Open House: Giftedness or ADD Syndrome: Monday, April 4, 2011

The Art of Life Community Health Centre Toronto Open House

Giftedness or ADD Syndrome: Understanding and Helping Gifted Children

 
The ART of LIFE
Community Health Centre

Invites you to attend our OPEN HOUSE

Day: Monday, April 4, 2011
Time: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

You will receive information about our unique diagnostic and treatment programs, coffee, tea, cookies, and a traditional education lecture:

Giftedness or ADD Syndrome:
How to Understand and How to Help?

Lecturer: Kyrill Biba, PhD, Registered Acupuncture Practitioner and Homeopath
The lecture will cover the following topics:

[ V ] What is ADD/ADHD?

[ V ] What are the possible causes of ADD/ADHD behavior?

[ V ] In what cases can natural remedies help hyperactive children or children suffering from ADD and why?

[ V ] How does an integrated therapeutic and psychological approach could help to alleviate the symptoms and improve the social adaptation of these children?

Please join us for this important lecture and discover how you can help hyperactive children or children suffering from ADD.

Location: Suite 121, 885 Don Mills Road
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 1V9

Entrance to the free parking is from Gervais Drive via Wynford Drive

Get a map and/or directions:
http://www.theartlife.ca/contact.html
Google Map: 885 Don Mills Road
At the North-East corner of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East
If you need more information,
give a call to Ludmila at 416-449-6747
or send us an e-mail at office@theartlife.ca
or check our web-site: www.TheArtLife.ca

Please come when you like, learn about our centre, meet our doctors, ask questions.

Feel free to pass this on to friends and colleagues.

links:
Wikipedia: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

KidsLife: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) - Natural Treatment
Reviewed and Edited by Di Strang and Fran Music.

TheArtofLifeCenter: Developing Healthier Relationships with Your Children: New 10 Week Course

ABCOntario: The Association for Bright Children of Ontario
Next Toronto Chapter Meetings
Mark in your calendar these 2 Toronto Chapter sessions to be held at your local Toronto Public Libraries.

Runnymede Library (west end of Toronto)
Tues. Apr 5
7:00 - 8:15 pm

Pape/Danforth Library (east end of Toronto)
Wed. May 11
7:00 - 8:15 pm

Please RSVP delgrosso@sympatico.ca noting # of adults and if you require child care.

Practice of Mindfulness: The Meditator as a Scientist: Part 1

Brochure: The Evolution of Success: Radical Growth: The Practice of Mindfulness
Lou Carcasole B.Sc, M.B.A, M.Ed
Credit: www.radicalgrowth.com

Part 1 - Three Essential Qualities

A useful way to think about Mindfulness Meditation is to think of it in much the same way as you would think about any science. Because, in fact, that is exactly what it is. And, when you begin to practice Mindfulness Meditation, you are becoming a scientist.

The parallels between science and meditation are very strong. Science is about the investigation through observation and experimentation, of the physical world - that is to say, the objective reality around us. Mindfulness is about the investigation through observation and experimentation, of the internal, subjective world within us - the world of our own thoughts and feelings.

For good science, three things are essential: 1) sensory extending devices; 2) patience and discipline; and, 3) objectivity. With only our ordinary senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, we would have a fairly rudimentary or gross understanding of what the physical world was all about. As devices like microscopes, telescopes, sensitive radio scopes and so on were developed, they allowed us to look more deeply and to go farther in our exploration of the physical world, leading to discoveries that could never have happened with just the ordinary senses. As well, a scientist needs to train his or her attention and instruments on the phenomenon under investigation, and leave it there long enough to make meaningful observations. If the scientist were to continually shift his or her attention from one phenomenon of interest to another every few seconds, it is very unlikely that they would develop much of an understanding of any one of them. Finally, a scientist needs to have objectivity. Science is supposed to be a rather dispassionate discipline where the role of the scientist is to observe accurately, measure and record precisely, postulate hypothesis, and test their validity. Their role is to uncover the laws of nature through their science without judgment or preference.

Mindfulness Meditation is the same. The same qualities are required for good meditation. The first of these is the ability to look more deeply into subjective phenomenon. This is necessary if one is to gain deeper insights into its nature. However, unlike the scientist, mechanical tools like the microscope are not available to the meditator. He or she has to build his or her own. The way to do this is to develop the capacity of the ordinary senses to perceive – the ability to be aware. This is done through exercise. Much the same way as any muscle can be developed through regular, systematic exercise, so too can our ‘muscle’ of awareness be built up.

The second thing a good meditator requires is focus or concentration power. Much like the poor scientist who is to easily distracted, one of the first insights that new meditators have is the wandering or monkey mind. As they attempt to focus their awareness on a seemingly simple aspect of their subjective experience, such as the sensations associated with the breath, they discover just how difficult this is to do. The mind can hardly be still for even a few seconds. It wanders or jumps from thought to thought, from worrying about the past, to planning for the future, to fantasy. In fact, the mind is hardly ever focused on what is really taking place in the present moment. Without some level of concentration power to be able to observe what is going on long enough, deeper understandings of our subjective world are unlikely.

And, finally, like the good scientist, a good meditator needs to bring a quality of impartiality to the phenomenon under observation. We go through much of our life grasping for that which is pleasant and avoiding that which is unpleasant. This pushing and pulling against experience creates tension within us - tension that distorts our ability to clearly see what is really going on within and around us. For example we say that ‘Love is blind’ and we speak of ‘Blind rage’. These may be more extreme emotions, however, even more subtle levels of attachment or irritation (mild rage), or anxiety (fear) bring about some level of blindness or distortion. A meditator's task is to develop the quality or skill of equanimity - a stance of impartiality in observing what’s happening in our subjective experience without judgment and without reacting with grasping or aversion.

2011 © Lou Carcasole

Lou Carcasole has been practicing Mindfulness since 1987 and has been teaching Mindfulness in a variety of formats and settings since 1996. He can be reached at 416-512-1834 or lou@radicalgrowth.com

Please continue reading the article The Meditator as a Scientist: Part 2: The Road to New Type of Learning

Practice of Mindfulness: The Meditator as a Scientist: Part 2

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program
The Art of Life Community Health Centre MBSR course
Instructor: Lou Carcasole, B.Sc, M.B.A, M.Ed
Photo credit: www.radicalgrowth.com

We continue our publishing of Lou Carcasole’s article The Meditator as a Scientist. Here is the last installment.

“…when you begin to practice Mindfulness Meditation, you are becoming a scientist.”
Lou Carcasole

Part 2 - The Road to New Type of Learning

What is the purpose of all this? Anyone who has tried Mindfulness Meditation knows that it is a very challenging activity. It requires great effort. Well, here again, the scientific analogy comes in handy. We know that as science has progressed, it has given us deeper and deeper understandings about the workings of nature. These deeper understandings have led to all sorts of discoveries in the fields of medicine, chemistry, biology, and other areas of science. These discoveries have improved our lives in so many ways. In the same way, as we are able to look more deeply into the subjective experience - the world of our own thoughts and feelings - discoveries and insights regarding how we live our lives, come to us. Discoveries which may appear to be illogical from others’ descriptions, such as the possibility of experiencing pain without it turning into suffering, become clear when we are able to have such experiences directly for ourselves. As we look back on the progression of science, say in the area of biology, would anyone have believed that all life, including plant life, shared the common feature of a cellular structure? There was likely a time, and probably not so long ago, that anyone seriously promoting such a view might have been accused of heresy and been at risk for their life. It wasn’t until microscopes were developed that enough people were able to see for themselves, that this became a generally accepted scientific fact.

Even so, we can say that there are two types of knowledge. There is a certain knowledge that we get from books, or from listening to others leading to a level of acceptance on the conceptual level. You know - the knowledge comes with a certain authority behind it (such as from the school system) that we have no reason to disbelieve it. However, there is another type of learning which is far, far more powerful. This is the learning that comes to us through our own direct experience. Imagine, if you will, that you are colour blind. We might learn about colour in school. Green might be described to us in terms of its frequency range on the light spectrum. It might be described qualitatively as ‘cool, soothing’, and so on. We would have no reason to disbelieve that the colour green existed. In fact, we ourselves might even become somewhat experts in the colour green and teach about its properties to others. All of that would pale in comparison if one day, we were to develop the capacity to actually see green with our own eyes. It would be mind blowing. Now, we would know what green was all about. This is the way it is with Mindfulness. The road to this kind of learning is one which each individual must take his or herself. It doesn’t matter how many books about Mindfulness you read. It doesn’t matter how many gifted, enlightened teachers you listen to. It doesn’t matter how many classes or retreats you attend. If you don’t put in much effort to develop the skills of awareness, concentration, and equanimity of the internal scientist to have your own direct experiences, little of the more powerful kind of learning will occur.

Mindfulness is something anyone can learn - anyone can do. It doesn’t require great intellect. It doesn’t require going to exotic places or doing exotic things. All that is required is a willingness to make an effort - an effort to be still for a little while and to look inside.

2011 © Lou Carcasole

Lou Carcasole has been practicing Mindfulness since 1987 and has been teaching Mindfulness in a variety of formats and settings since 1996. He can be reached at 416-512-1834 or lou@radicalgrowth.com

The Art of Life Community Health Centre invites you to attend Lou Carcasole’s 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, whether you want to expand your abilities or learn how to cope with stress, pain and suffering. Call for details (416) 449-6747
or send us an e-mail at office@theartlife.ca

links:
Lou Carcasole: The Meditator as a Scientist: Part 1: Three Essential Qualities
Lou Carcasole: The Meditator as a Scientist: Part 2: The Road to New Type of Learning

Mindfulness Free Introductory Session March 16

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program
8-week MBSR course: Wednesdays at 7:00
Free Introductory Session - March 16, 2011
Instructor: Lou Carcasole, B.Sc, M.B.A, M.Ed

The Art of Life Community Health Centre invites you to attend

Free Introductory Session for 8-week MBSR course

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Instructor: Lou Carcasole, B.Sc, M.B.A, M.Ed

Program that is designed for, and can be especially helpful to, those who experience:

• anxiety and depression,
• chronic pain and illness,
• life threatening illness,
• grief,
• spiritual emptiness
• and difficulty finding balance in current cultural lifestyles.

Whether you want to expand your natural abilities and learn how to cope with stress, pain and suffering - this program is for you!

Where: The Art of Life Community Health Centre
Location: Suite 121, 885 Don Mills Road
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 1V9
(Don Mills and Eglinton)
Entrance to the free parking is from Gervais Drive via Wynford Drive

For information or to register please call (416) 449-6747
or send us an e-mail at office@theartlife.ca

Feel free to pass this on to friends and colleagues.

links:
theartoflifecenter: Mindfulness Classes
theartoflifecenter: Free Introductory Session for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program
theartoflifecenter: Power of Paying Attention: Healing & Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program
theartoflifecenter: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program Starts April 7