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Hiya: I recently received this from the Shamatha Project, which will be a rather sophisticated look at 'transcendence style meditation' using all the methodologies in current brain research. You also might be interested in the Neuroscientists who are spearheading the Mind and Life Project: The Dalai Lama has held annual meetings with leading scientists and a number of these meetings have been published, detailing the research. Anyway, there's a lot out there, here's what I most recently received: Subject: Shamatha Project Update and 3 week long retreats in the Summer and Fall Date: April 11, 2006 10:15:11 PM EDT Dear SBI Friends, As some of you know, the Shamatha Project is now swiftly moving forward. Dr. Wallace recently sent out a letter, along with an endorsement from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to over 2,000 Dharma centers and other interested groups informing them about the project. To qualify as a participant one has to have participated in at least one-week long shamatha retreat with Dr. Wallace, and in order to allow people to fulfill this requirement we have planned three shamatha retreats this summer and this fall. We have also purchased full-page ads in BuddhaDharma, Tricycle, and Mandala Magazine to recruit participants, and the three retreats will be advertised in these magazines as well. The main purpose of the retreats is to prepare potential participants for the Shamatha Project, though as Dr. Wallace says below, the retreats are open to anyone interested. Many people wished to sign up for the Cultivating the Heart and Mind course that the Santa Barbara Institute offered in March but were unable to because the retreat facilities couldn't accommodate any more people, and we apologize for not being able to allow them to attend. So, because of this, we strongly encourage anyone who knows they can attend one of the three retreats to sign up at their earliest convenience. The ads are coming out in May and we anticipate an increase in registration at that time. More information about the three retreats can be found at www.sbinstitute.com Additionally, Dr. Wallace's new book, The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (Wisdom Publications), has been published. This book is extremely relevant for anyone interested in participating in either a week long shamatha retreat or the Shamatha Project itself. Peacefully, James "I am delighted at the progress being made in developing the Shamatha Project, a scientific study designed to examine the effects of long-term, intensive practice of shamatha together with the four immeasurable qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity.” — His Holiness the Dalai Lama, January 31, 2006 Dear friends and colleagues, We are writing to let you know about the Shamatha Project, a study we are launching designed to research the benefits of intensive meditation practice. We are inviting meditation students of all traditions and levels of practice to participate in this extensive research project, hence our contacting you. This scientific study of attention, introspection and the cultivation of the heart is being co-sponsored by the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, and Shambhala Mountain Center. I will guide participants in various forms of shamatha practice drawn from the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions. Instruction will also be offered on the cultivation of the Four Immeasurables (loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity). This promises to be a unique opportunity for students to deepen their meditation practice while simultaneously making a great contribution to science. Over a three-month retreat period, participants will devote themselves to meditating for eight to ten hours daily under my guidance. They will also work with a team of neuroscientists and psychologists from the University of California led by Dr. Clifford Saron, shortly before, during and after this intensive retreat. We are looking for sixty-four individuals with varying degrees of meditative experience to participate in this study. Participants will be randomly selected between two retreats (February 27 – June 3, 2007, and September 3 – December 8, 2007), both of which will take place at Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, CO. Participants will be responsible for the cost of housing and food, which is estimated to be the discounted price of $5,820 (Shambhala Mountain is subsidizing the program). As a first step, participants will be asked to complete a one-week retreat with me prior to the commencement of the study if they have not already done so. Upcoming retreats include Mission Renewal Center, Santa Barbara, CA, June 25 – July 2, 2006 Shambhala Mountain Center, Red Feather Lakes, CO, July 22 – 29, 2006 Menla Mountain Retreat & Conference Center, Phoenicia, NY, September 5 – 12, 2006 While open to the general public, these one-week retreats will provide an opportunity for those interested in the Shamatha Project to get more familiar with the program content and with me as an instructor. To sign up for these one of these retreats or to obtain more details regarding this study, participant requirements and the application process, we encourage those interested to visit our web site at www.shambhalamountain.org/shamatha. They can also call us at (888) STUPA-21 (9am-5pm Mountain Time). We are excited and honored to be involved in this project, which will hopefully contribute to the well-being of all sentient beings. With best wishes, B. Alan Wallace, President Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies On Apr 14, 2006, at 3:58 PM, Dharma Mitra wrote:
To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
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- Re: [FairfieldLife] Research, Ethics and the Good Head Vaj
