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Meditation to Help the World in Midtown East

Share International will host a free introduction to Transmission Meditation at the Quest Lecture Hall in Midtown East on May 21 at 2 p.m. Share International is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to inform people about the Masters of Wisdom, highly advanced teachers whose existence was dissertated by esotericists Helena Blavatsky, Helena Roerich, Alice Bailey and, most recently, Benjamin Creme. In anticipation of the event, Share International explains more about Transmission Meditation and the Masters:

What is Transmission Meditation?

It’s a group meditation that’s both a potent service to the world and a method of personal spiritual development. It was introduced by one of the Masters of Wisdom as a means for us to assist them in their mission of aid to humanity.

Who are the Masters of Wisdom?

The Masters are people who have finished the evolutionary journey upon which we are still engaged and have perfected themselves. For millennia they have remained hidden behind the scenes, indirectly providing guidance and inspiration, fostering humanity’s progress. They are now in the process of emerging openly into the everyday world, offering guidance and inspiration to help us navigate the self-created, unprecedented crises humanity now faces. At their head is Maitreya, the World Teacher for the new age.

Who is Maitreya?

Maitreya is the most advanced of the Masters. He is expected by the major religions under different names and fulfills all their prophecies by returning at this time. He is not here as a religious leader, but as an educator in the broadest sense, as the World Teacher for all humanity. He comes to inspire us to make the inner and outer changes necessary for our own survival and further evolutionary growth.

What’s the relationship between humanity and the Masters?

Every person on earth is a soul in incarnation, a divine being. We share a common divinity. Through expansion of consciousness, the Masters have evolved to fully express that divinity. They represent the future of human evolution.

What do Maitreya and the Masters see as the root cause of our problems?

The illusion of separation, which prevents us from seeing that we are one humanity. It allows us to become complacent and care only about ourselves and not others. It allows a minority of people in the developed nations to usurp and waste the majority of the earth’s food and resources, leaving insufficient reserves for the majority of the population, who live stunted lives or even die. This illusion has enabled us to build our structures on the wrong principles of completion, division, separatism and inequality that serve only the powerful and greedy. In this unjust world, war always looms and threatens the existence of all life on earth.

What is their advice for us?

In addition to addressing the critical environmental crises, the scourge of war must be banished forever if we are to have any future at all. Maitreya says the way to do this is to establish trust among peoples and nations by restoring justice, and that the only way to do this is to share the earth’s food and resources equitably. A crash program of aid on a global scale is needed to rescue the vast numbers now starving to death in the developing world. This will be the first step toward the transformation of our world. With guidance and inspiration from Maitreya and the Masters, a united humanity can build a new civilization based on the principles of cooperation, sharing and justice that will ensure a brilliant future for the earth and its people.

Location: 240 E. 53rd St., New York, NY. For more information, visit TransmissionMeditation.org or call 877495-7744. See ad, page 17.

SLOUCHING IS BAD FOR THE BACK— AND THE WHOLE BODY

by Gina Marino, D.C.

Our parents were right when they nagged us about our posture. Poor posture can trigger back pain and may even affect the body’s alignment. May is National Correct Posture Month, so let’s talk about why poor posture is worth improving. Slouching throws off the spine’s alignment, stressing muscles and joints while increasing the risk of back pain. Normally the spine functions as a single unit to support our weight, according to Harvard Health Publishing. If the back isn't properly aligned, one area may be doing too much work, leading to chronic pain. Poor posture may also play a role in these conditions: • Back injuries. When our spine, joints, muscles and ligaments are tight or not properly aligned, we’re at higher risk of injury, as well as balance problems and falls. • Arthritis and joint pain. Tight muscles can stress the joints and worsen arthritis symptoms. • Increased pain. Tight muscles aren’t just painful; they may press on nerves, increasing back pain, or pull the spine out of alignment. • Decreased flexibility. Poor posture causes spinal misalignments and tightens muscles, tendons and ligaments, potentially affecting range of motion. • Muscle fatigue. It takes much more effort to move tight muscles and joints than loose ones. • Altered gait. When poor posture affects the gait, it can trigger imbalances throughout the body. • Headaches. Misaligned vertebrae and tight muscles in the neck, shoulders and upper back can be a factor in tension headaches and migraines. • Emotional changes. Posture can have a huge impact on mood. Poor posture can lead to low self-esteem, sadness, depression and lack of energy; good posture can boost stamina, confidence, alertness and happiness. • Cardiovascular, lung and digestive disorders. A University of Southern California study found that forward head posture can add up to 30 pounds of pressure on the spine and reduce lung capacity by up to 30 percent, potentially leading to heart and vascular disease.

It also found a relationship between forward head posture and digestive disorders. • Premature death. According to the American Cancer

Society, prolonged sitting is associated with a higher risk of early death.

Practicing Perfect Posture

Improving posture may be a simple way to decrease back pain. The American Chiropractic Association recommends a natural standing position: knees slightly bent and shoulder-width apart, shoulders pulled back, weight on the balls of the feet, stomach tucked in. The head should be level, with earlobes over shoulders. Another way to ease back pain naturally is chiropractic. In a 2016 study published in Health SA Gesondheid, South African researchers discovered that chiropractic is effective for treating postural kyphosis, a condition that causes the upper back to appear rounded due to slouching. Study participants were divided into three groups. The first received spinal manipulation therapy only, the second received the therapy and did strengthening and stretching exercises, and the third only did the exercises. The second group showed the most dramatic changes in posture. A chiropractor can also recommend exercises to strengthen the back and abdominal muscles and discuss other changes that may improve posture, such as using ergonomic office furniture, changing sleeping positions or losing a few extra pounds.

Gina Marino, D.C., owns the Center for the Alignment of Body, Mind and Spirit, located at 2050 Wantagh Ave., Wantagh, NY. For appointments or more information, call 516-221-3500 or visit Align-Me.com. See ad, page 47.

The Pandemic Period Effect— And How to Recover

by David Pollack, D.C.

The overwhelming number of women who have experienced changes in their menstrual cycle during the Covid pandemic cannot be ignored. From my own patients’ testimonies and the countless testimonies available online to my medical colleagues talking shop on their experiences and observations, what has been described is a wide variety of symptoms.

Some women say they stopped having their period altogether. Others report increased irregularity—variations either in the number of days to their cycle or in its monthly timing. Many describe significant lightening, almost lack of flow, or the opposite, a considerable increase in volume. Unfortunately I’ve had patients experience spontaneous miscarriages and heard firsthand experiences of late-stage miscarriages. I don’t think we even know the impact and ramifications yet. It might take five or 10 years to surmise half of it.

But I’ve also seen many of these changes reverse with a bit of elbow grease (not really, don't worry!) and some detective work.

Two-Step Solution

The first step is to figure out what part of the body was affected. Many parts of the body have an impact on hormone balance and menses; the ovaries and uterus are just a part of the whole process. The liver, adrenal glands, pituitary and hypothalamus are all directly involved too. Overall inflammation levels can also wreak havoc on a woman’s menstrual cycle, often indirectly. Inflammation of the digestive system, the kidneys, and even the heart and lungs can have the secondary effect of triggering changes to a woman’s hormones and menstrual function.

The second step is to work on regulating and re-normalizing menstrual function. We have been overwhelmingly successful in doing so using natural treatments and therapies: plant-based enzymes, herbs, acupuncture and other Chinese medicine therapies, functional chiropractic techniques, and great modalities such as cold laser therapy and moxibustion. My active patients recovered remarkably quickly. Those with Covid-related changes bounced back in a month or two. Those not previously under my care generally took three months or so to regulate.

The bottom line? There is hope, and there are answers.

Dr. David L Pollack is founder of Pollack Wellness Institute, in Commack, NY. For more information, contact him at 631-461-0801 or davidpollackdc@gmail.com, or visit PollackWellness.com.See ads, pages 4 and 22.

by Jean McClellan

According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that seem right? That means to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. ~Jerry Seinfeld

If doesn’t matter if we are performing in front of thousands of people or standing up and saying our name at a local PTA meeting, we know the sensations that accompany being “looked at.” We might experience a racing heart, nausea, cold hands, trembling or a dry mouth. Very few people are exempt from experiencing stage fright. Pavarotti famously said, “I go to die” before every performance, and prior to going onstage, the great tenor Enrico Caruso could be heard yelling at his “little self” to get out of the way so that his “big self” could come through. Ball players “choke,” and golfers get “the yips.” Olympic skaters find that their legs get heavy and they lose their timing. Singers and public speakers go “dry.” You don’t need to spend years in psychoanalysis trying to unravel your fear of public speaking. You can actually learn not to be paralyzed by these sensations, with a few tools that should be practiced consistently so they’re integrated into your life.

Being Present with Fear

Shortly after I finished college, I went to study with a great voice teacher, the Russian soprano Olga Averino. Mme. Averino was acclaimed for her artistry and demanded nothing but the very best from her students, no matter their degree of talent. I adored the discipline that Olga instilled in me, and I felt honored that she respected my musicality and talent. We got on well, so I felt comfortable unburdening myself to her about my almost-paralyzing stage fright. Instead of offering comforting words to assuage my anxieties about performing, she simply said in her imperious and indisputable way, “If you are focused on the music, you have no stage fright.” Olga was right, of course, but very few of us can be that focused when we start out. Staying present with stage fright is what shifts our anxiety, but no beginning performer, public speaker or athlete can be sensitive enough to attain that degree of awareness. That takes a long time and lots of practice. Most of the time our feelings are so unpleasant that we just want to stop them. Professional performers, athletes and the best public speakers have learned how to allow themselves to experience all the vulnerability and feelings of exposure that accompany performance. We all “go to die.”

Using Panoramic Vision

What has helped me enormously in working though my own stage fright is how I use my eyes. When we are in a state of “fight or flight” (which is what stage fright is), our pupils dilate and our vision narrows. We cannot see peripherally. It’s akin to the portrait mode on an iPhone. What shifts us out of fight or flight is to see panoramically, which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. Your eyes will soften and become receptive; you will see more, and you will see peripherally. Perhaps the best way to understand panoramic vision is to look at a night sky. In order to see the faintest star, we have to soften our vision and let the stars come to us. We do that intuitively. Notice how calm, centered and in the moment that makes you feel. Practice shifting to a narrow focus by trying to “look at” the furthest star. Do you notice how that tightens your whole body? You are straining to see, and it’s uncomfortable. Shift back and forth between the two ways of seeing so that panoramic vision becomes a skill that you can call upon at any time. When I walk onstage or stand in front of a group, my eyes soften and I make contact with my audience as if I’m saying to them, “I'm glad we are both here.” The audience responds immediately because I’ve invited them to share something with me. The focus is no longer on me, but on the music I’m performing or the material I’m presenting. I feel centered and alive, and my audience does too.

Jean McClelland is on the faculty of the Columbia University School of the Arts. She’ll offer more tools to conquer stage fright at a Zoom workshop on performance anxiety, sponsored by JazzVoice.com, on May 29 at 3 p.m. For more information or to register, visit JeanMcClellandVoice.com. See ad, page 19.