The History of Halloween

9 Reasons to Avoid Perms and Relaxers

Perms and relaxers have been a long-time favorite of African American women promising silky straight hair for difficult to manage locks, but this beauty regimen comes at a high price – hair breakage, scalp irritation, stunted hair growth, and even permanent hair loss. Discover the top 10 reasons to avoid perms and relaxers and why you should stay away from them at all costs.

We all know there is an obvious difference between ‘black’ hair and other cultures. Some say kinky hair is a gift – you can wear it in so many different ways, but others call it a curse and have made the decision to permanently change the texture of their hair with the use of chemicals. I said permanently because once you add chemical relaxers or perms to your hair it is changed forever. There is no way to get back the natural wave pattern, even if you let the perm grow out. This is why the ‘older generations’ of African American women frown upon relaxing children’s hair. They say it will stunt their hair growth and ruin their hair forever. Well, the same it true for adult hair.

Before we review the top 10 list, let’s talk about the difference between perms and relaxers. A perm makes hair curly. This is also called a “Jerry Curl,” or “texturizer,” and used by African American men and women to create ‘waves’ on a short hair style. A relaxer, straightens the hair transforming the original curl pattern by loosening or relaxing the kinky texture. This is where the evolution of your hair takes place changing it from its original natural state to a lifelong process of having to reapply chemicals to maintain the same look each time causing more damage to your hair.

As odd as it sounds, the relaxer was actually invented by an African American man trying to create a product for a sewing machine shop back in 1910. He wiped his hand on a wool cloth and found that the chemical gave the cloth a smooth appearance. This must have been some kind of strong chemical to turn a cloth into a different texture. Did you know that this is the same chemical used to make drain cleaners to unclog sinks? It is even used to remove fur from animals in the leather making industry. And this is the same chemical that you want to apply to your precious hair? Are you really willing to risk the damage resulting from the use of chemical hair straighteners?


9. Hair Breakage



If you think using no lye relaxers are less damaging than those containing lye, think again. There are two basic types of chemical hair relaxers – Sodium Hydroxide (relaxers containing lye) and Guanidine Hydroxide (relaxers containing no lye). The manufacturers of these products want you to believe that no-lye relaxers will not damage your hair. This is simply not true.
The truth is those stunning pictures you see on the relaxer kits of black women with silky smooth hair are usually individuals who already have a good grade of hair. Don’t be fooled into thinking a mere $10 for a home relaxer kit will give you the same look; it is not that simple. There is only one full proof method to avoid hair breakage from chemical relaxers and that is to avoid them. Relaxers permanently alter the natural pH balance and chemical breakdown of your hair. This process weakens each strand of hair. Hair breakage and scalp irritation are common side effects from relaxing or perming your hair and is not a solution for hair that is damaged despite what you may have heard.

Let’s discuss a natural remedy for hair breakage using egg yolk and olive oil treatment. Applying one egg yolk and two tablespoons of olive oil to your hair while showering and rinsing with a mild shampoo is a home remedy that will help with hair breakage. You can use this remedy once a week and see a decrease in hair breakage. No chemicals, no burns; just positive results.

8. Hair Thinning

Hair thinning is inventible with applying chemicals. What we believe to be improving our hair is actually causing irreversible damage. Many women think leaving the relaxer in a little longer, or ‘getting the edges’ a little straighter by smoothing it down with a fine toothed comb will give them the look they want. Well, the truth is, this overprocessing is causes more damage resulting in thinning hair, especially around the natural hairline. You see women all the time with thinning ‘edges,’ and while there may other logical causes for this, it is a clear sign of the damage chemical hair straightening can cause.

An easy fix is don’t use a chemical agent to try to thicken your thin hair; try oat flour. Two little tablespoons added to your regular conditioner will thicken thinning hair. Oat flour can be found at your local grocery store or health food store and costs far less expensive than over the counter beauty products.

7. Permanent Hair Loss]



Permanent hair loss is not uncommon with the use of chemical hair strengtheners. What starts out as a burn and turns into a scab can ultimately end up being a permanent bald spot where your hair does not grow back. This is frustrating, not to mention embarrassing as you try to cover up the unsightly area. Permanent hair loss can also start out with an area of thinning and as time goes on the hair continues to fall out. The likelihood of permanent hair loss is increased with the use of hot combs, curling irons, and hair that is pulled tight by hair rollers.

Instead of applying harsh chemicals, try a natural method to straighten your hair. As crazy at it sounds fresh coconut can gradually straighten those kinky locks without the fear of damaging your hair. You simply blend fresh coconut with lime and refrigerate. This will create a creamy mixture. Rub this on your scalp and cover with a hot towel for about an hour and rinse with a mild shampoo. If you do this three times a week you will notice the kinks start to straighten out.

6. Frizzy hair



Frizzy hair is a result of dry hair. This can be caused by a number of things – lack of moisturizer, infrequent or too frequent washing, lack of conditioning, or use of a perm or relaxer. Black hair does not take well to overconditioning. It can leave the hair flat and unable to hold a curl. Perms and relaxers do not help with frizzy hair; they only add to the problem creating dry brittle ends that lead to hair breakage. Flat irons and hair curlers only add to the problem.

Let’s go with a natural method to prevent the frizzies. Create a rinse of apple cider or vinegar and lemon (1 ounce to 1 quart of water). Since acidity helps restore the ph balance and tames the hair shaft by closing the cuticle, applying after shampooing is a natural way to get rid of frizziness without damaging your hair. The best thing about this remedy is that you probably already have it in your kitchen.

5. Scalp Irritation/Burns



Leaving perms and relaxers on too long can case scalp irritation or burns. The problem is only worsened by using additional products containing alcohol such as hair gels or sprays. Alcohol-containing hair products can aggravate the affected area causing slow healing, further irritation, or permanent scalp damage.

Treating scalp irritation should include removing dirt and oil from the affected area with a gentle shampoo and conditioning the hair. Applying antiseptic ointment to the area will help the healing process. Remember not to scratch or further irritate the area.

4. Split Ends



Your hair is made up of layers. The outer layer protects the hair shaft. When layer of protection is damaged with the use of chemical relaxers this causes the ends of your hair to split. This damage can travel up the hair shaft and cause hair breakage resulting in damaged uneven hair. Some say just trim the ends, but the truth is, perms and relaxers actually promote split ends. They dry the ends of your hair and wear down the protective layer. While trimming your hair is recommended with or without a perm, think of how much hair you are destroying each time you get a perm or even a touch-up. If you are trying to grow your hair long, you are fighting a losing battle with the use of chemicals.


3. Dry Brittle Hair




We all know that chemicals dry out your hair. This is not a secret. The makers of these hair products try to sell a dream and too many African American women buy into it to the tune of billions of dollars each year being spent. As their pockets get bigger, more and more consumers end up with damaged hair. This only means more money in their pockets as they (the companies) advertise different remedies to help restore the damage that their products have caused in the first place.

Not everyone has bought into this pipe dream though; many African Americans are going back to their natural roots with dreadlocks and natural kinky twist hair styles. Even the ‘afro’ has made a come back and it looks stunning. You need to know that chemicals do not repair dry brittle hair; they create it. If going straight is a must for you there are natural ways to get this look without applying chemical hair straighteners.

2. Scalp infection



Scalp infection as a result of perms and relaxers not so uncommon. There are several cases where consumers have filed lawsuits against the manufactures after using their products. In fact, some women are left with permanent bald spots due to scalp infection after the use of chemical hair straighteners requiring medical treatment. This is not the look that you want to achieve with the use of chemical straighteners; however, it may very well be the end result.


1. Respiratory (Breathing)/Gastrointestinal (Stomach) Problems




As strange as it sounds respiratory problems can occur from using perms and relaxers. Potassium hydroxide, also called ‘potassium lye’ is a very strong chemical and inhaling the chemical may cause coughing, sneezing, and breathing problems. If exposed to for long periods it is strong enough to cause damage to your lungs.

Ingesting potassium hydroxide can be equally damaging resulting in burns to the mouth and/or throat, vomiting, severe stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and even death.

The effects of using perms and relaxers sound dangerous and it is; not just to your hair but to your overall health. Imagine something you apply to your hair having so many side effects – is having straight hair really worth the risk?

While the pictures of silky shiny straight hair are enticing, the health risks are overwhelming and not advertised nearly as much as they should be. Hair breakage, going bald, stunted hair growth, scalp infection, thinning hair, respiratory and GI problems – seems like a big price to pay for having straight hair. Consider natural alternatives to hair straightening or even going natural with braids, twists, or locks. Look good and feel good inside and out without the risk of permanent hair damage from the use of perms and relaxers.

America’s New Slavery: Black Men in Prison

A new American slave trade is booming, warn prison activists, following the release of a report that again outlines outrageous numbers of young Black men in prison and increasing numbers of adults undergoing incarceration. That slave trade is connected to money states spend to keep people locked up, profits made through cheap prison labor and for-profit prisons, excessive charges inmates and families may pay for everything from tube socks to phone calls, and lucrative cross country shipping of inmates to relieve overcrowding and rent cells in faraway states and counties.

Advocates note that the constitution’s 13th amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery in the United States, but provided an exception—in cases where persons have been “duly convicted” in the United States and territory it controls, slavery or involuntary servitude can be reimposed as a punishment, they add. The majority of prisoners are Black and Latino, though they are minorities in terms of their numbers in the population.

According to “One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008,” published by the Pew Center on the States, one in nine Black men between the ages of 20-34 are incarcerated compared to one in 30 other men of the same age. Like the overall adult ratio, one in 100 Black women in their mid-to-late 30s is imprisoned.

“Everyone is feeding off of our down-trodden condition to feed their capitalism, greed and lust for money. They are buying prison stock on the market and this is why they want to silence the restorative voice of Minister Louis Farrakhan, because he is repairing those who fill and would support the prison system as slaves,” said Student Minister Abdullah Muhammad of the Nation of Islam Prison Ministry.

The report states that the rising trend stems from more than a parallel increase in crime or surge in the population at large, but it is driven by policies that put more criminals in prison, extending their stay through measures like California’s Three Strikes Law.

Atty. Barbara Ratliff, a L.A.-based reparations activist, said the prison industrial complex’s extension of the slave plantation plays out in a pattern of behavior that Black people must study in order to survive. “I’m not talking about behavior of the individual incarcerate, but the pattern of treatment that digs into institutional racism. Corporate profit from prisons is no different than how slave owners received benefit from their labor, and that impact remained even after slavery. For instance, freed Blacks were arrested and put on chain gangs for their labor which continued to benefit slave owners, so this is no accident,” she said.

Inmates produce items or perform services for almost every major industry. They sew clothes, fight fires and build furniture, but they are paid little or no wages, somewhere between five cents and almost $2.

Phone companies charge high amounts for collect calls and inmate care packages can no longer be sent from families directly. Inmates must purchase products from companies to be sent in, which feeds capitalism, activists charge.

Although the costs of prisons is skyrocketing and consuming state budgets, money continues to be spent to push more Black youth into prison, activists assert. Many education and prison advocates charge there is a plot to populate U.S. prisons based on the dumbing down of America’s youth. Figures show those most likely to be incarcerated and to return generally have the lowest level of education. The report said, “While states don’t necessarily choose between higher education and corrections, a dollar spent in one area is unavailable for another.”

U.S. spending on prisons last year topped $49 billion, compared to $12 billion in 1987. California spent $8.8 billion on prisons last year and 13 states spend more than $1 billion a year on corrections.



Data from the National Association of State Budget Officers indicates:

• Vermont, Michigan, Oregon, Connecticut and Delaware spent as much or more on corrections than on higher education;

• For every dollar spent on higher education, Alaska spent 77 cents on corrections;

• For every dollar spent on higher education, Georgia spent 50 cents on corrections;

• On the average, all 50 states spent 60 cents on corrections for every dollar spent on higher education; and

• For every dollar spent on higher education, Minnesota spent 17 cents on corrections.

Between 1985 and 2005, Texas’ prison population alone jumped by 300 percent.

“All we have to do is follow the logic to see this connection between prisons and enslavement. When you look at prison costs and they say it cost $45,000 to house one prisoner, where does that break down? There’s only three square meals a day. The prisoners make their clothes and bedding in sewing factories and about 90 percent of the items they use in the prisons,” said Nathaniel Ali of the National Association of Brothers and Sisters In and Out of Prison (NABSIO).

He believes the majority of prison costs support guard unions and pay enormous base and overtime salaries of prison guards and other staff.

“They receive these exorbitant wages regardless of their education and training. You don’t have an I.Q.; all you have to have is the ability to be brutal” to command these wages through this new slave system, he said.

Mr. Ali said the public school system has become the feeder to prisons and their slave populations by increasing the heavy presence of school police and sheriffs on middle school campuses and penalties students face for often trivial offenses, other activists added.

Prison watch groups note corporate-owned prisons feed job-starved communities where businesses have disappeared. By incarcerating so many people, America deals with warehousing them and not finding out why they are incarcerated in the first place, advocates said.

“The fact is, it’s a business and a readily accessible, ‘free’ workforce removes prisons’ incentive to rehabilitate, especially those that are owned by corporations,” Atty. Ratliff said.

Laini Coffee, a self-described “unity activist” said, “At current trend, we could very well see the number of so-called free Blacks rival to the same number of those that are incarcerated. The answer is simple: Unity.”

Whatever happened to?

Whatever happened to trio Total?



Total was an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records during the mid-1990s.
New Jersey R&B trio Total made their first appearance singing the hook on The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut single, "Juicy". Garnering attention for the new group, they were also featured on the original version and "Hip Hop Remix" of his next single "One More Chance". They then immediately hit the studio with Bad Boy Records CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs and began work on their debut album. The first single "Can't You See?", had The Notorious B.I.G. returning the favor with a guest rhyme. Despite collaboration with their now big-star labelmate and the track's appearance on the "New Jersey Drive Soundtrack", the single only peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100. It did however enter the top ten of the R&B Charts and after their self-titled debut album was released shortly thereafter, they produced four more R&B top ten singles, "No One Else" (and its remix featuring Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Da Brat) and '"Kissing You" (and its remix featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs). The album was certified platinum by the RIAA.



Currently
Keisha Spivey married actor Omar Epps in 2004 and is living in California. They have daughter K'marie(July 2004) and son Amir(Dec 2007)together; as well as Omar's daughter Aiyanna from a previous relationship.
Pamela Long still lives in New Jersey. She is also a member of Agape Family Worship Center in Rahway, NJ. Pam is also working on a new album project entitled "Undeniable" coming out soon in 2011. Her website is www.pamelalongonline.com.
A track by Kima featuring her sister, rapper Vita, called "What U Want", also recently leaked.
As of 2008, Total have no interest in pursuing to reband.

Whatever happened to?

Whatever happened to R&B group TLC?



TLC is an American R&B girl group, originally consisting of lead singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Although originally conceived as "2nd Nature", the group's name was later changed to "TLC" by their manager before they were signed to LaFace Records in 1991.[4]

The group achieved commercial success following the release of their debut album Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip, which was certified quadruple-platinum by the RIAA[5] and spawned the top-ten hits "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "Baby-Baby-Baby", and "What About Your Friends?". Their second album, CrazySexyCool (1994), is the only album by a female group to be awarded diamond certification by the RIAA, for selling over 11 million copies in the United States alone.[6] Two of the album's singles, "Creep"[7] and "Waterfalls",[8] topped the Billboard Hot 100. Despite their success, the members of TLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1995.[9]

In early 2002, just before the release of TLC's fourth album, 3D, Lopes was killed in a car accident in Honduras.[10] Watkins and Thomas promoted 3D as a duo, and in 2005, hosted a reality television show, R U the Girl, with a grand prize of a chance to record a song and perform once in concert with the surviving group members, both of whom have released solo material and continued to collaborate occasionally. In October 2009, Thomas and Watkins announced plans to record new material to be released "sometime soon".[11]

Billboard magazine ranked the group as one of the greatest musical trios of all time.[12] According to the RIAA, TLC are the biggest selling female group of all time in the United States with over 22 million albums sold. They have had four #1 singles, including "Creep", "Waterfalls", "No Scrubs",[13] and "Unpretty",[14] and have won four Grammy Awards.[15] The RIAA and Billboard cite that TLC has sold more than 50 million records world wide, making them the biggest selling R&B female group of all time.[16] In 2008, the group was inducted into the All Time Hot 100 Artist Hall of Fame by Billboard, at 56th place.[17]




Return (2008–present)
On June 24, 2008, Watkins and Thomas made a special appearance on the BET Awards. They, along with the original members of En Vogue and SWV, performed in Alicia Keys' tribute to girl groups. Watkins, Thomas, and Keys performed "Waterfalls".[27] TLC were also presenters at the BETJ Virtual Awards on November 25, 2008.

In March 2009, Watkins and Thomas announced plans to perform together in a concert series in Japan featuring seventeen of TLC's songs.[28] On August 25, 2009, it was announced that the group would perform at the Justin Timberlake and Friends benefit concert at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Events Center on October 17, 2009.[29] At the concert, Watkins announced that she and Thomas plan to record new material.[11] In July 2010, T-Boz and Chilli set out to Japan for several days to perform shows.

Whatever happened to?

Whatever happened to female emcie Monie Love?



Simone Wilson (born 2 July 1970), better known by her stage name Monie Love, is an English emcee and former radio personality in the United States. She was a well-respected figure in British hip hop, and made an impact with American hip hop audiences as a protégé of female American emcee Queen Latifah, as well as through her membership in the late 1980s/early 1990s Native Tongues. Love was one of the first BritHop artists to be signed and distributed worldwide by a major record label.



From 2004 until the week of 11 December 2006, Love was the morning drive host on Philadelphia's WPHI-FM 100.3. The 22 December 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Daily News confirmed that Love left WPHI-FM on amicable terms after contract negotiations stalled.[3] Love's departure from WPHI followed soon after her December 2006 interview with Young Jeezy, where the two argued over whether hip hop is dead.[4]

Love is also an Official MySpace.com DJ, according to her MySpace page.

Love currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is the single mother to four children.

Currently, she has a radio show on XM Satellite Radio called Ladies First Radio with Monie Love. It airs Thursdays 6PM ET and Sundays 8PM ET.

Whatever happened to?

Whatever happened to hip hop duo Kid N Play?

Kid 'n Play is a hip-hop and comedy duo from New York City that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher "Kid" Reid (born April 5, 1964 in The Bronx, New York City), Christopher "Play" Martin (born July 10, 1962 in Queens, New York City), working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond (born March 21, 1966 in Queens, New York City). Besides their successful musical careers, Kid 'n Play are also notable for branching out into acting.


After the duo
Reid continued acting, guest starring in a number of television sitcoms, including Sister, Sister, and hosting shows such as It's Showtime at the Apollo and Your Big Break. Martin became a born-again Christian, and devoted his time to working on Christian-based hip-hop music projects. He eventually took his industry experience and founded HP4Digital Works, a multimedia company that provides pre- and post-production for film, digital, and live theater productions.[1] He also founded Brand Newz, an online syndicated magazine focusing on positive community leaders and events. Martin became a professor at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina (where he now resides).[2] Martin was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards.[3] The duo is currently on a tour of the House Party anniversary aloing with other rappers such as Salt n Pepa

In 2009, State Farm released a commercial featuring LeBron James dancing to the music of Kid 'n Play.

In October 2009 the duo appeared on the BET Hip Hop Awards where they did their trademark dance. On Feb 9, 2010 the duo appeared on The Mo'Nique Show.

On June 23, 2010 the duo appeared on Lopez Tonight and performed 'Rollin' with Kid 'N Play' from their album, 2 Hype.

Whatever happened to?

Whatever happened to singer Mona Lisa?




Kimberly Ledbetter, known by her professional stage name, Mona Lisa, (born November 20, 1979) is a five-time Grammy-nominated American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, actress, model and record producer. She is best known for her debut single "Can't Be Wasting My Time" featuring the Hip-Hop group Lost Boyz, which was featured on the "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" soundtrack as well as her debut album 11-20-79. She also is known for her smash hit " Just Wanna Please You" featuring rapper Jadakiss.

NOW!
In 2009, she has since been at work on her long awaited second studio album, working with grammy award winning producer Jimi Kendrix. An entrepreneur, Mona Lisa has a partnership with Straight Paper/ Triple Beam Entertainment.

Positive Hip Hop

Hip hop music has evolved and changed since the 1970s and has encountered controversy along the way. Many people object to what they believe is the promotion of violence and misogyny in hip hop; however, that is only a small part of hip hop, and there are many positive effects hip hop provides to its listeners

Role Models
Hip hop artists serve as role models to youth from a diverse array of backgrounds. Many hip hop artists did not come from privileged backgrounds but showcase to youth that they can achieve their goals. There are many successful artists who are creative wordsmiths, but hip hop also creates a venue for musicians, fashion designers, publicists, club owners and producers.


History
Hip hop history begins in the early 1970s in New York City. This means that today's children have parents and even grandparents that grew up on hip hop. Hip hop evolves like any other art form, and this changing art form connects modern hip hop to older roots, which establishes a sense of community and artistic history. This is a positive effect for today's youth who can turn to older hip hop to see what issues previous generations have dealt with and then think about what has change, what has not and their own role in social change.

Some Positive Hip Hop Artists

KRS One (Social/Political/Spiritual/Economic)
De La Soul (Positive/Social)
Mos Def (Spiritual/Political/Social)
Dead Prez (Political/Social/Economic)
The Roots (Positive/Social)
Lauren Hill (Positive/Social)
Wyclef (Positive/Social)
Common (Spiritual/Social)
Paris (Political/Economic/Social)
Kam (Political/Economic/Social/Spiritual)
Talib Kweli (Positive/Social)
Afu-Ra (Spiritual/Social)
A Tribe Called Quest (Positive/Economic/Retro)

Oramed Pharmaceuticals To Present Results Of An Oral Insulin Administration Study At The Tenth Annual Meeting Of The Diabetes Technology Society

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCBB: ORMP.OB), a developer of oral drug delivery systems, announced today that its work entitled "Extended exposure to an oral insulin formulation yields decreased insulin secretion in Type II diabetes subjects," will be presented at the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Diabetes Technology Society, to be held in Bethesda, Maryland this November.

"The selection of Oramed as one of the companies to present at the Diabetes Technology Conference is a great opportunity for us to appraise the diabetes science community on the important progress we have made," said Nadav Kidron, Oramed CEO.

Oramed's poster will be presented on Thursday November 11, 2010, at 5:30 PM.

Forward-looking statements

Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including the risks and uncertainties related to the progress, timing, cost, and results of clinical trials and product development programs; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approval for our product candidates; competition from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies; and the company's ability to obtain additional funding required to conduct its research, development and commercialization activities. Please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a comprehensive list of risk factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of the company to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

A Fashion "no! no!"...

Skinny jeans for men are mos def a no no. What's next men walking around in leotards and walking around talkin bout, "This shit is hard, bout to go get me some Forces and a NY hat to go with this." Lord please no!




Is that a freakin dress from the movie White Chicks? IT was a joke on the movie let alone in the real world. Wow!




Britney Spears has officially just pissed me off with that outfit.

Around the World Fashion,,,

Fashion of India is also very colorful, but instead of loud and crazy their fashion consists of more soft colors...

Around the World Fashion,,,

Tokyo fashion is known for their choices of crazy, loud, fashionable, and bright colors...

Around the World Fashion,,,

Here is fashion from "The Mother Land", Africa...

Around the World Fashion,,,

My favorite place would be Paris. It is known as the "Fashion Capital".

Around the World Fashion,,,

We will start off with the fashion of Spain...

Al Reynolds, tea party Republican: "minority men find it more lucrative ...

10 Years of Study Data Finds African American Girls Benefit When They Eat Breakfast

The pathway to better health for teenage girls starts with the first meal of the day, and when they make a "good-for-me" choice their odds of having a healthier body weight and lower cholesterol improve. These are the latest peer-reviewed findings summarized in Public Health Nutrition. This analysis of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS) data was funded in part by the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition. The NGHS followed the diets of 2,379 girls who, at the beginning of the study, were between the ages of nine and 10 from 1987 to 1997; 51 percent, or 1,213, were African American girls and 1,166 were Caucasian girls who lived in Berkeley, CA, Cincinnati, OH and Washington, D.C.
Based on analysis of the girls' food diaries, breakfast cereal eaters tended to have lower waist-to-height ratios, which is an indicator of healthy body weight, lower total cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol. Previous findings from NGHS cited health benefits of eating breakfast related to lower BMI (findings released in 2005) and improved nutrition, higher milk consumption and increased physical activity (findings released in 2008).

One of the healthiest breakfast choices in the 10-year study was fortified ready-to-eat cereal, which helped boost the nutrient content in the girls' diets. Analyses of the study results identified that tween and teen girls who regularly ate cereal for breakfast -- relative to 24 other reported breakfast foods -- were less likely to be overweight, had healthier body weights and lower cholesterol. A recent report indicates that 24 percent of African American girls ages 12 to 17 are overweight, compared to 15 percent of white girls(1).

"As we look at the results of the study, it's important to communicate three primary points with girls and their parents or guardians," explained Susan Crockett, PhD., RD, F.A.D.A., Vice President and Senior Technology Officer, Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition. "First, breakfast is a must for better health. Second, choose foods that will nourish your body and help jumpstart your day. Third, fortified cereal is a convenient, wholesome choice."


"About half, or approximately 51 percent, of girls followed in the study were African-American, so there is a real purpose for reaching out directly to teen Black girls to help them understand the benefits that come with having breakfast," explained KeKe Palmer, I <3 BKFST spokesperson and teen actress and singer. "Starting the day right with a bowl of cereal topped with fruit, milk and a glass of orange juice is a smart choice--and one that more girls need to make. I'm asking girls to pledge on Facebook to eat breakfast--so they can help themselves and someone in need, too."

Palmer is encouraging teens, ages 14 to 17, to visit www.facebook.com/IHEARTBKFST as a step toward better health -- and to lend a helping hand to girls in need. I<3BKFST, translated as I HEART BREAKFAST, is designed to appeal to and help educate teens and their parents and guardians, and it borrows its name from the popular text symbol for love "<3." Teens can visit Facebook.com/IHEARTBKFST, where they can first "like" the IHEARTBKFST page, and then pledge to eat breakfast. In turn, General Mills will donate $0.25 for every pledge made through December 22, 2010 -- up to $10,000 and a minimum donation of $5,000 -- to Grace House, a foster home for girls in need located in Birmingham, AL.

"Encouraging healthier eating habits is every parent's responsibility, and given the body of evidence supporting the benefits of breakfast -- and breakfast cereal as a good choice -- we're clearly giving our girls a great advantage by reinforcing the importance of the first meal of the day," said Karol Watson, vice president, Association of Black Cardiologists and I <3 BKFST spokeswoman.

About General Mills

One of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates in more than 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Yoplait , Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Haagen-Dazs, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2010 global net sales of US$16 billion, including the company's $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales.

Question:

There is always a debate going on about the disadvantages you can find in the opposite sex. So now it's time to turn a negative into a positive. What is the best quality you can find in the opposite sex?

Question:

How important is spirituality? And if important what techniques are used to tap into your spiritual side?

Vices That Are Making College Students Go Broke

The college years are a wonderful time of self-discovery, self-awareness and self-reliance and these can be daunting to some people ill-equipped to handle the sudden freedom when they leave home to pursue their studies and further their growth as individuals. Sometimes that freedom comes with a terrible price – one which parents often wind up paying. Here are the top college student vices that are making you broke.

1. Poor Study Habits


This seemingly innocuous bad habit appears at first glance to be a minor irritant at best, one your child will outgrow eventually. But poor study habits lead to failed courses, even repeated semesters. When you consider the cost of college this bad habit can put you in the poor house before school’s out. You’d save money getting your child their own apartment and paying their expenses for a year while they contemplated their navels instead of sending them off to college to take the same courses again and again.

2. Drinking


A strong case could be made that this is the most expensive bad habit students get into once the ‘shackles’ are off. College drinking is legendary and can lead to a host of problems big, small and costly. Not only are college kids likely to spend all their money on beer (thus hitting you up for more) but drinking can lead to long-term addiction – the cost of which is not just measured by dollars and cents. Plus excessive drinking can lead to those costly poor study habits mentioned above.

3. Partying


Another staple of college life, partying is something of a rite of passage. But it can be a dangerous one as well as costly. Large groups of drunken teens are trouble waiting to happen. Property damage, arrests, trips to the emergency room to treat injuries from fighting, horseplay or stunts will break the bank while breaking your heart.

4. Drugs


Much like drinking, drug use on campus is a Pandora’s Box of woes just waiting to be unleashed. And the first 3 items on this list can lead your child down this dark road. Late night cramming, all-night partying, killer hangovers… can all send your child hunting for something to help them stay ‘up’ in class. The cost here could be your child’s soul.

5. Testing The Limits


College may be the first time your child has been free of parental supervision for a prolonged period of time, making it a time for him or her to test their limits, push the envelope and see what happens. The sad part here is that this is essential to their development while at the same time being costly to you and to them. Excessive speed while driving can wreck that car you bought them or worse, wreck them. Drinking and narcotics can lead to sexual indiscretions, unwanted pregnancies or sexually-transmitted diseases requiring treatment.

The First Black Cover Girl

Donyale Luna (January 1, 1945 - May 17, 1979) was the first notable African American fashion model and the first black cover girl. She also appeared in several films, most notably as the title role in Salome.

After being discovered by the photographer David McCabe, she moved from Detroit to New York City to pursue a modeling career. She became the first African American model to appear on the cover of Vogue (March 1966); earlier, she appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar (January 1965). For several years, she was under exclusive contract to the photographer Richard Avedon.

An article in Time magazine published on April 1, 1966, "The Luna Year", described the dramatically thin and tall (6' 2") model with the hallmark bright blue contact lenses and occasional blonde wig as "a new heavenly body who, because of her striking singularity, promises to remain on high for many a season. Donyale Luna, as she calls herself, is unquestionably the hottest model in Europe at the moment. She is only 20, a Negro, hails from Detroit, and is not to be missed."

In 1967, the mannequin manufacturer Adel Rootstein created a mannequin in Luna's image, a follow-up to her famous Twiggy mannequin of 1966.

Unprofessional behavior signalled the decline of Luna's career. As recalled by another black model who came to prominence toward the end of Luna's heyday, Beverly Johnson, Luna "doesn't wear shoes winter or summer. Ask her where she's from -- Mars? She went up and down the runways on her hands and knees. She didn't show up for bookings. She didn't have a hard time, she made it hard for herself."

Acting career

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Luna appeared in several films produced by Andy Warhol (including Camp) and Federico Fellini (Fellini Satyricon). She also appeared in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, the Otto Preminger comedy Skidoo (in which she was featured as the mistress of God, who was portrayed by Groucho Marx), and the British documentary Tonite Let's All Make Love in London. Salvador Dali considered her one of his favorite models.

Racial identity issues

According to Judy Stone, who wrote a profile of Luna for The New York Times in 1968, the model was "secretive, mysterious, contradictory, evasive, mercurial, and insistent upon her multiracial lineage -- exotic, chameleon strands of Mexican, American Indian, Chinese, Irish, and, last but least escapable, Negro."

Media interest in Luna's racial heritage seemed to cause her enormous discomfort and in interviews, she tended bristle when she was described as black or Negro. ("She's white, didn't you know?" a boyfriend told Stone.) When Stone asked her about whether her appearances in Hollywood films would benefit the cause of black actresses, Luna answered, "If it brings about more jobs for Mexicans, Chinese, Indians, Negroes, groovy. It could be good, it could be bad. I couldn't care less."

Drug use and death

In the late 1960s, in an interview, she expressed her fondness for LSD: "I think it's great. I learned that I like to live, I like to make love, I really do love somebody, I love flowers, I love the sky, I like bright colors, I like animals. [LSD] also showed me unhappy things -- that I was stubborn, selfish, unreasonable, mean, that I hurt other people."

Luna died in Rome, Italy, in a clinic, after a drug overdose.

First African-American Mayor of an American City

Robert Clayton Henry (July 16, 1921 - September 8, 1981) was mayor of Springfield, Ohio from 1966 to 1968. He was the first African-American mayor of an American city of any size, though this achievement is frequently overshadowed by fellow African American mayor Carl B. Stokes, who was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1967.[1]

Henry was born in Springfield, a son of Guy Henry and Nellie Reed. He attended Wittenberg University in Springfield and the Cleveland College of Mortuary Science in Cleveland, Ohio for his degree in mortuary studies. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Central State University in 1968.[2]

Henry was elected to Springfield's city commission in 1961, and began his term in January 1962. The commission then appointed him as the city's mayor in 1966, succeeding Maurice K. Baach, the city's first Jewish mayor. In 1968, he refused to run for re-election (his successor, Betty Brunk, was Springfield's first female mayor), but remained on the city commission. After finishing his term as mayor, Henry was selected as a member of a fact-finding commission to Vietnam by order of then-president, Lyndon Johnson, and later returned in 1970 under Richard M. Nixon to inspect non-military activities. In 1972, he was the Republican Party nominee for the 60th District seat in the Ohio House of Representatives, but lost in the general election.

Aside from a political career, Henry was also the owner and operator of the Robert C. Henry Funeral Home, founded in 1951. He also continued to serve as head of charity drives and numerous civic organizations in the Springfield area. He was honored by a parade and banquet in Springfield on Robert C. Henry Day during Black History Month. A fountain in downtown Springfield was dedicated to his memory, and a retirement home complex also bears his name.

Henry died in 1981 after a battle with cancer. His remains are interred in Ferncliff Cemetery Mausoleum.

Henry's former son-in-law, Tim Ayers, was also a member of Springfield's city commission, and later, mayor. All three of Henry's children currently reside in Springfield, where they continue to operate the funeral home that bears his name. It is one of, if not the only, second-generation African-American owned and operated businesses in Springfield.

First Black to Win Gold in an Individual Event

William DeHart Hubbard (born in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 25, 1903 - June 23, 1976) was a track and field athlete who was the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event; the running long jump at the 1924 Paris Summer games.

He subsequently set a long jump world record of 25 feet 10¾ inches (7.89 m) at Chicago in June 1925 and equaled the world record of 9.6 seconds for the 100-yard dash at Cincinnati, Ohio a year later.

He attended and graduated from Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, graduated with honors from the University of Michigan where he was a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association champion (1923 & 1925 outdoor long jump, 1925 100-yard dash) and seven-time Big Ten Conference champion in track and field (1923 & 1925 indoor 50-yard dash, 1923, 1924, & 1925 outdoor long jump, 1924 & 1925 outdoor 100-yard dash). His 1925 outdoor long jump of 25 feet 10½ inches (7.89 m) stood as the Michigan Wolverines team record until 1980, and it still stands second.[1][2] His 1925 jump of 25 feet 3½ inches (7.71 m) stood as a Big Ten Championships record until Jesse Owens broke it on with what is now the current record of 26 feet 8¼ inches (8.13 m) in 1935.[3]

He later served as a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Authority. He died in Cleveland in 1976. Hubbard was posthumously inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1979; he was part of the second class inducted into the Hall of Honor.[4] He was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.[5]

The First African-American Woman College Instructor

Sarah Jane Woodson Early (November 15, 1825 - August 1907) was an American educator, temperance activist and author. She was the first African-American woman college instructor.

In 1858 Woodson became the first African-American woman college instructor. She joined the faculty of Wilberforce University, established by white clergymen in collaboration with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). Wilberforce closed for two years during the Civil War. After its reopening, Ms. Woodson returned to the institution for two years as Preceptress of English and Latin, and Lady Principal and Matron. In 1863 Woodson wrote and delivered a speech entitled, "Address to The Youth." The speech was delivered before a meeting held by the Ohio Colored Teachers Association.[2] Due to the successive considerations of Bishop Daniel Payne and the historian Philip Foner, the work has been preserved.

Three of Woodson's brothers were AME ministers. Lewis Woodson, her eldest brother, served on the founding Board of Directors of Wilberforce University. Her brothers John and Thomas were killed by slavecatchers while working on the Underground Railroad.

Ms. Woodson taught in schools in several communities and was appointed principal of schools in Xenia, Ohio. She taught in a school in Hillsborough, North Carolina, which was established by the Freedmen's Bureau.

The First African American Published Writer

Though assertions that Phillis Wheatley was America’s first published African-American poet continue to surface, that assertion has been discredited for many years. In fact, a slave by the name of Jupiter Hammon is credited with that title.

Jupiter Hammon’s first published work, an 88-line broadside, came out in Hartford, Connecticut in 1760 — when Phillis was only seven years old and ten years prior to her first broadside publication, entitled “Elegy on the death of Whitefield.”

Born a slave on the Henry Lloyd Manor on Lloyd Neck, on Long Island in New York, Hammon (October 7, 1711 - ca. 1790) was educated in the household and became a trusted bookkeeper for the mercantile family, whose commercial interests spread from Boston to the West Indies and from Connecticut to London. He was also a preacher among fellow slaves.

December 25, 1760 marks the date his first work was published: “An Evening’s Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries,” an 88-line broadside inscribed “Hartford Ct.” “A Winter Piece,” prose contemplations, was published the following year. Four or five other works published subsequently, through 1787, including addresses to Phyllis Wheatley and “to the Negroes in New York State,” and some undiscovered verses celebrating the visit of Prince William Henry to Lloyd Manor House in 1782, prior to the defeat of the British.

The original of Jupiter Hammon’s 1760 work may be found in the New York State Historical Society. A full account of Hammon, including a biographical sketch, poems, and critical analysis of his works, may be found in America’s First Negro Poet: The Complete Works of Jupiter Hammon of Long Island (Associated Faculty Press, Inc., Kenniket Press, Empire State Historical Publications Series, 1983, Port Washington, NY - compare prices to buy the book).

Here’s Hammon’s poetical address to Wheatley, dated “Hartford, Aug 4, 1778,” published in broadsheet:

http://poetry.about.com/library/weekly/blhammontowheatley.htm

America's first Black female billionaire

Sheila Crump Johnson, the nation's first Black female billionaire, strikes a pose near the front gate of her 200-acre Salamander Farm in Middleburg, Va. During a reception at Parsons School of Design (top, right), Johnson chats with Bob Kerrey, president of New School University; Randy Swearer, dean of Parsons School of Design; and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. At the groundbreaking reception for her Salamander Inn & Spa in Virginia, Johnson greets good friend UNCF President and CEO William Gray III, while other guests wait in receiving line. During program, another close friend and her reception emcee, TV personality Willard Scott, applauds her efforts.
IT had rained at least part of 40 days straight, but Sheila Crump Johnson ignored suggestions to postpone her groundbreaking event. Though she awakened to another rainy morning in beautiful but soggy Virginia horse country, she was optimistic.

"We're going to make it work," she said.

By the time guests started arriving at the luxurious tent she had constructed in a muddy field just outside Middleburg, Va., city limits, the rain had stopped, the sun was shining, and Sheila Johnson was glowing. She personally greeted each of the several hundred guests who gathered to wish her well as she broke ground for the luxurious Salamander Inn & Spa.

The resort will put Middleburg on the map, but also Johnson herself as the first African-American woman to build such a luxury hotel. Just as significant is the fact that she is the first Black female certified as a billionaire, having reached that milestone even before Oprah Winfrey was certified earlier this year.

Still, many ask, "Who the heck is Sheila Johnson?"

Sheila Crump Johnson is the cofounder of BET with former husband Robert L. Johnson. The two equally split $1.5 billion in proceeds after BET was sold for $2.3 billion in stock. (They divorced last year.) She also has extensive real estate holdings, including the 200-acre Salamander Farm in Virginia and another farm and a condo in Florida. She also owns 18 show horses.

First Black woman ballet dancer to perform on Metropolitian Opera House stage

Janet Collins, born March 7, 1917 is an African-Americanballet dancer and a painter. She is from New Orleans, Louisianaand moved with her family to Los Angeles City Collegeand Los Angeles Art Center School.

Because she was such a skilled painter, she was

able to pay to relocate to New York and pursue

a career in ballet dancing. (It’s amazing to be able

to use your talent to get you where you want to go,

especially money-wise)

The year 1941,

she performed with the new and world renowned

Black dance troupe put together and directed

by Katherine Dunham.

By 15 years old, Collins made success

when she auditioned for the Ballet Russe

de Monte Carlo at the Philharmonic.

1949 was the year she made her New York

debut in a solo concert. By 1951, she became

the first Black Artist to perform on the stage of the

Metropolitan Opera House in New York. When

she starred in the 1951 production of Cole

Porter’s Out of this World, Collins won the

Donaldson Award. THat award represents that

she is the best dancer on Broadway. (Its great to have such

skill and even better to be the best dancer on Broadway.

I wonder how many people get that title. Well at least we

know she did.)

She continued with the MEt until the year 1954.

Later she toured the USA and Canada in solo dance concerts.

Janet taught at colleges and dance institutions in

New York as well as California. Then she retired and

resided in Seattle.

Chakra Meditation Balancing & Healing

Learning how to meditate is very important for the mind and the body. It calms nerves, cures health problems, and takes oxygen to the brain. Here is a video of how to meditate...

T-Shirts!!!If you want a t-shirt made of anykind....

Her name is Amatullah! She is very talented in making and designing t-shirt of anykind. For further information email her at faheemah81@yahoo.com

I SOLD my Soul to the DEVIL! - Katy Perry, Kanye West, Eminem, Snoop Dog...

Bob Dylan Admits He Sold His Soul to the Devil

Brief and Straight forward : What Is The Illuminati

Oprah & Denzel Summon Spirits

Can meditation change your brain?

Can meditation change your brain? Contemplative neuroscientists believe it can
From CNN's Dan Gilgoff:
Can people strengthen the brain circuits associated with happiness and positive behavior, just as we’re able to strengthen muscles with exercise?
Richard Davidson, who for decades has practiced Buddhist-style meditation – a form of mental exercise, he says – insists that we can.
And Davidson, who has been meditating since visiting India as a Harvard grad student in the 1970s, has credibility on the subject beyond his own experience.
A trained psychologist based at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he has become the leader of a relatively new field called contemplative neuroscience - the brain science of meditation.
Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation - the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects - permanently changes the brain for the better.
“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans.
“Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says. “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”
Contemplative neuroscientists say that making a habit of meditation can strengthen brain circuits responsible for maintaining concentration and generating empathy.
One recent study by Davidson’s team found that novice meditators stimulated their limbic systems - the brain’s emotional network - during the practice of compassion meditation, an ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice.
That’s no great surprise, given that compassion meditation aims to produce a specific emotional state of intense empathy, sometimes call “lovingkindness.”
But the study also found that expert meditators - monks with more than 10,000 hours of practice - showed significantly greater activation of their limbic systems. The monks appeared to have permanently changed their brains to be more empathetic.
An earlier study by some of the same researchers found that committed meditators experienced sustained changes in baseline brain function, meaning that they had changed the way their brains operated even outside of meditation.
These changes included ramped-up activation of a brain region thought to be responsible for generating positive emotions, called the left-sided anterior region. The researchers found this change in novice meditators who’d enrolled in a course in mindfulness meditation - a technique that borrows heavily from Buddhism - that lasted just eight weeks.
But most brain research around meditation is still preliminary, waiting to be corroborated by other scientists. Meditation’s psychological benefits and its use in treatments for conditions as diverse as depression and chronic pain are more widely acknowledged.
Serious brain science around meditation has emerged only in about the last decade, since the birth of functional MRI allowed scientists to begin watching the brain and monitoring its changes in relatively real time.
Beginning in the late 1990s, a University of Pennsylvania-based researcher named Andrew Newberg said that his brain scans of experienced meditators showed the prefrontal cortex - the area of the brain that houses attention - surging into overdrive during meditation while the brain region governing our orientation in time and space, called the superior parietal lobe, went dark. (One of his scans is pictured, above.)
Newberg said his findings explained why meditators are able to cultivate intense concentration while also describing feelings of transcendence during meditation.
But some scientists said Newberg was over-interpreting his brain scans. Others said he failed to specify the kind of meditation he was studying, making his studies impossible to reproduce. His popular books, like Why God Won’t Go Away, caused more eye-rolling among neuroscientists, who said he hyped his findings to goose sales.
“It caused mainstream scientists to say that the only work that has been done in the field is of terrible quality,” says Alasdair Coles, a lecturer in neurology at England’s University of Cambridge.
Newberg, now at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital in Philadelphia, stands by his research.
And contemplative neuroscience had gained more credibility in the scientific community since his early scans.
One sign of that is increased funding from the National Institutes of Health, which has helped establish new contemplative science research centers at Stanford University, Emory University, and the University of Wisconsin, where the world’s first brain imaging lab with a meditation room next door is now under construction.
The NIH could not provide numbers on how much it gives specifically to meditation brain research but its grants in complementary and alternative medicine - which encompass many meditation studies - have risen from around $300 million in 2007 to an estimated $541 million in 2011.
“The original investigations by people like Davidson in the 1990s were seen as intriguing, but it took some time to be convinced that brain processes were really changing during meditation,” says Josephine Briggs, Director of the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Most studies so far have examined so-called focused-attention meditation, in which the practitioner concentrates on a particular subject, such as the breath. The meditator monitors the quality of attention and, when it drifts, returns attention to the object.
Over time, practitioners are supposed to find it easier to sustain attention during and outside of meditation.
In a 2007 study, Davidson compared the attentional abilities of novice meditators to experts in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Participants in both groups were asked to practice focused-attention meditation on a fixed dot on a screen while researchers ran fMRI scans of their brains.
To challenge the participants’ attentional abilities, the scientists interrupted the meditations with distracting sounds.
The brain scans found that both experienced and novice meditators activated a network of attention-related regions of the brain during meditation. But the experienced meditators showed more activation in some of those regions.
The inexperienced meditators, meanwhile, showed increased activation in brain regions that have been shown to negatively correlate with sustaining attention. Experienced meditators were better able to activate their attentional networks to maintain concentration on the dot. They had, the study suggested, changed their brains.
The fMRI scans also showed that experienced meditators had less neural response to the distracting noises that interrupted the meditation.
In fact, the more hours of experience a meditator had, the scans found, the less active his or her emotional networks were during the distracting sounds, which meant the easier it was to focus.
More recently, contemplative neuroscience has turned toward compassion meditation, which involves generating empathy through objectless awareness; practitioners call it non-referential compassion meditation.
New neuroscientific interest in the practice comes largely at the urging of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and politial leader of Tibetan Buddhists, for whom compassion meditation is a time-worn tradition.
The Dalai Lama has arranged for Tibetan monks to travel to American universities for brain scans and has spoken at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, the world’s largest gathering of brain scientists.
A religious leader, the Dalai Lama has said he supports contemplative neuroscience even though scientists are stripping meditation of its Buddhist roots, treating it purely as a mental exercise that more or less anyone can do.
“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson. “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”
Still, the nascent field faces challenges. Scientists have scanned just a few hundred brains on meditation do date, which makes for a pretty small research sample. And some scientists say researchers are over eager to use brain science to prove the that meditation “works.”
“This is a field that has been populated by true believers,” says Emory University scientist Charles Raison, who has studied meditation’s effect on the immune system. “Many of the people doing this research are trying to prove scientifically what they already know from experience, which is a major flaw."
But Davidson says that other types of scientists also have deep personal interest in what they’re studying. And he argues that that’s a good thing.
“There’s a cadre of grad students and post docs who’ve found personal value in meditation and have been inspired to study it scientifically,” Davidson says. “These are people at the very best universities and they want to do this for a career.
“In ten years,” he says, “we’ll find that meditation research has become mainstream.”Contemplative neuroscientists believe it can
From CNN's Dan Gilgoff:
Can people strengthen the brain circuits associated with happiness and positive behavior, just as we’re able to strengthen muscles with exercise?
Richard Davidson, who for decades has practiced Buddhist-style meditation – a form of mental exercise, he says – insists that we can.
And Davidson, who has been meditating since visiting India as a Harvard grad student in the 1970s, has credibility on the subject beyond his own experience.
A trained psychologist based at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he has become the leader of a relatively new field called contemplative neuroscience - the brain science of meditation.
Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation - the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects - permanently changes the brain for the better.
“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans.
“Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says. “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”
Contemplative neuroscientists say that making a habit of meditation can strengthen brain circuits responsible for maintaining concentration and generating empathy.
One recent study by Davidson’s team found that novice meditators stimulated their limbic systems - the brain’s emotional network - during the practice of compassion meditation, an ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice.
That’s no great surprise, given that compassion meditation aims to produce a specific emotional state of intense empathy, sometimes call “lovingkindness.”
But the study also found that expert meditators - monks with more than 10,000 hours of practice - showed significantly greater activation of their limbic systems. The monks appeared to have permanently changed their brains to be more empathetic.
An earlier study by some of the same researchers found that committed meditators experienced sustained changes in baseline brain function, meaning that they had changed the way their brains operated even outside of meditation.
These changes included ramped-up activation of a brain region thought to be responsible for generating positive emotions, called the left-sided anterior region. The researchers found this change in novice meditators who’d enrolled in a course in mindfulness meditation - a technique that borrows heavily from Buddhism - that lasted just eight weeks.
But most brain research around meditation is still preliminary, waiting to be corroborated by other scientists. Meditation’s psychological benefits and its use in treatments for conditions as diverse as depression and chronic pain are more widely acknowledged.
Serious brain science around meditation has emerged only in about the last decade, since the birth of functional MRI allowed scientists to begin watching the brain and monitoring its changes in relatively real time.
Beginning in the late 1990s, a University of Pennsylvania-based researcher named Andrew Newberg said that his brain scans of experienced meditators showed the prefrontal cortex - the area of the brain that houses attention - surging into overdrive during meditation while the brain region governing our orientation in time and space, called the superior parietal lobe, went dark. (One of his scans is pictured, above.)
Newberg said his findings explained why meditators are able to cultivate intense concentration while also describing feelings of transcendence during meditation.
But some scientists said Newberg was over-interpreting his brain scans. Others said he failed to specify the kind of meditation he was studying, making his studies impossible to reproduce. His popular books, like Why God Won’t Go Away, caused more eye-rolling among neuroscientists, who said he hyped his findings to goose sales.
“It caused mainstream scientists to say that the only work that has been done in the field is of terrible quality,” says Alasdair Coles, a lecturer in neurology at England’s University of Cambridge.
Newberg, now at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital in Philadelphia, stands by his research.
And contemplative neuroscience had gained more credibility in the scientific community since his early scans.
One sign of that is increased funding from the National Institutes of Health, which has helped establish new contemplative science research centers at Stanford University, Emory University, and the University of Wisconsin, where the world’s first brain imaging lab with a meditation room next door is now under construction.
The NIH could not provide numbers on how much it gives specifically to meditation brain research but its grants in complementary and alternative medicine - which encompass many meditation studies - have risen from around $300 million in 2007 to an estimated $541 million in 2011.
“The original investigations by people like Davidson in the 1990s were seen as intriguing, but it took some time to be convinced that brain processes were really changing during meditation,” says Josephine Briggs, Director of the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Most studies so far have examined so-called focused-attention meditation, in which the practitioner concentrates on a particular subject, such as the breath. The meditator monitors the quality of attention and, when it drifts, returns attention to the object.
Over time, practitioners are supposed to find it easier to sustain attention during and outside of meditation.
In a 2007 study, Davidson compared the attentional abilities of novice meditators to experts in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Participants in both groups were asked to practice focused-attention meditation on a fixed dot on a screen while researchers ran fMRI scans of their brains.
To challenge the participants’ attentional abilities, the scientists interrupted the meditations with distracting sounds.
The brain scans found that both experienced and novice meditators activated a network of attention-related regions of the brain during meditation. But the experienced meditators showed more activation in some of those regions.
The inexperienced meditators, meanwhile, showed increased activation in brain regions that have been shown to negatively correlate with sustaining attention. Experienced meditators were better able to activate their attentional networks to maintain concentration on the dot. They had, the study suggested, changed their brains.
The fMRI scans also showed that experienced meditators had less neural response to the distracting noises that interrupted the meditation.
In fact, the more hours of experience a meditator had, the scans found, the less active his or her emotional networks were during the distracting sounds, which meant the easier it was to focus.
More recently, contemplative neuroscience has turned toward compassion meditation, which involves generating empathy through objectless awareness; practitioners call it non-referential compassion meditation.
New neuroscientific interest in the practice comes largely at the urging of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and politial leader of Tibetan Buddhists, for whom compassion meditation is a time-worn tradition.
The Dalai Lama has arranged for Tibetan monks to travel to American universities for brain scans and has spoken at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, the world’s largest gathering of brain scientists.
A religious leader, the Dalai Lama has said he supports contemplative neuroscience even though scientists are stripping meditation of its Buddhist roots, treating it purely as a mental exercise that more or less anyone can do.
“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson. “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”
Still, the nascent field faces challenges. Scientists have scanned just a few hundred brains on meditation do date, which makes for a pretty small research sample. And some scientists say researchers are over eager to use brain science to prove the that meditation “works.”
“This is a field that has been populated by true believers,” says Emory University scientist Charles Raison, who has studied meditation’s effect on the immune system. “Many of the people doing this research are trying to prove scientifically what they already know from experience, which is a major flaw."
But Davidson says that other types of scientists also have deep personal interest in what they’re studying. And he argues that that’s a good thing.
“There’s a cadre of grad students and post docs who’ve found personal value in meditation and have been inspired to study it scientifically,” Davidson says. “These are people at the very best universities and they want to do this for a career.
“In ten years,” he says, “we’ll find that meditation research has become mainstream.”