The World of Relaxation was conceived as a way to reach out to patients
lying in bed in the hospital and inviting them to experiment inwardly,
with Jon's guidance, in bringing mindful awareness to their
present-moment circumstances, utilizing the occasion of having to lie in
bed for some time -- whatever the viewer's medical condition and
prognosis -- to do something for him or herself to promote healing of
the mind and body, as a vital complement to whatever the health care
system and one's doctors are doing by way of medical treatments and
rehabilitation. Over one hundred hospitals have used this program over
the years on their in-house television channels, and doctors often
prescribe it to their patients, recommending that they practice with it
several times a day. The program is meant to be "done" by the listener,
rather than simply listened to. During most of the time, the listener is
encouraged to have his or her eyes closed. In the past 30 years, Dr.
Kabat-Zinn's eight-week out-patient mindfulness-based stress reduction
(MBSR) program has spread from the University of Massachusetts Memorial
Medical Center to hospitals and clinics across the United States and
around the world and occasioned an entire field of clinical medicine and
basic and clinical research, much of which has already demonstrated the
profoundly positive mental and physical health consequences of
practicing mindfulness meditation both formally and informally in one's
daily life. The practices in The World of Relaxation are guided
meditations similar to the formal practices in MBSR, particularly
mindfulness of breathing, body sensations, thoughts and emotions; and
the body scan. The original harp music by Georgia Kelly was composed
specifically for this program and is played by the composer. Harp music
has been associated with healing since pre-biblical times. The music
enhances the process of relaxation and establishes a flowing rhythmicity
that entrains the listener's attention and carries it through the
various stages of the program. The notes of the harp have the quality of
coming out of silence and disappearing back into silence, singly and in
raining curtains of sounds, just as do our thoughts and emotions.
Mindfulness, one's capacity to inhabit the present moment with
non-judgmental awareness, deepens over the course of a single session
and even more, through repeated practicing with this program over days,
weeks, months and years. The learning occasioned by practicing with this
program on a regular basis can stand one in good stead from moment to
moment and from day to day as one's life continues to unfold.
