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[Adventurer]

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Scientists probe meditation secrets
By Naomi Law


There is evidence that meditation changes brain structures
Scientists are beginning to uncover evidence that meditation has a tangible effect on the brain.

Sceptics argue that it is not a practical way to try to deal with the stresses of modern life.

But the long years when adherents were unable to point to hard science to support their belief in the technique may finally be coming to an end.

So should we dismiss it as quackery? Studies from the field of neuroscience suggest not.

It is a new area of research, but indications are intriguing and suggest that meditation may have a measurable impact on the brain.

In Boston, Massachusetts, Dr Sara Lazar has used a technique called MRI scanning to analyse the brains of people who have been meditating for several years.

She compared the brains of these experienced practitioners with people who had never meditated and found that there were differences in the thickness of certain areas of the brain's cortex, including areas involved in the processing of emotion.

MEDITATIONFORDAMASSES

[igotthisguitar]

METTA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett%C4%81

http://www.dalailama.com/page.188.htm

[JMO]

[igotthisguitar]

"Oh ye of so little faith ..."

Presumably you're not familiar with the story of the man who was shot by the poisoned arrow, laying on the battle-field ... dying ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation

[stillnotking]

"Meditation" is a misleading word, because a great deal of what people consider "meditation" is not meditation at all, merely visualization or reverie.

True meditation is not about how you sit or what you think about, it's the simple act of being consciously aware of your thoughts. (I say "simple", but in practice this is extraordinarily hard to do consistently.) Meditation produces dissociation from the ego, a decline in the mind's reflexive identification of "self" and "thought". Of course this fundamental change is going to be reflected in the structure of the brain (this is not to disparage the legitimate and laudable scientific inquiry into the nature of the change, just poking gentle fun at our so-often-unexamined dualistic assumptions). That's like being surprised that regular exercise makes you lose weight.

Skeptical about meditation? There's an easy answer: try it and see. As the old Zen saying goes, if you dip your finger in the water, no one needs to tell you whether it's hot or cold. Check out one of the many good introductory guides to meditation -- John Daishin's Zen Meditation in Plain English is excellent -- or attend an introductory meditation class somewhere near you. Then spend 10 minutes meditating every morning for a few weeks and see if your outlook doesn't start to change.

Meditation is utterly pragmatic and not mysterious at all. It's a shame that so many Westerners regard it as some sort of bogeyman or supernatural process.

[mindmetoo]

[igotthisguitar]

[Manner of Speaking]

[Adventurer]

Meditation is part of every religious persuasion, not just Zen. The Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches still have a strong mystical foundation. Intense prayer can fall into meditation if it is not simply a supplication, if it is a concentrated thought of prayer, pouring through love of God like Brother (Frere) Andre of Montreal did. Of course, many studies have shown meditation to have health benefits.
There was a similar article about this in Time Magazine a few years back. I wish I had it on me. I really enjoyed it reading it. Meditation takes a lot of practice and will power sometimes..

[igotthisguitar]

[bacasper]

[bacasper]

[Ya-ta Boy]

Meditation when it is relaxation without the religious clap trap is good.

[desultude]

[mindmetoo]