Omega Offers Veterans Hope & Healing
Scholarships Now Available for Unique Meditation Retreat
RHINEBECK, New York - Omega Institute today announced it will hold a 5-day meditation retreat for veterans, their families and friends, October 5-10, 2008 on its Rhinebeck campus in upstate New York.
According to a recent study by the RAND Corporation, 19 percent of the approximately 1.6 million U.S. military personnel who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which can include explosive anger, depression, and flashbacks. This unique retreat will offer practical tools for healing the heart and mind through meditation.
"We who have fought in war know intimately about life and death," says Rev. Claude AnShin Thomas, visiting faculty member at Omega who is leading the retreat. "We who have been wounded by war—physically, psychologically, and spiritually—need to come together in order to support each other."
Rev. Thomas, a Vietnam veteran, is author of At Hell's Gate and the founder of Zaltho Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes peace and nonviolence. Rev. Thomas received numerous awards, including the Purple Heart, for his service in the Vietnam War. After struggling with his re-entry into his life at home, Thomas studied mindfulness meditation with Thich Nhat Hanh. During the retreat Rev. Thomas will share his inspiring story from combat to Buddhism as a road map for those who might feel trapped in cyclical patterns of response related to a traumatic experience.
Rev. Thomas does not accept payment for his teachings. As a result, Omega Institute is donating a portion of the retreat's proceeds to the Zaltho Foundation. Omega is also offering scholarships on a first come first served basis to veterans, their families and friends wishing to attend the meditation retreat. Scholarships cover the cost of tuition, accommodations and meals on campus, and up to $100 in travel expenses.
To apply for this unique scholarship please visit eomega.org/omega/scholarships/veteran, or contact Lindsay Acrish, 845.266.4444, ext. 213.The retreat is open to veterans and their families and friends. People of any religious or spiritual tradition are invited to learn about different forms of meditation as a path to healing.
To register please visit eOmega.org or call 800.944.1001.