Meditation Produces Positive Changes in the Brain

[blackclo]

A UW-Madison research team has found, for the first time, that a short program in "mindfulness meditation" produced lasting positive changes in both the brain and the function of the immune system. The findings suggest that meditation, long promoted as a technique to reduce anxiety and stress, might produce important biological effects that improve a person's resiliency. Richard Davidson, Vilas Professor of psychology and psychiatry at UW-Madison, led the research team. The study, conducted at the biotechnology company Promega near Madison, will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. "Mindfulness meditation," often recommended as an antidote to the stress and pain of chronic disease, is a practice designed to focus one's attention intensely on the moment, noting thoughts and feelings as they occur but refraining from judging or acting on those thoughts and feelings. The intent is to deepen awareness of the present, develop skills of focused attention, and cultivate positive emotions such as compassion. In the UW study, participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The experimental group, with 25 subjects, received training in mindfulness meditation from one of its most noted adherents, Jon Kabat-Zinn, (Kabat-Zinn, a popular author of books on stress reduction, developed the mindfulness-based stress reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.) This group attended a weekly class and one seven-hour retreat during the study; they also were assigned home practice for an hour a day, six days a week. The 16 members of the control group did not receive meditation training until after the study was completed. For each group, in addition to asking the participants to assess how they felt, the research team measured electrical activity in the frontal part of the brain, an area specialized for certain kinds of emotion. Earlier research has shown that, in people who are generally positive and optimistic and during times of positive emotion, the left side of this frontal area becomes more active than the right side does. The findings confirmed the researchers' hypothesis: the meditation group showed an increase of activation in the left-side part of the frontal region. This suggests that the meditation itself produced more activity in this region of the brain. This activity is associated with lower anxiety and a more positive emotional state. The research team also tested whether the meditation group had better immune function than the control group did. All the study participants got a flu vaccine at the end of the eight-week meditation group. Then, at four and eight weeks after vaccine administration, both groups had blood tests to measure the level of antibodies they had produced against the flu vaccine. While both groups (as expected) had developed increased antibodies, the meditation group had a significantly larger increase than the controls, at both four and eight weeks after receiving the vaccine. "Although our study is preliminary and more research clearly is warranted," said Davidson, "we are very encouraged by these results. The Promega employees who took part have given us a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate a real biological impact of this ancient practice." Davidson, who is integrally involved with the HealthEmotions Research Institute at UW, plans further research on the impact of meditation. He is currently studying a group of people who have been using meditation for more than 30 years. His research team is also planning to study the impact of mindfulness meditation on patients with particular illnesses.

 

[lightspeed]

[color=green:e1699e274e]Great Post! I totally agree with this article, I had ran across it before. Believe me meditation can change your life and banish depression if practiced correctly. I have found activation of the unseen being made visible and blissful states hard to put into words that could benefit a lot of people with anxiety or over stimulated nervous systems. I believe we can all ultimately activate these centers The best part is the intuition factor, it increases and expands to match your level of consciousness or awareness.[/color:e1699e274e]

 

[healthy]

i agree with you and i think also that meditation produces positive changes in our brain. in my sisters college professors said to do meditation for one hour everyday. it helps to concentrate in our study and other daily work.

 

[lightspeed]

If you want more info. on the TRUE power of meditation not simply as an excerise in concentration which works very well, but as a doorway to Your Divine self, astral projection, time travel, other worlds, beings, dimensions, psychic powers, intuition, etc. These abilities are called siddhis in India translated loosely as "[color=cyan:80c3b6867c]attainment[/color:80c3b6867c]". They (siddhis) or powers are not the end goal. Some don't get caught up in them, one example, reading minds for instance can give you a big ego trip from the power you attain, that is exactly what you want to avoid!, Acknowledge the powers use them WISELY, but don't get stuck on them or in your ego, keep going there is LOTS more FUN and JOY ahead I promise. Also you can attract good or bad so focus on the good and if the bad appears it cannot hurt you REMEMBER THAT. Say a prayer or whatever you do that gives you power of love OVER fear. I repeat you cannot be harmed, unless of course you use your free will to bring that about. Mostly here I am referring to out of the body states that can sometimes be brought on thru meditation where you can meet some odd entities, relatives, friends, all that have passed on. You can go strange places nonphysical places besides anywhere in this physical world or galaxy you can travel to by the speed of thought which is faster than light. These abilities enable you to do things that defy our current logic some of which I mentioned above. More than you can imagine is possible. I recommend any book by [color=violet:80c3b6867c]Gopi Krishna [/color:80c3b6867c]one of the best he wrote is [size=18:80c3b6867c][color=violet:80c3b6867c]"Kundalini The evolutionary energy in man". [/color:80c3b6867c][/size:80c3b6867c] but they are all GOOD books!. Lee Sannella MD also put a great book out on Kundalini with clinical experiments and lots of good PHD/MD info on the subject. You should find all of these at Amazon or Borders books. Meditation came VERY natural for me from childhood (long story for another time), Some of your experiences may be different than mine but stick with it and you will surprise yourself, educate yourself on the subject. I can't tell you what order anyone's awakening will come mine was at birth, sometimes thats good and sometimes I think about never having this in my life and what it would be like to be normal but that is my path and I choose it. You will sometimes first stay or pass thru blissful states of being for longer and longer times once you learn to still your body and thoughts completely. You may get pressures in the body or head or even see light with your eyes closed, most are all different in that respect. These are all OK as long as they are not painful. If they are PLEASE stop and consult someone like me or someone familiar with Kundalini. There is a reason that most are warned away and that reason is simply some cannot survive the power that fills the body and purifies it with no preparation, if you read Gopi Krishna you will see he sufferred heavily as he aroused his Kundalini accidentally and with no understanding of diet or proper techniques. It almost drove him to Madness at times. Keep practicing, blissful states in meditation are but stage 1 so to speak and a good sign you are progressing well. I have meditated and soul searched for a very long time. Now my life is my meditation. STILL you have to take the time to actually sit still and calm the mind. No easy way out there. Another book THE POWER OF NOW by Eckart Tolle is also a reminder of why we are here. Kundalini is for those wanting to get to enlightenment in one lifetime instead of many. THIS IS NOT EASY AND CAN PUT YOU IN A MENTAL INSTITUTION If you don't doing things properly and understand what you are doing before you even delve into it. After years of study and meditation and some fumblng. I finally got somewhere. I am duty bound to always live knowing where I came from. The sacred and profane Spirituality and Drugs together helped at times. Drugs dull all this I speak of but I see them as a way to open up areas that sometimes I wouldn't be able to access just yet so I use them as sacred medicine for the mind and respect them. They are truly blocks but ones I make stepping stones for now. I just had to fill you in on those things for this to make sense. I know this is long but if you or anyone else benefit's or takes my work further it would go beyond words to describe the changes we would go thru as a collective and as individuals. Kundalini Yoga meditation is not for the weak or faint of heart once the process starts it really cannot be stopped so I have done my duty and given you the [color=red:80c3b6867c]warning[/color:80c3b6867c] I got the same warning many years ago. I spent a LOT of time learning what Spiritualty was before I would even look at the Kundalini material and I would read anything at the time. I was cautious for good reason. I am having POWERFUL Spiritual experiences and Painful issues because I don't have all the answers to this GIFT..Depression and Pain are big parts of this I wish I knew going in. They are but 2 symptoms I mention as all is purified by the sacred flame of Kundalini. The BIG secret I discovered from meditation, I think could change our world in awesome way's and powerful way's. Some of the world hasn't caught up to what I am about to disclose. So here it is for you and other folks here at DMT nexus, If you have heard something similiar please email any URLS and info as I myself am going thru the process and it is WORK that's for damn sure! and I am not sure if I will make it. I simply don't have all the answers and now the process is set off, the flame of self is in the crucible burning away the impurities and believe me if you try this you are ready. It takes lots of pain, patience, love to get there be patient with yourself and it will start to show but as I said you have to put in the work. As no one I know just jumps right into this knowing how things could go awry quickly especially in America, In india they sometimes recognize the symptoms and few people can help, In america they lock you up or heavily medicate you, so also learn to keep your mouth shut to those who would in no way understand. Pearls and Swine bereft of me - AudioSlave Finally what I wanted to say I can now say and feel safe you know a little of what you are getting into before it's to late to turn back. KUNDALINI IS OUR OWN DMT MADE IN THE BODY. MEDITATE AND CONCENTRATE TO MAKE IT. Read and Educate yourself on the HOWTO's. I can tell any of you with interest that with ALL CERTAINTY as kundalini circulates thru your entire body organs and minds eye it purifies. The really best part at least for me is that I finally know that all these mind states I create thru drugs mostly seeking happiness and fullfillment, which is all anyone here REALLY wants in the end. This can be achieved with no DRUGS. You can actually get your Kundalini activated and you will find you are in a constant state of bliss or happinness, you are still subject to cold and heat, pain and sickness, however you will become a spiritual giant. Gopi was a simple man and towards the end he became something wonderful. A being fully satisfied, happy, ecstatic, calm, brilliant spiritually awe inspired by the world after the changes and a wonderful guy even though he could have went on that ego trip, he chose not to. SO HAVE I. So take what you can get out of the above, for me I still seem to find all the answers in silence. Ultimately just silence. The Thunderous silence!!! and the Colorless light of emptiness. Peace, T The truth that can be spoken is not the truth - Lao Tzu

 

[DMTripper]

Thank you lightspeed for this kick in the ass post of yours This was soooo just what I needed to hear/read. I'm going through times of extreme changes mental and physical and I've been educating myself about kundalini and started meditating with a group which aim is to purify the chakras and raise mother kundalini. I will certainly check out some of those books you mentioned. Cheers

 

[Infinite I]

Yes thank you lightspeed great post! Exactly what ive been thinking bout recently. See the sitting in one position, I always get uncomfortabley quickly crossing my legs with back straight and it puts me off, is this the sort of pain/sacrifice you put up with or something? Not that its much of a hardcore sacrifice!! :roll: Western society sorry! I got an mp3 of a meditation session and he said be relaxed, thats what always got to me when trying it, thinking you have to sit with legs crossed, straight back. He said just be comfortable, cos thats always been a problem when attempting it, but then no pain no goin? :? Is kindalini like the beginning of a spiritual process that you cant stop you think? Just started hearing bout it recently, actually met someone and she said it happened to her and she wasnt sure what was happening, and she thought thats what it was, actually she was sure and it makes sense what she said. Read a book by Lynne Mctaggert called The Field and it was all about the intention of people healing others, her next book was The Intention Experiment more fitting to the ideas www.theintentionexperiment.com In The field they would have different healers from all over the world and their different practices/rituals of healing one group of patients and that group would be healed but even when patients who would think they were being healed would benefit and the ones who were wouldnt, kind of placebo effect :? but the healers were still having good effects all round. Great Post again Lightspeed and Blcklo will defo check those books!! Peace and Love

 

[lightspeed]

Thanks everyone of you who replied!!!!, it means MUCH to me to hear voices that are going thru these things. I know YOU ALL are out there you have to be. Please understand for me the pain is not only physical I am currently on medication for severe back/neck injuries which brought major changes, I have always been depressed because I feel a need to go back to my real home which is at LOT better often than these experiences we go thru down here as our soul evolves, I just wish we did not have so much pain in our lives to get to the GOOD stuff. I have prayed like a maniac to my higher power for those answers, they only answer back most times with people or places that come into my life at the right time, which is usually with an answer or a clue to my next move, some of you may know these as synchronicities. Sometimes things happen that no one would believe unless it happened to them. When they do I am no longer shocked I just smile with a knowing that can only come from multiple unearthly encounters. I am by no means affiliated with any religion or teaching. Your soul knows truth when it hears it so don't limit yourself to any religion or teaching, if it involves LOVE and helps heal you it is True. I am not a Christian but a book that got me thru some of what is going on RIGHT NOW with Kundalini bringing the dreaded depression and pain, physical pain enough to sometimes want to cross over NOW!. Besides the Gopi Krishna books and Sri Aurobindo material SO SO many..Let me suggest a free online book, don't look so much at who wrote it as to what it speaks to. It seems the Kundalini purification process brings on the Dark Night of the Soul..but can you make it to the End? Me I dunno..But I will give it one Hell of a Run..why not..even if I have to give up everything I will accept that to find the peace I need. Here is chapter one and the link to the book is at the bottom. Enjoy and I LOVE every one of you as myself so if you need anything and I can provide it. Please don't hesitate to ask. Remember this is not fun at times and sometimes I shut down and cannot write at all..I dread it sometimes.. it's still the Dark night for me folks but I KNOW Kundalini has to eventually burn away all those impurities since I choose to speed up the process. I will endure it. CHAPTER I Sets down the first line and begins to treat of the imperfections of beginners. INTO this dark night souls begin to enter when God draws them forth from the state of beginners—which is the state of those that meditate on the spiritual road—and begins to set them in the state of progressives—which is that of those who are already contemplatives—to the end that, after passing through it, they may arrive at the state of the perfect, which is that of the Divine union of the soul with God. Wherefore, to the end that we may the better understand and explain what night is this through which the soul passes, and for what cause God sets it therein, it will be well here to touch first of all upon certain characteristics of beginners (which, although we treat them with all possible brevity, will not fail to be of service likewise to the beginners themselves), in order that, realizing the weakness of the state wherein they are, they may take courage, and may desire that God will bring them into this night, wherein the soul is strengthened and confirmed in the virtues, and made ready for the inestimable delights of the love of God. And, although we may tarry here for a time, it will not be for longer than is necessary, so that we may go on to speak at once of this dark night. 2. It must be known, then, that the soul, after it has been definitely converted to the service of God, is, as a rule, spiritually nurtured and caressed by God, even as is the tender child by its loving mother, who warms it with the heat of her bosom and nurtures it with sweet milk and soft and pleasant food, and carries it and caresses it in her arms; but, as the child grows bigger, the mother gradually ceases caressing it, and, hiding her tender love, puts bitter aloes upon her sweet breast, sets down the child from her arms and makes it walk upon its feet, so that it may lose the habits of a child and betake itself to more important and substantial occupations. The loving mother is like the grace of God, for, as soon as the soul is regenerated by its new warmth and fervor for the service of God, He treats it in the same way; He makes it to find spiritual milk, sweet and delectable, in all the things of God, without any labour of its own, and also great pleasure in spiritual exercises, for here God is giving to it the breast of His tender love, even as to a tender child. 3. Therefore, such a soul finds its delight in spending long periods—perchance whole nights—in prayer; penances are its pleasures; fasts its joys; and its consolations are to make use of the sacraments and to occupy itself in Divine things. In the which things spiritual persons (though taking part in them with great efficacy and persistence and using and treating them with great care) often find themselves, spiritually speaking, very weak and imperfect. For since they are moved to these things and to these spiritual exercises by the consolation and pleasure that they find in them, and since, too, they have not been prepared for them by the practice of earnest striving in the virtues, they have many faults and imperfections with respect to these spiritual actions of theirs; for, after all, any man’s actions correspond to the habit of perfection attained by him. And, as these persons have not had the opportunity of acquiring the said habits of strength, they have necessarily to work like feebler children, feebly. In order that this may be seen more clearly, and likewise how much these beginners in the virtues lacks with respect to the works in which they so readily engage with the pleasure aforementioned, we shall describe it by reference to the seven capital sins, each in its turn, indicating some of the many imperfections which they have under each heading; wherein it will be clearly seen how like to children are these persons in all they do. And it will also be seen how many blessings the dark night of which we shall afterwards treat brings with it, since it cleanses the soul and purifies it from all these imperfections. St. John of the Cross: Dark Night of the Soul - Christian Classics Ethereal Library Best, T