"Meditation Nation," Herald Reports

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A North Dakota paper reported on increasing use of meditation under the curious title, "Public pressure forces health-care industry to accept alternative medicine practices."

The article described results of an eight-day training session at the University of Massachusetts with John Kabat-Zinn on mindfulness meditation. It noted:

"A 2003 study published in Psychosomatic Medicine found that even brief programs in meditation produced marked improvements in brain and immune functions for people vaccinated with influenza. Also, The Brain Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia is examining the effectiveness of meditation as a drug-free treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Other studies have shown how negative emotional responses harm the body, sometimes in the form of illness. Meditation is a proven stress deflator." The article concluded: "The science behind meditation's healing power has been building for decades, but it's only lately that the medical community has started to embrace it."

The article noted benefits of meditation beyond health to another field, conflict resolution - as meditation is in use at UND's Conflict Resolution Center where it is said to help "deeper listening, better focus and concentration."

Mar. 14, 2005
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/11129693.htm
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