Consciousness - An Introduction (ch26)

What is known about the effect of meditation and mindfulness? - Chapter 26

Ways of meditating

Does meditation coincide with a change in consciousness? Meditation is important in many religions. Nowadays, however, many non-religious people also engage in meditation. The best known meditation form is ' transcendental meditation' (TM) . TM would go hand in hand with deep relaxation, the disappearance of stress, an improvement in health, creativity and happiness.

Meditation can be summarized as:

1. do not think, but

2. have attention.

Attitude

Meditation often goes hand in hand with a special body posture. The goal is to make the body alert and relaxed, so that you can sit in the same position for a longer time. The most familiar posture is the lotus posture. With this posture, the back is held straight and people are encouraged to breathe from the abdomen instead of just from the chest. The goal is always to create stability and alertness. Sometimes the hands also adopt a specific posture during meditation. This way the hands can be placed on the knees, but that is not necessary. Research has not shown that certain hand positions have an effect.

 Basic principles

All forms of meditation have two things in common: (1) having attention and (2) not thinking. But what is attention paid to? If you do not want to think, then it does not work to force yourself not to think. If you do that, the suppressed thoughts will come back even more violently. Thoughts should not be suppressed, but be left on their course. There are two ways in which this can be achieved; through:

1. open methods and             

2. concentration methods.

Open meditation

Open meditation means that you are aware of everything that happens around you, but that you do not react to it. This is often done by keeping the eyes (half) open and by facing a white wall. This is often done in Buddhist meditation (zazen) .

Mindfulness meditation is a form of open meditation derived from Buddhism, in particular the method ' skikantaza' , which means 'sit alone'. Mindfulness is defined as 'maximizing the activity of breathing and clarity of consciousness' or 'giving attention in a certain way with the aim of living in the here and now without judgment'. Holding attention and not making a distinction between stimuli means that as much attention is paid to everything that is perceived. This is also known as ' choiceless awareness' . By means of exercise it is possible to achieve this.

The idea is to accept all distractions and not to oppose them. Do not respond to the distractions, do not think about them and they will leave on their own. This ensures that the differences between the self and the other and the mind and the contents of the mind disappears. This is also called 'nonduality' .

Concentration meditation

Concentration meditation is about focusing the attention on one thing without being distracted. In open meditation, openness (and acceptance) of distractions is important, but this does not apply to concentration meditation. Concentration meditation often focuses on breathing. For example, you can count the number of breaths.

Sometimes special techniques are used to adjust the speed of breathing or to exert influence on whether the breathing is more out of the abdomen or more out of the chest. Differences in breathing patterns affect consciousness. Mantras are words, sentences or sounds that are repeated. That can happen in the head, but also out loud.

This can ensure that you only pay attention to what you repeat over and over again. However, it is not about the words themselves; the words only ensure that you have something to focus on. Sometimes people who meditate focus on philosophical questions or stories that are difficult to answer for the mind. How does meditation help us to learn more about consciousness?

The answer to this question is related to the reason why people meditate. There are three reasons to point out:

1. religious or ritual reasons (for example, believe that you go to heaven through meditation),            

2. reduce stress, improve personal abilities and live better, and               

3. search for insight, whether it is done in a religious or mystical context. This chapter is about the last two reasons.

Relaxation and stress reduction

TM is seen as an effective method to relax and reduce stress. For this reason, meditation is sometimes prescribed by doctors to reduce high blood pressure. Holmes has conducted a study from which he draws the conclusion that meditation has no added value. Resting would have the same effect.

His conclusion has been criticized by followers of meditation. It is difficult to prove that meditation reduces stress, because it is difficult to measure such a thing. Which form of stress should be measured, for example? And how should this be done? In addition, there are different forms of meditation and it is therefore not clear what form should be used for research.

Most researchers have focused on the study of TM. This is logical, since TM is said to be the most important thing that reduces this meditation form of stress.

The question is whether we should carry out examinations in which the same people are examined before and after meditation, or that we have to carry out examinations in which different people are divided into different conditions. When the same people are examined before and after meditation, it is often found that stress is reduced. However, it should also be considered whether the results are the same as when people only rest instead of meditating.

Farthing states that meditation has no effect or has an effect that can also be achieved by another technique. The effect of meditation would therefore not be unique.

Siddhis and physical forces

Some people think that meditation can lead to the acquisition of skills, such as siddhis. Siddhis are supernatural powers such as prophethood, hovering and control over others and nature. Float is also called ' vedic flying' . There are photos of people who take off during meditation.

The ' Maharishi effect' means that if enough people meditate together in the same place, their combined consciousness can ensure that people in that environment live peacefully. Evidence for this effect has been found: crime figures have declined and social cohesion has increased in places where meditation takes place (eg in government buildings or universities). Critics state, however, that no comparison material has been used and that these results do not have to be correct.

Insight and ASCs

Meditation is often defined in terms of altered states in consciousness ('ASCs'). For example, terms such as enlightenment and experiencing 'no self' occur. Is it really true that meditation causes ASCs? Tart believes so, because people who meditate feel that their mental functioning has changed. Little consistent evidence has been found showing that meditation causes changes in consciousness. There is a theory that meditation is no more than sleep. Research shows that people sometimes sleep very briefly during meditation.

Why meditate?

Since naps are good for memory and for cognitive abilities, it could well be that meditation has positive effects. Some people feel that the 'self' disappears during meditation. This would mean that people who think that an "I" is needed to have experiences are wrong.

Resources:Blackmore; Susan. (2010). Consciousness, Second Edition An Introduction. Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor & Francis.