The Center for Spirituality and Healing of the University of Minnesota has provided information about the upcoming Minnesota visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. There are four events planned between May 6-9, 2011 in honor of his visit. This is not the first visit of His Holiness’ first to Minnesota but he had not been here since 2001 and it will be ten years to the day on this visit. As the Dalai Lama has recently announced his retirement as the political head of Tibet, it may be his final official trip to Minnesota.

“The Center for Spirituality & Healing is honored to collaborate with the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota on His Holiness’ visit to the Twin Cities,” said Mary Jo Kreitzer, PhD, RN, FAAN, director of the CSH at the University of Minnesota. “The Dalai Lama is a world leader who has collaborated with scientists around the globe to advance the understanding of the power of the mind to heal. At the Center, we have conducted NIH-funded research on the health outcomes associated with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, a practice that includes meditation and yoga.”

On the morning of May 8, the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota will officially welcome the Dalai Lama to conduct a special “Medicine Buddha Empowerment” initiation, a Tibetan cultural ceremony designed to promote personal and societal healing from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Mariucci Arena. The ceremony is open to the public and will be conducted in the Tibetan language with explanations offered in English.

Later that afternoon, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. at Mariucci Arena, the Dalai Lama will be the featured speaker at a public address titled “Peace Through Inner Peace.” His Holiness is revered worldwide for his promotion of such basic human values as compassion, forgiveness and tolerance. His address is expected to touch on the importance of these values in advancing peace as well as promoting individual health, healing and well-being.

The Second International Tibetan Medicine Conference: Healing Mind & Body will be held May 9, 2011 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the University Radisson Hotel, co-hosted by CSH and TAFM. The conference will bring the foremost leaders and physicians in Tibetan medicine and spirituality to the Twin Cities including physician leaders from the Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical Institute of His Holiness in Dharmsala, India.

TigerLion Arts presents the World Premiere of KIPO! A Circus of Spirit, Song, and Dance from Tibet, the Land of Snow will be held May 6 – 8, 2011, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., and on May 7, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. at Rarig Center.

KIPO! Is a Circus of Spirit, Song, and Dance from Tibet, the Land of Snow. KIPO!, which means “happy,” and stars local TAFM talent Tenzin Tgawang and features the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts. TIPA is the premier cultural institute, also founded by the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, entrusted with the responsibility of preserving and promoting the ancient, high-spirited song and dance to Tibet.

Tickets for all four events will be available through the Northrop ticket office. For more details, visit the website for these events at www.dalailama.umn.edu.

Minnesota has the second largest concentration of Tibetan Americans in the United States. The Dalai Lama’s return to the state coincides with the official launch of the Tibetan Healing Initiative at the CSH. For more than ten years, the CSH has offered graduate courses in traditional Tibetan medicine. These courses bring students to India annually to visit practitioners at the Men-Tsee-Khang in Dharmsala.

New THI initiatives will include research on the benefits of blending Tibetan healing with conventional health practices and integrating Tibetan practices into regional clinic and hospital settings.

“The Tibetan American community of Minnesota is overjoyed about the eminent visit of His Holiness,” said Tsewang Ngodup, MD, president of the Board of Directors for TAFM. “Indeed, we consider it a very special coincidence that it was on May 8, 2001 that His Holiness came to the Twin Cities for the very first time.”

For more information contact the Center for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota, at 612-624-2141 and online at http://www.csh.umn.edu and www.dalailama.umn.edu.