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The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

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Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#71

Post by sage2018 »

mcshicks wrote: post #57
sage2018 wrote: post #34

I find the real benefits of meditation are evident when it is done consistently. Sadly, it is easy to stay consistent with checking phone several times a day than meditating few minutes a day. Any tips on how to make it a habit?

Find a meditation group that meets regularly (i.e. once a week) at a time you can make. It's easier for most people to meditate a bit longer in a group, and you might find it motivates you to practice more during the rest of the week.

Good tip! There are lot of meditation meetups in the area where I live. I will plan to attend.

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#72

Post by perseusprime11 »

pcpcpc wrote: post #9

For those who are interested and new to meditation, I started meditating several years ago with Headspace and YouTube videos of Jonathan Kabat Zinn and others. It's a great place to start. I later went on a silent meditation retreat and learned a lot more about meditation and got confident with techniques I could practice on my own. This may not be available to everyone due to the time commitment (and being completel…

Do you have links to those YouTube videos from Jon Kabat Zinn?

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#73

Post by nekopa »

lostmsu wrote: post #61

So one guy measured a gamma wave of his friend, and it's a >140 point article on HN? There's zero substance to this article. No links to reviewed research.

On the one hand, it is a pretty light article. On the other, the names dropped are fairly respected in their fields. If you have a genuine interest in the topic, may I suggest you check out this podcast:

https://samharris.org/podcasts/111-science-meditation/

It involves the people mentioned in the article and is quite illuminating as to what they've done over the previous few decades regarding this research topic.

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#74

Post by gchamonlive »

jamescostian wrote: post #48

> Olympic level meditators ... gamma very strong all the time These gamma waves have high frequencies, and point to a LOT of things happening in one's mind at once. I'm not sure if that's the goal of meditation? Also, a meta analysis of ASD (autism spectrum disorder) showed that "The most consistent result that could lead to a generalization is an increase in absolute gamma power in ASD compared to non-ASD subjects",…

I share the thought that Olympic is an unfortunate word to describe long term meditators. At least in vipassana one does not meditate to get better at it, because there is no getting better at, only the act of meditation. You get better at not letting the mind wander of, but that is not the goal, just a consequence of practicing meditation.

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#75

Post by iandanforth »

lostmsu wrote: post #61

So one guy measured a gamma wave of his friend, and it's a >140 point article on HN? There's zero substance to this article. No links to reviewed research.

You might enjoy this from a while back - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2944261/

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#76

Post by visarga »

ak39 wrote: post #50
me551ah wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it's not torturous at all, I and multiple friends have attended it. My 60 year old parents have attended it. They charge no fees, in fact you can only donate(optional and they won't even ask) if you have completed the entire course. You are free to leave at any point of time, no questions asked. Vipassana meditation is a powerful technique though. They clearly mention on their website asking people to stay away i…

Allow me please to ingratiate myself with pity. I know exactly what sort of (negative) energy I have pent up in me. Resentment. I get triggered for being short-changed a penny just as much as being robbed of of hundreds. I boil to illogic, stammering incoherence when I see injustice against my fellow helpless. I foam at the mouth with silent trembling rage when after borrowing money to put food on the table I see the…

I agree with you. Maybe what you need is to accept that other people will often be jerks when they can. It's like bad weather - you suffer the consequences but you can't change it. So why be resentful at something that is like the weather? That's what I am telling myself, to keep calm.

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#77

Post by victor106 »

kranner wrote: post #20
kaiwen1 wrote: post #16

Sam Harris recently released a meditation app for iPhone and Android. As the reviews attest, it is outstanding, the best thing I've seen for getting started on your own. https://wakingup.com/

I have to disagree. I tried it for a couple of weeks but have unsubscribed. The problem is that Harris talks way too much during guided meditations. A good guided meditation normally has a judicious mix of instructions and silence, but Harris keeps rambling on, making it difficult to concentrate on the instructions. He has an old guided meditation available on YouTube; that one is much better. Insight Timer is a much…

I second this. Sam Harris’s books and videos on YouTube are great but in his wakingup app he talks way too much.

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#78

Post by petra »

lettergram wrote: post #60
dwaltrip wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you please spell out your technical critique of the equipment? You are saying that they don't reliably measure gamma waves?

To capture gamma waves you need to have something that samples at least 200 times per second on the low end 400 times per second on the higher end. This is a minimum, preferably you'd be sampling 1000 times per second. Most EEGs sample between 240 - 500 times per second. This is due to the way FFTs work. Now this does not include noise OR sensor sensitivity, which for reference you'll see from things like electrical…

What's the technical problem in measuring a differential signal at a 1000 samples/sec, plus removing noise and amplifying it ? It's a common analog electronics problem.

And if it's not technically complicated, why does nobody do this ?

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#79

Post by cloistered »

hedgew wrote: post #17
me551ah wrote: post #15

One of the best ways to learn advanced level meditation is to travel to a vipassana meditation camp. They usually hold sessions lasting over 10 days where you are not allowed to have any outside contact with the world. It is also conducted by trained Buddhist monks. You'll easily find multiple reviews for this course on the internet ( just google 'vipassana meditation' ) and it's one of the best crash courses that yo…

No. This is dangerous advice. An intensive, torturous retreat away from friends and familiar places is one of the worst ways to start meditating. https://www.google.com/search?q=vipassana+psychosis

I attended a 10 day course earlier this year. Before I went, I had read these stories, and admittedly, I was afraid I'd, at the very least, be terrified by what came up in my mind. But that's not what happened. Following their simple instructions, my mind became quieter, calmer, and sharper. I had more control over my fear response. It ended up being a great experience, and I'd recommend anyone interested in one of these courses to go for it.

I was also concerned about the environment. I was thousands of miles away from anyone I knew in a strange place and different country. We were asked to hand over our phones, reading material, journals. We were asked not to speak to anyone and to avoid any form of communication. But this was all to benefit our meditation. We were given a space for several days to really focus on ourselves without external distractions. The day our silence was lifted, you really got to experience just how much talking to another person can disturb/distract your mind.

Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]

#80

Post by hi5eyes »

hedgew wrote: post #17
me551ah wrote: post #15

One of the best ways to learn advanced level meditation is to travel to a vipassana meditation camp. They usually hold sessions lasting over 10 days where you are not allowed to have any outside contact with the world. It is also conducted by trained Buddhist monks. You'll easily find multiple reviews for this course on the internet ( just google 'vipassana meditation' ) and it's one of the best crash courses that yo…

No. This is dangerous advice. An intensive, torturous retreat away from friends and familiar places is one of the worst ways to start meditating. https://www.google.com/search?q=vipassana+psychosis

looking through the links and experience from forum posters is scary, vipassana and similarly intense experiences like high dose psychedelic induced ego death can have similar results. the minds of mindfulness beginners when in next level introspection are scary
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