1.30.16 Meditation: Glyne Griffith, SUNY Albany Professor

Now that the focused intention and meditation portion of the Albany Peace Project is drawing to a close for 2016, I wanted to share with you our hopeful vision for the coming year.
Meditation research is now expanding into a new area of study – the exploration of wisdom and how it is generated. This field of study is a natural extension of meditation research. When we take our minds and anchor them down to the heart, a greater compassionate wisdom emerges that yields answers more comprehensive than those that only come from our analytical intellectual mind.
As Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
If we are going to generate compelling results, we need to shake things up, and think about things from an entirely different perspective. It is my hope that, through our willingness to cultivate heart-mind wisdom, we will uncover real solutions for humanity’s long-term challenges.
My dream for the Albany Peace Project is that people from all religions and ethnicities will contemplate peace, shoulder to shoulder, at an event for the benefit everyone in greater Albany. We are already focusing our efforts in this direction, so stay tuned. We are working to organize an interfaith prayer meditation research study this summer, to coincide with other community events scheduled in the heart of Albany during late June and early July.
The Albany Peace Project was conceived with the acknowledgement that not all faiths can agree on doctrine, not all political viewpoints can agree on policy, and not all races can agree on what changes should occur in society. But we all can agree to employ focused healing intentions to reduce human suffering.
Throughout the year, I put out several calls for people from diverse ethnic backgrounds to participate in the Albany Peace Project. I know they are out there, but they just haven’t found their way to me yet. I asked Glyne Griffith if he could contribute to our guided meditations again this year, but he was unable to, although he said his heart and spirit was still very much with the project, . This was my interview with Glyne two years ago, and all that he shared with me then is still pertinent.
Please, for the next year, if you know of someone, or if you are a person of color, please reach out to me, so that next year we can have the Albany Peace Project better reflect the demographics of Albany. The message of the project will have the greatest impact when it reflects the authentic hopes and dreams of the residents of Albany.
To everyone who has supported the Albany Peace Project, please accept my heartfelt apology for the cancellation of this years Closing Concert. Bottom line – we are still a very young organization, with extremely tight resources and limited people power. We could certainly use more volunteers, and definitely more donations. With more support in the coming year, I may be able to outsource some routine work, which will free up my time to organize these important events. This work may look easy, but it is actually a very very heavy lift, and given our tight resources, more hands would make it much lighter work. I am, and will always be, very grateful for your support and interest.
We will be doing a version of the closing concert at the Unitarian Church on February 6 at 7:00 PM with Dr. Michael Wayne, who will conduct the keynote presentation titled “Quantum Revolution: The Power To Transform”.
Donations help us meet expenses to offer this work. If you would like to donate, please click on the donate button or send donations to: Numinous c/o Bethany Gonyea (be sure to include this) at PO 1322, Clifton Park, NY 12065.
Interview :
Today’s Meditation:
NUMINOUS LECTURE SERIES FOR FEBRUARY
Programs are held weekly, on Wednesday evenings, at Unity Church of Albany, 21 King Ave, Albany, NY.
DONATION APPRECIATED OF $20 EACH SESSION.
Spiritual Conversations For Men
Facilitated by Glenn Hogue & Tim Moon, MA – CASAC
Wednesday February 3 at 7:00 PM
Most spiritual programs are predominantly attended by women, which often causes women’s issues to be the focus of such programming. However, at NUMINOUS, we wanted to provide new programs that would specifically support Men’s spiritual discoveries as they do the significant work of pioneering how to blend ancient spiritual teachings with contemporary culture’s expectations of masculinity.
This is critically important work, as we seem to be in a time in history when all sorts of established paradigms are falling. The rugged individualism of the late 20th century is being challenged on all levels, especially in relationships. The traditional roles between male and female are also being blurred as well.
How do we maintain the integrity of our yang (masculine) energy while assimilating the gentler aspects of spirituality and still be effective in this world? How do we learn how to connect, while maintaining our individual authenticity and truth? Many of us have learned that we don’t need to do life alone, but we are unsure of how to skillfully include input from Spirit, women, and other men, without loosing connection with ourselves.
Learning how to skillfully partner, listen, and still assert our truth seems to be a huge piece of the mission of our generation of men. These Spiritual Conversations For Men will give us an opportunity to gain answers to the some of the most distracting questions of our lives. In a quiet environment, we can safely discuss what matters to us most, and obtain invaluable insights from other men who have grappled with the same questions. Through this exchange, we learn that we don’t have to do “life alone.” Also, we learn how good it feels to be supported and to provide the same meaningful support for others. These discussions offer us clarity and direction as we learn to connect, and yet still hold individual balance.
We are extremely fortunate to have Tim Moon, Counselor, and Fo Castle Owner/Operator Glenn Hogue facilitate these discussions. These two have over 55 years of combined spiritual understandings to chart this prosperous territory.
Prosperity – Living a Life You Love Living
Dr. Karin Reinhold
Wednesday February 10 at 7:00 PM
Can you imagine a life full of purpose and passion that allows you to naturally enrich the lives of others around you and yourself?
Do you wake up each morning feeling energized and ready to start your day?
Do you enjoy higher levels of vibrant health, deep love, financial abundance, and time freedom?
Do you experience the confidence that you can accomplish anything that you want?
There are predictable, repeatable, spiritual and scientific method for turning dreams into reality. I first learned of these steps from Mary Morrissey – a world renowned author and coach – and her program “Dream Building”
We’ll review the 10 keys of the manifestation process, and how these are rooted in spiritual principles.
The W/Holeness Continuum: Moving from ‘Having a Hole to Fill’ to ‘Being Whole and Feeling Full’
Tim Moon
Wednesday February 17 at 7:00 PM
Unity Church of Albany
What are the conditions in our lives and in our thoughts about our lives that leave us feeling empty, lonely and in search of ways to fill the Hole?
There are an endless number of ways we attempt to fill the Hole; money, relationships, alcohol and substances, sex, new clothes, new cars, busy-ness, television, food…the list goes on. Deep down we all know that we are supposed to feel good, which is the root of all substance abuse issues. As we progress on the spiritual path, we learn that we need less and less of these external things, because we as we feel more spiritually whole, we learn to bask in the sweet satisfaction of that wholeness. We don’t just know this intellectually, we feel this on a profound level as the truth of our whole being.
This workshop will explore paradigm shifting ideas from past and present spiritual teachings and our current understanding of the science related to happiness, mindfulness, and empathy to assist us in moving from Holeness to Wholeness (without necessarily having to change our circumstances!!! Wow!).
Your Healing Story
Vicki Hart
Wednesday February 24 at 7:00 PM
Unity Church of Albany
Stories and myths have a way of reaching deep into the hidden places within us. Reoccurring themes from different times and places help us to know that we are not alone in our experiences. In this talk, we will discuss ”Warming the Stone Child” and other stories about abandonment and the unmothered child. Based on the work of Jungian psychologist Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Phd.
Learn through story how the psychology of abandonment in childhood affects us in later life. Uncover the special gifts and powers of the unmothered child.
In this talk, we can discern what you can learn from your favorite childhood fairytale, and learn that we a personal fairy tale story of our own.
Hearing Only One Voice – The Voice of Wisdom
Bethany Gonyea, Founder Albany Peace Project
Wednesday March 9 at 7:00 PM
Unity Church of Albany
Do you ever wonder about the origin of that critical voice in your head?
Do you ever become curious about your internal dialogue….even why we have an internal dialogue? (who exactly are we talking to???)
Well, neuroscientists at Yale have discovered some startling facts about the brain regions activated while we are experiencing this internal dialogue.
The set of brain regions responsible for this internal voices is now referred to as the default mode network. It is most commonly shown to be active when a person is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at a wakeful rest, such as during daydreaming and mind-wandering. Researchers have determined that this default mode network is responsible for us ruminating about four general areas, when we are 1) thinking about others (what they think of us), 2) thinking about ourselves (how we are doing), 3) remembering (processing) the past, and 4) planning (worrying) for the future. This internal dialogue is vastly responsible for much of our mental health, either good or bad.
The good news is that not only are there cognitive strategies to help cope with the voice, but that skillful meditation actually silences it! Learn how to lower the volume of the critical voice, and hear only the voice of wisdom.
Get Inspired All year Long!
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