"How Meditation Can Reduce Stress” is the title of a talk to be given at the Emerald Coast Meditation Society Oct. 2 by Ralph Dougherty of Tallahassee, a retired chemistry professor who now leads Buddhist groups.
The free meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. with a 30-minute meditation at Christ the King Episcopal Church, 480 N. Co. Hwy. 393, Santa Rosa Beach, one-half mile north of Hwy. 98. The ECMS is ecumenical and does not follow any religion.
“In meditation, we encounter ‘monkey mind,’ known in psychology as our secondary consciousness,” says Dougherty. “After some regular practice, we also encounter a profoundly silent awareness, known as our primary consciousness. We also see primary consciousness in our active sensing of the environment, sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. These two types of awareness are more or less independent of each other.
“When there is a conflict between the views of the world held directly by our primary and secondary consciousness, we sense this conflict as stress.”
Dougherty adds that his talk will focus on “simple, understandable models of how our incredibly complex brains function, and how these functions during meditation result in stress reduction.”
The talk will include references to his lengthy period of alcohol addiction and how he finally understood and overcame it.
Dougherty was born high in the Rockies in Dillon, MT, and grew up in Montana, spending his high school summers working on his grandfather’s ranch. Thus the wilderness became one of his lifelong passions. He received his B.S. in chemistry at Montana State University in 1960 and his doctorate at the University of Chicago in 1963.
He came to Florida State University, from Ohio State, in 1969. Now retired, he occupies his time with writing in the areas of science and meditation, along with teaching meditation practice at five state prisons in north Florida. Cycling and paddling small boats are his preferred modes of exercise.
The evening will conclude with a short guided meditation. The ECMS meets on the first and third Thursday of every month except July and August. Anyone who needs meditation instruction should arrive by 6:15 p.m. For information contact Nancy James, nancyjames@embarqmail.com.
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/682836121823664/
The free meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. with a 30-minute meditation at Christ the King Episcopal Church, 480 N. Co. Hwy. 393, Santa Rosa Beach, one-half mile north of Hwy. 98. The ECMS is ecumenical and does not follow any religion.
“In meditation, we encounter ‘monkey mind,’ known in psychology as our secondary consciousness,” says Dougherty. “After some regular practice, we also encounter a profoundly silent awareness, known as our primary consciousness. We also see primary consciousness in our active sensing of the environment, sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. These two types of awareness are more or less independent of each other.
“When there is a conflict between the views of the world held directly by our primary and secondary consciousness, we sense this conflict as stress.”
Dougherty adds that his talk will focus on “simple, understandable models of how our incredibly complex brains function, and how these functions during meditation result in stress reduction.”
The talk will include references to his lengthy period of alcohol addiction and how he finally understood and overcame it.
Dougherty was born high in the Rockies in Dillon, MT, and grew up in Montana, spending his high school summers working on his grandfather’s ranch. Thus the wilderness became one of his lifelong passions. He received his B.S. in chemistry at Montana State University in 1960 and his doctorate at the University of Chicago in 1963.
He came to Florida State University, from Ohio State, in 1969. Now retired, he occupies his time with writing in the areas of science and meditation, along with teaching meditation practice at five state prisons in north Florida. Cycling and paddling small boats are his preferred modes of exercise.
The evening will conclude with a short guided meditation. The ECMS meets on the first and third Thursday of every month except July and August. Anyone who needs meditation instruction should arrive by 6:15 p.m. For information contact Nancy James, nancyjames@embarqmail.com.
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/682836121823664/
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