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How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

well.blogs.nytimes.com

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Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#171

Post by hackercomplex »

erdojo wrote: post #18

There is also a growing body of evidence that for some people mindfulness and meditation can cause intense and lasting anxiety and exacerbate depression. (Just one of several recent stories on the subject: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/23/is-mindf... ) That has been my experience. I've done meditation retreats and the like. I do find it slows down my mind, but can also surface things that frankly I…

> That has been my experience. I've done meditation retreats and the like. I do find it slows down my mind, but can also surface things that frankly I'm perfectly happy to leave under the surface.

This is generally acknowledged by many meditation traditions especially ones which incorporate vipassana, but perhaps less so by the scientists who write papers about meditation. At some point in the practice all your "inner stuff" can come up: fear, confusion, uncertianty, memory of trauma, etc. Jung called it the "shadow", a popular spiritual teacher Eckart Tolle calls it the "pain-body", and in some Christian traditions they use them term "dark night of the soul". Psychologists may call it PTSD-like-symptoms.

Buddhists believe that one has to purge the mind-body of the three poisons as part of the process of awaking, and during this process it's normal for unsettling mental fabrications to arise.

Some practitioners in America feel like they did not sign up for a deep purge/cleanse of their dark inner content because the whole meditation affair was pitched to them as a form of gentle relaxation therapy. For many people however it can become almost a sort of all-encompassing, existential, ground shaking, transformative process which can sometimes feel like a burden when viewed from a lense where you only indicator of progress has to do with how socially well-adjusted you are in terms of finance, social signals, dating, etc.

Plus statistically speaking some percentage of the people who have their untamed mental processes come up are likely to be ensnared by these creepers in some way and perhaps spiral out of control or go off the deep end. However the meditation dharma-sword is an approprate instrument to hack your way through the mental jungle, and come out the other end which opens up to reveal a mountain. Whether you climb to the summit of your mountain, or just make a cave dwelling within is up to you, but at least you have an elevated perspective relative to the jungle of untamed body consciousness below.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#173

Post by chc »

dominotw wrote: post #162
westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

>This is my favorite source of info on the subject—very substantial content, yet light and even entertaining at times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEw2mHpVv9A Why is that guy dressed in some comical outfit, I can't take him seriously.

Those are ordinary Buddhist monk's robes.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#174

Post by hotcool »

saeranv wrote: post #170
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

Did it take a couple of sessions for you to be able to handle one hour in one session? I started with 20 minutes like you and have incrementally increased it to 40. I'm aiming for 60 minutes, but every time I increase my sitting length I find it incredibly difficult to sit through. Often I feel very stressed and like I'm about to break down due to the boredom. Did you experience this?

Did it take a couple of sessions for you to be able to handle one hour in one session?

Yes. I'd remember something I had to do or get a great idea and have to pause to write it down. I later realised it was just another trick my mind will use to regain control.

The point of meditation (for me, anyway) is to stop impulsive behaviour. That means everything must wait, even scratching an itch.

Often I feel very stressed and like I'm about to break down due to the boredom. Did you experience this?

Yes. Just yesterday at about the 1 3/4 hour mark I got incredibly stir crazy. I tried breathing myself calm again, but I must have sounded like a marathon runner on the last mile. In the final 10 minutes or so I settled back in.

You just got to ride out those rough patches. The journey is as valuable as the destination.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#175

Post by seivan »

hotcool wrote: post #80
westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

How do you keep your mind still? I've tried counting my breaths up to 10, one for in and one for out, but honestly, it's a lot harder than it sounds. I end up having to start from 1 again a lot of times.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#176

Post by seivan »

saeranv wrote: post #170
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

Did it take a couple of sessions for you to be able to handle one hour in one session? I started with 20 minutes like you and have incrementally increased it to 40. I'm aiming for 60 minutes, but every time I increase my sitting length I find it incredibly difficult to sit through. Often I feel very stressed and like I'm about to break down due to the boredom. Did you experience this?

Do you ever feel anxious that you should be doing something instead?

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#177

Post by hotcool »

seivan wrote: post #176
saeranv wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did it take a couple of sessions for you to be able to handle one hour in one session? I started with 20 minutes like you and have incrementally increased it to 40. I'm aiming for 60 minutes, but every time I increase my sitting length I find it incredibly difficult to sit through. Often I feel very stressed and like I'm about to break down due to the boredom. Did you experience this?

Do you ever feel anxious that you should be doing something instead?

I consider meditation to be the most productive thing I can do. Since meditation affects my perspective on life, my relationships, my faith, my health - it supersedes everything else.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#178

Post by chc »

damontal wrote: post #96
yoodenvranx wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you happen to have a good link to a jump-start article about meditation. I am in a sinilar situation as you, life is gray, anxiety problems, ... How should I start doing this today (and the next 4 weeks) without doing too much initial research?

I recommend Gil Fronsdal's podcast. It's free and he's a very good teacher. He has a series specifically for beginners... http://www.audiodharma.org/series/1/talk/1762/

Gil Fronsdal's podcast is great. A lot of meditation teachers seem to be either very distant or have an alienating New Age-y-ness about them. I found Gil to be very relatable and informative.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#179

Post by lomnakkus »

dceddia wrote: post #164
lomnakkus wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Mind you they _will_ hurt you over time if you just push them away. How do you know that? (I'm not being facetious.) I seem to recall there being reasonably solid[1] evidence that thinking about traumatic experiences can actually worsen anxiety and other PTSD symptoms. (Too lazy to look up references, and I don't have access to any paywalled journals anyway, so...) The evidence seems to point to just leaving things…

No access to paywalled journals? Try Sci Hub! (formerly on the HN front page) - sci-hub.io

Whoever did this is a f'in hero!

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#180

Post by hotcool »

seivan wrote: post #175
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

How do you keep your mind still? I've tried counting my breaths up to 10, one for in and one for out, but honestly, it's a lot harder than it sounds. I end up having to start from 1 again a lot of times.

I suggest not counting. Don't use your mind to tame your mind. Try to ride a tiger and it will only eat you.

Escape conceptual thought entirely.

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