Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice

I feel more balanced after meditation. But I have no way how to otherwise quantify it. For example, I'm also more conscious about being irritated when I'm irritated and can avoid feeding thought patterns that would prolong this irritation. Placebo? Neurological changes? Observational bias? Beats me, but I see nothing harm in sitting down, breathing, and observing my thoughts.

Re: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice

#6

Post by gerbilly » Tue, Sep 08, 2015, 6:34 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #3

Why do people do all these strange things? To make more money with "better brain" ?

Because after a while some of us get totally fed up with living life the 'normal way': that is to say chasing one fragile form of happiness after another.

Re: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice

#7

Post by bsuh » Tue, Sep 08, 2015, 6:47 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #3

Why do people do all these strange things? To make more money with "better brain" ?

Every human being wants happiness. Whether it's money, cool gadgets, attractive significant others, knowledge, volunteer work, exercise, or meditation, the general goal is to feel happy.

Re: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice

#8

Post by nugga » Tue, Sep 08, 2015, 6:59 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #3

Why do people do all these strange things? To make more money with "better brain" ?

Personal anecdote: meditation can get you to some incredible places. It takes daily sustained activity to really 'get' it.

https://www.dhamma.org/en/about/code

Re: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice

#9

Post by hacker_9 » Tue, Sep 08, 2015, 7:15 PM UTC

I started meditating about 2 years ago because I liked the idea of having better 'control of my mind' - at the time I thought it was a gimmick but to my surprise it actually works.

To begin with I found that after 20-30mins of closing my eyes and trying to think of nothing, I always came out of the session feeling a lot calmer. Fast forward to today and I can now isolate thoughts and throw them away if they are garbage, which I'm not gonna lie is a pretty useful tool to have. The brain has a tendency to replay bad memories over and over again (recent embarrassing social situations, or even random events from years ago can suddenly pop up) and they can affect how you go about your day to day when you overthink them - you get overly nervous about a presentation you have to do later for example.

But now I can stop the thought in it's tracks and just 'let it go', returning my attention to my work. Because you calm and slow your mind in meditation you are able to separate out how thoughts are formed and observe how they change your mood and how they make you react, which gives you more power over them in daily life.

Re: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice

#10

Post by nabla9 » Tue, Sep 08, 2015, 7:16 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #3

Why do people do all these strange things? To make more money with "better brain" ?

Imagine what it would be if you had lived little bit intoxicated for whole of your life. Then you would start sobering up.

You would notice more awareness, more focus, clarity and possibly well being. Rest of the world would seem less confusing.

Questioning the assumption that your normal wakeful mental state is the ultimate 'being alive and conscious' what your brain can do might be the first step. If you persist, eventually you see meditation same way as brushing your teeth. It's important part of maintaining your mental hygiene.