Veterans Project   Ratna Peace Initiative received a federal sub-award through Denver-based JVA Consulting for developing and offering a pilot program using secular meditation techniques for veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  We will begin our program in September 2009 working in conjunction with the Denver Veteran’s Center.  Through training the mind to remain in the present rather than dwelling on story lines of the past and future, thoughts and emotions begin to lose their power to overwhelm.

History   Ratna’s staff has long had a keen interest in the plight of veterans.  Ratna’s founder and Co-Executive Director Margot Neuman lost a very dear cousin to the after-effects of PTSD incurred as a result of the Vietnam War.  Ratna’s awareness of PTSD issues grew through correspondence with Sgt. Paul Kendel during his tour of duty in Iraq in 2005. You can read excerpts of Sgt. Kendel's letters from Iraq here and learn more about him here.

Program Teaching   The federal government recognizes meditation as “Complimentary or Alternative Medicine” to be used in conjunction with therapy and other forms of treatment to alleviate symptoms associated with various health challenges, including PTSD. 

In general, the meditation techniques offered in our on site Veterans pilot program will be formal sitting meditation, walking meditation, gentle stretching postures, and running (or strolling) with the mind of meditation. We also have plans to collaborate with Medicine Horse (www.medicinehorse.org), an equine-assisted psychotherapeutic program, to take some of our sessions outdoors to the natural world.

Other PTSD Related Course Teachings  To our shock and sadness, we learned that a significant number of veterans incur long prison terms as a result of PTSD.  Since our primary work up to this point has been in prisons, we know first-hand how useful meditation can be to prisoners, many of whom themselves have PTSD stemming from their past experiences.  We have witnessed impressive emotional healing in their lives under inconceivably aggressive, negative, and desolate circumstances.  Therefore, we are also developing a correspondence course in meditation for veterans suffering from PTSD. We hope the results of our pilot program with the Denver Veteran's Center will inform this and other expansion of our efforts to offer meditation as an alternative tool for both combat veterans and prisoners to deal with PTSD.  We believe this to be our contribution to healing our nation’s recent history of war.