Neuroscience and Psychology of Meditation in Everyday Life
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Neuroscience and Psychology of Meditation in Everyday Life
Neuroscience and Psychology of Meditation in Everyday Life addresses essential and timely questions about the research and practice of meditation as a path to realization of human potential for health and well-being.
Balancing practical content and scientific theory, the book discusses long-term effects of six meditation practices: mindfulness, compassion, visualization-based meditation techniques, dream yoga, insight-based meditation and abiding in the existential ground of experience. Each chapter provides advice on how to embed these techniques into everyday activities, together with considerations about underlying changes in the mind and brain based on latest research evidence.
This book is essential reading for professionals applying meditation-based techniques in their work and researchers in the emerging field of contemplative science. The book will also be of value to practitioners of meditation seeking to further their practice and understand associated changes in the mind and brain.
Dusana Dorjee, PhD, is a cognitive neuroscientist in the School of Psychology at Bangor University. Her research investigates how meditation, particularly mindfulness, impacts well-being and modifies the mind and brain. Dusana is also a long-term meditation practitioner and teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Dzogchen.
Neuroscience and Psychology of Meditation in Everyday Life
Searching for the Essence of Mind
Dusana Dorjee
First published 2018
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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© 2018 Dusana Dorjee
The right of Dusana Dorjee to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
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ISBN: 978-1-138-69184-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-69185-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-46197-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
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Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1 The new science of meditation
What is the science of meditation missing?
The mind’s capacity to self-regulate
Purpose, meaning and modes of existential awareness
Existential drive, health and well-being
Towards a long-term perspective of meditation
Summary
2 Long-term meditation practice
Neural plasticity, body physiology and meditation
The state and trait effects of meditation
The quantity and quality of meditation practice
Formal and informal meditation
Adverse effects of meditation
Developing a long-term perspective of meditation
Summary
3 Mindfulness
What is mindfulness?
How to develop mindfulness?
Neuroscience of mindfulness
Mindfulness, self-regulation and existential well-being
A day of mindfulness practice
Mindfulness from a long-term practice perspective
Summary
4 Compassion and related qualities
What is compassion? A Buddhist perspective
What is compassion? A Western scientific perspective
Developing compassion and related qualities in the Buddhist context
Neuroscience of compassion and loving kindness
Compassion, self-regulation and existential well-being
A day of compassion practice
Compassion from a long-term practice perspective
Summary
5 Visualization in meditation practice
What is visualization-based meditation?
Developing visualization-based meditation practice in the Buddhist context
Neuroscience of visualization-based meditation
Visualization-based meditation, self-regulation and well-being
A day of visualization-based meditation
Visualization-based meditation from a long-term practice perspective
Summary
6 Existential insight and dream yoga
What is existential insight? The Western approach
What is existential insight? The Buddhist approach
Developing existential insight in daytime and in dream yoga practice
Neuroscience of existential insight and dream yoga practices
Existential insight, self-regulation and existential well-being
Twenty-four hours of meditation practice
Existential insight practice from a long-term perspective
Summary
7 The state of existential balance
What is the state of existential balance?
Developing the state of existential balance
Neuroscience of the state of existential balance
The state of existential balance, self-regulation and existential well-being
The state of existential balance in everyday life
The state of existential balance from a long-term practice perspective
Summary
8 The potential of contemplative science
Contemplative psychology
Contemplative psychotherapy
Contemplative neuroscience
Contemplative science in healthcare
Developmental contemplative science
Contemplative science and society
Challenges facing contemplative science
Conclusion
Summary
Glossary
Index
Preface
This book resulted from my exploration of long-term meditation practice both as a meditator and as a scientist. In over 16 years of my meditation practice I have experienced first-hand, and also witnessed in others’ meditation progression, many of the common challenges practitioners encounter in the process of developing long-term meditation practice. These seem to range from the beginner’s misconceptions about what meditation is and about the overall trajectory of meditation training, to ‘fossilization’ of meditation practice in long-term practitioners who are not able to progress beyond a particular stage. Yet, I have also encountered advanced, highly accomplished practitioners who shared the challenges they experienced in their long-term meditation training. A common topic in their comments was that the challenges made them question fundamental assumptions about their existence, the purpose and meaning of their life, and this process in turn catalyzed their meditation progress.
Alongside this experiential learning, as a meditation researcher I
have repeatedly observed over the last decade that despite the recent boom in studies on meditation, most of them apply a short-term perspective of meditation and neglect the role of meditation in the development of purpose and meaning in life. I found this somewhat perplexing given that in the traditional contexts meditation training is intended as a long-term path and the primary goal of meditation is to enable practitioners to explore deep questions about their existence. This observation suggested to me that if meditation-based approaches are to become effective tools in supporting health and well-being across the life-span, research and applications targeting long-term effects of meditation and focus on existential well-being will be of essential importance in the next phase of development in this field.
Together, my explorations both at the personal practice and scientific research levels pointed to the same implications about the potential of long-term meditation practice in meeting a fundamental human need for experiential understanding of meaning and purpose in life – existential balance. This became the overarching theme of this book. It is my hope that the book will be helpful to those teaching, researching, practicing or developing long-term meditation training.
Acknowledgements
This book would not have come into being without the inspiration of my meditation teachers, my scientific training and the support of my family. I am particularly grateful to Urgen Dolma; she showed me that genuine long-term meditation practice can lead to unwavering grace, unconditional compassion for all and deepest contemplative insight manifesting in everyday life without a need for recognition and even in the midst of severe illness. I was also very fortunate to receive many teachings from authentic meditation masters, particularly Khenchen Lama Rinpoche, in the Tibetan Buddhist lineage of Dzogchen, which I strongly connected to. My multifaceted research training enabled me to link these experiences, teachings and my personal meditation practice to the scientific discourse; this would not have been possible without a true sense of scholastic curiosity instilled in me during my graduate training in cognitive science and philosophy. Finally, I wouldn’t have found the space and time to write this book without the patience and support of my family, especially my two beautiful daughters, who brought lightness, grounding and humour to the big task.
Abbreviations
BOLD Blood-oxygen-level dependent
EEG Electroencephalography
ERP Event-related brain potential
MBCT Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
MBSR Mindfulness-based stress reduction
MEA Modes of existential awareness
MRI Magnetic resonance imaging
MSRC Metacognitive self-regulatory capacity of the mind
Introduction
With meditation based-techniques becoming increasingly popular within and outside of the therapeutic context, questions arise about the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of meditation in the West. Are the meditation techniques just the current ‘fashionable’ way to deal with stress and anxieties of modern life? Or are they tapping into some previously neglected challenges and questions about our way of living? Do meditation techniques have a firm place in Western psychotherapeutic approaches? If the meditation-based approaches are here to stay, how can we sustain the benefits of meditation beyond the eight-week course or five-day retreat? And where will the continuous meditation practice lead us? Could therapeutic approaches integrate long-term meditation training into their repertoires? Are there any challenges and risks associated with continuous meditation practice? How can we effectively move from the cushion to everyday activities and firmly embed meditation in our daily life? All these questions seem vital to the future of meditation-based approaches in psychotherapy. More broadly, the questions are pertinent to increasing numbers of those who practice or intend to practice meditation long-term, both in secular and traditional Buddhist contexts. They also have implications for our understanding of well-being across the life-span and the role of contemplative practice in it.
In the secular context, mindfulness-based approaches, the most broadly implemented meditation-based programmes, have been shown effective in depression relapse prevention, chronic pain treatment, stress reduction, coping with psychological aspects of cancer diagnosis and treatment, etc. (e.g., Hofmann et al., 2010; Piet and Hougaard, 2011; Shennan, Payne and Fenlon, 2011). They are also making their way into the mainstream – the number of schools introducing mindfulness into their curricula is rapidly growing, as is the number of businesses interested in implementing mindfulness in their organizations. Mindfulness-based approaches are also increasingly taught to support caregivers, school teachers, nurses and doctors, veterans, and they are being introduced in prisons. Alongside mindfulness, the implementation of other meditation-based techniques, particularly those developing compassion, is also on the rise, mostly in therapeutic settings. Yet, our understanding of whether the benefits of meditation training are sustained long-term, how to maintain the initial gains and what additional changes result from long-term practice is very limited.
Indeed, most of the longitudinal research studies examining the effects of meditation-based techniques evaluated only the changes before and after a meditation-based programme, and some looked at whether the effects are sustained three months after the training; very few included longer-term evaluations up to one year. Longitudinal studies investigating effects of meditation-based programmes beyond one year are virtually absent, except for comparisons of advanced meditators with novices. The methodological drawback of such studies is that we do not know the starting level differences which could have impacted on the findings after meditation training (e.g., Taylor et al., 2011). There is also very limited understanding of how formal meditation sessions (meditation on the cushion) translates and influences our feeling, responding and behaving in everyday life, and how a transfer of well-being improvements can be supported. But this ‘gap’ in our understanding of long-term and real-life effects of meditation is perhaps not surprising, given the nascent nature of meditation research – there are currently only a few thousand studies on meditation and most of these have been published in the last 15 years. Majority of the research until now tackled more basic questions asking whether meditation-based techniques can have any health benefits, and more recently, whether they can modulate brain functioning and structure, as well as body physiology.
However, with the increasing numbers of those receiving basic training in meditation-based techniques as well as health professionals using meditation techniques in their work, there is a need for further research which speaks to the deeper and long-term ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of meditation practice. Better understanding of the long-term effects of meditation practice together with challenges one can encounter is needed to inform the recommendations and development of programmes for intermediate, advanced and very advanced practitioners. We already know that the magnitude of well-being related effects resulting from meditation tends to increase with more hours of formal meditation practice (e.g., Brefczynski-Lewis et al., 2007). Such initial estimates open up questions about similarities and differences in effects of formal practice on the cushion and informal practice embedded in everyday activities. They also lead to considerations about the quality of practice, which is bound to impact on the effects meditation has, yet we know very little from Western research about the impact of practice quality on the outcomes, or even about ways to measure it.
The investigation of long-term impact of meditation practice inevitably also brings up challenging questions about the relationship between secular and traditional contemplative approaches to meditation in relation to well-being across the life-span. Within the Buddhist context, where most of the meditation techniques currently used in secular meditation-based programmes originated, meditation is considered a tool facilitating the overarching goal of existential liberation from suffering. The concept of suffering is here understood at many levels, from obvious forms of physical and mental hardship to more subtle underlying patterns of anger,
unhealthy attachment, ignorance, jealousy and pride. Lack of experiential understanding of one’s own mind and the construed nature of reality are considered the root causes of all our suffering.
Perhaps not surprisingly, most attendees of the secular mindfulness classes join the courses seeking some relief from tangible health problems – stress and anxiety, and often chronic, psychological and physical difficulties – rather than looking for answers to existential questions about the roots of their suffering and life’s meaning and purpose. Yet, there is the possibility that the secular meditation training, particularly with a more sustained practice, will open up deeper existential inquiry of how we construe who we are. There is indeed some research suggesting that mindfulness-based approaches enhance the sense of purpose and meaning in life (Garland et al., 2007). However, there isn’t an established route or approach to support such deeper existential explorations arising from meditation practice within the secular context. And there is also the possibility that this is where the secular meditation techniques reach their limits.
Whether the development and support of long-term meditation practice can happen within the secular context remains an open question for now. What is perhaps needed at this stage is an initial exploration of the possible answers to ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ outlined earlier, which bridges, rather than divides, the secular and traditional contemplative approaches. In the search for the answers there is a need for sensitivity to the subtleties of the differences between secular applications of meditation and Buddhism. A particular strength of the secular programmes is their ability to present meditation practices in a form and format which is accessible and relatable for practitioners in the West. This accessibility to broad audiences and in contexts such as education or workplace also necessitates their non-sectarian and religion-neutral nature. As a consequence, the secular programmes are for the most part not intended as a full path to freedom from suffering in the Buddhist sense (Dorjee, 2010).