Creation

Becoming Mindful of Mindfulness

By Karl Priest 2-24-2014 (revised 10-10-2020)

(This subject is closely tied to the religious practice of Yoga.)

An excerpt from an article about warm-up activities for class caught my attention:

“Instead, my students and I take 4-5 minutes at the start of every class to practice mindfulness with a simple breathing meditation."

http://www.schoolleadership20.com/profiles/blogs/why-i-no-longer-use-bellringers-by-paul-barnwell (see adendum)

The article linked to “Why Teaching Mindfulness Benefits Students’ Learning” where some phrases raised my radar:

“Start by paying attention to the body”

“Introduce basic awareness of breath and move to the ‘Body Scan’”

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/09/why-teaching-mindfulness-benefits-students-learning/

Mindfulness?! Body Scan?!

What is “mindfulness”?

The Mindfulness for Students website defines it as “At its heart mindfulness training teaches students to pay attention to the present moment through simple breathing and meditation practices which increase awareness of thoughts and feelings so as to reduce stress and anxiety and boost levels of attention and concentration…” (http://mindfulnessforstudents.co.uk/what-is-mindfulness/) It promotes a “Two day meditation retreat for young people (16-25) at Gaia House”. (http://mindfulnessforstudents.co.uk/two-day-meditation-retreat-for-young-people-16-25-at-gaia-house-24-26th-may-2014/) The Gaia House “offers silent meditation retreats in the Buddhist tradition.” (http://gaiahouse.co.uk/) See Buddhism at The Common Thread Hub.

“The Shambhala Sun Foundation promotes the growth and development of genuine buddhadharma (difficult to define--that which upholds the natural order of the universe) as Buddhism takes root in the West...”

http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3141&Itemid=293

“How to do Mindfulness Meditation” In mindfulness, orshamatha (Buddhist practice) of the calming of the mind), meditation, we are trying to achieve a mind that is stable and calm…The Buddhist approach is that the mind and body are connected. The energy flows better when the body is erect, and when it’s bent, the flow is changed and that directly affects your thought process. So there is a yoga of how to work with this. We’re not sitting up straight because we’re trying to be good schoolchildren; our posture actually affects the mind.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is holder of the Buddhist and Shambhala lineages of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He has received teachings from many of the great Buddhist masters of this century…

http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?id=2125&option=content&task=view

Jon Kabat-Zinn , Ph.D. is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society…His books and guided meditation programs describe meditation practice in such commonsensical, relevant, and compelling terms that mindfulness meditation practice has become a way of life for thousands of people. His work has contributed to a growing movement of mindfulness into mainstream institutions in our society such as medicine, health care and hospitals, schools, higher education, corporations, prisons, the legal profession, and professional sports.

http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/pages/about-the-author

Not surprisingly, it is part of UCLA:

“The Mindful Awareness Research Center is a partner of the Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology (Cousins was “a tireless advocate of liberal causes”) within the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. MARC's mission is to foster mindful awareness across the lifespan through education and research to promote well-being and a more compassionate society. ” (emphasis in the original) “Mindful awareness can be defined as paying attention to present moment experiences with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to be with what is.”
http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=16

From the PsychologyToday website:

“Cultivating mindfulness is the key to overcoming suffering and recognizing natural wisdom: both our own and others'. How do we go about it?

“In the Buddhist tradition and in Contemplative Psychotherapy training, we nurture mindfulness through the practice of sitting meditation. There are many different kinds of meditation. For example, some are designed to help us relax; others are meant to produce altered states of consciousness.

“Mindfulness meditation is unique in that it is not directed toward getting us to be different from how we already are. Instead, it helps us become aware of what is already true moment by moment. We could say that it teaches us how to be unconditionally present; that is, it helps us be present with whatever is happening, no matter what it is.”

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-courage-be-present/201001/how-practice-mindfulness-meditation

Peel away the cloak of science so-called and mindfulness is pure religion.

Mindfulness (also translated as awareness) is a spiritual or psychological faculty (indriya*) that, according to the teaching of the Buddha, is of great importance in the path of enlightenment (seeing into one's true nature).

Mindfulness, which, among other things, is an attentive awareness of the reality of things (especially of the present moment) is an antidote to delusion (not understanding the central doctrine of Buddhism)and is considered as such a 'power' (Pali: bala). This faculty becomes a power in particular when it is coupled with clear comprehension (a Buddhist term related to mindfulness of breathing) of whatever is taking place.

What is “Body Scan”?

A Body Scan Meditation practitioner focuses on a section of the body in sequence and is “a form of Vipassana (one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation) meditation that is purported to help expand mind/body awareness, release tension and quiet the mind. Body scan meditation is a particularly effective meditation technique for strengthening concentration, focusing attention and relaxing the breath.”

http://life.gaiam.com/article/about-body-scan-meditation

The Yoga Journal features the body scan technique.

http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1049

The University of California San Diego Health System has lots of Body Scan resources (http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/mindfulness/mbsr/Pages/audio.aspx) and NPR has a lesson on Body Scan Meditation through a “ Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course”. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7650123)

“From someone who gave up Buddhism for evolutionism: (2-12-03) For a 2,500-year-old religion, Buddhism seems remarkably compatible with our scientifically oriented culture, which may explain its surging popularity here in America. Over the last 15 years, the number of Buddhist centers in the United States has more than doubled, to well over 1,000…Recently, convergences between science and Buddhism have been explored in a slew of books—including Zen and the Brain and The Psychology of Awakening—and scholarly meetings. Next fall Harvard will host a colloquium titled "Investigating the Mind," where leading cognitive scientists will swap theories with the Dalai Lama. Just the other week the New York Times hailed the "rapprochement between modern science and ancient [Buddhist] wisdom."...Like its parent religion Hinduism, Buddhism espouses reincarnation, which holds that after death our souls are re-instantiated in new bodies, and karma, the law of moral cause and effect…

“Western Buddhists usually downplay these supernatural elements, insisting that Buddhism isn't so much a religion as a practical method for achieving happiness…As the Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman put it, Buddhism is an "inner science," an empirical discipline for fulfilling our minds' potential. The ultimate goal is the state of preternatural bliss, wisdom, and moral grace sometimes called enlightenment…The major vehicle for achieving enlightenment is meditation, touted by both Buddhists and alternative-medicine gurus as a potent way to calm and comprehend our minds. The trouble is, decades of research have shown meditation's effects to be highly unreliable…”

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2003/02/buddhist_retreat.html

*Indriya: literally "belonging to or agreeable to Indra" is the Sanskrit and Pali term for physical strength or ability in general, and for the five senses more specifically. In Buddhism, the term refers to multiple intrapsychic processes and is generally translated as "faculty" or, in specific contexts, as "spiritual faculty" or "controlling principle." The term literally means "belonging to Indra," chief deity in the Rig Veda and lord of Tavatimsa heaven…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indriya

Seaching Youtube brings up a list of “mindfulness” videos which provide much more evidence of the extent the New Age religion is engulfing the world.

Here is a selection. I have watched these so far (each one brings up MANY more or the right side):

Kids being brain-washed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMK481p5wWM

It all seems so innocent, but notice the yoga poses!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HzphdyShbI

Listen at the lady starting at 3:22!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpDBusFB9zI

A Guru evangelist speaking at Teachers College--Columbia University.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxFepht7I7o

"Revolutionary Mindfulness is a gift to the world to bridge the gap of spirituality with science."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khheBre1njk

Google >breath new age< and you will see the connection to New Age religion.

For example:

In Reiki, breathing techniques and methods are one of the devices used to help with a change of energy flow and healing. Learning the breathing techniques in Reiki is one of the first steps in knowing how to use the energy change process for healing. Reiki utilizes what they call deep breathing techniques. These techniques allow you to become more conscious of the chakras that are being accessed to promote healing. It also allows you to more easily tap into the universal energies.

http://www.mydailymoment.com/horoscope/new_age/use_of_breathing_techniques_in_reiki.php

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

http://www.reiki.org/faq/whatisreiki.html

The headline says it all!

“Feeling Stress, Then Try Breathing Says New Age Guru”

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Feeling_Stress_Then_Try_Breathing_Says_New_Age_Guru_999.html

It flows into the “rebirthing” teachings which is a “Controversial new age therapy. Also called ''breathwork.'' Sessions can include breathing exercises, yoga, or a re-enactment of the patient's or counselee's own birth… Rebirthing is an American form of prana yoga that is closest to Kriya Yoga. It may be called scientific breathing rhythm or spiritual breathing.”

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/r08.html

This is all part of the Common Thread of the PAN-EVO religion that is sweeping the world and established in the government schools.

Be sure to see Mindfulness goes to Kindergarten and Religion Rules Kanawha County Schools.

ADDENDUM

1. The original article by Paul Barnwell appeared on the Center for Teaching Quality website (http://www.teachingquality.org/content/why-i-no-longer-use-bellringers). Some of the comments are quite telling.

(1) Paul - impressed as always with your mindful erudition.  Twenty years ago when I took yoga teacher training with Tom Sherman, and would see your Mom in some of the other yoga sessions I shared with Tom, we learned about mindfulness meditation.  I do my yoga asanas every day but only occasionally do I remember to practice a true mindfulness meditation.  Practicing this with your students for 3-5 minutes is not only brilliant on your part, but it allows the students to practice "Nothing."

(2) I've heard of programs in several California districts that have formalized yoga instruction and seen significant academic and behavioral improvements from the mind/body connection that is encouraged. 

(3) I read some comments on the Oprah/Deepok meditation site awhile back and a classroom teacher was using their meditations in her classroom and calling it "Inner Peace" time.  Whenever they ran out of time and not be able to do it, the kids would ask her, "Hey! What about Inner Peace time!!!"

(4) My question is this: How are you able to do this without violating the establishment clause  of the constitution? Obviously the practice of mindfulness is a part of yoga, which is rooted in, and is an important part of the Hindu religion. So, isn’t  leading you class in in the practice of mindfulness tantamount to teaching the Hindu religion?
“We must remember that the roots to modern day yoga comes (sic)  from Vedic Yoga.  The same Vedic Yoga that is the authority of Hinduism.” http://creative.sulekha.com/there-is-no-christian-yoga_184977_blog
Would it be okay for me to begin my classes with “Our Father who art in heaven…?”
I’m certain that if I did I would be written up for doing something that I consciously knew was against the law, as well I should be. So, how is teaching impressionable students components of Hinduism any different. Is it simply because most of the population is ignorant to the religious implications of such a practice?

Mr. Barnwell responded: To implicate stress reduction and breathing exercises as an establishment clause issue is a major stretch, since this type of voluntary practice has never been deemed religious by the US Court System.  The practice isn’t mandatory.  The practice is science.

2. Mindfulness was featured in Education Week-Teacher
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/11/05/ctq_bohstedt_mindfulness.html?tkn=SQSD5yJdkxotaQwBIvZC7rIt0%2FhV4StYaWUY&intc=es

3. The Mindfullness in the Schools Project admits the Buddism connection:

Mindfulness is said to have originated in Buddhist thinking and meditation practice over two and a half thousand years ago. Its original purpose was to address and relieve self-induced suffering caused by the dysfunctional ways people habitually tend to respond to their experience…Over the last 30 years, mindfulness has become secularised and simplified to suit a Western context. (emphasis in the original) http://mindfulnessinschools.org/mindfulness/

4. MindUP is a related program which is demonic deception in the classroom. Occult meditation is now common practice for kids even in K-2, in thousands of public schools and is being wedded to   Common Core curriculum. Originally used in special needs schools, “ MindUP ” and it’s Core Practice of “ Mindfulness ” is now expanding to all U.S. schools with curiculum for K through 8th grades. MindUP is nothing more than occult/ new age meditation; specifically a Buddhist/ Catholic contemplative hybrid – secularized and camouflaged by allegedly scientific brain research. It is simply using occult practices to effect behavior modification in children…MindUP was allegedly developed by new age actress Goldie Hawn’s Hawn Foundation:  http://thehawnfoundation.org/about-us   Goldie Hawn is a disciple of the Tibetian Buddhist teacher known as the Dali Lama. She is also a follower of Occult teacher Eckhart Tolle and likely a member of Tolle’s Hollywood New Age group, G.A.T.E. or   The Global Alliance for Transformational Entertainment.
(http://emergentwatch.com/2014/06/07/mindup-demonic-deception-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-133) BE SURE TO WATCH THE FIRST VIDEO THERE (ESPECIALLY AT 8:03)!! THE FIRST THREE MINUTES OF THE SECOND VIDEO WILL BE REMINDED OF WHY I GRIEVE FOR OUR CHILDREN.

5. MeMovesis a program in public schools used to calm children. The promoters “believe the neurological foundation for MeMoves results are based in Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory…at its core, MeMoves is really a tool for the heart.”
(http://thinkingmoves.com/toolForTheHeart.html) A teacher’s testimonial: “My class LOVES MeMoves! They ask for it if I forget. We've been using it when they first come in, and as they enter from recesses. Instead of running in, they come in quickly and get started. When it's done, I keep my tone quiet and ask them to have a seat on the mat so we can start our lesson. Transition time heaven! I've had several teachers stop by and even join in (it's hard not to).” (http://thinkingmoves.com/index.html)

Porges admits that "The polyvagal theory legitimates the study of age-old collective and religious practices such as communal chanting, various breathing techniques, and other methods that cause shifts in autonomic state". (Page xvi of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation)

Compromised Christians, who embrace this theory, say, “Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of hesychasm and Eastern Orthodox Christian worship practices upon the growth of human compassion” and “What I have found even more significant is what Porges stated in one of his interviews regarding the specific manner in which the mind communicates with the ‘viscera’, which I feel is the equivalent of what the fathers have identified as the ‘heart’, and it makes me recall their teachings regarding specific breathing techniques and focusing upon an area within ones (sic) own chest while practicing the Jesus prayer. The similarities are definitely uncanny.”
(http://www.christianforums.com/t7814496/)

In a journal article Porges claimed (emphasis added) “The evolution of the autonomic nervous system provides an organizing principle to interpret the adaptive significance of physiological responses in promoting social behavior. According to the polyvagal theory, the well-documented phylogenetic shift in neural regulation of the autonomic nervous system passes through three global stages, each with an associated behavioral strategy…The third stage, unique to mammals, is characterized by a myelinated vagus that can rapidly regulate cardiac output to foster engagement and disengagement with the environment. The mammalian vagus is neuroanatomically linked to the cranial nerves that regulate social engagement via facial expression and vocalization. As the autonomic nervous system changed through the process of evolution, so did the interplay between the autonomic nervous system and the other physiological systems that respond to stress…From this phylogenetic orientation, the polyvagal theory proposes a biological basis for social behavior and an intervention strategy to enhance positive social behavior. (The polyvagal theory: phylogenetic substrates of a social nervous system. International Journal of Psychophysiology. 2001 Oct;42(2):123-46. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11587772)

In another journal Porges posited that (emphasis added) “The polyvagal theory…is dependent on accumulated knowledge describing the phylogenetic transitions in the vertebrate autonomic nervous system. Its specific focus is on the phylogenetic shift between reptiles and mammals that resulted in specific changes to the vagal pathways regulating the heart. As the source nuclei of the primary vagal efferent pathways regulating the heart shifted from the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus in reptiles to the nucleus ambiguus in mammals, a face–heart connection evolved with emergent properties of a social engagement system that would enable social interactions to regulate visceral state…Central nervous system regulation of visceral organs is the focus of several historic publications that have shaped the texture of physiological inquiry. For example, in 1872 Darwin acknowledged the dynamic neural relationship between the heart and the brain: . . .when the heart is affected it reacts on the brain; and the state of the brain again reacts through the pneumo-gastric [vagus] nerve on the heart; so that under any excitement there will be much mutual action and reaction between these, the two most important organs of the body. (Darwin C. The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals. D Appleton; New York, NY: 1872.)…The polyvagal theory proposes that the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system provides the neurophysiological substrates for adaptive behavioral strategies. It further proposes that physiological state limits the range of behavior and psychological experience. The theory links the evolution of the autonomic nervous system to affective experience, emotional expression, facial gestures, vocal communication, and contingent social behavior.” (Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. Apr 2009; 76 (Suppl 2): S86–S90. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108032/#R1)

Video of MeMoves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-jsANL_J84&app=desktop

6. “Mindfulness helps teens cope with stress, anxiety”
(Karl’s comment: The photos sure look like prayer poses.)

SNIPS:

As the morning school bell rings and students rush through crowded corridors, teenagers in one Portland classroom settle onto mats and meditation pillows. They fall silent after the teacher taps a Tibetan "singing bowl."

The students are enrolled in a for-credit, year-long mindfulness class meant to ease youth anxiety and depression and to prevent violence. For 90 minutes, three days a week, they practice a mix of yoga, sitting and walking meditation, visualization techniques, deep breathing, journaling and non-judgmental listening.

The school district in South Burlington, Vermont, implemented a successful mindfulness course as part of a health and wellness program, and now administrators there have written a manual on incorporating mindfulness into K-12 curriculums.

The class is the brainchild of Morgan, who trained at a Zen Buddhist monastery for eight years and opened a meditation center in Sacramento. After moving to Portland two years ago, Morgan started her program Peace in Schools and teamed up with Allyson Copacino, who teaches yoga to children.

http://www.wtoc.com/story/27522185/mindfulness-helps-teens-cope-with-stress-anxiety

7. See the April 21, 2008 “Yoga Should be Left out of Schools”.

8. New Age “Mindfulness” is plugged in Business Insider (http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-practice-mindfulness-meditation-2015-4) and by Apples’ Steve Jobs (http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-steve-jobs-trained-his-own-brain.html).

9. From Harvard neuroscientist: Meditation not only reduces stress, here’s how it changes your brain: “Mindfulness is just like exercise. It’s a form of mental exercise, really. And just as exercise increases health, helps us handle stress better and promotes longevity, meditation purports to confer some of those same benefits.” One of the few rebuttal comments: “ John Kabet Zinn is now a board member of the Dalai Lama's Mind and Life Institute, this is a huge movement that has now merged with the Insight Theravada Buddhists, the Zen Buddhists etc. They refer to themselves as Three Streams merging. Buddhocracy for the future. That is what the Dalai Lama's Kalachakra Wheel of Time empowerments, that he has given 5 times in this country, is all about, shifting the world into a Buddhocracy. He may have been non-affiliated at one time with Tibetan Buddhism but no more, they are all under the Dalai Lama's umbrella, now so are the New Agers like Barbara Marx Hubbard who channels Christ, and Jean Housten who channels animals. This is a huge movement of all the Buddhist groups, and the New Agers, together, now including the Course in Miracles bunch. to as they say, shift the world into 'secular spirituality' which is no such thing, it is not secular, it is being now spearheaded by a ninth century andocentric priesthood, misogynistic priesthood of obsessed lamas with building out their temples and centers for their occult religion called Tibetan Buddhism which is really Lamaism and is now affiliated with Communist China who is merging Tibetan Lamas with Han Buddhism there. They have all joined forces, check out the Board members of the Mind and Life Institute and their goals. Jon Kabet-Zinn, is connected with this movement now. See wikipedia for his board affiliation, All of them are connected with the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan Lamaism, This is a huge movement, for the same reason that Communist China and its billionaires are embracing Tibetan Buddhist Lamas there: To quell the masses into a state of never complaining and being good team players…This is a merging of science and religion by stealth, something the Lamas are experts at, that and duping westerners into believing they presided over Shangri-lai”

10. A program that promotes social and emotional learning-peppered with mindfulness and kindness exercises-called MindUP. Developed by Goldie Hawn's foundation, it adds to a growing research literature that’s showing, actually, these kinds of programs and practices increase academic gains.
http://www.schoolleadership20.com/forum/topics/mindfulness-exercises-improve-kids-math-scores-by-mandy-oaklander

11. From an EdWeek article (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/leadership_360/2015/07/integrating_mindfulness_into_education.html): (In 2015) “ we've witnessed an incredible surge of interest in integrating mindfulness into education supported by numerous organizations.  Mindful Schools, has trained thousands of educators across all 50 U.S. states and more than 60 countries. In turn, the teachers we've trained have shared mindfulness practices with more than 300,000 students. Tim Ryan, a US Congressman from Ohio and Mindful Schools Advisory Board member, has called for the integration of mindfulness throughout our educational system…Evolutionary pressures have forged a nervous system that is sensitized to threats. Even when we have 'downtime', we do our best to imagine steps we can take to avoid risk and maximize pleasure and security. Consequently, life can feel as if we should  always  be worrying about  something.”  

12. Should Christians Do Yoga?

Once a Christian gets involved in yoga, they are proof in themselves at what a deception it truly is. Sometimes you wonder if they had to choose between God and yoga if they would rather have yoga.

Obviously, God made us, and He made us with a purpose in mind. There is nothing evil or wicked about stretching, breathing, exercising. All of these should belong to Him long before anyone makes an argument in favor of yoga for these reasons. Christians defend yoga for the shallowest reasons. Try to use the same logic for anything other than yoga, and no believer would think it was valid.

Let's try a few:

I know my t-shirt says that there is no god and Christians are going to hell, but to me it is just a t-shirt. I know the truth no matter what my shirt says

I think of Bible verses when I am robbing a grocery store, so its not theft to me

I'm not placing false idols in my house, I just like decorating the place with Buddhas because they match my decor

But, she was a Christian psychic!

I pray every day and go to church on Sundays, but practicing white magic changed my life so I know God wouldn't ask me to stop

I keep my life as a serial killer completely separate from my faith

Hmmm... what about this one:

My parents told me to obey the teacher and to get good grades, so doing mindfulness centering prayer and answering correctly that there is no god but Allah weren't un-Christian of me; I was honoring my mother and my father!

I don't know if anyone on your list is sitting on the fence about yoga, but I would beg them to read from that link above and understand that God really meant it when He said to love Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds, and to place NO god before Him. Wouldn't a few pounds lost or better flexibility be a petty reason to go to hell?

By: Michael

The Christian ALTERNATIVE to Yoga!

13. I found this item on 9-26-16: “Mindfulness is all the rage these days. Schools across the world are embracing mindfulness as an antidote for rising stress, emotional regulation, and attention deficit. Moreover, evidence is mounting for the positive impact of mindfulness-based interventions on each of the major Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Core Competencies.”
(http://www.insectman.us/misc/creation/common-thread-mindfulness.htm)

A friend made this commentary (The bold font is mine): “ SO so crucial for Christians to open their eyes to this.

“I ask: if they can provide statistics and show tons of proof of how many kids perform better on tests, behave better in class, and even in situations where they no longer need counselling or certain behavioral medications (they shouldn't have needed to begin with), should parents automatically support that program regardless of what it is?

“It is going to be easy for science and behavioral psychology to stand behind this religion because of the measurable benefits that can come from it. But, all of the creators of these programs chuckle at how easy it is to get the West to adopt their religion and their gods. It is no different than the educators and researchers with their Masters in Islamic studies writing the entirety of new history books that slam Jesus as a 1st century political activist and praise Allah and his prophet as the one true religion with all their contributions. These mindful programs are popping up in every industry, corporations, schools, and everyone is being forced to take part for job performance, and I can almost guarantee it will become central in OSHA and other aspects of industry. 

“We are in satan's time of great deception, whether this is the end or a long dress rehearsal. Please, I beg please, if you know Christian parents with their kids in these spiritual death traps they call P-20 (it is no longer K-12!), please warn them about the dangers of mindfulness, centering prayer, and yoga. You get plenty of great physical, chemical, emotional, and spiritual benefits from running a lap or riding a bike and stretching and deep breathing, things GOD made, without having to empty yourself and let demons come wandering in.”

14. From an article on replacing PE (physical education) with this religion SEL (Social Emotional Learning):

“The CSP borrows some language and poses familiar to those who practice yoga, but it avoids that word. Yoga implies a spiritual practice that would be inappropriate in a secular setting, says Alexis Harris, CSP’s on-the-ground project director and a research assistant professor at UVA. What they do, Dr. Harris says, is mindful movement.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/EqualEd/2016/1005/Louisville-s-experiment-Can-teaching-empathy-boost-math-scores

15. BE SURE TO SEE

(1) Catching Butterflies by children’s literature expert, Debbie DeGroff.

(2) Social-Emotional Learning and SpiritualityNovember 5, 2014 article

(3) #84. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

16. Mindfulness/mediation made to appear beneficial by claiming the practice helps PTSD ( post-traumatic stress disorder) as shown by a June 28, 2016 Charleston Gazette-Mail article. Such claims use studies published in scientific journals.

17. See the March 31 news entry at http://www.insectman.us/exodus-mandate-wv/news-2008.htm and the 12-5 item at http://insectman.us/exodus-mandate-wv/news-2015.htm.

18. The first attempt to insert the religion of Hinduism into West Virginia (and perhaps the nation’s) public schools occurred in 1974. Details of that event are recorded on pages 34-37 of Protester Voices—The 1974 Textbook Tea Party. James Moffett’s Houghton Mifflin Interaction series contained seven of the eight vile books that were quickly rejected by the Kanawha County Board of Education at the outbreak of the Great Textbook War. Later, in his book about the incident (Storm in the Mountains) Moffett expressed his anger at the rejection of “the program on which I had spent over three years of full time work and which I had expected to spiritualize some of public education.” He also defended his attempt to insert yoga into the schools via his textbooks. He “quoted from a New Age spiritual master before concluding, in his last paragraph, that we are evolving in consciousness through Darwin, Marx, and Freud to ‘higher truths’ but we cannot obtain those ‘higher truths’ through literally believing the Bible. Instead the ‘individual consciousness partakes of cosmic consciousness and so achieves that direct and full knowledge called gnosis.’ (Gnosis is spiritual knowledge of a mystically enlightened human being.)” (pgs. 93-94 emphasis added)

19. A good resource on New Age religion, from a former New Ager, is Christian Answers for the New Age.

20. Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

4 Tips for Teaching Students SEL Skills As a long time educator I can unequivocally say this is serious stuff.  It is what has replaced the tiny bit of Judea-Christian element of government schools.  I saw the beginning of it a teacher workshop in the late 1990s.  As a result, I wrote "Religion Rules in Kanawha County Schools."

Step 1 is the root of the demonic religion with a nice sounding name--mindfulness. 

From EDUTOPIA (whose mission is "transforming K-12 education...") you see another nice sounding education strategy known as Restorative Circles A technique for proactively building the skills and relationships students will need when challenges arise. Watch one of these circles in a 5-6 grade class.  Note the implications! Do you see the New Age religion aspects?

Of course, they will base their actions upon “scholarly research” such as “The Effectiveness of School-Based Mental Health Services for Elementary-Aged Children: A Meta-Analysis”

From friends:

"Social-emotional learning"?  There's certainly none of the traditional kind going on the government indoctrination system centers.  "11% better achievement" for participants?  That just means it preps them "better" for their all-out brainwashing and turning into the kind of (straight A) revolutionary street-thug useful idiots we're seeing in all the anti-God-give-rights demonstrations all over the "country" these days.  I'm not surprised the results are quantifiable.

I hope that many examine the restorative circles part, as most are unfamiliar with this. There are many YouTube videos demonstrating this practice. A frequently taught middle school book is Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen.  I have read the first one.  This book sways many.  There is also a sequel which I did buy, but haven't read yet.  It is called Circle Justice in this book and is based on Native American Indian protocol.

21. Yoga is Religion !!!!!!!!!!

22. Some Meditation Practices Can Be Scary

23. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), one of the leading outfits promoting SEL…the very term “social and emotional learning” was developed during a meeting held at the Fetzer Institute…(The) Fetzer Institute is just the tip of a massive iceberg. Indeed, the New Age institute boldly proclaims that its primary mission is “spiritual,” supposedly aimed at helping build a new “spiritual foundation” for a “loving world.” This spiritual foundation, though, is not Christian, or anything remotely compatible with Christianity or Judeo-Christian principles. Rather, it is based on the occult New Age teachings of individuals such as Lucifer Publishing Company founder Alice Bailey, self-proclaimed herald of the “Maitreya” world teacher Benjamin Creme, and other “gurus.”… Fetzer was such a zealous disciple of Bailey, who claimed to receive special revelations from spirits known as “Ascended Masters,” that he would host sessions at the institute where Bailey's “Great Invocation” would be recited.

Bailey long expressed a special interest in the education of children. In her book “Education in the New Age,” Bailey's supposed “Ascended Masters” revealed that the coming world government she predicted would synthesize Marxism with neo-Scholasticism through a process achieved using the educational methods pioneered by socialist John Dewey, the “founding father” of progressive education. Bailey's spiritual entities also told of a coming global religion.

Plenty of powerful individuals and organizations aside from SEL peddlers have seized on these ideas. United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Robert Muller even based his “World Core Curriculum” on the teachings of Bailey and her “Ascended Masters,” he admitted in the forward to the curriculum's teachers manual.

Values being taught using SEL are very much in line with Bailey, Muller, and other peddlers of New Age progressive views, too. Everything from globalism and social justice to leftwing politics are being marketed to children under the guise of SEL, as its promoters openly admit.
https://freedomproject.com/blog/2020/09/21/occult-roots-of-social-emotional-learning