Dan Harris: Hack Your Brain's Default Mode with Meditation

Dan Harris explains the neuroscience behind meditation, but reminds us that the ancient practice isn't magic and likely won't send one floating into the cosmic ooze. He predicts that the exercise will soon become regularly scheduled maintenance, as commonplace as brushing your teeth or eating your veggies. Harris, an ABC News correspondent, was turned on to mediation after a live, on-air panic attack.

Transcript -

 There’s no way a fidgety and skeptical news anchor would ever have started meditating were it not for the science. The science is really compelling. It shows that meditation can boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, help you deal with problems ranging from irritable bowel syndrome to psoriasis. And the neuroscience is where it really gets sci-fi. There was a study out of Harvard that shows that short daily doses of meditation can literally grow the gray matter in key areas of your brain having to do with self-awareness and compassion and shrink the gray matter in the area associated with stress.

There was also a study out of Yale that looked at what’s called the default mode network of the brain. It’s a connected series of brain regions that are active during most of our waking hours when we’re doing that thing that human beings do all the time which is obsessing about ourselves, thinking about the past, thinking about the future, doing anything but being focused on what’s happening right now. Meditators not only turn off the default mode network of their brain while they’re meditating but even when they’re not meditating. In other words, meditators are setting a new default mode. And what’s that default mode? They’re focused on what’s happening right now.

In sports this is called being in the zone. It’s nothing mystical. It’s not magical. You’re not floating off into cosmic ooze. You are just being where you are – big cliché in self-help circles is being in the now. You can use that term if you want but because it’s accurate. It’s slightly annoying but it’s accurate. It’s more just being focused on what you’re doing. And the benefits of that are enormous. And this is why you’re seeing these unlikely meditators now, why you’re seeing the U.S. Marines adopting it, the U.S. Army, corporate executives from the head of Ford to the founders of Twitter. Athletes from Phil Jackson to many, many Olympians. Scientists, doctors, lawyers, school children. There’s this sort of elite subculture of high achievers who are adopting this because they know it can help you be more focused on what you’re doing and it can stop you from being yanked around by the voice in your head.

My powers of prognostication are not great. I bought a lot of stock in a company that made Palm Pilot back in 2000 and that didn’t go so well for me. But having said that I’m going to make a prediction. I think we’re looking at meditation as the next big public health revolution. In the 1940s if you told people that you went running they would say, who’s chasing you. Right now if you tell people you meditate – and I have a lot of experience with telling people this, they’re going to look at you like you’re a little weird most of the time. That’s going to change. Meditation is going to join the pantheon of no brainers like exercise, brushing your teeth and taking the meds that your doctor prescribes to you. These are all things that if you don’t do you feel guilty about. And that is where I think we’re heading with meditation because the science is so strongly suggestive that meditation can do really, really great things for your brain and for your body.

The common assumption that we have, and it may be subconscious, is that our happiness really depends on external factors – how was our childhood, have we won the lottery recently, did we marry well, did we marry at all. But, in fact, meditation suggests that happiness is actually a skill, something you can train just the way you can train your body in the gym. It’s a self-generated thing. And that’s a really radical notion. It doesn’t mean that external circumstances aren’t going to impact your happiness. It doesn’t mean you’re not going to be subject to the vagaries of an impermanent, entropic universe. It just means you are going to be able to navigate this with a little bit more ease.

Directed / Produced by Jonathan Fowler, Elizabeth Rodd, and Dillon Fitton

Brainwaves and Brain Mapping

 

The brain consists of about 20 billion neurons which all generate electrical impulses. When these neurons work together in synchrony, tiny rhythmic, electrical potentials occur in the synapses which are specialised junctions between the neurons. The more neurons that work in synchrony, the larger the potential (amplitude) of the electrical oscillations measu­red in microvolts. The faster the neurons work together, the higher the frequency of the oscilla­tions measured in Hertz. These two parameters: amplitude and frequency are the primary characteristics of brain waves.

These weak electrical signals can be measured by electrodes placed on the scalp using some conductive paste. After amplification by an EEG-amplifier, the signals are fed to a computer and analysed for amplitude and frequency. This is called electroencephalo­graphy (EEG).

Brainwaves may be divided into 5 catego­ries depending on the fre­quency: Delta waves (0.5-4 Hz) are dominant during coma and deep sleep. Theta waves (4-8 Hz) are asso­cia­ted with drives, emotions, tran­ce states, and dream sleep. Alpha waves (8-13 Hz) reflect the brain’s idle state and are found in most people in the awake condition with closed eyes. Alpha waves are the prime indicators of conscious attention, and they represent the gate between the outer and the inner world and between the conscious and the unconscious. Beta wa­ves (13-30 Hz) indicate an arou­sed, mentally alert and concen­trated state. Finally, the fast Gamma frequencies (30-42 Hz) correlate with will, high energy states and ecstasy. Thus, both Delta and Theta waves reflect unconscious states, whereas Alpha and Beta waves indicate awake, con­scious states. Finally recent research point to Gamma waves as the brain’s signature of higher states of conscious­ness.

The Brainmaps are based on recordings of 8 chan­nels of EEG. The following electrode placements are used according to the international 10-20 system: Fp1, Fp2, T3, T4, T5, T6, O1, O2, and Cz. The raw EEG is filtered through a band pass filter from 2-36Hz. In order to obtain baselines, the EEG is initially recorded during rest with closed and open eyes. After that the EEG is recorded during the activity or condition we want to study. After manual editing of the records for artifacts (removal of signals caused by muscle activity and eye movements) the computer performs an FFT frequency analysis usually of 60 seconds of artifact free record from each of the recor­ded conditions. Based on these analyses brainmaps showing the distribution of Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta1, and Beta2 frequencies are constructed.

A brainmap gives a quick overview of the functional state of the brain. The brainmap above shows five coloured ovals displaying the distribution in the brain of five types of brain waves. The oval in the upper left corner actually shows a combination of Beta2 and Gamma frequencies. Each oval shows the brain seen from above, and the little tip at the top indicates the location of the nose. Each of the five ovals only displays one type of brain wave, however, all five types of waves are measured at the same time and at the same locations on the brain. Thus, the brainmap splits up the complex brain wave activity on five different displays in order to give a better overview.

The vertical, coloured scale to the left shows the power of the brain waves.  Blue indicates low power, green and yellow medium, and red high power of the brain waves. The red colour on the middle oval, for example, indicates that Alpha are the most domi­­nating waves in this brainmap, and are most predominant in the posterior (rear) part of the brain.

Usually activation of the brain will show up in the brainmap as decreased Theta and Alpha and increased Beta1 and Beta2 activity. On the other hand, if the subject relaxes and connects to his/her unconscious, we would tend to see an increase of Alpha and Theta activity.

Source: newbrainnewworld

The Chakras: Synopsis and Correlation with Brainwaves Frequences

The Chakras

When the mind is attached to worldliness, consciousness dwells in the three lower centers. Then there are no high ideals and pure thoughts, and the mind is preoccupied with lust and greed. When the energy rises to the fourth centre, the heart or Anahata, spiritual awakening takes place. At this stage the heart is flowering with love, and man has a spiritual vision of the devine light. His mind then no longer runs after worldly pleasures. When the fifth and sixth chakra (throat and eyebrow) are awakened man becomes free of ignorance and all information is available to him through his intuition. Finally, when the energy reaches the crown chakra on the top of the head, man experiences Samadhi. Samadhi is a state where consciousness experiences itself and its oneness with God.

The above model suggests that the seven chakras are correlated with brain wave frequencies in such a way that the lower chakras are associated with low and the higher chakras with high EEG frequencies. Thus, the root chakra, Muladhara, is reflected in the brain by slow delta waves which signify instincts and survival functions. The 2^nd chakra (Swadisthana) is indicated by theta waves which reflects feelings, emotions and drives. Low alpha reflects the 3^rd chakra (Manipura) which is the seat of the Mind and its thinking. The 4^th chakra is the heart (Anahata) and its brain signature is said to be high alpha. The 5^th throat chakra (Vishuddi) is the seat of communication which is reflected by low beta waves. The 6^th chakra or 3^rd eye (Ajna) stands for intuition and is reflected in the brain by gamma wave frequencies. The 7^th or crown chakra (Sahasrara) is the seat of cosmic awareness, and we do not know whether there are associated brain wave frequencies. This is only a hypothetical but useful working model which still has to be verified.

The seven ChakrasThe word chakra means wheel or disk in Sanskrit and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centers correlates with brain structures. As we have indicated in the above model, the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, and to archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds and body functions.

Source: newbrainnewworld

A Day of Mindfulness

“Every day and every hour, one should practice mindfulness. That's easy to say, but to carry it out in practice is not. That's why I suggest... that each person should try hard to reserve one day out of the week to devote entirely to their practice of mindfulness. In principle, of course, every day should be your day, and every hour your hour.  But the fact is that very few of us have reached such a point. We have the impression that our family, place of work, and society rob us of all our time. So I urge that everyone set aside one day each week. Saturday, perhaps.

“If it is Saturday, then Saturday must be entirely our day, a day during which you are completely the master. Then Saturday will be the lever that will lift you to the habit of practicing mindfulness.  Every worker...has the right to such a day, for without it we will lose ourselves quickly in a life full of worry and action, and our responses will become increasingly useless.  Whatever the day chosen, it can be considered as the day of mindfulness.

“To set up a day of mindfulness, figure out a way to remind yourself at the moment of waking that this day is your day of mindfulness. You might hang something on the ceiling or on the wall, a paper with the word "mindfulness" or a pine-branch -- anything that will suggest to you as you open your eyes and see it that today is your day of mindfulness. Today is your day. Remembering that, perhaps you can feel a smile which affirms that you are in complete mindfulness, a smile that nourished that perfect mindfulness.

“While still lying bed, begin slowly to follow your breath -- slow, long, and conscious breaths. Then slowly rise from bed (instead of turning out all at once as usual), nourishing mindfulness by every motion. Once up, brush your teeth, wash your face, and do all your morning activities in a calm and relaxing way, each movement done in mindfulness. Follow your breath, take hold of it, and don't let your thoughts scatter. Each movement should be done calmly. Measure your steps with quiet, long breaths. Maintain a half smile.

“Spend at least a half hour taking a bath. Bathe slowly and mindfully, so that by the time you have finished, you feel light and refreshed. Afterwards, you might do household work such as washing dishes, dusting and wiping off the tables, scrubbing the kitchen floor, arranging books on their shelves.  Whatever the tasks, do them slowly and with ease, in mindfulness. Don't do any task in order to get it over with. Resolve to do each job in a relaxed way, with all your attention.  Enjoy and be one with your work.  Without this, the day of mindfulness will be of no value at all. The feeling that any task is a nuisance will soon disappear if it is done in mindfulness.

“Take the example of the Zen Masters.  No matter what task or motion they undertake, they do it slowly and evenly, without reluctance.

For those who are just beginning to practice, it is best to maintain a spirit of silence throughout the day. That doesn't mean that on the day of mindfulness, you shouldn't speak at all. You can talk, you can even go ahead and sing, but if you talk or sing, do it in complete mindfulness of what you are saying or singing, and keep talking and singing to a minimum. Naturally, it is possible to sing and practice mindfulness at the same time, just as long as one is conscious of the fact that one is singing and aware of what one is singing. But be warned that it is much easier, when singing or talking, to stray from mindfulness...

“At lunchtime, prepare a meal for yourself.  Cook the meal and wash the dishes in mindfulness. In the morning, after you have cleaned and straightened up your house, and in the afternoon, after you have worked in the garden or watched clouds or gathered flowers, prepare a pot of tea to sit and drink in mindfulness.  Allow yourself a good length of time to do this. Don't drink your tea like someone who gulps down a cup of coffee during a work break. Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the whole earth revolves -- slowly, even, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment.  Only this actual moment is life.  Don't be attached to the future.  Don't worry about things you have to do.  Don't think about getting up or taking off to do anything.  Don't think about "departing."

“In the evening, you might read scriptures and copy passages, write letters to friends, or do anything else you enjoy outside of your normal duties during the week. But whatever you do, do it in mindfulness.  Eat only a little for the evening meal. Later, around 10 or 11 o'clock...you will be able to sit more easily on an empty stomach. Afterwards you might take a low walk in the fresh night air, following your breath in mindfulness and measuring the length of your breaths by your steps. Finally return to your room and sleep in mindfulness.”

-- Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness, Beacon Press, Boston, pp. 41-49

This Is Your Brain on Meditation

The science explaining why you should meditate every day.

I realized today that in all my posts regarding the brain and how to sculpt it with mindfulness, I’ve never actually explained how and why meditation works. Specifically, the science behind how your brain changes the longer you meditate. I think this is important for many reasons, but one of the most salient is that this information serves as a great motivator to keep up a daily practice (or start one).
I’m sure you’ve heard people extol the virtues of meditation. You may be skeptical of the claims that it helps with all aspects of life. But, the truth is, it does. Sitting every day, for at least 15-30 minutes, makes a huge difference in how you approach life, how personally you take things and how you interact with others. It enhances compassion, allows you to see things more clearly (including yourself) and creates a sense of calm and centeredness that is indescribable. There really is no substitute.

For those of you who are curious as to how meditation changes the brain, this is for you. Although this may be slightly technical, bear with me because it’s really interesting. The brain, and how we are able to mold it, is fascinating and nothing short of amazing. Here are the brain areas you need to know:

• Lateral prefrontal cortex: the part of the brain that allows you to look at things from a more rational, logical and balanced perspective. In the book, we call it the Assessment Center. It is involved in modulating emotional responses (originating from the fear center or other parts of the brain), overriding automatic behaviors/habits and decreasing the brain’s tendency to take things personally (by modulating the Me Center of the brain, see below).

• Medial prefrontal cortex: the part of the brain that constantly references back to you, your perspective and experiences. Many people call this the “Me Center” of the brain because it processes information related to you, including when you are daydreaming, thinking about the future, reflecting on yourself, engaging in social interactions, inferring other people’s state of mind or feeling empathy for others. We call it the Self-Referencing Center.

What’s interesting about the Medial PreFrontal Cortex (mPFC) is that it actually has two sections:

• Ventromedial medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) – involved in processing information related to you and people that you view as similar to you. This is the part of the brain that can cause you to end up taking things too personally, which is why we referred to it as the unhelpful aspect of the Self-Referencing Center in the book. (In reality, this brain area has many important and helpful functions – since we were focusing on overcoming anxiety, depression and habits you want to change, we referred to it as unhelpful because it often causes increases in rumination/worry and exacerbates anxious or depressive thoughts/states/feelings.)

• Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex (dmPFC) – involved in processing information related to people who you perceive as being dissimilar from you. This very important part of the brain is involved in feeling empathy (especially for people who we perceive of as not being like us) and maintaining social connections.

• Insula: the part of the brain that monitors bodily sensations and is involved in experiencing “gut-level” feelings. Along with other brain areas, it helps “guide” how strongly you will respond to what you sense in your body (i.e., is this sensation something dangerous or benign?). It is also heavily involved in experiencing/feeling empathy.

• Amygdala: the alarm system of the brain, what most refer to as the “Fear Center.” It's a part of the brain that is responsible for many of our initial emotional responses and reactions, including the “fight-or-flight” response. (Along with the Insula, this is what we referred to as the Uh Oh Center.)

The Brain Without Meditation – Stuck on Me

If you were to look at people’s brains before they began a meditation practice, you would likely see strong neural connections within the Me Center and between the Me Center and the bodily sensation/fear centers of the brain. This means that whenever you feel anxious, scared or have a sensation in your body (e.g., a tingling, pain, itching, whatever), you are far more likely to assume that there is a problem (related to you or your safety). This is precisely because the Me Center is processing the bulk of the information. What's more, this over-reliance on the Me Center explains how it is that we often get stuck in repeating loops of thought about our life, mistakes we made, how people feel about us, our bodies (e.g., “I’ve had this pain before, does this mean something serious is going on?) and so on.
Why is the Me Center allowed to process information this way, essentially unabated? The reason this happens, in part, is because the Assessment Center’s connection to the Me Center is relatively weak. If the Assessment Center was working at a higher capacity, it would modulate the excessive activity of the vmPFC (the part that takes things personally) and enhance the activity of the dmPFC (the part involved in understanding other’s thoughts and feelings). This would lead us to take in all the relevant information, discard erroneous data (that the Me Center might want to focus on exclusively) and view whatever is happening from a more balanced perspective – essentially decreasing the overthinking, ruminating and worrying that the Me Center is famous for promulgating. One helpful way to think of the Assessment Center is as a sort of “brake” for the unhelpful parts of the Me Center.

The Brain on Meditation – I Can See Clearly Now

In contrast, if you meditate on a regular basis, several positive things happen. First, the strong, tightly held connection between the Me Center (specifically the unhelpful vmPFC) and the bodily sensation/fear centers begins to break down. As this connection withers, you will no longer assume that a bodily sensation or momentary feeling of fear means something is wrong with you or that you are the problem! This explains, in part, why anxiety decreases the more you meditate – it’s because the neural paths that link those upsetting sensations to the Me Center are decreasing. Said another way, your ability to ignore sensations of anxiety is enhanced as you begin to break that connection between the unhelpful parts of the Me Center and the bodily sensation/fear centers. As a result, you are more readily able to see those sensations for what they are and not respond as strongly to them (thanks to your strengthened Assessment Center).
Second, a heftier, healthier connection forms between the Assessment Center and bodily sensation/fear centers. This means that when you experience a bodily sensation or something potentially dangerous or upsetting, you are able to look at it from a more rational perspective (rather than automatically reacting and assuming it has something to do with you). For example, when you experience pain, rather than becoming anxious and assuming it means something is wrong with you, you can watch the pain rise and fall without becoming ensnared in a story about what it might mean.
Finally, an added bonus of meditating is that the connection between the helpful aspects of the Me Center (i.e. dorsomedial prefrontal cortex) – the part involved in processing information related to people we perceive as being not like us – and the bodily sensation center – involved in empathy – becomes stronger. This healthy connection enhances your capacity to understand where another person is coming from, especially those who you cannot intuitively understand because you think or perceive things differently from them (i.e., dissimilar others). This increased connection explains why meditation enhances empathy – it helps us use the part of the brain that infers other people’s states of mind, their motivations, desires, dreams and so on, while simultaneously activating the part of the brain involved in the actual experience of empathy (insula). The end result is that we are more able to put ourselves in another person’s shoes (especially those not like us), thereby increasing our ability to feel empathy and compassion for everyone.

Daily Practice is Important

Essentially, the science “proves” what we know to be true from the actual experience of meditating. What the data demonstrate is that meditation facilitates strengthening the Assessment Center, weakening the unhelpful aspects of the Me Center (that can cause you to take things personally), strengthening the helpful parts of the Me Center (involved with empathy and understanding others) and changing the connections to/from the bodily sensation/fear centers such that you experience sensations in a less reactive, more balanced and holistic way. In a very real way, you literally are changing your brain for the better when you meditate.
In the end, this means that you are able to see yourself and everyone around you from a clearer perspective, while simultaneously being more present, compassionate and empathetic with people no matter the situation. With time and practice, people do truly become calmer, have a greater capacity for empathy and find they tend to respond in a more balanced way to things, people or events in their lives.
However, to maintain your gains, you have to keep meditating. Why? Because the brain can very easily revert back to its old ways if you are not vigilant (I’m referencing the idea of neuroplasticity here). This means you have to keep meditating to ensure that the new neural pathways you worked so hard to form stay strong.
To me, this amazing brain science and the very real rewards gained from meditation combine to form a compelling argument for developing and/or maintaining a daily practice. It definitely motivates me on those days I don’t “feel” like sitting. So, try to remind yourself that meditating every day, even if it’s only 15 minutes, will keep those newly formed connections strong and those unhelpful ones of the past at bay.

Addendum: For those wanting to start a meditation practice or who might be experiencing emotional issues, memories, etc. when meditating, please seek out an experienced medtiation teacher. I have received some comments from people stating they do not believe meditation works (which is likely true for some people) or that it could be harmful if done incorrectly. Obviously, meditation has been very positive for me, but I have always worked with a meditation teacher or mentor and I would suggest you do the same, as a teacher can help you figure out what is right for you and guide you through any difficulties you may be having.

Source: Psychology Today