Government Wastes Our Money on “Mindfulness Meditation”

by Dave Blount | December 18, 2014 2:25 pm

Big Government has been aggressively expanding its ever-encroaching hegemony in the healthcare field. Our government is run largely by kooks. Consequently, “mindfulness meditation” as a medical treatment is gaining a foothold:

“The advantage of this is that it actually doesn’t cost anything,” said Karen May, a vice president at Google, explaining how her company offers “mindfulness” classes to its employees.

Mindfulness is a New Age kind of meditation that focuses on the present moment “non-judgmentally,” tracing its origins to Buddhism. …

Rep. Tim Ryan (D., Ohio), a so-called “rock star among mindfulness evangelists” who earmarked nearly $1 million to teach mindfulness to preschool students in his district. The $982,000 project provided deep breathing exercises, and “Peace Corners” for kids in Youngstown, Ohio.

Wait, I thought she said it doesn’t cost anything. But of course, once Big Government becomes involved, everything costs plenty.

Ryan said he practices mindfulness on the House Budget Committee and hosts weekly meditation sessions for members and staff. No Republicans attend.

Not even Johnny Boehner, although it might help him with his crying jags.

Thanks to the governmentalization of medical research through the National Institutes of Health, mindfulness meditation and related moonbattery are costing taxpayers a fortune. For example:

A “school-based mindfulness and yoga intervention to prevent substance use among disadvantaged, urban youth” is costing $749,751 in Baltimore. Innovation Research and Training, Inc., a social sciences firm in Durham, N.C., is conducting two similar studies for elementary students and high schoolers, costing $457,921, and $199,449, respectively.

IRT’s “Master Mind” course involves “mindful breathing, mindful movements, and mindful journeys.” …

A $42,676 study is using mindfulness to help women drink less during PMS, and another $1,399,153 grant attempts to use the technique to combat “menstrually related mood disorders.”

A $729,352 project is testing the technique as a coping skill to reduce stress for gay men. Obese people can also mindfully meditate to a healthy weight, according to the hypothesis of several NIH grants. …

Yoga and mindfulness is being used for young adults with irritable bowel syndrome ($690,101), youth with bipolar disorder ($358,489), HIV positive youth ($963,315), and teen moms ($649,093).

Even prisoners are getting into mindfulness. A $905,984 study is creating a “culturally tailored, [mindfulness meditation] MM-based relapse prevention intervention for incarcerated substance users.”

Anyone who pays taxes should be approaching the boiling point.

Mindful meditation is being tested to treat migraines ($1,434,134), as a cure for the common cold ($2,192,599), and a number of diseases, including cardiovascular disease ($5,983,580), sickle cell disease ($32,758), Type 1 Diabetes ($2,343,122), Type 2 Diabetes ($706,244), and high blood pressure ($734,857).

Parenting with mindfulness encourages “nonjudgmental acceptance of self and child,” costing $3,137,880.

It would be species-centric of us to apply the pricey benefits of mindfulness meditation only to human beings:

One study compares using mindfulness to stress-reduction techniques for mice ($414,907).

On and on goes the list of lunatic waste, even as the nation hurtles toward bankruptcy.

There are dozens more, indicating that the feds are spending at least $100,183,860 on research related to mindfulness.

Just think how much it would cost us to have the government pursue legitimate medical treatments for these ailments. By now the economy would have already collapsed.

When Obama’s policy of specifically facilitating immigration from countries plagued by Ebola eventually leads to an outbreak, we will learn how much it costs to apply mindfulness meditation to a flesh-eating virus.

On a tip from Petterssonp. Hat tip: Weasel Zippers. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.