This picture is called Sacred Journeys. It reminds me of the sacred journey I took to Dharamsala, India where I was able to meditate and pray with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan monks that live and work there, and many other visitors. It was an experience I believe created new pathways in my brain as I experienced this transformational event. I remember feeling afterwards that I was taller, that I could reach farther, and that my body was buzzing with energy. I had the opportunity to sit with this experience to some degree after watching the Dan Rather video on neuroplasticity and the brain's never-ending capacity to change, grow and rewire itself. The connections between consciousness and the brain, meditation, and the quest for enlightenment in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, are being studied and researched at the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. You can read about this new research at info@sbinstitute.com. Another website to check if you are interested is www.cultivatingemotionalbalance.org/links.html. The institute is sponsoring a six-week Cultivating Emotional Balance Teachers' Training next summer in Phuket, Thailand which will enable those who receive certification to guide others to enhanced emotional health and mental stability and can teach CEB in many venues including hospitals, schools, and businesses. The training will focus on learning the theories and practices of psychology regarding emotional balance, and the relevant theories and practices of Buddhist meditation and mindfulness, loving-kindness, compassion, and empathetic joy. It is expensive but I plan to ask about scholarships, as well as ask about similar trainings here in California in the future. I believe this research will be especially applicable to the field of Social Work in the expansion of therapeutic help we can offer our clients as well as using what we learn for self care and stress reduction in our own lives so we don't burn out and become less effective in the work we do.
