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In a CBS News segment by Jim Axelrod last Saturday, U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan concurred – with a smile – that yes, Congress could benefit from a form of meditation called mindfulness. Ryan feels it can also help in our schools and help lower health care costs.
Highlights of the CBS report:
- “It often seem as though we’ve squeezed out any time for thoughtfulness and contemplation as we go about our daily lives”;
- Ryan meditates 30 minutes a day;
- He has written a book on mindfulness entitled, A Mindful Nation;
- He advocates a curriculum called Social Emotional Learning that teaches kids to relax;
- As an example, in a kindergarten class in Youngstown, Ohio SEL helps students stay calm and reading scores have improved by double digits;
- According to the magazine Psychology Today, close to 10 million Americans practice some form of meditation.
God-centered, Bible-based prayer is an effective form of mindfulness. It can help us stay calm and focused and thus be more productive and healthy.
For more about this, see my blog post entitled, Health Care and Healthy Habits of the Mind, inspired by a Washington Times article last year about Ryan’s interest in the role our thought plays in our well being.
(If you can’t view the CBS video below, click here.)
