Meditation

As the lights dimmed over a hotel ballroom in downtown Los Angeles, 2,000 people closed their eyes and commenced their morning kirtan, or devotional chanting. "Oh, God beautiful, at thy feet, oh I do bow," they sang as monks played tiny cymbals and other instruments. "To the yogi, thou art bliss." The visitors were attempting to establish a spiritual tone for the weeklong world convocation of the Self-Realization Fellowship, a religious and spiritual organization whose devotees practice yoga and meditation while honoring underlying principles of truth in the world's great religions.

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Donovan, who traveled to India four decades ago to study transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, will be joined by Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper and several others at an April 4 fundraiser in New York for the David Lynch Foundation, which promotes the use of meditation by at-risk youths. The two surviving Beatles, however, are not planning to use the opportunity to come together, a spokeswoman for Starr said Wednesday. "They are doing their own sets," she said.

MIKE MYERS' promotion of "The Love Guru" on the "American Idol" finals was hilarious. Paul Brownfield's article on the comic's new vehicle and career ["Seeing Whose Laughs Lasts," May 25] doesn't capture that fun and seems to miss the modern context for the humor. Perhaps he supposes that the guru references hearken back only to boomer hippies and the recently departed Maharishi's commercial meditation enterprise. Yet the presence of so many Indians working in America and the emergence of India as a technologically developed country changes the context of the references and the consumer base.

Anyone needing a break from all those speeches and protests at the Democratic National Convention in Denver can find solace through some riverside meditation and yoga. Meditate '08 is a six-day retreat on the banks of the South Platte River coinciding with the convention. Its organizers aim to give delegates, candidates, demonstrators and locals a chance to reconnect with their inner selves. Even though some might think the idea "trippy," retreat co-chair Don Morreale said that it would counter "angry energy" emanating from protests.

USC junior Geinel Johnson tells herself that Sunday is her one day to rest after a jam-packed week of classes, job duties and volunteer work. But, somehow, she finds herself still multi-tasking even on her day off. Johnson, 21, said her schedule is like that of most of her college peers. "We are always doing something," Johnson said this week, fresh off a final exam and on her way to her part-time job on campus. "We never take time to reflect on the day."

The 30 or so clinicians and researchers sat cross-legged on cushions or in chairs, their eyes closed, as their teacher led them through a guided meditation. Telling them to relax their bodies and concentrate on their breathing, author and meditation instructor Sharon Salzberg urged them to overcome distractions such as sounds, thoughts and emotions by coming back to the breath each time they found their minds wandering. The goal, she said, was to still the mind.

Practicing transcendental medicine not only mellows the mind but may also calm the body's damaging responses to stress, researchers said Monday. In a 16-week trial featuring heart disease patients averaging 68 years of age, those who were taught the principles of transcendental meditation experienced decreased heart rate variability and insulin sensitivity. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

TEN-YEAR-OLD Trae Smith knows how to deal with the stresses of school, an acting and modeling career and, of course, the typical family squabbles. He closes his eyes, counts to 100 and lets it all go. Trae, who learned to meditate last year with his fourth-grade class at Toluca Lake Elementary School, said that tests and auditions used to make him nervous. But since he's learned how to meditate, Trae says, "everything is like a piece of cake."

\o7Inhale ... peace. Exhale ... world. Inhale ... p-e-e-e-a-c-e.\f7 This type of rhythmic breathing and mind-clearing exercise not only calms and relaxes, it also appears to produce structural changes in the brain -- even in over-scheduled Americans.