The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
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Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#2I was staying at a yoga retreat in Cambodia back in 2015. Meditation was done twice a day for 30+ minutes. I was familiar with meditation for a number of year's already, but a lot of the attendees were "first timers".
Not every day, but on some days we would share our experiences with the group after the meditation was over.
One of the women who had never meditated before, had the biggest smile on her face and goes, "Meditation is amazing! I managed to plan my next three vacations." -- this is a word for word quote.
Is it amusing? Yes, very! Is it meditation? Not at all.
Try to hold focus on an imaginary object during meditation. It's honestly not that simple.
Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#3> We actually have no idea what that means experientially
Well one could start by reading what some of those meditators have written. The behavioral correlate of the half second of gamma seems consistent with the notion of “rigpa”, where one practices direct experience without trying to get carried away in the thought process.
Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#4As a Zen Monk, my answer to “What does it mean?” would be: “If I tell you, I deserve 30 blows. If I don’t tell you, I deserve 30 blows. Now, tell me: Why did I say so!”
Zen Monk Alain M. Lafon, headmonk of Lambda Zen Temple of Glarus, Switzerland https://zen-temple.net/zen-temples/lambda-zen-temple/introdu...
Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#5> We actually have no idea what that means experientially Well one could start by reading what some of those meditators have written. The behavioral correlate of the half second of gamma seems consistent with the notion of “rigpa”, where one practices direct experience without trying to get carried away in the thought process. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigpa
Just a note : 'rigpa' is intimately related to Dzogchen (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzogchen), a high level Tantric practice common to several Tibetan schools of Buddhism as well as the Bon religion, and thus is a /bit/ more complicated than and definitely not quite the same as simply trying to maintain presence in direct experience.
A more appropriate correlate would be 'sati' : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_(Buddhism)
Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#6As a Zen Monk, my answer to “What does it mean?” would be: “If I tell you, I deserve 30 blows. If I don’t tell you, I deserve 30 blows. Now, tell me: Why did I say so!” Zen Monk Alain M. Lafon, headmonk of Lambda Zen Temple of Glarus, Switzerland https://zen-temple.net/zen-temples/lambda-zen-temple/introdu...
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Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#7As a life-long meditator, I have this to say: the conclusion, emphasising "less attached view of the self" is absolutely right. There is a strong correlation of this with "olympic level" meditation. However, it is generally difficult to say which causes which. Luckily, meditation is about simplicity, not complications.
Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#8I was staying at a yoga retreat in Cambodia back in 2015. Meditation was done twice a day for 30+ minutes. I was familiar with meditation for a number of year's already, but a lot of the attendees were "first timers". Not every day, but on some days we would share our experiences with the group after the meditation was over. One of the women who had never meditated before, had the biggest smile on her face and goes,…
what a lovely anecdote, thank you for sharing
Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#9For 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 completely disconnected during this time), but it really cemented my meditation practice.
These days I meditate on my own as well as attend meditation groups (in traditions that I feel connected to). I strive to meditate on my own daily but don't stick to it (ironically meditating has helped me be ok with that inconsistency). While meditating on my own is very helpful, the groups are what really help me stick to the practice. I get a lot from other people's questions and comments and the teachers' responses. I highly recommended finding a group (in a tradition you are open to) if you are just starting out or have an existing meditation practice and want to maintain and develop it.
In the grand scheme, I'm early on and not a "high level" meditator, but sharing one data point, meditation has been pretty life changing for me in terms of dealing with minor mood disorders (depression and anxiety), feeling happier (and recognizing it when I am), and treating others with compassion. It's all still a work in progress.
I'll end with a common phrase. May everyone reading this be happy and free.
Re: The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]
#10For anyone interested in the neuroscience behind this, I recommend reading Judson Brewer’s book the Craving Mind. He did the first fMRI studies of meditators and makes explanations entertaining, interesting and accessible without sacrificing the science behind it.
The cool thing about using fMRI is that they can see which networks and physical systems deep inside the brain become active, not just surface level activity of eeg. From there they see decreased activity in the default mode network from meditators when they are meditating, which is the same activity seen when people take sufficient doses of pychideics such as psilocybin.