(revised 11/11/13)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizaio/5485585137/
CAPTION: Soren [Gordhamer], Congressman Tim Ryan, and Jon Kabat-Zinn discuss Mindfulness, Politics and Society: Extending into the World
[at the Wisdom 2.0 Conference 2011]
Among the fifty states, Ohio could hardly be considered the most liberal, or the most anti-Christian, or the most New Age state. Yet, for whatever reason, a young Congressional Representative from Ohio – Tim Ryan – has become a darling of New Agers. Why? Because he has become a strong advocate of New Age/Buddhist “mindfulness” (also called “mindfulness meditation”). I am especially concerned that he is pushing this practice for public schools – including preschools and grade schools.
A number of New Agers are endorsing Ryan’s new book A Mindful Nation. Ryan is also pushing legislation that will increase the practice of mindfulness in public schools. Other New Agers championing mindfulness in public schools are Jon Kabat-Zinn and Goldie Hawn.
http://www.today.com/moms/goldie-hawn-helps-kids-get-zen-smart-837758
CAPTION: Rep. Tim Ryan, D-OH, practices meditation with kids at Robert Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore.
So when and how did Ryan get involved in mindfulness (also called “mindfulness meditation”)? Check out excerpts from this interview (I have emphasized certain points by bolding in orange, and inserted comments [in brackets in bolded orange].
Q: Why did you write this book?
A: The book came out of my going around the county to meet scientists studying mindfulness; teachers using it in schools; health care practitioners implementing it in our health care system; our military using it to treat veterans and build mental resilience. And I thought the world needed to see what they are doing. They are pioneers in what will be the next great movement in the United States: the movement of mindfulness.
Q: When did your interest in mindfulness start?
A: It started a long time ago. My grandparents and my mom prayed the rosary a lot, and later in life I had a priest friend of mine teach me centering prayer, based on Father Thomas Keating’s work. That led to practicing different kinds of meditation off and on as I got older.
Q: And when did you begin to consistently practice meditation?
A: I had been running extremely hard with my job and traveling across Ohio and the country to help Democrats take back the House in 2006, and then there was the presidential election. I was 35 and I thought, “I’m going to be burned out by the time I’m 40. I really need to jump-start my meditation practice.” Two days after the presidential election, I spent five days at a retreat [led by mindfulness “guru” Jon Kabat-Zinn] in increasing levels of silence. It reminded me of how I felt when I played sports: being in “the zone” with mind and body grounded in the present moment.
Q: And you continue to meditate every day?
A: Yes, 40 to 45 minutes every morning before I leave the house and go out into the world…
After some discussion of “Washington politics”, the interview continues as follows:
Q: Because of mindfulness’ Buddhist roots, a lot of people think it’s a religious practice. How does your meditation relate to your Catholic faith?
A: If you love your neighbor and are compassionate, are you automatically a Christian? Practicing present-moment awareness does not entail joining any religion or accepting any belief system. [Yes it does – the core of mindfulness is a New Age/Buddhist worldview.] As a Catholic, I find mindfulness helps me participate in my religion more wholeheartedly. If you are praying the rosary, participating in the rituals at Mass or listening to the priest preach, you will actually be paying attention! Whatever your religion is, it can enhance the experience of participating in that religion. What’s more beautiful than that?
Q: There do seem to be some Buddhist concepts in your book, such as the interconnectedness of all beings. Has meditation made you more interested in Buddhist philosophy?
A: I love studying different religions. For me, learning and drawing from the different religious traditions is essential to being a good public servant. And the connections between our various religious traditions become our public ethic; they tie us together.
And in a 2012 article originally posted here, a Buddhist website asks Youngstown, Ohio Congressional Representative (D) Tim Ryan:
How have you helped introduce mindfulness in the education system?
Ryan replies:
About three years ago [2009] I got a million dollars to put social and emotional learning and mindfulness in two school districts in Ohio, and the teachers have responded in a wonderful way. In the Warren City School District they just added another fifty teachers—the teachers who were in the program spoke so highly about it that other teachers wanted to do it too. The programs we’re running also have a parental component. Parents are learning how teachers are talking to the kids about being aware of their emotions. This makes a connection with the families. Mindfulness is not a silver bullet. But there’s nothing else right now cutting against the huge influx of information and technology coming at our kids. We want to give kids the ability to choose what they put their attention on. I’ve seen it in my own district— parents and teachers love it.
FOR FURTHER READING
List of Google hits on [“Tim Ryan” “centering prayer” “mindfulness”]
Christian discernment articles critiquing Ryan
Stand Up for the Truth!, U.S. Congressman Advocates Mindful Meditation as Solution to Global Conflict – followed by links to a number of additional Christian discernment articles
Lighthouse Trails Research, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan’s Meditation Crusade – Hopes to Influence Other Congress Members (and All Americans)
Religious (but not necessarily Christian) articles mentioning Ryan’s motives and Catholic background
Lisa Joan Reardon, Mindfulness and Centering Prayer (08/06/12)
Ohio congressman Tim Ryan on a mission to bring meditation to the masses
Buddhist articles favoring Ryan
Politically Aware: A Q&A with Congressman TIM RYAN
Congressman Tim Ryan to talk “A Mindful Nation” at InsightLA fundraiser, June 4 [2012]
Secular articles favoring Ryan
Tim Ryan, Ohio Congressman, Shares His Mindfulness Vision For The Country – Arianna Huffington, editor of the Huffington Post, graduated from the New Age University of Santa Monica mentioned in this article
Washington was making Rep. Tim Ryan sick … until he found mindfulness
Christians United Against Apostasy 
In the words of that great spiritual leader Ann Landers once said, Dave, you should put a rubber band around your head and snap out of it. Tripe like yours is what holds this country back.
Holding this country back from what, A.B.? Could you clarify?
One of my biggest beefs here is that mindfulness meditation is being taught to grade school children behind the backs of Christian parents, and without their permission. If Christian parents really understood what MM is all about – and if they were offered MM as an “opt in” program instead of an “opt out” program – I’m guessing many of them would not opt in. To many born again Christians, MM (even when it is supposedly not taught in a religious way) is incompatible with their worldview.
Suppose you had children, and they were attending a public school where a program was being implemented behind your back that you would disapprove of. Regardless of what that specific program was, would you not be upset? And would you not want the right to speak out/protest and demand it not be taught to your children?
A.B., boy, are you in for a nasty surprise.
Thanks for sharing, Gina. I agree – what the world views as “progress” is leading the world towards the reign of the Antichrist.
Once in awhile there is good news for Christians though, even in our public schools. For example, in this public school district, parents protested a wildly successful mindfulness meditation program, causing it to be shut down: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/17/warstler-elementary-school-ohio-mindfulness-program_n_3101741.html (Of course I disagree with the Huffington Post’s statement at the end of the article, that MM is a good thing.)
God bless you – Dave
I remember someone else who was strongly opposed to mindfulness and awareness of anything other than whatever he demanded of his congregation. He told them he and his fundamentalist “Christian” path was the only path and the only way to God and salvation and any manner of thought that involved questioning him or his methods eventually led to corporal punishment. He was “mindful” for his congregation, and they would trust in him and him alone for their salvation. His name was Jim Jones, and he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people who eschewed the responsibility of mindfulness and awareness. Only a small number of those who allowed themselves to be aware and mindful survived his evil money grubbing, power tripping cult. I have no problem with parents not wanting their elementary and middle school aged students to be immersed in the study of religions other than their own. Where I do have the problem is with parents who want to teach their children to be subservient to the not necessarily well educated and properly ordained minister du jour, rather than to have the strength and the courage to think for themselves. Our country was founded on the principle of free thought and speech. We should not deny the right to learn how to think for themselves to our children, by telling them that anyone outside of their own church is the devil’s emissary. Who am I to boldly criticize? I’m someone who sat front and center in front of Jones, himself, and helped one of my friends, who had fallen into his clutches, regain her ability to be aware and mindful enough to save her life. I did this at the risk of my own life.
Thanks for sharing, J.A.M. I’m glad to hear you rescued a friend from the cultic clutches of Jim Jones. Several thoughts: first, you stated at the beginning that Jim Jones was strongly opposed to mindfulness. I didn’t find any mention of anything like this in his Wikipedia article: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones Are we defining “mindfulness” in the same way? I’m defining mindfulness as “mindfulness meditation”, drawn primarily from Buddhist practices. Plus Jim Jones died back in 1978, and mindfulness meditation was barely known in the U.S. before 1979. See: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Kabat-Zinn See also http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness_meditation
As far as parents being influenced by their pastor to protest mindfulness meditation in their children’s schools – yes, that is a possibility. But here’s the key for me: is the practice of mindfulness meditation (and/or other teachings and practices in public schools) dangerous to our children? If mindfulness meditation is indeed dangerous (as I believe it is), then a pastor would be doing the right thing by telling his congregants that they should protest this in their public schools… I’m referring to “born again” Christian fundamentalist pastors here. Are you saying they are as bad as Jim Jones? If so, this is a stretch I think – I’ve never heard of any such pastors advising their members to commit suicide by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid or Flavor Aid. Perhaps there are some very strict, very legalistic, very extreme born again fundamentalist pastors out there – I’m guesstimating perhaps 1 in 1,000. But no one near as cultic as Jim Jones, IMHO.
Could you perhaps provide some links to fundamentalist pastors whom you find objectionable? (Besides Jim Jones, whom I think was way outside of “mainstream” fundamentalism from the get go.) That way I could get a better feel for where you’re coming from. There is a wide spectrum of doctrinal teachings among fundamentalist pastors, of various denominations.
Which opens a whole other can of worms: when using the term “fundamentalist” we need to define it. Many nonchristians today would define a “fundamentalist” as “a far right conservative Christian”, “self righteous”, “narrow minded”, “a religious bigot”, “homophobic”, etc. Of course I disagree with this portrayal. In my mind these are all buzzwords used by far left mainline/liberal people who hate born again, biblically sound Christianity.
Thanks again for sharing your life experiences. God bless you – Dave