Meditation

Beach reading, professional journals, vacation reading, classics, the Daily Pilot — our pile of things to read is stacked high. Those with electronic reading devices may not have the physical clutter, but the challenge to find time to read is the same. Besides entertainment, professional development or keeping up with the news, reading may also be a vital spiritual practice. Many Americans describe themselves as "spiritual" rather than "religious," emphasizing a preference for personal experience and responsibility over affiliation with a religious organization.

The Zen Center of Orange County is offering a five-week Zen JumpStart program for those who wish to develop a Zen meditation practice. It will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 18 to Oct. 14. Pre-registration is required by Saturday. The program is at the Zen Center, 120 E. 18th St., Costa Mesa, and costs $175. The program includes a meditation cushion, workbook, small group instruction and study of contemporary Zen teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Buddhist monk.

As a college student, I consulted an elderly Catholic Cenacle sister concerning my questions about life. After a few weeks, she pointed out that if I were not willing to spend time each day in prayer or meditation, she would not continue to schedule appointments with me. Her mission was not to chat or advise, but to assist people in developing their spiritual lives. This teaching that meditation is essential has guided my life. In my work as a pastoral counselor, my clients often seek to develop a meaningful, spiritual path as to deal with stress, family problems, career issues and the universal human concerns.

Sometimes I forget to breathe. Not the everyday, keep-you-alive kind of breathing we all take for granted. No; I neglect to take those deep, relaxing, blow-up-your-diaphragm breaths that supposedly rejuvenate body and soul. I know where my diaphragm is, but try as she might, Elizabeth, my editor and friend, has not been able to get me to breathe properly to inflate it. Sure my life is hectic, like yours, and there are days when I forget to eat. But when the people closest to me began telling me to slow down, focus and take a damn breath, I figured it was time to get some outside help.

-- Michele M. Marr Name: Zen Center of Orange County. Address: 120 E. 18th Street, Costa Mesa. Near Triangle Square. Telephone: (949) 722-7818. E-mail: zencenter@zcoc.org Web site: http://www.zcoc.org Year established: The Zen Center of Orange County has been in Costa Mesa since 1995, offering a regular schedule for zazen (meditation while seated on a pillow or a chair), intensive workshops and other programs. Senior pastor: The Rev. Deborah J. Barrett.

Young Chang Underneath the black ink of Japanese calligraphy, the beating of traditional drums and the soothing practice of the tea ceremony lies a framework of religion. At least that's what the Rev. Tsuyoshi Hirosumi of the Newport Beach Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple says. Although religion is different from culture, Hirosumi says Buddhism produced much of Japan's culture after the religion was brought over from India and China. "And Buddhism produced so [much]

-- Story and photo by Coral Wilson In Dan Millstein's Japanese rock garden, each pebble could represent a thought, an idea or even a person. By raking them into patterns, the attempt is to take all of the individuals and create some sense of order out of the whole. Millstein relates this to prisoners. "Their thoughts are disorderly," he said. "Isn't that why we imprison them and try to contain them in a small space so we can feel safe?" Millstein is the founder of Visions for Prisons, a nonprofit organization in which volunteers teach stress management, parenting, art, meditation and re-entry skills to prisoners, offering them the possibility of changing their lives and helping them stay connected to society.

"Now listen carefully, because I am only going to tell you this 10 times!" So goes the joke about how difficult it can be to get someone's undivided attention. It is common for people to multitask with emailing or texting, talk on the phone using headsets or listen to music on an iPod. Who has not experienced confusion when the person you are trying to relate to in "real time" turns out to be previously engaged with someone else electronically? It is also common to be asked the same question several times because the person asking is simply not listening to the answer, no matter how many times or loudly it is repeated.

Paul Clinton Ministering to prisoners, Connie Betton has seen her share of lost souls. She has entered a few hearts of darkness. But with an uplifting message of love and peace, firmly rooted in Eastern philosophy, the Newport Beach resident works to change one mind at a time. Using a program of what she calls "attitudinal healing," Betton and her colleagues at Costa Mesa-based Visions for Prisons bring their message of self-help and making healthy choices to Orange County lockups each Monday evening.

Beach reading, professional journals, vacation reading, classics, the Daily Pilot — our pile of things to read is stacked high. Those with electronic reading devices may not have the physical clutter, but the challenge to find time to read is the same. Besides entertainment, professional development or keeping up with the news, reading may also be a vital spiritual practice. Many Americans describe themselves as "spiritual" rather than "religious," emphasizing a preference for personal experience and responsibility over affiliation with a religious organization.

"Now listen carefully, because I am only going to tell you this 10 times!" So goes the joke about how difficult it can be to get someone's undivided attention. It is common for people to multitask with emailing or texting, talk on the phone using headsets or listen to music on an iPod. Who has not experienced confusion when the person you are trying to relate to in "real time" turns out to be previously engaged with someone else electronically? It is also common to be asked the same question several times because the person asking is simply not listening to the answer, no matter how many times or loudly it is repeated.

I love Christmas and I'm a rabbi, so my love for Christmas is the love of a happy and respectful stranger. However, because of all that my dearest friend, Fr. Tom Hartman, taught me, I may, in fact, be a perfect stranger for Christmas. In full disclosure, I must say that I love Passover and Purim, Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot, Shavuot and Shabbat more than Christmas. I do love Christmas more than Hanukkah, because Hanukkah is just a poor ripoff of Christmas nowadays, and even in the old days, the Maccabees led the Hasmoneans, who were the most corrupt dynasty of Jewish priests in history.

More than ever, in today’s chaotic time, with Wall Street in crisis, presidential campaign rhetoric filling the news, retirement accounts dwindling, real estate foreclosures and bank instability dominating the day, it is the garden that calls for our attention. Garden- ers already know it; their garden is their escape. Gardens just make us feel better. Eva Shaw, author of “Shovel It: Nature’s Health Plan,” says that gardening reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and helps fight depression.

The Buddhist religion dates back to about 563 BCE with the birth of Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini, Northern India, which now is in Nepal. He was the son of a king, and in childhood was completely sheltered from the real world. But when he was eventually exposed to the miseries of the world, he also encountered a monk who had found peace through contemplation and the renunciation of material objects. Siddhartha was so impressed with that approach that at the age of 29 he renounced his crown and family and set out on a journey to seek the truth.

Sometimes I forget to breathe. Not the everyday, keep-you-alive kind of breathing we all take for granted. No; I neglect to take those deep, relaxing, blow-up-your-diaphragm breaths that supposedly rejuvenate body and soul. I know where my diaphragm is, but try as she might, Elizabeth, my editor and friend, has not been able to get me to breathe properly to inflate it. Sure my life is hectic, like yours, and there are days when I forget to eat. But when the people closest to me began telling me to slow down, focus and take a damn breath, I figured it was time to get some outside help.

The sound of rainfall! It is sweet music that helps us to slow down, relax and reflect. Our mood naturally tends to become more leisurely and peaceful. These ordinary sounds are harder to hear these days. Trucks emptying trash bins, leaf blowers, car alarms and helicopters have become our “soundscape.” Our culture is saturated with overhead announcements, elevator music, TV and computer programs as well as the incessant noise from cellphone ringing and loud conversations.

The Zen Center of Orange County is offering a five-week Zen JumpStart program for those who wish to develop a Zen meditation practice. It will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 18 to Oct. 14. Pre-registration is required by Saturday. The program is at the Zen Center, 120 E. 18th St., Costa Mesa, and costs $175. The program includes a meditation cushion, workbook, small group instruction and study of contemporary Zen teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Buddhist monk.

Minutes before the sky resembled an orange and pink utopia at dawn, Deborah Barrett and her traveling companion sauntered to the Bodh Gaya temple during their trip to India in early May. Few taxis roamed the area. Roads were relatively empty. Vendors had yet to set up shop. But as Barrett entered the temple, the site where Gautama Buddha reached enlightenment, she wasn't so much overwhelmed by where she was but the visual serendipity: monks and Buddhist practitioners from around the world going about a variety of devotions in this one space; some wearing jeans, some wearing robes.

As a college student, I consulted an elderly Catholic Cenacle sister concerning my questions about life. After a few weeks, she pointed out that if I were not willing to spend time each day in prayer or meditation, she would not continue to schedule appointments with me. Her mission was not to chat or advise, but to assist people in developing their spiritual lives. This teaching that meditation is essential has guided my life. In my work as a pastoral counselor, my clients often seek to develop a meaningful, spiritual path as to deal with stress, family problems, career issues and the universal human concerns.