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:http://www.investigatingthemind.org/ 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: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Shamatha Project Update and 3 week long retreats in the Summer and Fall Date: April 11, 2006 10:15:11 PM EDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]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 fromHis Holiness the Dalai Lama, to over 2,000 Dharma centers and otherinterested groups informing them about the project. To qualify as aparticipant one has to have participated in at least one-week longshamatha retreat with Dr. Wallace, and in order to allow people tofulfill this requirement we have planned three shamatha retreats thissummer and this fall.We have also purchased full-page ads in BuddhaDharma, Tricycle, andMandala Magazine to recruit participants, and the three retreats will beadvertised in these magazines as well. The main purpose of the retreatsis to prepare potential participants for the Shamatha Project, though asDr. Wallace says below, the retreats are open to anyone interested.Many people wished to sign up for the Cultivating the Heart and Mindcourse that the Santa Barbara Institute offered in March but were unableto because the retreat facilities couldn't accommodate any more people,and we apologize for not being able to allow them to attend. So, becauseof this, we strongly encourage anyone who knows they can attend one ofthe three retreats to sign up at their earliest convenience. The ads arecoming out in May and we anticipate an increase in registration at thattime.More information about the three retreats can be found atwww.sbinstitute.comAdditionally, Dr. Wallace's new book, The Attention Revolution:Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (Wisdom Publications), has beenpublished. This book is extremely relevant for anyone interested inparticipating in either a week long shamatha retreat or the ShamathaProject itself.Peacefully,James"I am delighted at the progress being made in developing the ShamathaProject, a scientific study designed to examine the effects oflong-term, intensive practice of shamatha together with the fourimmeasurable qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joyand equanimity.”— His Holiness the Dalai Lama, January 31, 2006Dear friends and colleagues,We are writing to let you know about the Shamatha Project, a study weare launching designed to research the benefits of intensive meditationpractice. We are inviting meditation students of all traditions andlevels 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 bythe Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, the Center forMind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, and ShambhalaMountain Center.I will guide participants in various forms of shamatha practice drawnfrom the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions. Instruction willalso be offered on the cultivation of the Four Immeasurables(loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity). Thispromises to be a unique opportunity for students to deepen theirmeditation practice while simultaneously making a great contribution toscience. Over a three-month retreat period, participants will devote themselvesto meditating for eight to ten hours daily under my guidance. They willalso work with a team of neuroscientists and psychologists from theUniversity 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 ofmeditative experience to participate in this study. Participants will berandomly selected between two retreats (February 27 – June 3, 2007, andSeptember 3 – December 8, 2007), both of which will take place atShambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, CO. Participants will beresponsible for the cost of housing and food, which is estimated to bethe discounted price of $5,820 (Shambhala Mountain is subsidizing theprogram).As a first step, participants will be asked to complete a one-weekretreat with me prior to the commencement of the study if they have notalready 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,
