Meditation has always been a central spiritual discipline. Whether it's the Buddha under the Bodhi tree, Shiva in the lotus position, or be it the desert fathers of early Christianity: All the great spiritual traditions consider meditation as a powerful tool on the path to enlightenment, Gottverwirklichtung, nirvana, satori, Unio Mystica, or whatever you give the pinnacle of spiritual perfection may seem. In addition to meditation, spiritual direction also has an appreciable wellness potential. Then have mainly focused Western meditation teachers and meditation closely associated with relaxation and health issues.
In the past two decades, then began to seriously turn to the modern science of meditation. Initially there were doctors who were mainly the positive effects of meditation on health explored. Thus, among other studies show that meditation lowers blood pressure, relieves symptoms of stress, the immune system improves and offers help with insomnia and chronic pain.
Following a rather hesitant approach, there is now a significantly increased interest in science of meditation, which is also reflected in a growing number of relevant publications. While careful researchers in the past, fearful for her reputation before had to deal with meditation, is the ancient art of mind control and transcendence is now almost become hip and is not dismissed much more than esoteric and New Age.
The foundations for the meditation research have laid pioneers such as Harvard's Dr. Benson ( "Relaxation Response") and Jon Kabat-Zinn. More recently, however, were mainly neurologists such as Richard Davidson and Sara Lazar, marching with their studies, the attention of the scientific community and the public's. Using the latest scientific tools such as the measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the magnetoencephalography (MEG) and the improved electroencephalography (EEG), brain researchers and neurologists are in a position to the effect of meditation on to understand the human brain. They were thus able to prove scientifically sound, that meditation not only the way the brain works, fundamentally changed, but that its effects extend into the physical structure of the brain.
The studies
1 Meditation optimizes the functioning of the brain
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin discovered in a study with Tibetan monks that a trained through meditation brain works differently than the untrained. Has worked with the Tibetan Buddhist meditation on unconditional compassion. Richard Davidson, a neurologist at the Institute for Functional Brain Imaging at the University of Wisconsin believes that the results can glimpse a hitherto unimagined potential of the human brain. The study found, among other things following results:
People with a long meditation practice during meditation show a higher frequency of gamma waves (gamma waves are brain waves associated with higher mental activity, higher concentration and learning are brought together)
The gamma wave frequency was already above average before the monks began to meditate. This suggests that the effect of meditation on brain waves is permanent and not limited to the period of meditation.
The brains of the monks of this study had compared to the same group without previous meditation practice more and unusually strong gamma waves.
The intensity of gamma waves corresponded roughly to the length of personal meditation practice. Some of the most experienced monks showed the strongest gamma waves on that have ever been detected in a human brain. In the control group without previous meditation practice, the increase in gamma waves during meditation was only slight.
The human mind can be trained through meditation. Meditative training alters the brain and increases its capacity for consciousness, happiness and compassion.
2 Meditation increases brain
In another study by Sara Lazar, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, was also the brains of meditators compared with a control group with no meditation experience. The meditation technique used here was a Buddhist mindfulness meditation, body and works with the senses. Perceptions that arise in consciousness, to be registered there without thinking about it, otherwise, the attention rests on the breath.
With this study have shown that meditation not only changes the structure of the brain, but even enlarged. More specifically, regular meditation increases the thickness of the brain areas involved with cognition, the processing of emotions and well-being. These areas of the cerebral cortex (cortex) are generally thinner with age. Meditation seems just as comfortable as effective means of retarding the aging process and reverse the brain (some of the negative effects of aging as decline in memory and cognitive performance).
The results of this study agree with other studies, where it was shown that certain brain areas to grow through practice. To have a thicker musicians 'music area', dancers and athletes thickened "motor areas" and so on. The amazing story of Sara Lazar's study is that a purely mental, internal activity such as meditation has the same effect as an external, physical activities, such as learning a musical instrument, a sport or a language. For the brain, the imagination and consciousness work of meditation is as real as "real" experiences.
Conclusions
Meditation works! A correctly and seriously practiced meditation practice has many positive effects on our mind and our health. They even change the structure of the brain and lays the foundation for the experience of higher states of consciousness.
The effects of meditation can be visualized and verified by scientific means. The subjective experience of the meditator can thus be objectified.
The methods of modern brain research could be used to objectively assess how a person advanced in his meditation practice.
Neurology practitioners could provide evidence of whether one's own meditation practice is successful or needs to be corrected. With its variety of methods they could both give detailed feedback as well be an important source of motivation.
As the spiritually developed mind is fundamentally different from the unenlightened, uneducated mind (for example, because different) higher states of consciousness, a very special, distinctive brain wave patterns to create the methods could be used in neuroscience to themselves and enlightened alien named on the degree of illumination tested. This could help spiritual seekers to distinguish truly highly realized masters of false gurus, and money-hungry swindlers.
Meditation can be systematically used as a physical and psychological therapy.
Brain researchers and physicians are already examined in a position to describe the specific effects of different meditation techniques, and this in turn associated with specific clinical symptoms. This could, in principle, for many diseases are matching meditation technique discovered and prescribed. (What, however, would be nothing new, for Ayurvedic physicians have always been treated with meditation or mantras). This would of modern medicine and psychotherapy not only open up entirely new ways, but would also be a paradigm shift - from a predominantly drug-oriented, materialistic perspective towards a more holistic, more spiritual approach, but at the same scientific basis and would be accounted for. In any case, meditation is likely to play a central role in bringing some of the negative aspects of modern life (such as stress combined with lack of exercise, overstimulation of the senses and the mind through hustle and electronic media to counter).
The potential of the human spirit
Despite the amazing findings of quantum physics, modern thinking is still dominated by the materialistic paradigm, which considers matter and mind as completely separate entities. The described scientific studies of meditation, however, suggest that this paradigm does not reflect the realities of brain and mind. The human mind affects the brain as the brain, the mind. The latter is apparent in brain injury and changes in brain chemistry through drugs, the former had not yet been demonstrated. But the brain research now shows that our way of thinking changes the physical structure of the brain.
Materialism sees the human mind as a product of matter - such feelings as the mere result of chemical processes in the brain or mind as a result of electrical impulses. Yoga and spirituality, considered on the other side, coagulated matter as spirit and the human spirit as the Lord of the brain, not his successor. The neurosciences can help bridge the gap between these two polar views of the world and bring the best of both approaches to the application. Thus, the modern brain research to show how spiritual practice shapes the brain and altered, but also just how important it is to recognize the importance of the brain as the material basis of mind.
Above all, studies such as this, however, show one thing: The human mind has an almost infinite potential. Through spiritual practice like meditation, we can begin to awaken the slumbering potential of our mind. By training our brain through meditation, we can form little by little into a vessel for the enlightened mind.
In the past two decades, then began to seriously turn to the modern science of meditation. Initially there were doctors who were mainly the positive effects of meditation on health explored. Thus, among other studies show that meditation lowers blood pressure, relieves symptoms of stress, the immune system improves and offers help with insomnia and chronic pain.
Following a rather hesitant approach, there is now a significantly increased interest in science of meditation, which is also reflected in a growing number of relevant publications. While careful researchers in the past, fearful for her reputation before had to deal with meditation, is the ancient art of mind control and transcendence is now almost become hip and is not dismissed much more than esoteric and New Age.
The foundations for the meditation research have laid pioneers such as Harvard's Dr. Benson ( "Relaxation Response") and Jon Kabat-Zinn. More recently, however, were mainly neurologists such as Richard Davidson and Sara Lazar, marching with their studies, the attention of the scientific community and the public's. Using the latest scientific tools such as the measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the magnetoencephalography (MEG) and the improved electroencephalography (EEG), brain researchers and neurologists are in a position to the effect of meditation on to understand the human brain. They were thus able to prove scientifically sound, that meditation not only the way the brain works, fundamentally changed, but that its effects extend into the physical structure of the brain.
The studies
1 Meditation optimizes the functioning of the brain
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin discovered in a study with Tibetan monks that a trained through meditation brain works differently than the untrained. Has worked with the Tibetan Buddhist meditation on unconditional compassion. Richard Davidson, a neurologist at the Institute for Functional Brain Imaging at the University of Wisconsin believes that the results can glimpse a hitherto unimagined potential of the human brain. The study found, among other things following results:
People with a long meditation practice during meditation show a higher frequency of gamma waves (gamma waves are brain waves associated with higher mental activity, higher concentration and learning are brought together)
The gamma wave frequency was already above average before the monks began to meditate. This suggests that the effect of meditation on brain waves is permanent and not limited to the period of meditation.
The brains of the monks of this study had compared to the same group without previous meditation practice more and unusually strong gamma waves.
The intensity of gamma waves corresponded roughly to the length of personal meditation practice. Some of the most experienced monks showed the strongest gamma waves on that have ever been detected in a human brain. In the control group without previous meditation practice, the increase in gamma waves during meditation was only slight.
The human mind can be trained through meditation. Meditative training alters the brain and increases its capacity for consciousness, happiness and compassion.
2 Meditation increases brain
In another study by Sara Lazar, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, was also the brains of meditators compared with a control group with no meditation experience. The meditation technique used here was a Buddhist mindfulness meditation, body and works with the senses. Perceptions that arise in consciousness, to be registered there without thinking about it, otherwise, the attention rests on the breath.
With this study have shown that meditation not only changes the structure of the brain, but even enlarged. More specifically, regular meditation increases the thickness of the brain areas involved with cognition, the processing of emotions and well-being. These areas of the cerebral cortex (cortex) are generally thinner with age. Meditation seems just as comfortable as effective means of retarding the aging process and reverse the brain (some of the negative effects of aging as decline in memory and cognitive performance).
The results of this study agree with other studies, where it was shown that certain brain areas to grow through practice. To have a thicker musicians 'music area', dancers and athletes thickened "motor areas" and so on. The amazing story of Sara Lazar's study is that a purely mental, internal activity such as meditation has the same effect as an external, physical activities, such as learning a musical instrument, a sport or a language. For the brain, the imagination and consciousness work of meditation is as real as "real" experiences.
Conclusions
Meditation works! A correctly and seriously practiced meditation practice has many positive effects on our mind and our health. They even change the structure of the brain and lays the foundation for the experience of higher states of consciousness.
The effects of meditation can be visualized and verified by scientific means. The subjective experience of the meditator can thus be objectified.
The methods of modern brain research could be used to objectively assess how a person advanced in his meditation practice.
Neurology practitioners could provide evidence of whether one's own meditation practice is successful or needs to be corrected. With its variety of methods they could both give detailed feedback as well be an important source of motivation.
As the spiritually developed mind is fundamentally different from the unenlightened, uneducated mind (for example, because different) higher states of consciousness, a very special, distinctive brain wave patterns to create the methods could be used in neuroscience to themselves and enlightened alien named on the degree of illumination tested. This could help spiritual seekers to distinguish truly highly realized masters of false gurus, and money-hungry swindlers.
Meditation can be systematically used as a physical and psychological therapy.
Brain researchers and physicians are already examined in a position to describe the specific effects of different meditation techniques, and this in turn associated with specific clinical symptoms. This could, in principle, for many diseases are matching meditation technique discovered and prescribed. (What, however, would be nothing new, for Ayurvedic physicians have always been treated with meditation or mantras). This would of modern medicine and psychotherapy not only open up entirely new ways, but would also be a paradigm shift - from a predominantly drug-oriented, materialistic perspective towards a more holistic, more spiritual approach, but at the same scientific basis and would be accounted for. In any case, meditation is likely to play a central role in bringing some of the negative aspects of modern life (such as stress combined with lack of exercise, overstimulation of the senses and the mind through hustle and electronic media to counter).
The potential of the human spirit
Despite the amazing findings of quantum physics, modern thinking is still dominated by the materialistic paradigm, which considers matter and mind as completely separate entities. The described scientific studies of meditation, however, suggest that this paradigm does not reflect the realities of brain and mind. The human mind affects the brain as the brain, the mind. The latter is apparent in brain injury and changes in brain chemistry through drugs, the former had not yet been demonstrated. But the brain research now shows that our way of thinking changes the physical structure of the brain.
Materialism sees the human mind as a product of matter - such feelings as the mere result of chemical processes in the brain or mind as a result of electrical impulses. Yoga and spirituality, considered on the other side, coagulated matter as spirit and the human spirit as the Lord of the brain, not his successor. The neurosciences can help bridge the gap between these two polar views of the world and bring the best of both approaches to the application. Thus, the modern brain research to show how spiritual practice shapes the brain and altered, but also just how important it is to recognize the importance of the brain as the material basis of mind.
Above all, studies such as this, however, show one thing: The human mind has an almost infinite potential. Through spiritual practice like meditation, we can begin to awaken the slumbering potential of our mind. By training our brain through meditation, we can form little by little into a vessel for the enlightened mind.
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