Learning Meditation with Goldie Hawn

[icy]

Meditation has numerous benefits and is no surprise it is recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) who had Goldie Hawn a Hollywood celebrity to share her experience in training and calming minds. 



Aside from the business suits, it could be an ashram in the foothills of the Himalayas. Sixty or so Davos movers and shakers are being urged to gaze at their thoughts by a French Buddhist monk swathed in robes of red and yellow. "Meditation is about mastering your thoughts, it's about being in charge of your mind. It's real freedom" said Matthieu Ricard.

"You are not the slave of your thoughts. One way is to just gaze at them ... like a shepherd sitting above a meadow watching the sheep," added the monk, a man who speaks, lectures and writes about being happy.

Eyes closed tight, the delegates of the World Economic Forum in Davos have queued devotedly for half an hour for this early morning session.

The attraction is not just by the chance to learn how to mediate at one of the most respected masters of the art, but also to do in the presence of movie star Goldie Hawn. Davos is not just about power meetings and deals – on Thursday it was also where the secrets of eastern religion met Hollywood: Hawn is in Davos on a mission to explain how she believes children can benefit from meditation.

Those who have queued long enough to get into the room – 10 round tables, coffee and pastries in the corner – are completely silent as they receive instruction on how to be "in charge of their minds". They are learning the art of meditation even as President Hussan Rouhani, the Iranian president, is pledging in the main hall not to use his nuclear power to create weapons.

Two bits of advice are being offered to those gazing at their difficult thoughts. Do not try to hide away from the problem and equally do not try to explode it like a time bomb. Much better to let it melt away – "slowly melting like the frost under the morning sun".

Ricard leads three short moments of meditation, each one accompanied by soothing, reassuring words. Each of those present is studiously following the advice. They appear hooked. And would not be alone.

The delegates are told how Steve Jobs of Apple mixed business with meditation. An article in Fortune magazine recently outlined how traders at Goldman Sachs – more widely known for their animal spirits – have also been coached in how to train their minds. Forget Leonardo di Caprio and the Wolf of Wall Street: these guys have got their karma together.

Hawn has been meditating since 1972 and probably needed all the calm she could muster just a few hours after sharing her experiences at WEF after she posted pictures of herself with Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan – then hastily had to take them down again – after running into a Twitter storm focused on his anti-gay views.

Goldie's session is not just all about the practical side of mediation. Charts flash up on the wall – this is Davos after all – showing lines that could be profit and loss charts, but actually represent brain activity.

An academic – Richard Davidson of the center for investigating healthy minds at the University of Wisconsin – has a chart showing flu vacines work better on those who have meditated. And he encourages everyone to give it a go and make it as commonplace as physical exercise did after the 1950s. "The same thing will happen with mental exercise. You can begin with every small periods of exercise. Start with bite sized chucks ... We need a massive worldwide media campaign to teach people the fact that wellbeing can be learned," Davidson said.

[RedLantern]

She is an award -winning actress,producer and director,a mother and a grandmother. Her book "10 mindful minutes" received remarkable reviews from readers for it's excellent guide that offers simple,effective ways for stressed parents to create calmer,kinder,happier families. 
There are too many adults suffering from anxiety and I am so glad Goldie Hawn created this program to help adults and  future adults learn how to deal with life and hopefully that will reduce the overwhelming problem with anxiety in our society.

[dondrup]

Meditation had become very popular nowadays. The presence of celebrities like Goldie Hawn and Matthieu Ricard further endorsed the benefits of doing meditation.  Participants at the World Economic Forum were fortunate indeed to meditate with world renowned monk Matthieu Ricard, a close disciple and attendant of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, French translator to His Holiness Dalai Lama, author of the best-seller book in France -  Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill and dubbed the happiest man in the world! Actress Goldie Hawn's presence gave the meditation session a touch of  Hollywood!

[metta girl]

Since the 1970s, Goldie Hawn, 67, has been a practitioner of meditation and living mindfully. Through the Hawn Foundation, she has brought the concept of mindfulness to 150,000 children around the world. Today children in her MindUp program learn how they can reduce stress and anxiety by understanding where negative emotions live in the brain and taking charge of their own feelings. (She also released a book on the program, 'Ten Mindful Minutes')

[Manjushri]

Meditation is indeed a powerful tool for one to gain awareness and mindfulness through looking into our own thoughts and becoming aware of them. However, we cannot be in sitting meditation 24/7. So we have to train ourselves to be in meditative concentration all the time, where while eating, we are aware of our thoughts and actions, while sitting, learning, driving, walking, talking, drinking,... as long as we are living, we should be aware of our thoughts and actions.

Buddhism trains you to have control of your own mind. That our thoughts and emotions arise from our own perceptions and that it is illusory. Meditation is a complementary practise to Buddhism, that allows you to make yourself be aware of what is going through your mind, and applying/practising Buddhism to reduce those thoughts. 

[Jessie Fong]

Religious and spiritual meditation are carried out in the following faiths:

- Bahá'í Faith
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Daoism
- Hinduism
- Islam
- Jainism
- Judaism
- New Age
- Pagan and Occult Religions
- Sikhism


Dynamic tranquility: the Buddha in contemplation.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation
The word meditation carries different meanings in different contexts. Meditation has been practiced since antiquity as a component of numerous religious traditions and beliefs. Meditation often involves an internal effort to self-regulate the mind in some way. Meditation is often used to clear the mind and ease many health issues, such as high blood pressure, depression, and anxiety. It may be done sitting, or in an active way—for instance, Buddhist monks involve awareness in their day-to-day activities as a form of mind-training. Prayer beads or other ritual objects are commonly used during meditation in order to keep track of or remind the practitioner about some aspect of the training.

[Kim Hyun Jae]

The yogis for thousands of years advised us to breath and relax and feel the tension in our muscles relax.

Scientific study revealed changes in our bodies on genetic level and studies in Harvard Medical School discovered long-term practitioners of yoga and meditation will protect and generate a range of disease-fighting genes from disorders like pain, infertility, high blood pressure and even rheumatoid arthritis.

These genes can help to fight inflammation, kill diseased cells and protect the body from cancer after 2 months of practice.

There are seven scientifically proven benefits of deep relaxation namely: increased immunity, emotional balance, increased fertility, relieves irritable bowel syndrome, lowers blood pressure, anti-inflammatory and calmness.

[Klein]

This is the mission statement of The Hawn Foundation:

"Our mission is to improve the overall well-being of children, youth and adults by equipping them with vital social and emotional literacy skills needed to navigate 21st century challenges so they may lead smart, healthy, happier lives with greater engagement in learning, work and life."

From their research, this was reported:

University of British Columbia

Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl (University of British Columbia) evaluated the effectiveness of MindUP™ on students in grades 4 and 5, based on evidence centered on neuroendocrine regulation, executive functions and self and peer reports of pro-social behaviors.

Improved Optimism and Self- Concept
1) 82% of children reported having a more positive outlook
2) 81% of children learned to make themselves happy
3) 58% of children tried to help others more often


Healthy Neuroendocrine Regulation
1) Measurement of salivary cortisol revealed MindUP™ children maintained a healthy, regulated diurnal pattern

Increased Executive Function
1) Children demonstrated faster reaction times while performing tests such as Dr. Diamond’s “Flanker Fish” trials.  The correlates to heightened self-regulatory ability.

Positive Teacher Response
1) 100% reported that MindUP™ positively influenced classroom culture and that students were significantly more attentive.

Academic Achievement
1) 15% of students improved their math achievement scores


I rejoice in what Goldie Hawn is creating for our future generations. She uses her celebrity status and fame to help communities by imparting what she practises without converting others to her religion. What matters is the practice and not making people convert. Kudos.

[cookie]

Its really great to see that the ancient practice of meditation have been widely shared and taught today. In this degenerating era it will bring great relief and benefit to all that practice it. It should be adopted as a daily habit for all. After all the mind is the main control of our body. Meditation helps to develop, heal and improve the quality and condition of the mind and hence, thereafter the overall body will improve along with it.

[pgdharma]

Meditation offers innumerable benefits for our body, mind and spirit. Meditation prevents stress from getting into the system as well as releases accumulated stress that is in the system. With the rising stress, it is beneficial for busy people to pause and enjoy a refreshing few minutes of meditation each day.

Since the 1970s, Hawn, 67, has been a practitioner of meditation and living mindfully.  Alarmed by increases in school violence, youth depression and suicide, and the persistent failure of the education system to help children cope with increasingly stressful lives, Goldie began The Hawn Foundation in 2003 to apply cutting edge scientific research to create education programs that support the social and emotional development of children. Through the Hawn Foundation, she has brought the concept of mindfulness to 150,000 children around the world. Mindfulness helps children develop social and emotional intelligence, resulting in greater self-awareness, less stress, higher levels of happiness and empathy.

[maricisun]

It's a great opportunity to be able to do mediation exercise with famous Star Goldie Hawn. Meditation is about mastering your thoughts, it's about being in charge of your own mind, it's real freedom says Mattieu Rieard.
Nowadays people are very conscious about their well-being and it is just to have a Hollywood Star to popularise it.
In this way more people will be exposed to meditation for their well-being. Hope more Superstars will teach meditation in the near future.