of the Feast of the Assumption, which -- as I said -- is a feast of hope. Mary has arrived in heaven, and this is our destination: We can all reach heaven. The question is: How? Mary has arrived there,...

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.(Psalm 1:1-3)In the first Psalm, God reveals the marks of the truly blessed man. His blessedness comes not from outward...

According to an article written by the “guru” of Reiki, William Lee Rand, the popularity of Reiki (and other energy healing techniques) is growing by leaps and bounds and is becoming common in many US hospitals. “At hospitals and clinics across America, Reiki is beginning to gain acceptance as a meaningful and cost-effective way to improve patient care,” Rand explains. “Personal interviews conducted with medical professionals corroborate this view,” (1) he adds. Rand says that the general public is “turning with ever-increasing interest to complementary health care, including Reiki,” and according to one study, one in every three Americans has...

Sri Daya Mata, who for more than five decades was the leader of one of the most influential Hindu groups in the United States and an ardent advocate of the healing power of meditation, died on Tuesday at the group’s retreat for nuns in Los Angeles. She was 96. The society, whose monks and nuns adopt Indian names, teaches that there is a unifying truth behind all religious experience, and the group encourages its members to honor their roots in other faiths. Most members follow a vegetarian diet, practice yoga, chant and meditate Sri Daya Mata, who was born Faye...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- On Nov. 11, 2010 - next Thursday - New Agers around the world will be taking part in a mass "energy transmission," in hopes that through positively changing your thoughts can positively change the world. As they note on their website www.newrealitytransmission.com, the people behind this "New Reality Transmission" hope on 11-11 2010 that "one million people across the globe will mentally project a unified vision of a new paradigm for our species ... a new reality. The very real physics that connects human consciousness with molecular structure will be harnessed en masse during the largest scale...

Boulder man hopes to stop Gulf of Mexico oil spill with meditation Carl Fuermann asks people to visualize closing the valve By Laura SniderCamera Staff Writer Posted: 05/04/2010 05:55:36 PM MDT Carl Fuermann said he believes in the power of visualization and hopes it could work on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. ( Stephen Swofford ) A fix for the gushing oil well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico has so far eluded scientists and engineers armed with technical know-how and high-tech robotic submarines.So one Boulder man is calling upon people from around the world to...

Meditation exercises could boost mental toughness in soldiers readying for war, keeping them from becoming overly emotional, according to new research. The study found that mindfulness training, which teaches people how to stay alert and in the moment without becoming emotional (giving them a kind of "mental armor"), improved the moods of U.S. Marines preparing for deployment to Iraq. Practicing mindfulness also improved a type of memory that enables people to complete complex mental tasks. The key is practicing these mindfulness exercises daily, just as you would any other exercise, according to study co-author and University of Pennsylvania cognitive neuroscientist...

A friend of mine in the Patriots of East Tennessee (POET) composed this timely meditation that I want to share with my FR friends. See in DC on 9/12.

t was a scene straight out of a rock 'n' roll dream. Paul McCartney was singing "I Saw Her Standing There." Ringo Starr was on the drums. Actually, so was Moby. Beach Boy Mike Love was singing harmony, alongside Donovan and Bettye LaVette. Ben Harper was playing guitar. And Sheryl Crow was shaking a tambourine and dancing around -- so was Eddie Vedder, playing maracas. It was odd and beautiful like most of the work of "Blue Velvet" director David Lynch. And, like most of his work, it was made possible only through Transcendental Meditation. Never mind what you may...

This video is created for moments of peace and peacefulness, meditation and prayer. The medley instrumental consist of 5 different hymns and in this order are they played: “1. Precious Memories; 2. In The Garden; 3. Precious Lord; 4. Softly and Tenderly; 5. Lord I’m Coming Home”.

The former Beatles will headline the Radio City Music Hall concert on April 4 for the David Lynch Foundation The David Lynch Foundation provides funds to teach students how to meditate so they can "change their world from within."

The Transcendental Meditation technique may be an effective and safe non-pharmaceutical aid for treating ADHD, according to a promising new study published this month in the peer-reviewed online journal Current Issues in Education.

Mood moosic to get cows going   Calm ... Graham VallisSOUTH WEST NEWS SERVICE   By JOHN COLES Published: 20 Sep 2008     FARMERS are being encouraged to MOO at their cows — to boost milk production. It came after a dairy farmer reported getting six times more milk by mimicking his herd’s sound. Graham Vallis, 48, does meditation-style mooing for five minutes before milking — and said his cows fall into a relaxed state. Now the Federation of Organic Milk Groups is urging its 450 members to do the same. Graham, of Bradninch, Devon, said: “I often...

    "Why, then, did you become a priest?" My friend, a priest who has spent his entire life in parish ministry, could not understand how I could leave my pastorate to accept a non-parochial assignment. Challenged, I knew the answer at once.   "I became a priest," I replied without hesitation, "so that I could celebrate Mass."   Celebrating Mass brought me joy the first time I did it 54 years ago. The joy is undiminished today.   Before I approach the altar each morning I sit quite still for a full half-hour, repeating throughout the entire time...

Spiritual Exercises Index   The Resurrection of ChristFaith in Our Lord’s resurrection from the dead is also a fact of recorded history. It is part of Catholic catechesis, which I wish to stress during this meditation. In other words, I want to bring out as clearly as I can the importance of explaining the mystery of the Resurrection, so that we in turn can pass on this revealed truth and its implications in the lives of others. Sanctity Through the Spiritual Exercises of St. IgnatiusMy purpose in the present conference is to identify what I call the key features of...

Hi everyone. My mother was recently diagnosed with a very rare cancer that affects about 1,000 people a year. It's called pseudomyxoma peritonei. It has been an journey of misdiagnoses, wrong advice,etc. and now after a laparotomy we know what's causing my mother's belly to get so big. I saw my mother about two or three weeks ago and she dropped a lot of weight. I don't mean to depress anyone on this Easter weekend but a lot of folks are going to church and I'd appreciate the prayers.

While hard work gets us ahead, there appear to be limits. It’s often the times of rest and recovery that provide us with the energy we need to work hard. In today’s ultra-connected worlds of Blackberrys, iPhones, e-mail and Twitter (an internet service that allows people to constantly text where they are and what they are doing to the universe at large or a group of friends) – it is often hard to get even a few moments to oneself. The constant feeling of connectedness and activity might lead some people to become anxious and stressed.  Possibly it is the...

Daily Rosary Prayer for Lent:  Man of SorrowsDear Brothers and Sisters! “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced” (Jn 19:37). This is the biblical theme that this year guides our Lenten reflection. Lent is a favourable time to learn to stay with Mary and John, the beloved disciple, close to Him who on the Cross, consummated for all mankind the sacrifice of His life. With a more fervent participation let us direct our gaze, therefore, in this time of penance and prayer, at Christ crucified who, dying on Calvary, revealed fully for us the love of God.~from the...