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resources
Information, products and services
related to arthritis
Meditation Resources
Books and Tapes
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This book was my first introduction to the Tibetan form
of meditation called Tonglen. |
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This is the least expensive source of these recordings
I have found. |
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In 1993 the Bill Moyers TV special called "Healing
and the Mind" introduced millions of Americans
to Jon Kabat-Zinn and the program he founded at the
Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts
Medical Center. This program, offered in a hospital
setting, teaches the use of mindfulness meditation for
dealing with chronic pain. The book describes this program
and serves as an excellent guide for anyone who wants
to use meditation as a tool to work with stress, pain
or illness. |
Retreats
My primary meditation teacher has been Shinzen Young. What
I have to say about meditation has been greatly influenced
by what I have learned from him and the aspects of meditation
that he emphasizes. However, there are many other aspects
of meditation that can be emphasized and many other models
that can be used to describe it. Even within the vipassana
tradition, different teachers teach differently both in emphasis
and in the models they use.
People like Shinzen Young and Jon Kabat-Zinn have a very
clear sense of how to use pain as an opportunity for personal
and spiritual transformation. In more traditional Buddhist
training situations, such as those at the Insight Meditation
Center in Barre, MA and Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, CA,
you may find the emphasis is not so much on with working with
the pain as a vehicle but more on generic standard techniques
such as working with breath, achieving spaciousness, and so
forth. These procedures, if mastered, bring a state of liberation
from suffering and therefore represent the ultimate pain management
tool. If you go to a retreat with an IMS or Spirit Rock teacher,
you should be prepared to work within their framework.
With that in mind, I recommend the following organizations,
all of which are providers of quality retreats.
Vipassana Support Institute
3330 Hannibal Road
Burlington, Ontario
Canada L7M 1R7
Toll-free Phone: 866-666-0VSI (0874)
Fax: 905-336-2616
E-mail:
This organization, founded by Shirley Fenton and Shinzen
Young, offers retreats and other activities that teach and
support the practice of vipassana meditation.
www.shinzen.org
This Web site is a place to learn about meditation and its
application to pain management. Shinzen has many good articles
on meditation on his Web site. He also posts answers to
questions posed by readers and there is a page listing upcoming
retreats he will be leading.
Spirit Rock Center
PO Box 169
Woodacre, CA 94973
Info line: 415-488-0164
www.spiritrock.org
This organization, founded by Jack Kornfield, offers retreats
and other activities that teach and support the practice
of vipassana meditation.
Insight Meditation Center (IMS)
1230 Pleasant St.
Barre, MA 01005
978-355-4378
www.dharma.org
This organization, founded by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph
Goldstein, offers retreats and other activities that teach
and support the practice of vipassana meditation.
Mid America Dharma
PO Box 414411
Kansas City, MO 64141-4411
www.midamericadharma.org
This umbrella group sponsors retreats in the Midwest. It
can also put you in touch with local sitting groups throughout
the Midwest. Sitting groups are groups of people who help
support each other's practice by gathering to sit in meditation
together.
Inquiring Mind
PO Box 9999
Berkeley, CA 94709
This publication comes out twice a year. It contains articles
related to vipassana meditation, and more importantly an
extensive list of sitting groups and upcoming meditation
retreats in the United States and elsewhere. There is no
set cost to receive the publication; it relies on donations.
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