Brain science is really discovering a lot about how the brain and the mind works, but we don't really know what the capacities and limitations of the human mind are yet in spite of all of this new research. Brain/Mind science is still very new and the position of this blog has always been that we often don't realize the extent of our potential as human beings. Now, I'm not proposing that anything is possible in terms of mind over body phenomena. But to be fair, we don't really know what is really possible or impossible. The effort to study the effects of meditation on the brain promises to help us get a more realistic understanding about ourselves and what the true potentials are. This leads me to a story I would like to pass along.
The startle response is a universal human response which takes a third of a second to run its course and involves short quick muscle spasms in five facial muscles mostly around the eyes. The response is activated by a sudden loud sound or a shocking sight. This response is a reflex and is the work of the brain stem. In the 1940's it was proven that control of this reflex lies beyond the scope of voluntary control.
Paul Ekman, PhD, a professor and researcher at the University of California in San Francisco, began studying the startle response. He found that there was a relationship to the strength of the startle response and the intensity in which the same subject generally experiences feelings of fear, anger, disgust and sadness. A person with a more powerful startle response experiences stronger versions of these four emotions.
The sound they use in the test is similar to the sound of a gunshot going off near your head. In the 50 years that the startle response has been studied, no one has been able to suppress their flinch even though they are told when the noise will sound. As you may have guessed from the build up...now someone on record has. An individual we will call Oser is a European convert to Tibetan Buddhism who has practiced meditation in the Himalayan region for over 30 years. He was hooked up to machinery that would measure all of his physical reactions and was given the standard instructions for this test. The researchers count down from ten to one at which point the subject hears the loud noise. The researchers instruct to try to suppress the inevitable flinch so that an observer would not know that he felt the startle response. Some people do better than others of course, but no one has ever come close to suppressing the flinching muscle spasms that occur. Even people who use fire arms routinely in their profession were unable to suppress a flinch.
However, Oser did.
Using two different types of meditation during the test, Oser managed to perceptibly mask his flinch in one test and significantly decrease (and on some indicators reverse) his physiological reactions using another type of meditation in the second test. Ekman thought it was a tremendous long shot that a trained meditator would be able to beat this test. It made sense that Ekman didn't believe that it was humanly possible to suppress the startle reaction because of the conclusiveness of the research up to now. However, now someone has, and these results point to something even more profound which is the incredible potential for a person to have emotional balance and control given the relation of Ekman's research of the startle reaction to a person's experience of anger, fear, etc.
I don't necessarily think that we all should start meditating (although, part of me thinks that.) But more that we all have the potential to improve ourselves and our lives in ways that will make and those around us happier and we should definitely take advantage of it.
For much more on the tests run on Lama Oser including fMRI scans check out this article that ran in Shambala Sun which discusses this among many other tests that he participated in.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Smallest Action is Better than the Greatest Intention
The words of the title of this post have been important ones for me over the years. In a world that can be overwhelming in its size and complexity, I have often pushed myself out of apathy or inertia with this mantra. Actions, even seemingly minute ones, can have a great impact if they are actually taken. A challenge for me is often getting started or thinking through what the effect will be and wondering if it will make any difference? When I have encountered the contrary voice in my mind reacting to my puny efforts to make myself or the world better...my response has been that an action, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant, has an effect, even if that effect is only to stop me from succumbing to cynicism. Things don't often start big: a journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single step.
I do believe that action is cumulative and we would do well to remember that. For me, a decade ago I aspired to vegetarianism but wasn't ready to take the plunge. So I gave up beef thinking that if I could swear that off for the rest of my life the cumulative effect of that would be significant even if it seemed like less than I aspired to. The Dalai Lama has a great example from his own personal life that I feel is similar. For health reasons he can't be a vegetarian, so he rotates days where he eats meat and days that he will not eat meat. Even though he can't be a vegetarian everyday, for half of his life he is avoiding eating meat and thus preserving animals' lives which is obviously much better than eating meat everyday. This all isn't to say that you shouldn't do big things or set big goals. The point is that all action doesn't have to be grand and that we should also pay attention to the little stuff which is important and can really add up. Over time small actions are like compound interest and can pay big dividends over the course of a lifetime. Think about walking...not a real profound from of exercise, but if you do it a little bit everyday over a number of years you will be much healthier overall.
I recently encountered a book that reenforces the justification of my mantra. The topic of the book is about tipping points and how much is necessary to cause things to suddenly exponentially move and change. The message of the book is that the human mind likes to think of the world in terms of incremental change which is linked to inputs, so that if we put a certain amount of effort into something there will be a corresponding result. However, in many cases things don't work this way. Often times things stay very stable until things reach a tipping point and at this point radical change occurs. The book explores this phenomenon in detail and is called, no surprise: "The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell.
In terms of my smallest actions quote, the subtitle of the book says it all. How can you ever know the results of all of those little actions that you take everyday? You could be saying hello to a stranger, eating one less bite of dessert, picking up a stray piece of litter, planting flowers in the neighborhood, or taking the stairs instead of the escalator. The answer has always been that you can't know what the outcome of these small actions will be. However with this idea of the tipping point, there is another reason to take action. Now beyond encouraging yourself that you are doing something positive for yourself or others, no matter how small, you can also think that your positive actions are contributing toward a tipping point of some type. Maybe your metabolism is kicked into a higher gear, the crime rates in your neighborhood drop or someone will see what you've done and be inspired...all because your small action helped push things over some tipping point.
So keep up the good work generating good karma in the world brave reader, no matter how small. A little bit every day may push us across that magical line...the tipping point.
I do believe that action is cumulative and we would do well to remember that. For me, a decade ago I aspired to vegetarianism but wasn't ready to take the plunge. So I gave up beef thinking that if I could swear that off for the rest of my life the cumulative effect of that would be significant even if it seemed like less than I aspired to. The Dalai Lama has a great example from his own personal life that I feel is similar. For health reasons he can't be a vegetarian, so he rotates days where he eats meat and days that he will not eat meat. Even though he can't be a vegetarian everyday, for half of his life he is avoiding eating meat and thus preserving animals' lives which is obviously much better than eating meat everyday. This all isn't to say that you shouldn't do big things or set big goals. The point is that all action doesn't have to be grand and that we should also pay attention to the little stuff which is important and can really add up. Over time small actions are like compound interest and can pay big dividends over the course of a lifetime. Think about walking...not a real profound from of exercise, but if you do it a little bit everyday over a number of years you will be much healthier overall.
I recently encountered a book that reenforces the justification of my mantra. The topic of the book is about tipping points and how much is necessary to cause things to suddenly exponentially move and change. The message of the book is that the human mind likes to think of the world in terms of incremental change which is linked to inputs, so that if we put a certain amount of effort into something there will be a corresponding result. However, in many cases things don't work this way. Often times things stay very stable until things reach a tipping point and at this point radical change occurs. The book explores this phenomenon in detail and is called, no surprise: "The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell.
In terms of my smallest actions quote, the subtitle of the book says it all. How can you ever know the results of all of those little actions that you take everyday? You could be saying hello to a stranger, eating one less bite of dessert, picking up a stray piece of litter, planting flowers in the neighborhood, or taking the stairs instead of the escalator. The answer has always been that you can't know what the outcome of these small actions will be. However with this idea of the tipping point, there is another reason to take action. Now beyond encouraging yourself that you are doing something positive for yourself or others, no matter how small, you can also think that your positive actions are contributing toward a tipping point of some type. Maybe your metabolism is kicked into a higher gear, the crime rates in your neighborhood drop or someone will see what you've done and be inspired...all because your small action helped push things over some tipping point.
So keep up the good work generating good karma in the world brave reader, no matter how small. A little bit every day may push us across that magical line...the tipping point.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
FBOW: We are all Interrelated
In the past three posts I related very briefly scientific research that promotes being more relaxed and calm and the positive effect it has on people's health and lives. The importance of taking heed of this very new research on advice that is very old is that it is central to our happiness and the effect that we have on the world. Something that I think is very true is that we are constantly creating the world that we live in. Our actions and even our thoughts, which affect our feelings and perceptions, are constantly reinforcing or challenging the ways of the world.
I am always inspired by the first chapter of the Dhammapada which is appropriately entitled: Choices. It reads: We are what we think, all that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with an impure mind and trouble will follow you as the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart. ...Speak or act with a pure mind and happiness will follow you as your shadow, unshakable.
It is important to improve upon our own happiness first as a way to help others. We live in a society that is not driven by humanistic values, but instead it is driven by values regarding productivity, consumption and monetary value. These values encourage us to sacrifice our lives for material success and recognition of our accomplishment and station. To challenge this assumption of our worth and look to what is fulfilling to us uniquely and personally is a monumental challenge. What good is material success if we lose our body to ill health and our mind is constantly racked by stress? We need to promote and find happiness for ourselves for our own good. Then our lives will be worth something more than being one more cog in the macro economic machine.
Human beings are intensely peer susceptible animals and as such what we choose to do with our life affects those around you. If you choose to manage stress better, make more healthy choices or be more compassionate that will likely improve your personal relationships in your family or among your social circle. This will have an impact on other people, even if we never know the extent to which we affected others.
I once worked with a guy in college at a video store who was intensely hyper with a very short attention span and very fast mouth. Working with him was always a bit of a chore and I thought that he must have thought I was boring because I wouldn't always entertain all of the random tangents he would talk about. One day to my surprise he told me that he really enjoyed working with me because he was really calm and relaxed when I was around. I was shocked because I didn't get that impression from him, but also because that was what he called relaxed. Yikes.
Too often we have big desires to change the world but we neglect to examine ourselves first. We have the most power to affect change in ourselves and through those action (and thoughts) we do change the world. Maybe not in the dramatic way we are used to seeing in movies, but maybe not being dramatic and flashy the change is deeper and actually more profound and lasting.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it well when he said that, "...all life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality; tied in a single garment of destiny...strangely enough, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way the world is made. I didn't make it this way, but this is the interrelated structure of reality."
(By the way...FBOW stands for For Better Or Worse.)
(By the way...FBOW stands for For Better Or Worse.)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Serving Others Also Means Caring for Yourself
The last couple of posts have been about the value of enhancing our calm and the new medical research that supports taking time out every day to engage in focused relaxation. However, there is a procrastination factor that prevents us from internalizing it and taking this advice to heart no matter how relevant and useful it might be to us (and I think it is useful to everyone). It is very difficult to initiate a change that is not addressing an immediate problem in our daily life unless there is some type of dramatic event which we responding or reacting to. I think that this dilemma is at the core of many of the problems in the West.
But let me focus my attention on the population that I think needs to take all of this information about relaxation into account... society's helpers. I did not go to school for social work, or think I would ever be involved in that that type of work, but I have often landed at non-profits that serve people in some capacity. Social workers are wonderful people with beautiful motivations in their approach to career and in wanting to serve the community, but as good as they are at helping others they are often equally bad at caring for themselves. I have often been shocked at the coping strategies for stress that I witness from the group of people who are suppose to give advice to others in need of support or redirection in their lives. I use "social worker" in a broad way here. All professions that are working on societal problems or working with people struggling with difficult circumstances all are included in who I'm addressing here. Actual social workers, therapists, teachers, nurses, doctors, police officers, fire fighters and even civil servants, government workers and people working in the justice system are all dealing with stress involving other people's lives either at a systematic or individual basis and are engaging with people at challenging points in their lives. I believe that for people in these professions taking heed of the research about the benefits of making time for relaxation is critical and should be taken up immediately. Because your capacity to help or bring wisdom and compassion to a situation is limited by your stress level and what you are bringing to the situation. The key point is that the best ways you can support others is by truly caring for yourself too.
The role of helper or healer can be challenging and draining. Working with people is frustrating and helping to improve people's lives is often a slow and circular process where the same issues keep coming up again and again. It is essential that people dealing with the struggles of others engage in a very real and consistent practice that heals themselves and produces the calmness and the clarity to endure through the slow process of change. After all if you are on the edge of burnout how good are you going to be at helping others? If you aspire to change the world in a positive way good intentions are not enough. We need to accept our limitations and do something about them, not pretend that we are not deeply affected by what we encounter in our work. If you believe that people can change for the better and improve their lives, then first experiment on yourself and prove it. See if you can change your coping mechanisms for dealing with stress to more positive ones. Can you quit smoking, have a better relationship with food or alcohol? Can you take the plunge and start an exercise routine or begin sharing with a counselor? Trying to address your habits will give you insight into the obstacles of helping others and what a struggle it can be to change. More importantly, it will help restore you so you bring your best self to your work and your life. Replenishing your inner resources is critical in social work and will make you a better support for others.
It isn't selfish to spend time on yourself, you should think of it as improving the main tool that you are using to bring positive change to the world. If you wanted to cook better food one of the things you might do is buy better pans and knives. You would pay attention to your tools and materials and this would help determine the quality of the outcome. This is really the same concept. People in these professions have such an opportunity to be models for the people they work with and others in the same professions.
Please don't misunderstand. This is not a call for you to be perfect or even aspire to be. We are all human. What is important is to not neglect ourselves. I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to commit to doing something like this every day. I meditated off and on for about five years before I resolved to commit to a daily practice, and now that I am the father of an infant transitioning into a toddler, I am lucky to meditate twice a week. But what I am committed to is trying my best to having a balanced approach. Taking up self care is supposed to reduce stress and create health in your life. Thus, approach this task with compassion, patience and a recognition that steps backwards are often part of moving forward. The work you do is so important to all of us whether you are a teacher, counselor, social worker, caretaker, healer, etc. So please deeply consider the benefits of calmness and the relaxation response and think about taking up a practice of some kind. Please pass this along to people who you know who might need to hear it.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) conducted a study in 2004 that indicated a lack of self-care among social workers. Here is an article discussing the problem which I think applies to all of us in this society to some extent, if you want more on this topic give it a look. The Profession Must Prioritize Self-Care
And again here are basic instructions for initiating the relaxation response and list of other equivalent activities: http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/basics/eliciting_rr.aspx
But let me focus my attention on the population that I think needs to take all of this information about relaxation into account... society's helpers. I did not go to school for social work, or think I would ever be involved in that that type of work, but I have often landed at non-profits that serve people in some capacity. Social workers are wonderful people with beautiful motivations in their approach to career and in wanting to serve the community, but as good as they are at helping others they are often equally bad at caring for themselves. I have often been shocked at the coping strategies for stress that I witness from the group of people who are suppose to give advice to others in need of support or redirection in their lives. I use "social worker" in a broad way here. All professions that are working on societal problems or working with people struggling with difficult circumstances all are included in who I'm addressing here. Actual social workers, therapists, teachers, nurses, doctors, police officers, fire fighters and even civil servants, government workers and people working in the justice system are all dealing with stress involving other people's lives either at a systematic or individual basis and are engaging with people at challenging points in their lives. I believe that for people in these professions taking heed of the research about the benefits of making time for relaxation is critical and should be taken up immediately. Because your capacity to help or bring wisdom and compassion to a situation is limited by your stress level and what you are bringing to the situation. The key point is that the best ways you can support others is by truly caring for yourself too.
The role of helper or healer can be challenging and draining. Working with people is frustrating and helping to improve people's lives is often a slow and circular process where the same issues keep coming up again and again. It is essential that people dealing with the struggles of others engage in a very real and consistent practice that heals themselves and produces the calmness and the clarity to endure through the slow process of change. After all if you are on the edge of burnout how good are you going to be at helping others? If you aspire to change the world in a positive way good intentions are not enough. We need to accept our limitations and do something about them, not pretend that we are not deeply affected by what we encounter in our work. If you believe that people can change for the better and improve their lives, then first experiment on yourself and prove it. See if you can change your coping mechanisms for dealing with stress to more positive ones. Can you quit smoking, have a better relationship with food or alcohol? Can you take the plunge and start an exercise routine or begin sharing with a counselor? Trying to address your habits will give you insight into the obstacles of helping others and what a struggle it can be to change. More importantly, it will help restore you so you bring your best self to your work and your life. Replenishing your inner resources is critical in social work and will make you a better support for others.
It isn't selfish to spend time on yourself, you should think of it as improving the main tool that you are using to bring positive change to the world. If you wanted to cook better food one of the things you might do is buy better pans and knives. You would pay attention to your tools and materials and this would help determine the quality of the outcome. This is really the same concept. People in these professions have such an opportunity to be models for the people they work with and others in the same professions.
Please don't misunderstand. This is not a call for you to be perfect or even aspire to be. We are all human. What is important is to not neglect ourselves. I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to commit to doing something like this every day. I meditated off and on for about five years before I resolved to commit to a daily practice, and now that I am the father of an infant transitioning into a toddler, I am lucky to meditate twice a week. But what I am committed to is trying my best to having a balanced approach. Taking up self care is supposed to reduce stress and create health in your life. Thus, approach this task with compassion, patience and a recognition that steps backwards are often part of moving forward. The work you do is so important to all of us whether you are a teacher, counselor, social worker, caretaker, healer, etc. So please deeply consider the benefits of calmness and the relaxation response and think about taking up a practice of some kind. Please pass this along to people who you know who might need to hear it.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) conducted a study in 2004 that indicated a lack of self-care among social workers. Here is an article discussing the problem which I think applies to all of us in this society to some extent, if you want more on this topic give it a look. The Profession Must Prioritize Self-Care
And again here are basic instructions for initiating the relaxation response and list of other equivalent activities: http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/basics/eliciting_rr.aspx
Friday, July 29, 2011
Science Discovers Relaxation
Dr. Herbert Benson is a person we should all be more familiar with. He wrote the Relaxation Response 35 years ago, a ground breaking book which documents the effects of relaxation on the body. Herbert Benson, M.D., is the Director Emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute (BHI), and Mind/Body Medical Institute Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Throughout his career, Dr. Benson has worked to build awareness and value of mind body medicine and validate it through research.
His newest book, the Relaxation Revolution, reveals more striking results from his more than 30 years of research on the value of a few short minutes of meditative practice on our health and wellness. The initial findings in the Relaxation Response were that engaging in focused meditative activity activates a response in our body which is the exact opposite of the response our body has during times of stress. Much of our health problems are caused or made worse by stress which makes this very simple fact quite a powerful discovery. Engaging in the relaxation response can directly address certain common health problems such as hypertension, stress headaches, anxiety-related symptoms, mild depression, etc. However, medical research shows that engaging in the relaxation response can also help improve the symptoms of any number of illnesses.
The new book builds upon this initial finding as the power of mind body medicine becomes more undeniable. New research shows that the protection against stress from engaging in meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer, etc. over time also affects the behavior of the practitioner's genes. The activity and responses of your cells and even your genes, are effected by regular engagement in the relaxation response. In fact, your genes' behavior is modified due to the relaxation response and this then affects your cells in terms of their resiliency to stress and how they deal with age and illness. It is not that the relaxation response reverses the aging process for your cells, instead the reaction it elicits creates a buffer, or an insulation, against the effects of stress that are so damaging.
To top it all off, long term engagement in meditation creates habitual responses in our bodies, brains, cells and genes. And according to Dr. Benson, when enough change happens within our bodies over a long enough time, these changes to our genes are passed down to our children. It is important to note here that the structure of our DNA has not changed, but instead the genes' activity or behavior has changed.
These new discoveries really throw down the gauntlet in terms of managing our stress and being calmer people. We owe it to ourselves, our society and our children to strike a different course in a time of skyrocketing health care costs, proliferating lifestyle diseases, and a nation struggling with depression, anxiety and mental illness . The relaxation response seems to be a simple and powerful way to do so. One of the most amazing things to consider is that cultures for thousands of year have been engaging in the relaxation response through their spiritual traditions and practices. This is not a discovery of science but instead an affirmation of a spiritual (or simply human?) practice that has great benefit and usefulness to the practitioner. This points to the fact that spirituality has a part to play in being human, and that our spiritual traditions have valuable lessons that we can learn from in how to live well. The fact that scientific inquiry is catching up with some of these more subtle spiritual lessons is exciting and will be very challenging to the traditional scientific and religious institutions.
As an end note, I do not hold spirituality and religion to be the same thing. Religion can be a spiritual endeavor, but in many cases it is not. Likewise, a spiritual life or practice doesn't need to be a part of a religion.
For more on the relaxation response: listen to Dr. Benson being interviewed on abc (5min)
Or for those of you who want a deeper drill down on this topic: here is Dr. Benson discussing his new book at Harvard U (39 min)
The new book builds upon this initial finding as the power of mind body medicine becomes more undeniable. New research shows that the protection against stress from engaging in meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer, etc. over time also affects the behavior of the practitioner's genes. The activity and responses of your cells and even your genes, are effected by regular engagement in the relaxation response. In fact, your genes' behavior is modified due to the relaxation response and this then affects your cells in terms of their resiliency to stress and how they deal with age and illness. It is not that the relaxation response reverses the aging process for your cells, instead the reaction it elicits creates a buffer, or an insulation, against the effects of stress that are so damaging.
To top it all off, long term engagement in meditation creates habitual responses in our bodies, brains, cells and genes. And according to Dr. Benson, when enough change happens within our bodies over a long enough time, these changes to our genes are passed down to our children. It is important to note here that the structure of our DNA has not changed, but instead the genes' activity or behavior has changed.
These new discoveries really throw down the gauntlet in terms of managing our stress and being calmer people. We owe it to ourselves, our society and our children to strike a different course in a time of skyrocketing health care costs, proliferating lifestyle diseases, and a nation struggling with depression, anxiety and mental illness . The relaxation response seems to be a simple and powerful way to do so. One of the most amazing things to consider is that cultures for thousands of year have been engaging in the relaxation response through their spiritual traditions and practices. This is not a discovery of science but instead an affirmation of a spiritual (or simply human?) practice that has great benefit and usefulness to the practitioner. This points to the fact that spirituality has a part to play in being human, and that our spiritual traditions have valuable lessons that we can learn from in how to live well. The fact that scientific inquiry is catching up with some of these more subtle spiritual lessons is exciting and will be very challenging to the traditional scientific and religious institutions.
As an end note, I do not hold spirituality and religion to be the same thing. Religion can be a spiritual endeavor, but in many cases it is not. Likewise, a spiritual life or practice doesn't need to be a part of a religion.
For more on the relaxation response: listen to Dr. Benson being interviewed on abc (5min)
Or for those of you who want a deeper drill down on this topic: here is Dr. Benson discussing his new book at Harvard U (39 min)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Put Some Time into Being Calm
I think people don't spend enough time on things that are very basic because we think certain things just come naturally or are too boring to spend much time on. In reality these things are often the background upon which other things in our life occur. When you pay attention to improving fundamental things that you may usually take for granted you are creating a solid foundation of habits which will affect whatever you do. Some examples of what I am talking about here is how we breathe, how we listen to others or the habitual movement of our thoughts. These are very basic things that we do everyday, but don't pay much attention to. If we were to do these things even just the tiniest bit better or more mindfully, we would see a big impact over time in other areas of our lives.
As discussed in the last post, our brain is plastic and will adapt to how we think and respond. Our mind or brain is the foundation from which everything we do comes from. Every situation we encounter in life will depend upon our brain/mind taking in information, processing and filtering that information and then responding. Therefore it is of the utmost importance for it to function the best it can. Working toward a calmer and more relaxed mind improves the way the brain and body work. It seems to me because of this that it would rationally be within every one's self interest to put some thought and effort into being calmer and more relaxed.
My family and I were very fortunate to have a chance to see the Dalai Lama give a public talk in front of the Capitol building in Washington DC a couple of weeks ago. A common theme he discusses is the value and importance of having a calm mind. He lays out many reasons for this including the fact that a calm mind can deal with problems and unexpected events better than an excessively reactive mind. He asserts that we simply think better and make better decisions when we are calm. He also focuses on the health benefits of having a more relaxed mind versus one that is constantly stressed out. Medical science has been very clear that stress is a big factor in pretty much every type of disease and illness. Reducing stress is a recommended remedy for every type of malady.
A relaxed person who is cool and collected under fire is something that many of us value or admire, but I think its not something many of us work very hard to cultivate in ourselves long term. I believe that a calm mind is something worth while to pursue for all of the reasons that the Dalai Lama lays out and many more. One thing I am often criticizing about American problem solving is that we want to have simple and clear solutions to problems even if reality often doesn't work that way. However, I would argue that in developing a more relaxed attitude we find something close to the magic wonder drug that we are looking for. We will age more gracefully, be happier and healthier, deal with disease and conflict better, and the list goes on. Being calm also allows us to be our best selves more often. So much of the time we are distracted by stress, fear or anxiety and we can't let our natural personality shine through. Being calm helps the mind function well and be free to perceive what is occurring in real time and think quickly and holistically. When too much emotion floods our system it slows the processing of our brain down and we can't respond at our best.
For all of these reasons I believe that the development of inner calm is of real value and will help people lead happier and healthier lives. I have linked here a short video with Jon Kabat-Zinn discussing the value of meditation in training our minds to be more present and relaxed. His work and research has been one of the bridges between modern medicine and meditation over the past 20 years. The video is about 4 minutes please take a look, and in the next post we will take look at some of the new research about relaxation and how it affects our health and ability to deal with disease.
As discussed in the last post, our brain is plastic and will adapt to how we think and respond. Our mind or brain is the foundation from which everything we do comes from. Every situation we encounter in life will depend upon our brain/mind taking in information, processing and filtering that information and then responding. Therefore it is of the utmost importance for it to function the best it can. Working toward a calmer and more relaxed mind improves the way the brain and body work. It seems to me because of this that it would rationally be within every one's self interest to put some thought and effort into being calmer and more relaxed.
My family and I were very fortunate to have a chance to see the Dalai Lama give a public talk in front of the Capitol building in Washington DC a couple of weeks ago. A common theme he discusses is the value and importance of having a calm mind. He lays out many reasons for this including the fact that a calm mind can deal with problems and unexpected events better than an excessively reactive mind. He asserts that we simply think better and make better decisions when we are calm. He also focuses on the health benefits of having a more relaxed mind versus one that is constantly stressed out. Medical science has been very clear that stress is a big factor in pretty much every type of disease and illness. Reducing stress is a recommended remedy for every type of malady.
A relaxed person who is cool and collected under fire is something that many of us value or admire, but I think its not something many of us work very hard to cultivate in ourselves long term. I believe that a calm mind is something worth while to pursue for all of the reasons that the Dalai Lama lays out and many more. One thing I am often criticizing about American problem solving is that we want to have simple and clear solutions to problems even if reality often doesn't work that way. However, I would argue that in developing a more relaxed attitude we find something close to the magic wonder drug that we are looking for. We will age more gracefully, be happier and healthier, deal with disease and conflict better, and the list goes on. Being calm also allows us to be our best selves more often. So much of the time we are distracted by stress, fear or anxiety and we can't let our natural personality shine through. Being calm helps the mind function well and be free to perceive what is occurring in real time and think quickly and holistically. When too much emotion floods our system it slows the processing of our brain down and we can't respond at our best.
For all of these reasons I believe that the development of inner calm is of real value and will help people lead happier and healthier lives. I have linked here a short video with Jon Kabat-Zinn discussing the value of meditation in training our minds to be more present and relaxed. His work and research has been one of the bridges between modern medicine and meditation over the past 20 years. The video is about 4 minutes please take a look, and in the next post we will take look at some of the new research about relaxation and how it affects our health and ability to deal with disease.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Can We Learn to Be More Compassionate?
I believe that a critical and fundamental assertion that is often overlooked is that we can train our mind. For a long time this contrasted somewhat with biological science which told us that our neurons were fixed after a certain age and that our brain did not really change much after that. However, more current research has overturned the fixed brain theory and now the brain is described by neuroscientists as being plastic. This means that the Buddhist point of view, among others, has had a good sense of how the human mind works and what its potential is. What we do, think and feel matter and can alter the wiring and structure of our brains.
The affirming message in all of this is that we can change, even later in life, and expand our potential. Alternatively the uncomfortable fact that accompanies the first is that if we are not involved in our own development then we are leaving it to chance. We must use it or lose it so to speak. We have an unprecedented capacity for wisdom, compassion, insight, skill development and to be healthy emotionally and physically. But it is our responsibility to make sure that we are on a path for the changes to be positive and productive.
There is a similar responsibility that comes with a growing understanding of how flexible our minds and brains are. It took the pressure off when things were more fixed. After all, after the age of 25 (or whatever it was) your brain was fixed. You could only be expected to change so much after that; you were already programmed. Therefore if you weren't a master concert level musician by your mid to late 20's you could just blame your parents that they didn't get you started young enough. Brain science is very new and can't tell us everything about ourselves, but it is inspiring to dwell on the thought that we do have some freedom to chart our own destiny if we have determination and commitment to do so.
One of the meditations in Buddhism is to reflect upon your luck at being born into a situation that has certain freedoms and advantages. You reflect upon these things to inspire yourself to work on positive changes and to take advantage of the opportunities you have. It is helpful to imagine others' situations who have no freedom or opportunities for spiritual practice or self development. I think of these new discoveries of neuroscience in that context. We are very fortunate, in spite of the responsibility it puts on us, that at least to some extent where we go, our brain will adapt and follow.
Linked here is a article from Scientific American about the studies going on and if meditation can affect our ability and capacity for empathy...Please check it out. Meditate on this: You can learn to be more compassionate
The affirming message in all of this is that we can change, even later in life, and expand our potential. Alternatively the uncomfortable fact that accompanies the first is that if we are not involved in our own development then we are leaving it to chance. We must use it or lose it so to speak. We have an unprecedented capacity for wisdom, compassion, insight, skill development and to be healthy emotionally and physically. But it is our responsibility to make sure that we are on a path for the changes to be positive and productive.
There is a similar responsibility that comes with a growing understanding of how flexible our minds and brains are. It took the pressure off when things were more fixed. After all, after the age of 25 (or whatever it was) your brain was fixed. You could only be expected to change so much after that; you were already programmed. Therefore if you weren't a master concert level musician by your mid to late 20's you could just blame your parents that they didn't get you started young enough. Brain science is very new and can't tell us everything about ourselves, but it is inspiring to dwell on the thought that we do have some freedom to chart our own destiny if we have determination and commitment to do so.
One of the meditations in Buddhism is to reflect upon your luck at being born into a situation that has certain freedoms and advantages. You reflect upon these things to inspire yourself to work on positive changes and to take advantage of the opportunities you have. It is helpful to imagine others' situations who have no freedom or opportunities for spiritual practice or self development. I think of these new discoveries of neuroscience in that context. We are very fortunate, in spite of the responsibility it puts on us, that at least to some extent where we go, our brain will adapt and follow.
Linked here is a article from Scientific American about the studies going on and if meditation can affect our ability and capacity for empathy...Please check it out. Meditate on this: You can learn to be more compassionate
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