Chapter 04 - Mindful Meditation and the Brain
What Scientists are Learning?
Until recently, scientists regarded the brain as mass inside our head. Nothing more and nothing less. It was believed that as adults, we are stuck with the neurology cards we were handed at birth for life.
That theory has been proven to be false.
With the use of MRIs, neuroscientists have discovered that: a) we have far more control over our brain than previously thought; b) changes in the brain can be quantified, and c) we can change our thinking to improve our lives.
The fact is, our brain keeps changing throughout our life. The remarkable truth about mindful meditation is that is allows us to control those changes. For centuries, we have enjoyed the truth of Rene Descartes words, “I think, therefore I am.” Modern science now allows us to amend that bit of wisdom to, “I think, therefore I control who I am.” The realization that we have the power to influence the workings of our brain has many far-reaching potentials.
We are seeing that a mere 30 minutes of mindful meditation each day can have a measurable effect on various areas of the brain. Let’s take a look at what is being discovered.
A study conducted at UCLA shows that people who have practiced mindful meditation for 20 years or more had a greater amount of gray matter within the entire brain. The results of this study can have life-changing effects on aging diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s and how we age in general.
A study at Yale University has found that mindful meditation decreases “brain chattering,” or “monkey mind.” Buddhists call it monkey brain because our brain can resemble the chattering, noising clamoring of monkeys, especially when driven by fear. The Yale study, and others, has shown that mindful meditation serves the function of a volume control, toning down the noise and allowing for some mental peace and quiet.
Studies at Johns Hopkins University have found mindful meditation has a similar effect as medication on the brain in its ability to ease depression and anxiety. While mindful meditation may appear to be just “sitting there,” in reality, it has a powerful healing effect on the brain.
A Harvard study has shown that mindful meditation increases brain areas responsible for learning and emotions. At the same time, it decreases the brain area that deals with stress and fear. In the same study, it was shown that the perception of fear in the participants also changes. In other words, mindful meditation can control the amount and intensity of fear that we experience. A study at the University of Massachusetts confirms that mindful meditation reduced the level of anxiety in participants.
At the same time, as the level of fear decreases, the level of awareness increases, in effect, taking up the new, available space in the brain.
Studies about the effect of mindful meditation on the brain are ongoing. But the fact that we can “tone” our brain muscles in the same way we tone our thighs and abs is encouraging wider interest in the scientific community.