Can Meditation Change Your Brain?

CNN

Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation - the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects - permanently changes the brain for the better.

“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans. “Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says. “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”

“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson. “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”

CNN

This is a great article and I am pleased to see it being reported by CNN. I actually have met this Richard Davidson guy and hope to take a class from him soon.

More study, more respect, more people practice......

Perhaps you should meditate on it and get back to us

I do believe it changes the way your brain functions. The brain appears to me to be the most malleable aspect of the human form. Just my opinion though.

reply to post by LifeIsEnergy


Not only does it change our brains...
it actually grows them.
To a larger size.
literally.

People who meditate grow bigger brains than those who don't. Researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found the first evidence that meditation can alter the physical structure of our brains. Brain scans they conducted reveal that experienced meditators boasted increased thickness in parts of the brain that deal with attention and processing sensory input.

www.physorg.com...

The study involved 20 participants with extensive training in "Buddhist Insight meditation." They meditated an average of 40 minutes per day.

Magnetic resonance imaging found that regular practice of meditation was specifically associated with increased thickness in brain regions related to sensory, auditory, visual and internal perception, such as heart rate or breathing. It also appears that regular meditation practice may slow age-related shrinkage of the frontal cortex. Changes were greatest in the right hemispheres of subjects' brains.

The authors of the study believe that other forms of yoga and meditation likely have a similar impact on brain structure, although each tradition would be expected to have a slightly different pattern of cortical thickening based on the specific mental exercises involved. If you don't practice meditation yet, you can start with this simple exercise.

mentalhealth.about.com...

reply to post by Ahmose


Thank you!!! That is some very good information! I really am interested in this now, no longer do I just want to practice it but now I want to really study it. I never knew so many people in the West were studying it, hopefully more and more will.

reply to post by LifeIsEnergy

Judging by the meditators I know, meditation causes stupidity.

i recently read somewhere that meditation can cause a certain gland in the brain to produce a "waxy" substance that increases life span and decreases age related mental disorders,such as alzheimers.

An interesting question arises for the future of this work and it's potential applications.

If you work out your muscles in a disorganized or irresponsible way, you can create unintended negative consequences.
For example, if you go for just a little bit with really heavy weights and don't do flexibility training, sure you'll have mass, but after a few months you may find it getting harder to scratch your own back.


In my own experience, there is reason to suspect that any thought pattern you dwell on frequently enough becomes ingrained, regardless of whether it is good or bad. If I go a long time without thinking about a past outrage, I become able to be reminded of it without revisiting all of the negativity associated with it. But if I am frequently reminded of it and at those times choose to think deeply about it, and do not focus on directing that only in positive directions, I get VERY mad, and I come up with ideas of bad things to say and do to people which eventually come spilling out of my mouth in an angry moment months later- even if I thought I had forgotten all about it.

For example, there is one particular person who wronged me in a way that is often relevant to my everyday problems, even though that person has been out of my life for years now. So for all I know that person might already be dead, but I see them every month. And when I do, I can't help but turn it all over in my head again, because I just don't understand how things went that horribly wrong for me. I can become so lost in time and space when I "meditate" on this person that I find myself actually talking to them aloud, or standing up to fight (I'm talking adrenaline, war face, clenched fists and all- every bit as real as when we really were getting ready to come to blows). I just realized that I'm scowling right now in fact. And I have found that this changes me. This is not intended to be practice, but it serves the purpose- I can see the results when I get into arguments and find myself automatically using new tricks that essentially "came to me in a dream" during those little hatred meditations.


So what happens if this research determines that the wrong kind of mental exercise makes you a worse person rather than a better one? What if certain thought processes are determined to make someone more prone to a fight or flight response for example? Do we actually end up with Thought Crime laws? Do we end up in a world where if you're walking down the street with a scowl on your face and sub-vocalizing (your lips move slightly and your breathing varies when you think deeply about talking sometimes, even though you may not know you are expressing any of those thoughts outwardly) and obviously dwelling on something negative, the cops pick you up and take you downtown for an MRI, followed by mandatory compassion meditation if the MRI says you're mean?

Probably not to be honest, because that would be pretty obscene to a modern sense of liberty, but then again there's never been scientific evidence that it might be possible to preemptive rehabilitate people before (and there still isn't at least for the time being). I'm worried that if negative mental exercise is found to exist, sensationalized or affirmation-seeking science may end up suggesting that people can cause themselves to become intrinsically "bad people" if their maladaptive thought patterns are not identified and discouraged/punished before they do something. Of course we have a right not to be subjected to that kind of thing- but with time and pressure and claims of scientific support, loopholes could always emerge. I could easily imagine them eventually applying that to violent parolees as a condition of parole, next to anyone with a violent conviction, and eventually to anyone with a documented "history of aggression"- like people who argue with traffic cops and internet trolls.

Oh look, 1984, that's my bed time.

reply to post by LifeIsEnergy


A book i recommend to read is The brain that change itself
I just finished it myself, awesome and fascinating book, it is amazing what our brain is capable of.

The discovery of neuroplasticity, that our thoughts can change the structure and function of our brains, even into old age, is the most important breakthrough in our understanding of the brain in four hundred years.
Dr. Norman Doidge introduces principles we can all use to overcome brain limitations and explores the profound brain implications of the changing brain in an immensely moving book that will permanently alter the way we look at human possibility and human nature.

This book is now also being studied by Uni students doing medical degrees

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy
CNN

Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation - the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects - permanently changes the brain for the better.

“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans. “Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says. “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”

“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson. “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”

CNN

This is a great article and I am pleased to see it being reported by CNN. I actually have met this Richard Davidson guy and hope to take a class from him soon.

More study, more respect, more people practice......

edit on 26-10-2010 by LifeIsEnergy because: (no reason given)

You have to understand that meditation isn't a workout. Is a spiritual experience without all the philosophizing. During meditation, you feel all sorts of emotions, you see all sorts of images, and you can hear ultrasonic sounds. If you live a very negative life, you will feel it in your meditation. The purpose of meditation? To control the Kundalini energy or Chi energy. Being at ease with oneself and calm are just the surface.

Not only can it change your brain, but it can change your life and the lives of those around you.

I'm thoroughly convinced meditation is the key to happiness and a long, fulfilling life.
But what do I know?

Originally posted by ChiForce
You have to understand that meditation isn't a workout. Is a spiritual experience without all the philosophizing. During meditation, you feel all sorts of emotions, you see all sorts of images, and you can hear ultrasonic sounds. If you live a very negative life, you will feel it in your meditation. The purpose of meditation? To control the Kundalini energy or Chi energy.

Being at ease with oneself and calm are just the surface.

For some people meditation is a mental workout.
If you diligently study pranyama under an older-style guru it becomes a physical workout as well.
Meditation, as you say,can be a way to learn control of the Kundalini energy or Chi energy.

However meditation for some people is as simple and natural as a baby suckling from the breast.

I've always had to work at not getting lost in meditation, because I've had a busy life with responsibilities. But when I can sit and relax, I'm drinking in joy, riding on the waves of laughter that make up the universe.

Seeing people work at meditation reminds me of when I got a bycycle, and being the most stubborn unco-ordinated kid imaginable, I tried and tried to ride that bike. But all I did was fall off over and over. Then one afternoon my brothers, not having my best interests at heart, promised to teach me to ride and took me to the top of a steep mountain. They got my bike out of the ute, made me sit on it and pushed, just as a huge woodchip truck came down the tortuous narrow road behind me. I hung onto that bike for dear life, and by the time I got to the bottom I not only could ride, but I loved riding.

What was it the fat little green guy from Star Wars about trying?

i think meditation can change your perspective on life, but as for physically changing your brain, I'm not sure about that, I am willing to bet that meditation can affect the brain waves, I think studies have been done on this, like how the brain has different wave lengths when it is awake vs. dreaming, the meditative state can also have different wave lengths, however I would say only someone who really knows how to meditate could do this, as opposed to someone just closing their eyes or thinking normally. I've always wanted to hook my brain up to some type of machine to try it out.

Originally posted by filosophia
i think meditation can change your perspective on life, but as for physically changing your brain, I'm not sure about that, I am willing to bet that meditation can affect the brain waves, I think studies have been done on this, like how the brain has different wave lengths when it is awake vs. dreaming, the meditative state can also have different wave lengths, however I would say only someone who really knows how to meditate could do this, as opposed to someone just closing their eyes or thinking normally. I've always wanted to hook my brain up to some type of machine to try it out.

It's not hard to believe.
Driving a taxi physically changes your brain, enlarging your hypocampus.

Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers

Neurogenesis
Neurogenesis is the creation of new neurons. The more active a particular brain cell is, the more connections it develops with its neighboring neurons through a process called dendritic sprouting. Mental stimulation
. . . . .
Consistent mental challenge by novel stimuli increases production and interconnectivity of neurons and nerve growth factor, as well as prevents loss of connections and cell death.

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy
reply to post by Ahmose

 

Thank you!!! That is some very good information! I really am interested in this now, no longer do I just want to practice it but now I want to really study it. I never knew so many people in the West were studying it, hopefully more and more will.

Most welcome.
Yes many , many western people practice meditation daily.
It is indeed a great thing to "get into".

filosophia~

i think meditation can change your perspective on life, but as for physically changing your brain, I'm not sure about that, I am willing to bet that meditation can affect the brain waves,

Ive already posted info on it physically changing the brain,
Before you even posted.

You should check it out.

and anyone who says meditation is not a 'workout" ,
has apparently never actually achieved it. lol

Well I think it is important to remember that there are many types of meditation, as some of you have eluded too. Some people will just sit and enjoy the quietness, bringing them a sense of peacefulness. Some people will explore their mind and contemplate on deep philosophical questions in relation to how their mind works. Some people will search for "no-mind". Some people will study the energy that inhabits their body and try to increase or alter it. So there is no one definition. However this study above is talking about Tibetan (Buddhist) meditation of exploring and going beyond your mind.

Here is another good article about studies done on this type of meditation:
Washington Post - Meditation gives brain a charge

Originally posted by ChiForce

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy
CNN

Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation - the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects - permanently changes the brain for the better.

“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans. “Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says. “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”

“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson. “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”

CNN

This is a great article and I am pleased to see it being reported by CNN. I actually have met this Richard Davidson guy and hope to take a class from him soon.

More study, more respect, more people practice......

edit on 26-10-2010 by LifeIsEnergy because: (no reason given)

You have to understand that meditation isn't a workout. Is a spiritual experience without all the philosophizing. During meditation, you feel all sorts of emotions, you see all sorts of images, and you can hear ultrasonic sounds. If you live a very negative life, you will feel it in your meditation. The purpose of meditation? To control the Kundalini energy or Chi energy.

Being at ease with oneself and calm are just the surface.

But you have to 'work' very hard to reach that "spiritual experience".
and that can be harder work than any physical exercise anyone could do.

To control the body? That is actually very easy..
to control the mind? or "lose control" of it?
Not easy at all.

Ive come out of meditations sweating more than i ever have during a run or physical workout. lol

It is definitely a "workout".
One of the most demanding kind.

reply to post by LifeIsEnergy

There is no evidence that these changes are significant from an advanced spiritual point of view.
Even people who have spent 40 years meditating in the company of a God Man Enlightened Being do not reach that state.
Ramana Maharshi, the Great Indian God-Man was said to have Enlightened only two beings in his long life working with people,his mother forcibly at death and one cow.

I know it has been adopted by certain psychologists as a form of therapy. Jeffrey Schwartz in particular came up with a rather effective cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD based around Buddhist mindfulness. Furthermore, it also helps physically if you're recovering from surgery.

reply to post by LifeIsEnergy


I enjoyed this thread, as I've been reading into neuroplasticity. You should read up on experiments done with juggling and how it affects a persons brain after a period of time. actually here you go: www.abc.net.au... . Simple things such as learning to write with your non-dominant hand, brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand, and not using a calculator when solving mathematical problems can aid in this.

In the aforementioned study they also found that it doesn't matter how good they got at juggling, the results were the same as long as the person put effort into learning to juggle, very interesting.

Originally posted by Ahmose

Originally posted by ChiForce

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy
CNN

Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation - the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects - permanently changes the brain for the better.

“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans. “Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says. “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”

“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson. “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”

CNN

This is a great article and I am pleased to see it being reported by CNN. I actually have met this Richard Davidson guy and hope to take a class from him soon.

More study, more respect, more people practice......

edit on 26-10-2010 by LifeIsEnergy because: (no reason given)

You have to understand that meditation isn't a workout. Is a spiritual experience without all the philosophizing. During meditation, you feel all sorts of emotions, you see all sorts of images, and you can hear ultrasonic sounds. If you live a very negative life, you will feel it in your meditation. The purpose of meditation? To control the Kundalini energy or Chi energy.

Being at ease with oneself and calm are just the surface.

But you have to 'work' very hard to reach that "spiritual experience".
and that can be harder work than any physical exercise anyone could do.

To control the body? That is actually very easy..
to control the mind? or "lose control" of it?
Not easy at all.

Ive come out of meditations sweating more than i ever have during a run or physical workout. lol

It is definitely a "workout".
One of the most demanding kind.

Sweating? I think you are on the right track.... To me physically it is not as demanding. I spend about1 hour to 2 hours the most meditating. I feel the heat or Kundalini. I only sweat if I am meditating on my bed, lying down with my cover on. I am a skinny person and so I don't sweat a lot. Is quite hard, at times, unbearable meditating seating upright. I enjoying meditating lying down most.

Of course, I also particulate another form of meditation, physical activity. You can say that I am an endurance athlete, I used to race bike, cycling. On a typical training ride, I spend about 4 to 5 hours on the bike with few stops in between. Burning close to 3k calories. With couple of thousands feet alleviation gain.