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Today’s Notes:
I – “…A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:12 – NIV)
II – “…A threefold thread cannot quickly be pulled apart.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:12 – CLV)
III – “…three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:12 – TLB)
IV – “Lately I’ve been wondering just what the science is behind the act of prayer and meditation. What parts of our brains are activated or deactivated? How might such a ritual, regardless of personal faith or intention, affect our behavior? To learn more, I talked to several doctors including Dr. David Spiegel, associate chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and medical director of the center for integrative medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, who discussed what the brain looks like on prayer. “Praying involves the deeper parts of the brain: the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex — the mid-front and back portions,” says Dr. Spiegel, adding that this can be seen through magnetic image resonance (MRI), which render detailed anatomical pictures. “These parts of the brain are involved in self-reflection and self-soothing.” Spiegel notes that while these reflective regions of the brain are activated, parts of the brain associated with taking action are inactivated. It’s an interesting correlation that Spiegel says could play a role in why prayer helps people struggling with addictive urges.”
– Nicole Spector
V – [pic] The Lord’s Prayer as a Shakra Meditation – go to 1:12:53
VI – “Prayer and meditation are highly effective in lowering our reactivity to traumatic and negative events,” says Dr. Paul Hokemeyer, a marriage, family and addictions therapist. “They are powerful because they focus our thoughts on something outside ourselves. During times of stress, our limbic system, more commonly known as our central nervous system, becomes hyper-activated, which does two things: it thrusts us in to survival mode where we freeze, fight or flee the situation, such that we move away from the present state of being into a future state. This also shuts down our executive functioning and prevents us from thinking clearly. This is why when we’re stressed out we can make poor decisions and act in self-destructive ways.” When we sit down and engage in prayer or meditation, we are able to shift away from this frightened and stressed survival mode into “an intentional state,” says Dr. Hokemeyer, and ultimately “reengage our prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that rules our executive functioning and enables us to make intelligent mindful decisions.”
– Nicole Spector
VII – [pic] “When you can completely relax your body and remain conscious, this is the realm where the unknown and the mystical happens. – Dr. Joe Dispenza
Bishop Jim’s insightful messages help others find THEIR METRON through M~otivation E~nlightenment T~ranscendence R~enewal O~utreach and N~etworking