Why meditate? | positive-psychology

Benefits of Meditation

In this video, Rick Hanson explains how nerve cells in the brain grow and reorganize around where we put our attention. Cutting edge neruroscience says that by being mindful of where our attention is, we can essentially rewire our brains and nervous systems, which allow for greater peace and happiness . But how do we control where we put our attention? Luckily for us, the art of meditation (which is essentially about focusing the attention) has been honed over the last 2500 years in India and Tibet. So there is no need to "reinvent the wheel", we just need to learn how to use it.

Neuroplasticity

Insight & Awareness

Meditation helps us to build up our mental muscles. One of those muscles is concentration, which is largely about stabilizing attention. Because all of our scattered energy then returns to us, it is an empowering event.

This process also calms down the nervous system, allowing us to see things more clearly. Higher levels of awareness begin to operate when we feel this sense of safety, paving the way for insight.

Meditation also gives us the recognition of choice - instead of being swept up in momentum, we can recognize that we always have choices.

Brain integration & Presence

Here, Dr Dan Siegel of UCLA medical center discusses bilateral integration (linking the left and right hemispheres of the brain). Meditation also helps memory integration, narrative integration (weaving the story of our lives), interpersonal integration (how we realate to each other), and temporal integration (how we embrace the deepest existential issues).

Creativity

Studies show that mediation promotes creative thinking. One reason for this is that mediation disengages the sympathetic nervous system ("fight or flight" nervous system) and engages the parasympathetic nervous system (calming nervous system). This is the relaxed place from which we can learn, grow, change, and create. We see the world more clearly, have more patience, less distractions, and are more of our authentic selves, all of which help foster creativity.

Stress reduction & Resiliancy

One of the most immediately recognizable effects of meditaion is stress reduction. We are predisposed to "worry mode", thinking we need to worry in order to function. But in reality this hyper-vigilance not only wears down our bodies, but it negatively impacts our ability to enjoy life.

In this video John Kabat-Zinn talks about his patient's experiences with stress reduction.