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How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

well.blogs.nytimes.com

101–110 of 208 posts

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't consider it mumbo-jumbo. But I feel it doesn't fit well with my Western mindset: it costs a lot of time, and is that really the best way to spend that time? I'd rather go out and walk, and think about problems I want to solve. Or use the time to get something done.

>I'd rather go out and walk Meditation is not limited to strictly sitting indian style in a dark quiet room. Find your own style. If taking a walk calms you down then do that. If you like laying on your back and staring at the stars, then do that. Don't rely too much on how others tell you you should do it

I ride my bike hard on a rural blacktop road.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#103

For those of you who consider meditation a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, I get it, for I felt (and sometimes still feel) the same way. But let me try to phrase meditation in the terms I understand it as. We often find ourselves in stressful or difficult situations, we are constantly bombarded by external worries, and we think it is difficult to deal with our problems. However, no matter how big external issues are, the way t…

I don't consider it mumbo-jumbo. But I feel it doesn't fit well with my Western mindset: it costs a lot of time, and is that really the best way to spend that time? I'd rather go out and walk, and think about problems I want to solve. Or use the time to get something done.

There's some evidence that you can trade roughly the time you spend in meditation at day as a decrease of sleep you need at night: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2919439/

If that pans out, you'd get better mental well-being with the same amount of daily time for other stuff as you had before.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't consider it mumbo-jumbo. But I feel it doesn't fit well with my Western mindset: it costs a lot of time, and is that really the best way to spend that time? I'd rather go out and walk, and think about problems I want to solve. Or use the time to get something done.

There's some evidence that you can trade roughly the time you spend in meditation at day as a decrease of sleep you need at night: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2919439/ If that pans out, you'd get better mental well-being with the same amount of daily time for other stuff as you had before.

Thanks, that definitely sounds like it worth testing!

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#105
post #89

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 found it difficult to meditate for very long. However, I do close my eyes and slow my breathing before I have to do something difficult, or something which causes great anxiety.

You don't need to really meditate once you get in the habit of breathing exercises.

After doing meditation for a while, I found it was much easier to just breathe and calm myself while going about my daily life.

Once you know how to do it on purpose, it's easy to do it in the moment. I don't feel like I really need to actively meditate -- I habitually focus on my breathing, and re-center myself all day long.

I may not get to Nirvana this way, but it makes my day easier, and that's all that I was looking for.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#106
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I need to get up way too early, get myself and my children dressed and fed, and commute to work. In the evening it's commute back, eat, get kids to bed, do chores, and then there's about two hours of free time / social things / time to interact with my wife. So about a quarter of available time. I would be a bit more relaxed, I know, it might have other benefits. But not enough, I think.

There is this Zen proverb that goes like this: "You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day -- unless you're too busy. Then you should sit for an hour." While I don't think it's necessary to sit an hour every day, it does inspire me. In my experience, if you meditate every day for a few weeks/months, you will start feeling more 'grounded'. You'll be more calm in most situations. You will be chasing exte…

I know the proverb.

Zen is a form of Buddhism. Buddhism is interesting and many of the things is says are wise, but ultimately it sees life as suffering and its aim is to reduce suffering.

As interesting as it is, I come from a culture that is too different. No matter how futile it ultimately is, I want to _achieve things_. Being at peace with life feels good but is ultimately not enough.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#107

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…

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 this book to anyone just starting a meditation practice:

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Happiness-Meditation-28-Day-Progr...

Look up Sharon Salzberg. She, along with a few others, helped spread the practice of insight meditation in North America a few decades ago. That book includes a CD containing guided meditations and attempts to provide a framework for practice over 28 days.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#108
post #80

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.

That's a lot of meditation! I am doing 20 minutes at the moment and I feel similar to you: I still have serious trouble staying focused on anything. Did you keep it up or was there a lasting effect?

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#109

For those of you who consider meditation a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, I get it, for I felt (and sometimes still feel) the same way. But let me try to phrase meditation in the terms I understand it as. We often find ourselves in stressful or difficult situations, we are constantly bombarded by external worries, and we think it is difficult to deal with our problems. However, no matter how big external issues are, the way t…

I don't consider it mumbo-jumbo. But I feel it doesn't fit well with my Western mindset: it costs a lot of time, and is that really the best way to spend that time? I'd rather go out and walk, and think about problems I want to solve. Or use the time to get something done.

Siddhartha Guatama (sp?) used to meditate while walking.

I think the idea in the end is, the mind is a tool. If you spend time developing the tool you'll get better results out of it when you're not spending time developing it.

So even if you could use that thirty minutes to do something else, you might, in the end, be able to get more done, with a more sharply honed (clearer) mind.

That being said, is it right for you? I have no idea.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#110

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…

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?

This is more traditional meditation; mindfulness is something which is also practiced in a sort of everyday life, but here's a 5-minute guide to meditating.

So the first thing you need that's often sadly overlooked is a special place which you make for meditation. This can be as simple as "I am going to set an exercise mat in the middle of the carpet in my living room." Keep the space to be relatively clean. Cleaning is itself a great way to dedicate your mind to wholesomeness and order.

Once you've cleaned a space and imbued it with symbolic power, "here is where I am going to meditate", you sit there. Sit however you like the first several times. There is a special way to sit involving a "Zafu" (a pillow that when compressed is still 4-6 inches wide) that you may want to research, where you sit on the edge of it with much weight resting on your knees, and your feet are in a position that neither restricts blood flow nor pinches nerves. The cushion angles your hips forwards, which keeps your back straight. But if you don't have the disposable income to get the cusion for this, just sit down however feels comfortable. Place your hands wherever feels most natural for you to be able to breathe deeply.

Once you have a comfortable seat in that place, it helps to have a little speech to focus your attention and remind yourself what you are doing and why. One Buddhist pre-meditation speech I heard says (with a bit of misremembering and translation error doubtless thrown in): "I am here to end my confusion and distraction. If ending confusion is more important to me right now than everything else, I will succeed. If it is not more important than something, I won't. I am not here to learn some new ideology, but just to pay attention to my own mind: I want to awaken to the causes of my distraction so that I can learn how they work and restrict their power over me."

Now, have something repetitive that you can come constantly back to. Distraction works like alcohol works: if you ingest a little, it subtly compromises your mind in just the sort of way that makes it more likely to ingest more. So this is why the space is clean and you are sitting with good posture without pain, so that you remove the most common distractions of mess, sleep, discomfort.

Many people use the rhythm of deep breaths as the repetitive thing they can come back to. If you are a more visual person, you might want to instead put an object of religious veneration, be it a cross or a Buddha or what-have-you. Someone whose peacefulness you can study is good.

I once helped develop a more "active" picture for a friend who had grown up with either ADD or ADHD, I don't remember which. She said she needed something more like a wholesome movie. We tried to structure it so that it could still be repetitive. Then a week later neither of us could remember what we had done the week before, so we created a new one but as a mnemonic we structured it around 5 elements. It looked something like this:

    Dwell on each of these for 10-15 minutes as a way to eliminate
    distractions. If you find yourself thinking about something else,
    allow yourself to think about it for a little, then return to the
    element you're on.

    1. (Air) You are walking through a forest, and the wind is blowing
       through the trees, blowing through your hair, removing any 
       impurity or distraction that is an obstacle to your growth. You 
       settle on a direction where these winds of change are at your
       back, letting them push you wherever they need you. 
    2. (Fire) There is the smell of smoke, then a feeling of heat
       behind you, then light, and you find yourself running, running
       through this forest which lights up, needing to take swift, 
       dynamic action to dodge the flames and keep ahead of the blaze,
       to get to safety.
    3. (Water) The fire opens up into a clearing with a river. There are
       some scared animals: a fox, some bunnies, a squirrel. You are 
       holding them to your chest to reassure them, and then you lay on
       your back in the river, rafting them safely downstream. Your
       compassion brings a calm, soothing rain which starts to fall, 
       extinguishing the blaze into steam.
    4. (Earth) You get up and set the animals free as the river bends
       near a rock face, and walk along the side of the hill. You find a 
       trail that goes up it. You feel these smooth, ancient, unmoving 
       stones beside you as you ascend this cliff. You feel calm and 
       relaxed with these stones that never need to be anything other 
       than what they are.
    5. (Void) The trail opens up to a landing. You sit down on the
       landing with this solid rock beneath you and look up at the night
       sky. You see the valley in front of you, even more mountain behind
       you, and are struck by how big this place is and how small we are.
The bottom line is that anything works, if it's not too complicated and allows you to say "hey, I am thinking too much about this other person who insulted me the other day, I'm just going to come back to this thing I'm supposed to be focusing on and focus on that instead."
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