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The science of meditation

Mighty_Emperor

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Meditation Gives Brain a Charge, Study Finds

By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 3, 2005; Page A05

Brain research is beginning to produce concrete evidence for something that Buddhist practitioners of meditation have maintained for centuries: Mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness.

Those transformed states have traditionally been understood in transcendent terms, as something outside the world of physical measurement and objective evaluation. But over the past few years, researchers at the University of Wisconsin working with Tibetan monks have been able to translate those mental experiences into the scientific language of high-frequency gamma waves and brain synchrony, or coordination. And they have pinpointed the left prefrontal cortex, an area just behind the left forehead, as the place where brain activity associated with meditation is especially intense.

"What we found is that the longtime practitioners showed brain activation on a scale we have never seen before," said Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the university's new $10 million W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior. "Their mental practice is having an effect on the brain in the same way golf or tennis practice will enhance performance." It demonstrates, he said, that the brain is capable of being trained and physically modified in ways few people can imagine.

Scientists used to believe the opposite -- that connections among brain nerve cells were fixed early in life and did not change in adulthood. But that assumption was disproved over the past decade with the help of advances in brain imaging and other techniques, and in its place, scientists have embraced the concept of ongoing brain development and "neuroplasticity."

Davidson says his newest results from the meditation study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in November, take the concept of neuroplasticity a step further by showing that mental training through meditation (and presumably other disciplines) can itself change the inner workings and circuitry of the brain.

The new findings are the result of a long, if unlikely, collaboration between Davidson and Tibet's Dalai Lama, the world's best-known practitioner of Buddhism. The Dalai Lama first invited Davidson to his home in Dharamsala, India, in 1992 after learning about Davidson's innovative research into the neuroscience of emotions. The Tibetans have a centuries-old tradition of intensive meditation and, from the start, the Dalai Lama was interested in having Davidson scientifically explore the workings of his monks' meditating minds. Three years ago, the Dalai Lama spent two days visiting Davidson's lab.

The Dalai Lama ultimately dispatched eight of his most accomplished practitioners to Davidson's lab to have them hooked up for electroencephalograph (EEG) testing and brain scanning. The Buddhist practitioners in the experiment had undergone training in the Tibetan Nyingmapa and Kagyupa traditions of meditation for an estimated 10,000 to 50,000 hours, over time periods of 15 to 40 years. As a control, 10 student volunteers with no previous meditation experience were also tested after one week of training.

The monks and volunteers were fitted with a net of 256 electrical sensors and asked to meditate for short periods. Thinking and other mental activity are known to produce slight, but detectable, bursts of electrical activity as large groupings of neurons send messages to each other, and that's what the sensors picked up. Davidson was especially interested in measuring gamma waves, some of the highest-frequency and most important electrical brain impulses.

Both groups were asked to meditate, specifically on unconditional compassion. Buddhist teaching describes that state, which is at the heart of the Dalai Lama's teaching, as the "unrestricted readiness and availability to help living beings." The researchers chose that focus because it does not require concentrating on particular objects, memories or images, and cultivates instead a transformed state of being.

Davidson said that the results unambiguously showed that meditation activated the trained minds of the monks in significantly different ways from those of the volunteers. Most important, the electrodes picked up much greater activation of fast-moving and unusually powerful gamma waves in the monks, and found that the movement of the waves through the brain was far better organized and coordinated than in the students. The meditation novices showed only a slight increase in gamma wave activity while meditating, but some of the monks produced gamma wave activity more powerful than any previously reported in a healthy person, Davidson said.

The monks who had spent the most years meditating had the highest levels of gamma waves, he added. This "dose response" -- where higher levels of a drug or activity have greater effect than lower levels -- is what researchers look for to assess cause and effect.

In previous studies, mental activities such as focus, memory, learning and consciousness were associated with the kind of enhanced neural coordination found in the monks. The intense gamma waves found in the monks have also been associated with knitting together disparate brain circuits, and so are connected to higher mental activity and heightened awareness, as well.

Davidson's research is consistent with his earlier work that pinpointed the left prefrontal cortex as a brain region associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions. Using functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) on the meditating monks, Davidson found that their brain activity -- as measured by the EEG -- was especially high in this area.

Davidson concludes from the research that meditation not only changes the workings of the brain in the short term, but also quite possibly produces permanent changes. That finding, he said, is based on the fact that the monks had considerably more gamma wave activity than the control group even before they started meditating. A researcher at the University of Massachusetts, Jon Kabat-Zinn, came to a similar conclusion several years ago.

Researchers at Harvard and Princeton universities are now testing some of the same monks on different aspects of their meditation practice: their ability to visualize images and control their thinking. Davidson is also planning further research.

"What we found is that the trained mind, or brain, is physically different from the untrained one," he said. In time, "we'll be able to better understand the potential importance of this kind of mental training and increase the likelihood that it will be taken seriously."

Source
 
Interesting. Looking forward to further information as such studies progress.

Just my impression, but the studies referred to above seem to support the theory that the brain acts as a wide-band interface by accessing and processing information from other spheres (for want of a better term), rather than being a limited-function, sealed-unit generator and respository. The brain's only limitations appear to be those we impose upon it. In instances of the paranormal, it appears unknown entities may access our brain without our conscious 'permission', as may occur during ghost sightings for example. The above report certainly encourages optimism that we may soon regard ourselves as multi-dimensional beings, rather than believing we are finite, material creatures restricted to 3D and dependent upon what we've managed to consciously file within our brain.

The meditating monks could be likened to a group of out-of-town computer technicians who set up their equipment within unsuspected rooms within a limited, small town library. The locals are amazed, but, with a little assistance, they begin to extend their own horizons via the new internet access provided them by the strangers. The locals learn that their access to information is not restricted to the same old books. Soon, the narrow shelves and heavy desks morph into open-plan aluminium and glass. Skylights flood the place with light, yet on the outside the old library looks the same.

My own forays into conscious meditation consist of devoting half an hour a night to basic breathing exercises. I did this for a few days, following instructions in a little book, the intention being to 'become nicer'. The monks would wet their pants laughing. I'd deliberately steered clear of meditation before that, because I'd read it would (initially) inevitably produce disturbing sights and sounds. The advice was to ignore these. But I'm such a coward that I wasn't prepared to risk having the daylights scared out of me. So I decided mediation was for others, or would have to wait until I could afford to have someone hold my hand during meditation. When I risked the little breathing exercises, I mentally advised all the ghoulies out there that I was not really meditating, just tip-toeing around the edges, so please leave me alone.

The results were far in excess of the effort invested, and were totally unexpected. Almost immediately, I began 'receiving' snippets, similar to random pieces of a jig-saw picture. They were in black and white. These seemed to be 'beamed' to me each mid-morning while I was vacuuming (a lot of my odd experiences have occurred whilst vacuuming. Don't know why). Day by day, the detail in the bits of jig-saw was increased. Then the bits became sepia. Then began joining together to form a scene. Then bits of sound emerged, along with movement in the growing visions. Finally, after several days/weeks (during which I suspected I was for some reason going mad) all the bits combined until I was presented with lifelike colour film, showing two people engaged in a relationship, complete down to minor detail such as curtains blowing in the breeze. Finally I identified the couple, and the extent of their relationship. They were a mismatched pair who claimed to despise each other in real life. The information seemed ridiculously impossible. Nevertheless, I informed several people about the information I'd received in this astonishing manner and asked them to note the date I'd contacted them. No-one believed the situation described to them could ever come true. Several weeks later, it did.

I suspect the Tibetan monks referred to in the above post would dismiss my experience immediately as being a trivial side-effect of meditation and not the kind of thing one should seek. It was spontaneous but would probably be regarded by the monks as typical of the diversionary detail likely to occur when Westerners dabble in meditation. The monks would probably wrinkle their noses at me and I can understand that, but for me, it was a profound experience. If one isolated bit of dabble can produce such results, it can only be imagained how beneficial genuine meditation could be.
 
How do you meditate?

An interesting question this thread brings up is "how do we meditate?"

Recent happenings in my life have brought me to attempt to meditate. I've been trying on my own, with breathing exercises and visualization.

Does anyone use a guide book or CD/tape?
Again, you mention a book. Is it a small book that has something easy to learn, or is it like an extensive text book?

When I was trying to Remote View, I meditated (not very well, was at the computer) but didn't really see anything useful.

For those monks, they go through a lot of training, so there must be guides for them. (I feel those are more like thick texts, though)

I'd like something that can direct my mediation more, but it has to be simple, like counting sheep. A CD would be ideal since that can work while meditating.
 
The best place to learn meditation from is an experienced meditator. I think it's something that can only really learnt from another person you can talk to about your experiences. This is how Buddhist monks learn, although there are obviously texts on the subject.

The next best place would be somewhere like www.buddhanet.net, which has an extensive library of audio files and texts on meditation etc., such as http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-meditation.htm.

I'd deliberately steered clear of meditation before that, because I'd read it would (initially) inevitably produce disturbing sights and sounds. The advice was to ignore these.

I've never experienced anything like this - although aparently playing around with hypnogogic states might produce such an effect. Various 'astral travel' techniques can apparently cause such effects, but that's a different field to meditation, really.
 
Unfortunately all my books are in storage so am unable to respond to enquiry re: book I used. However, it instructed in basic breathing exercises which, as advised by another poster, would most probably be available online. From memory, the book I used in above instance instructed on breathing in through nose to count of ... holding breath to count of ... then instructed on exhalation to count of .... Purpose no doubt was to focus concentration and exclude distractions, although apparently there's a physical element involved in breathing in certain patterns.

Have several books devoted to meditation. One of these was a spiral-bound, 90's version containing over a dozen different basic meditation techniques as advised by various well-known schools/individuals; part of a spiral-bound series (excellent) including one on Dowsing by Tom Graves (?) I think.

All the reputable meditation instruction I've read have advised that novices will encounter distractions, some alarming. The advice has been to move past these; to pay no attention. It may be these are nothing more alarming than shadowy forms, but at the time, I was too nervous to risk it. These days I may well cope with such distractions with relative equanimity; won't know until I try :)

Have a meditation CD stashed away somewhere. Had it for several years now. Might dig it out and give it a run through.

Daughter commenced yoga a year or so ago whilst at uni. She said it produced wonderful meditative state. She hadn't foreseen this element and enjoyed it immensely.
 
meditation

Again; Perhaps your heightened sense of awareness when vacuuming is due to your mind being empty - like an 'open channel'?

My mother always used to say she had similar experiences to yours, whilst ironing. Ah, the joys of housework! ..... I avoid spending any longer than I have to doing iroining, vacuuming etc., so am probably not giving my theory a fair chance - but it's a serious suggestion..
 
again said:
All the reputable meditation instruction I've read have advised that novices will encounter distractions, some alarming. The advice has been to move past these; to pay no attention. It may be these are nothing more alarming than shadowy forms, but at the time, I was too nervous to risk it. These days I may well cope with such distractions with relative equanimity; won't know until I try :)

The distractions are basically crap that floats to the surface from your sub conscious. They're nearly always thoughts, and can be quite unpleasant, such as feeliings of anger or fear. But these things happen after some time of steady practice, not straight away.

Hallucinations etc. are very, very rare.

From memory, the book I used in above instance instructed on breathing in through nose to count of ... holding breath to count of ... then instructed on exhalation to count of .... Purpose no doubt was to focus concentration and exclude distractions, although apparently there's a physical element involved in breathing in certain patterns.

Have you heard of "7-11" breathing? It's a very nice way to calm down if you need to. You breath in slowly and deeply for seven seconds, and out for eleven seconds. This has a physiological effect of calming the body down, plus you get lots of oxygen. Try it for a minute or two. It's nice.
 
Hecate: ... thanks, reassuring to know your mother's experienced similar mind-state. Yes, I think you've described it well, regarding the open-channel. It happened to the extent I analysed possible reasons and reached the same conclusion as you. Vacuuming is rhythmic and monotonous, as is the sound, so it's possible it induces a light trance in some, similar to the induction-CDs used by hypnotherapists. Ironing, as you say, is similar, as is sweeping pathways. Such oft-repeated tasks are easily able to be handled by our 'automatic' self, leaving the mind as basically an open-channel.

To Giant-Robot: will try the 7/11 .. thank you
 
The happiest man in the world?
... and you can learn how he does it, says academic-turned-Buddhist monk
By Anthony Barnes
Published: 21 January 2007
To scientists, he is the world's happiest man. His level of mind control is astonishing and the upbeat impulses in his brain are off the scale.

Now Matthieu Ricard, 60, a French academic-turned-Buddhist monk, is to share his secrets to make the world a happier place. The trick, he reckons, is to put some effort into it. In essence, happiness is a "skill" to be learned.

His advice could not be more timely as tomorrow Britain will reach what, according to a scientific formula, is the most miserable day of the year. Tattered new year resolutions, the faded buzz of Christmas, debt, a lack of motivation and the winter weather conspire to create a peak of misery and gloom.

But studies have shown that the mind can rise above it all to increase almost everyone's happiness. Mr Ricard, who is the French interpreter for Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, took part in trials to show that brain training in the form of meditation can cause an overwhelming change in levels of happiness.

MRI scans showed that he and other long-term meditators - who had completed more than 10,000 hours each - experienced a huge level of "positive emotions" in the left pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which is associated with happiness. The right-hand side, which handles negative thoughts, is suppressed.

Further studies have shown that even novices who have done only a little meditation have increased levels of happiness. But Mr Ricard's abilities were head and shoulders above the others involved in the trials.

"The mind is malleable," Mr Ricard told The Independent on Sunday yesterday. "Our life can be greatly transformed by even a minimal change in how we manage our thoughts and perceive and interpret the world. Happiness is a skill. It requires effort and time."

Mr Ricard was brought up among Paris's intellectual elite in the 1960s, but after working for a PhD in biochemsitry he abandoned his distinguished academic career to study Tibetan Buddhism in the Himalayas.

A book of philosophical conversations he conducted with his father Jean-François Revel, The Monk and the Philosopher, became an unlikely publishing phenomenon when it came out in France in the late 1990s.

Mr Ricard is to publish his book Happiness for the first time in the UK next month.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_b ... 171679.ece
 
More on actual changes to the brain brought on by meditation.

Meditation Strengthens The Brain, UCLA Researchers Say

18 Mar 2012

Earlier evidence out of UCLA suggested that meditating for years thickens the brain (in a good way) and strengthens the connections between brain cells. Now a further report by UCLA researchers suggests yet another benefit.

Eileen Luders, an assistant professor at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, and colleagues, have found that long-term meditators have larger amounts of gyrification ("folding" of the cortex, which may allow the brain to process information faster) than people who do not meditate. Further, a direct correlation was found between the amount of gyrification and the number of meditation years, possibly providing further proof of the brain's neuroplasticity, or ability to adapt to environmental changes.

The article appears in the online edition of the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of neural tissue. Among other functions, it plays a key role in memory, attention, thought and consciousness. Gyrification or cortical folding is the process by which the surface of the brain undergoes changes to create narrow furrows and folds called sulci and gyri. Their formation may promote and enhance neural processing. Presumably then, the more folding that occurs, the better the brain is at processing information, making decisions, forming memories and so forth.

"Rather than just comparing meditators and non-meditators, we wanted to see if there is a link between the amount of meditation practice and the extent of brain alteration," said Luders. "That is, correlating the number of years of meditation with the degree of folding."

The researchers took MRI scans of 50 meditators, 28 men and 22 women, and compared them to 50 control subjects matched for age, handedness and sex. The scans for the controls were obtained from an existing MRI database, while the meditators were recruited from various meditation venues. The meditators had practiced their craft on average for 20 years using a variety of meditation types - Samatha, Vipassana, Zen and more. The researchers applied a well-established and automated whole-brain approach to measure cortical gyrification at thousands of points across the surface of the brain.

They found pronounced group differences (heightened levels of gyrification in active meditation practitioners) across a wide swatch of the cortex, including the left precentral gyrus, the left and right anterior dorsal insula, the right fusiform gyrus and the right cuneus.

Perhaps most interesting, though, was the positive correlation between the number of meditation years and the amount of insular gyrification.

"The insula has been suggested to function as a hub for autonomic, affective and cognitive integration," said Luders. "Meditators are known to be masters in introspection and awareness as well as emotional control and self-regulation, so the findings make sense that the longer someone has meditated, the higher the degree of folding in the insula."

While Luders cautions that genetic and other environmental factors could have contributed to the effects the researchers observed, still, "The positive correlation between gyrification and the number of practice years supports the idea that meditation enhances regional gyrification."

References:
Other authors of the study included Florian Kurth, Emeran A. Mayer, Arthur W.Toga, and Katherine L. Narr, all of UCLA, and Christian Gaser, University of Jena, Germany. Funding was provided by several organizations, including the National Institutes of Health. The authors report no conflict of interest.
University of California - Los Angeles

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