{"id":2633,"date":"2012-09-22T13:21:58","date_gmt":"2012-09-22T17:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=2633"},"modified":"2012-09-22T13:21:58","modified_gmt":"2012-09-22T17:21:58","slug":"medmob-burlington-september-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/09\/medmob-burlington-september-2012.html","title":{"rendered":"MedMob Burlington September 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The University of Vermont sponsored its third MedMob yesterday. If you are unfamiliar with MedMob, you can read more about it here. I wrote about the last MedMob, held in April, here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

My impression was that this event had fewer people than the previous MedMobs. I was struck yesterday, as I was in April more by the people who were not meditating. I wonder why this is so.<\/p>\n

Even in the liberal, progressive, yoga-studio-laden land of Burlington, most people are not interested in meditation. A few people are just unfamiliar–never heard of it, perhaps. Most have heard of it, yet have no interest. They may think it is something alien, exotic, or, worse, satanic.<\/p>\n

As a psychologist, my impression is that most people are just not that interested in their inner experience and would thus not be drawn to meditation–which requires interior self-discovery. Other people may be interested but are frightened by what they might find if they look within. Still of other are interested and unafraid \u00a0and too busy to work it into their day.<\/p>\n

Culture makes a difference here. Organizations like Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Google, and CIGNA support a culture that values meditation. Congressman Tim Ryan makes the case for A Mindful Nation<\/a>, but his voice stands along in Congress. The mindfulness revolution is ongoing yet still a soft voice in the tumult of politics, commerce, and whatever it is that people are doing pursuing “The American Dream.” I don’t think the American Dream in includes meditation, at least not yet.<\/p>\n

Why bother? Here some reasons why you might want to bother with meditation. You can change, in radical fashion, your relationship to your self, others, and the world around you. You can become more focused, poised, and courageous (that is, less ruled by fear). You can expand your ability to cope with adversity and enjoy things when they are going well. You can become more attentive, open, and compassionate. You can get to know (and like) the person you spend the most time with–you! (you may even grow to love yourself). And, as the sponsors of MedMob aspire towards, you may contribute to the cause of peace.<\/p>\n

At some juncture in time, humanity will be confronted with the cost of constantly doing at the expense of being. That last statement is too broad. Let me restrict that to the humanity comprised in industrialized, capitalistic societies. Doing and having versus playing, creating, and being. I hope this is the wave of the future. Not that I have anything against doing and having–I do<\/em> all the time and have<\/em> plenty of stuff. Playing, creating, and being can compliment the rest.<\/p>\n

So meditate today and get to know yourself a little better. Try do look within without any particular agenda other than discovery. To learn more about meditation, visit the Learn section of my website exquisitemind.com<\/a>\u00a0for free guided meditations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Vermont sponsored its third MedMob yesterday. If you are unfamiliar with MedMob, you can read more about it here. I wrote about the last MedMob, held in April, here.\u00a0 My impression was that this event had fewer people than the previous MedMobs. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2633"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2639,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions\/2639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}