Effects of Meditation on the Brain

This source helps provide an idea of how mindfulness will play a role in our healthcare today and the future. I want to use this source for that specific reason and to show its role in my own chosen profession of a physician. The article discusses many costs saving measures when mindfulness is applied and there is a potential of billions to be saved.

In chapter 10 it is said that “A disciple should develop a mind which is in no way dependent upon sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensory sensations or any mental conceptions. A disciple should develop a mind which does not rely on anything.” I feel like this advice given by Buddha would be excellent steps towards achieving mindfulness.

To understand the effects of mindfulness meditation we first must understand how it is practiced and what the purpose of this practice is. Throughout my research I have found many definitions of mindfulness meditation. Three of which I found to be helpful when understanding the research conducted on the psychological effects of mindfulness meditation. One article described it as “Generally defined to include focusing one’s attention in a nonjudgmental or accepting way on the experience occurring in the present moment”. (BELLIN, ZVI J 221) Another article described the practice as “A process that leads to a mental state characterized

Effective mindfulness meditation requires training and practice and it has distinct measurable effects on our subjective experiences, our behavior, and our brain

This paper is about my experience with mindfulness based meditation and scientific inquiry of these experiences. Mindfulness based meditation is describes as technique used to cultivate nonreactive, non-judgmental and stable awareness of the present moment (Garland and Gaylord, 2009). The end goal is to sustain this meta-cognitive state for a long period of time. I practiced non-denominational form of mindfulness based meditation for the first time in my psychology class, which was devoted towards intellectual and experiential examination of meditation. The practice was conducted in a group it was instructed by our own professor and it begun at the end of class. There was one sessions per week and each session was structured meaning it was

Mindfulness is an act of learning to direct one 's attention to their experience as they unfolds moment by moment, with open-minded curiosity and acceptance. Katherin (2012) states that mindfulness trains us to respond skilfully to whatever is happening at that moment, be it good or bad, rather than worrying about what has happened or might happen. Studies of brain imaging have shown that the structures and function of the brain is reliably and profoundly altered to improve the quality of both feeling and thought by mindfulness practice.

Mindfulness is another way of meditation. Meditation was used to seek to improve one’s psychological or physical health, or spiritual growth. (Brantley, 2007). The history of Mindfulness comes from Buddhism and his search for enlightenment and a foundation of the four noble truths. The Buddha teaching focus on the four noble truths which consist of knowing suffering exists, there is a cause of suffering, there is cessation of suffering and there is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering. (Van Gordon, 2015). The four noble truths were not only there to represent the Buddha’s experiential understanding of suffering, but also to express the truth (Van Gordon, 2015). Studies of Buddhism and the Four Noble Truths teach us that there is always going to be suffering in our life but to find ways to overcome suffering (Tsering, 2005).

The principle of mindfulness is based on Zen Buddhism which can be problematic when mindfulness and acceptable are not based on Biblical truth (Tan, 2011, p. 247). Mindfulness principle is emerged from spirituality and religious beliefs and involves self-regulation of attention and adopting a particular orientation to event around an individual. Self-regulation is done through maintaining attention on the immediate experience which allows for an increased recognition of mental events in the present moment (Tan, 2011, p. 243).

Josephine P. Briggs, M. (2010, June 25). Exploring the Power of Meditation. Retrieved from National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: https://nccih.nih.gov/about/offices/od/2010-06.htm

Rooting back to its’ ancient times, meditation has been around for thousands of years, especially in the Eastern part of the world and has spread to the Western countries in early 1970s.

Meditation means to concentrate and connect with ones’ own mind, to explore identity and emotions in order to be aware of conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious thoughts. Meditation originates and has been has been practiced in Asia for thousands of years for different reasons such as increasing concentration abilities, religious purposes and also to train the mind. This essay will focus on how meditation affects brain plasticity (ability to change), emotionally and intellectually, leading to better performance and coping abilities in stressful situations. Things like attention span, memory functions and complexity of emotions will be further explored and may interest the reader since meditation can answer many questions on improving mental health that affects almost everyone. I will make the claim that meditation practice needs to be introduced early into educational institutions such as schools. Because evidence suggests that that meditation increases the volume of the cortex in the brain, leading to a higher and more powerful emotional intellect and cognition that improves things like memory, attention and emotional control. It is logical to assume that in order to alter thickness of cortex, mental thought functions and emotional strength, meditation should be introduced to children early in school for greater performance.

Children and adolescents in the United States face different psychological challenges, such as anxiety disorders, depression, attention deficit disorder, as well as many other psychiatric diagnoses (Bloom, Dey, & Freeman, 2006). The prevalence rate of children diagnosed with a mental disorder is alarming. According to Merikangas et al. (2010), 22.2% of American children and adolescents get diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder that is severe enough to impair their ability to attend school and learn (Bucci, Marques, Oh, & Harris, 2016). Kids that are plagued by various psychological illnesses may experience a difficult time concentrating and staying focused in school. Additionally, the over-accumulation of toxic stress, either due to the pressures of schools or environmental (i.e., difficult exams, poverty, household dysfunction, etc.), can have negative and detrimental effects during childhood, as well as adulthood (Bucci et al., 2016).

Mindfulness meditation consists of skills and methods to unplug from the busy world around you and from the busy 'monkey brain ' so often experienced in today 's life and particularly in ADHD, anxiety and depression. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness meditation trains and reinforces the ability to pay attention to the present moment, on purpose which helps to increase concentration, decrease anxiety, improve sleep, improve mood, decrease the stress response, and improve physical and emotional health. The studies are compelling about the health benefits of mindfulness meditation. In fact, studies show that mindfulness meditation actually changes the brain in positive ways. The cortex of the brain is thicker in certain areas of the brain in those who practice mindfulness meditation. And brainwave patterns are changed in healthy ways as well.

Eastern enlightenment religions have been gaining popularity throughout the western world for the past few decades, with many people attracted to a "different" way of experiencing religion. As with many other enlightenment religions, Buddhism requires disciples to understand concepts that are not readily explainable: one such concept is that of no-self. In this essay I shall discuss the no-self from a number of modern perspectives; however, as no-self is difficult to describe I shall focus on both the self and no-self. Beginning with psychological aspects, and neurophysiological research on transcendental meditation, I shall discuss the impact of modern brain science on our understanding of the self and transcendence. Next I will outline

Before taking the class, and before really understanding the benefits of mindfulness, I must admit, I did not really take mindfulness exercises seriously. I tried a few exercises, led by a phone application, but I constantly wondered what these exercises were supposed to achieve. I always thought to myself, “I know what happens around me, being mindful is great, but specific exercises for this seemed exaggerated.”