For centuries Buddhist practitioners of meditation have maintained that mental discipline and meditative practice can change how the brain works and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness.
Now research on the brain has actually proven it.
Researchers working with Tibetan monks are now able to translate the mental experience of transcendence into the scientific language of high-frequency gamma waves and brain synchrony.
Put your fingers on the left part of your forehead. It’s behind this spot – your left prefrontal cortex, the area just behind your left forehead – that will be different if you’re a long-time practitioner of meditation. Most importantly, this is an area associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions.
Richard Davidson, the principle researcher in this area, found incredible brain activation in this area among long-time meditation practitioners. According to Davidson, “their mental practice is having an effect on the brain in the same way golf or tennis practice will enhance performance.”
For Davidson, it’s now obvious the brain is capable of being trained and physically modified in ways few people can imagine.
Once upon a time scientists believed the opposite: brain nerve cells were fixed early in life and didn’t change in adulthood. Research over the past decade, though, has shown that we must re-evaluate this idea. We now know that the brain has the potential to constantly develop. This is the idea behind neuroplasticity.
Through mental training and meditation we can change the ‘circuitry’ of our own minds.
These incredible findings are the outcome of a long-time partnership between Davidson and the Dalai Lama. From the beginning, the Dalai Lama was interested in having Davidson scientifically explore the workings of his monks’ meditating minds. A number of the Dalai Lama’s most accomplished practitioners were sent to Davidson’s lab.
When compared to the control group, the practitioners demonstrated that meditation activated their minds in significantly different ways than from the control subjects. Electrodes picked up much greater activation of fast-moving and unusually powerful gamma waves in the monks. It was found that the movement of the waves through the monks’ brains was far better organized and coordinated than in the controls.
The significance of this research cannot be underestimated.
For an insightful review of this research, you must watch the following Dan Rather news report. Also stay tuned for the following parts in this series on the mind.
This is pretty incredible information. Are you surprised by this evidence? Do these findings inspire you to take up a regular meditation program?
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It doesn’t surprise me as Bill Harris has been talking about this for a while now… but it is good to hear it from another source… and re-enforces my daily meditation practice.
I’ve read this on a meditation site somewhere so good to read it again. I am trying to learn meditation but find it hard to sit still for long and impossible to empty my mind!
yes i agree meditation is the way of life. not that i meditate everyday but whenever i do it does tak to this place of absoulte peace. you get connected to the inner source. and you realize that its not about external things it is what we do to our self internally.
AS EXPERIENCED THROUGH MEDITATION,
IT IS FOUND THAT, PERCEPTION OF MIND IS JUST LIKE EVENT RESEMBLING CLICK ON A MOUSE IN COMPUTER, WHEN WE CLICK WITH MOUSE, A LARGE PROGRAM OPENS UP FOR PHYSICAL WORK,
SO DO WHEN WE SENSE THE OUTER WORLD, IT IS THE PERCEPTION, WHAT ACTIVITY OR E MOTIONAL PROGRAM IT IS GOING TO OPEN, IT IS SECURITY/INSECURITY, FEAR, JEALOUSY, LOVE, HUNGER, LUST LIKE PROGRAMS IN OUR MIND, NOW DEPENDING UPON PERCEPTION, PROGRAM RESPONDS AND HARMONIC ENERGY IS RELEASED FOR ACTION, THE CONTROL IS REQUIRED AT THE CLICK EVENT, ONCE THE ENERGY IS RELEASED, IT IS AUTO PHENOMENON, AND HUMANS HAVE NO CONTROL AFTER THIS.
WE HAVE TO CONTROL THE PERCEPTION, TO BRING CHANGES IN OUR LIFE THROUGH MIND TRAINING, WHICH IS MEDITATION.
I have been very interested in meditation, because I believe you certainly can achive more peace of mind with it but I need more information on how to get started; and also I would like to know if it is posible to teach it to children to help them concentrate on their learning tasks.
The statement that repeative learning turns short term memory into a gene.. This goes hand in hand when one wonders why intellect seems to be passed forward to off-spring as genes get passed on..Food for thought from the average person who finds this astonishing!!
Found the video of interest, especially the humility & humour of the Dalai Lama. Will certainly find the time again to meditate with regularity.
Excellent article! Isn’t it great to be spreading the word about something that is so valuable!
best wishes,
Richard
http://www.lifechoicemeditation.com
Hi Sylvia, children can be taught meditation, perhaps not in the way they are taught in the west or even, when they are accepted within the Buddhist concept.
I was taught by my late father, who left me far too soon, so then continue my inner search, alone. Only to find that it is not so. We are guided by unseen friends always. Which ever path you choose for them to follow they will agree or disagree and follow their karma.……but a helping hand I think is always welcome.
Hi Sylvia,
On your question about a meditation product for children, check out My Inner Magic (www.myinnermagic.com). The product is by Burt Goldman, a personal development coach, painter, photographer, teacher, and author for over 50 years. I’ve heard great feedback on it.
Take care,
Michelle
Thanks for posting this video. I started to meditate 9 months ago and i must admit my life change completly for a better.No fear, no stress .i am peace now. So people need to wake up and do meditation
Nice video.
best regards,
Luís
I am a long time meditator and also use Reiki and other forms of healing work on myself. I have a genetic blood disoder which started to show up around 6 weeks of age until 2005 I had a death experience. I now meditate every day in the morning and night before I go to bed. the doctors that have treated me cannot believe that I still work and lead a pretty normal life and tell me to just keep doing whatever it is that I do. I can tell you my life has not always been easy and I have had to deal with some fairly big things at time and without meditation I know I would never have made it nor would I even be alive. It is my balance my deep inner core that keeps me here and those who know me comment how come you have such a calmness around you the answer is meditation.
jeannette kavanagh
my best wishes, keep well.xxx
does not surprise me
I always trust on meditation, the magic is it works & keep you calm to see the beauty of of this world.
I have begun meditating again using ‘Centrepointe’ and the ‘Silva method’ to great effect. I reccommend these methods to any one starting again. TM usually takes much more dedication and time.
“Be Well”
I‘m glad to share with you all my very good experience witw Meditation:
Since at least 25 years I tried diferent thecnics for having some improving on my daily living and health and never got noting.
This past June I read in the Work notebook of Ask and it will be given from Hicks a very simply method of meditation wich coincides with the expretion used by Dalai Lama on this video.Just seat in a quiet place ‚close your eyes and concentrate on your respiration;In the second time I tried I succed and after 15 minutes of meditation I felted a new man, it is really extraordinary.
I hope you get the same.
German