11–20 of 396 posts
"Along a less-traveled route, meditation remains what it long was: a deeply transformative pursuit, a devoted metamorphosis of the mind toward increasingly enlightened states." This pretty much lines up with what meditation has done for me. However, the pursuit of "states" can be a trap in of itself. As my practice has gotten deeper, I've started to reframe meditation for myself as the process of unrelenting inquiry…
Recommend checking out the Koru system. It's an evidence-based mindfulness system out of the Research Triangle.
Regardless, the Monroe Institute already performed groundbreaking research in this area 50 years ago. I don't have a source at the moment, but I remember reading that the Monroe Institute's binaural beat audio programs creates brainwave patterns similar to that of an advanced Buddhist monk in meditation.
Apparently, the Monroe Institute discovered that the elevated mental states achieved by these monks is achieved with brain hemisphere synchronization, which they call "Gateway Hemisync." According to the Monroe Institute, "this process uses pulses of sound to create in both brain hemispheres electrical wave forms simultaneously equal in frequency and amplitude. The Institute was granted a patent in 1975 based upon the use of such sound pulses to induce a frequency following response (FFR) in the human brain. The FFR demonstrates that when you hear a certain type of sound, your brain tends to respond to, or resonate with, that sound...Each ear sends its dominant nerve signal to the opposite brain hemisphere...By sending separate sound pulses to each ear (using stereo headphones to isolate one ear from the other), the halves of the brain act in unison to “hear” a third signal, which is the difference in frequencies between the two signals in each ear" [1].
A group in the US Army performed a serious analysis of the Gateway Hemisync process, concluding that "there is a sound, rational basis in terms of physical science parameters for considering Gateway to be plausible in terms of its essential objectives", which include "out-of-body movement", "terrestrial information gathering trips", and "possible encounters with intelligent, non-corporal energy forms when time-space boundaries are exceeded" [2].
The article is talking about scientific validation of meditation and its outcomes. That's not to say we should blindly accept the claims of those scientists, the Monroe Institute, or the US Army. The key is to follow the evidence while remembering that greed and prestige is what's causing the "McMindfulness" effect.
Smartphone apps will be most useful for personal guided meditations, but they should be freely available.
[1] https://vdocuments.net/the-gateway-experience-guidance-manua...
[2] https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R0017002...
> Given that wealthy countries like the US aren’t exactly riding trend lines toward new peaks of mental health (depression rates in American adults are at an all-time high, while young people appear in the grips of a mental health crisis), scalable ways of not just mindfully soothing, but completely re-creating psychological experiences for the better should set off sirens of general, scientific, and funding intrigue…
These tools were developed to address the problems of the world, not to play into the individualization of collective harm. They were for helping the world, not simply self.
A great test of whether or not these methods are colonized: does one come away with the ability to envision decolonial anticapitalist ways forward and then choose to enact them?
If not, probably colonized medicine.
Decontextualized wisdom is a form of ignorance and typically leads to harm.
"Along a less-traveled route, meditation remains what it long was: a deeply transformative pursuit, a devoted metamorphosis of the mind toward increasingly enlightened states." This pretty much lines up with what meditation has done for me. However, the pursuit of "states" can be a trap in of itself. As my practice has gotten deeper, I've started to reframe meditation for myself as the process of unrelenting inquiry…
I wanted to understand what is out there, especially outside of these apps and folks who pursue meditation seriously.
Little google search I found this guy. https://www.exploringtheproblemspace.com/new-blog/2018/2/18/... To conclude that, Jon Kabat-Zinn, the "scientist" quoted in the article is just pure pseudoscience.
> Given that wealthy countries like the US aren’t exactly riding trend lines toward new peaks of mental health (depression rates in American adults are at an all-time high, while young people appear in the grips of a mental health crisis), scalable ways of not just mindfully soothing, but completely re-creating psychological experiences for the better should set off sirens of general, scientific, and funding intrigue…
I agree, but the question emerges "what is treatable?" Many of the thousands of causes of stress in modern life can't be changed by an individual: I can't unelect politicians I disagree with, clean up the air where I live, or make the roads I travel significantly less clogged with traffic. But I can change my reactions to these. Thich Nhat Hanh taught people 'to consider every red traffic light a Bodhisattva, teaching us to "stop and be here now"'. An individual can treat SOME causes: Disconnect from Twitter and nightly TV news, and if that's what you mean, I agree with you even more strongly. But for larger realities, "the social structures that cause so much of the stress", no immediate solutions are available to the individual. Stress reduction is a good way to go.
What exactly is considered "advanced meditation"? I've been meditating for years, but don't do it for hours each day or go on extended silent retreats. I've read many practices too and I'm not aware of anything "advanced" outside of just spending more time and revolving more of your life around it. 10-15 minutes a day already does wonders for me.
"Along a less-traveled route, meditation remains what it long was: a deeply transformative pursuit, a devoted metamorphosis of the mind toward increasingly enlightened states." This pretty much lines up with what meditation has done for me. However, the pursuit of "states" can be a trap in of itself. As my practice has gotten deeper, I've started to reframe meditation for myself as the process of unrelenting inquiry…
Fully agree although a lot of devotees of Ramana Maharshi said they fell into silence just sitting in his presence. Improbable but it would be hilarious if scientists could make little "mouna wifi hubs" where practitioners got a silence handicap by sitting around it.
In the end though, I'm also skeptical that anything about self-inquiry can be replicated by an additive approach.
"Along a less-traveled route, meditation remains what it long was: a deeply transformative pursuit, a devoted metamorphosis of the mind toward increasingly enlightened states." This pretty much lines up with what meditation has done for me. However, the pursuit of "states" can be a trap in of itself. As my practice has gotten deeper, I've started to reframe meditation for myself as the process of unrelenting inquiry…
can you provide some resources to understand this "advanced" meditation? my attempts with calm/headspace etc always stop at the same theme of 'concentrate on breathing, distractions are fine'. I wanted to understand what is out there, especially outside of these apps and folks who pursue meditation seriously.