$1 Million To Teach Kids Raisin Meditation?

by ~ The Rebel ~ Posted 2012/07/15 21:52:20

Related Topics: Democrat, Amazon, Exercise, Student, Amazon.com, Eating, District, Voters, Ohio, Ryan, Meditation, Campaign

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Ohio Democrat Secured A
$1 Million Earmark To Teach Kids To Meditate With Raisins

It's no
secret that plenty of political figures use a book as a way to introduce
themselves to voters before a campaign. However, I think we’d be hard pressed to
find a politician selling a book that describes how one stares at a raisin to
gain a greater appreciation of self.

Congressman Tim Ryan, about a week after making it known he was interested in running for Governor, has chosen this as his introduction to Ohio’s voters. His book, A Mindful Nation, discusses his interest in the idea of “mindfulness” and it’s applications to daily life.

A Cleveland Plain Dealer article goes into more detail, but the idea of staring at a raisin comes from one of the first exercises behind this way of thinking. A student gazes at a raisin and holds it to their lips without eating it. Tthen they squeeze the raisin to hear its sound. By the time they actually eat the raisin, they are aware of all of the sensory urges that it elicits. Apparently the awareness is the lesson.

I’m not debating whether “mindfulness” is good or bad, because I frankly don’t care. I’m just surprised that he thinks the study and teaching of this style of thinking is more important than saving jobs in his district.