Please join us every other Wednesday at the Shambhala Meditation Center in Denver for Secular Mindfulness Meditation for Veterans

Veterans Peace of Mind is now offering Mindfulness Meditation sessions for Veterans and Active Duty Service Members at the Shambhala Meditation Center in Denver, located at 2305 S Syracuse Wy, Ste. 214, Denver, CO 80231.

We meet every other Wednesday from 12:00 Noon to 2:00 pm. See this calendar for current meeting information.

We will practice meditation, participate in discussions, and offer friendly support. 

Our own mind is our own worst enemy. We try to focus, and our mind wanders off. We try to keep stress at bay, but anxiety keeps us awake at night. Training our mind through peaceful abiding mindfulness, we can create an alliance that allows us to actually use our mind, rather than be used by it.

— Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into an Ally

Many scientific studies at this point have verified the value of mindfulness for stress-reduction, emotional well-being, improved health, and other benefits. Veterans’ Peace of Mind uses a variety of mindfulness-based techniques to “dis-empower” the triggers of trauma, exercising choice as to whether or not they allow the triggers to escalate and run away with them. Learning to let go of afflictive emotions and obsessive thinking in this way relaxes stress and invites a healthier, more joyful experience of life. When the mind isn’t cluttered with a lot of thoughts, its true nature is cheerful.

For further information: https://denver.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=361415

Most veterans are strengthened by their military service, but the combat experience has unfortunately left a growing number of veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.  One in five veterans has symptoms of a mental health disorder or cognitive impairment.  One in six veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation IraqiFreedom suffer from a substance abuse issue.  Research continues to draw a link between substance abuse and combat–related mental illness.  Left untreated, mental health disorders common among veterans can directly lead to involvement in the criminal justice system.

2.4 million veterans served in Afghanistan and Iraq. 1 in 5 suffer from PTSD or severe depression. Half of these veterans have been incarcerated at some point since serving in these wars. 22 veterans of the most recent wars committed suicide each day of last year. Read more…

From PTSD to Prison: Why Veterans Become Criminals by Matthew Wolfe.

Nearly one in 10 inmates have served in the military. Matthew Wolfe on how the system fails them—and the new prison dorms that could help them get back on track.

The three primary experiences of combat, as I understood them to be, are: fear, killing and love. Fear is obvious, and there’s obviously some state of mind connected with killing, but there’s also something you could loosely call love. If you’re willing to die for someone, its clearly for love, and it’s the core reason that men miss war –many of them really, really do miss it.

Interviewer: Veterans often feel a sense of alienation when they return home. What’s going on here?

Well, I think we’re a completely alienated society because most of us don’t have the experience of incredible closeness that soldiers are allowed to enjoy. Read more: Why Its so Hard to Come Home from War