Mindful Awareness Meditation at UCLA (audio)

Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; MARC (Hammer.ucla.edu)

Mindful Awareness takes place every Thursday at UCLA at 12:30 pm.

 

Mindful Awareness is the moment-by-moment process of actively and openly observing one’s physical, mental, and emotional experiences.

Mindfulness has scientific support as a means to reduce stress, improve attention, boost the immune system, reduce emotional reactivity, and promote a general sense of health and well-being.

Vigils without tragedies (Getty/ksdk.com)

FREE weekly drop-in sessions take place in the comfortable seats of the Billy Wilder Theater and are open to all who are interested in learning how to live more presently in life. No special clothing is required, and participants are welcome to stay for five minutes or enjoy the entire 30-minute session.

Sessions are led by instructors from the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC, marc.ucla.edu). Past podcasts for Mindful Awareness can be accessed HERE.

AP Poll: Students Stressed, Depressed

Nancy Benac And Trevor Tompson (AP)

PLAY VIDEO: Economy adds to student stress

WASHINGTON – Stress over grades. Financial worries. Trouble sleeping. Feeling hopeless.

So much for those carefree college days.

The vast majority of college students are feeling stressed these days, and significant numbers are at risk of depression, according to an Associated Press-mtvU poll

Eighty-five percent of the students reported feeling stress in their daily lives in recent months, with worries about grades, school work, money, and relationships the big culprits.

At the same time, 42 percent said they had felt down, depressed, or hopeless several days during the past two weeks, and 13 percent showed signs of being at risk for at least mild depression, based on the students' answers to a series of questions that medical practitioners use to diagnose depressive illness.

These students complained of trouble sleeping, having little energy or feeling down or hopeless — and most hadn't gotten professional help. Eleven percent had had thoughts that they'd be better off dead or about hurting themselves.

That's not just a case of the blues to be shrugged off by taking a break with Facebook or going for a workout. More>>

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President forcefully defended his decision to close the Guantanamo detention camp (Gitmo extrajudicial prison) today as Obama and Cheney face off on torture (AP/NPR).