These visualizations can be continued through the morning and afternoon routines at work, combined with brief formal meditation sessions during which a Buddhist meditator can engage in a short deity practice following the steps outlined earlier. A very brief recollection of the image of the deity can also serve as a reminder of the qualities the practitioner is trying to develop themselves, whether it is compassion or aspects of existential insight. This can be particularly powerful since we know that mental imagery activates the same brain areas as actual visual perception and also given that imagery can be more powerful in impacting on our physiology than verbal descriptions. A similar practice can be used by a secular practitioner to remind herself of an image of themselves when they experienced a sense of tranquillity, compassion, contentment or expansion of their existential insight. This practice can be easily done during brief pauses and breaks throughout the day. In both Buddhist and secular contexts the visualization-based practice can also be applied as part of techniques such as working with antidotes. For example, when experiencing frustration or anger we can try to create an image of ourselves when we were calm and content or visualize a deity reminding ourselves of the illusory nature of ordinary experience, thus creating a broader, more spacious perspective on the current difficult situation.
We can keep on introducing these visualization-based meditations into the time we spend commuting from work and then also in the evening while interacting with friends and family. For instance, hearing about others’ difficulties, whether in person or from the media, can become a prompt for us to remember the deity practice and visualize the difficulties easing for those who are suffering. This practice can also serve as a reminder for us to look deeper into the cause of suffering and opportunities we and others have in this moment to alleviate our suffering. With long-term practice, this way of thinking and visualizing can become for us habitual, instead of random mind-wandering and rumination or mindless engagement in daily activities. Finally, a Buddhist practitioner can apply visualization-based meditation as part of her formal evening meditation session to purify afflictions which arose during the day and to recollect positive situations to rejoice in these. A secular practitioner can also use mental imagery to connect with wholesome experiences during the day and use imagery rescripting as a coping strategy when recollecting any afflictive or difficult experiences.
Visualization-based meditation from a long-term practice perspective
While visualization-based meditation practices have been mostly neglected in research on meditation so far, they provide rich and multifaceted techniques which can boost progress in long-term meditation for meditators developing their practice in both traditional and secular contexts. These practices are applied across contemplative traditions (e.g., Christian Ignatian tradition), even though scientific knowledge of these meditations and their effects from psychological and neuroscientific perspectives is virtually absent. Broader applicability of these techniques as part of long-term meditation practice will likely depend on individual propensities of practitioners, with research in the general population showing that some people are naturally more inclined to rely on mental imagery in visual working memory tasks than others. However, this is likely the case for any meditation technique; that’s why a variety of meditation practices can be helpful in tailoring long-term meditation training to practitioners’ individual differences and preferences. Hopefully, future research will investigate visualization-based practices across traditions and degrees of proficiency
with attention to their nuances and varied effects.
Summary
Chapter 5 discusses the theory and practice of visualization-based meditation techniques, which have been mostly neglected in previous scientific research on meditation, yet are broadly applied as part of contemplative training across traditions. The chapter starts with an explanation of scientific understanding of mental imagery and its role in mental health, and then proceeds onto an explanation of visualization-based meditation practices in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This is followed by an explanation of an example visualization-based practice – deity meditation – with particular focus on how this type of practice can enhance the development and sustaining of long-term meditation practice. The multifaceted impact of deity meditations on attention and meta-awareness as well as development of compassion and related qualities together with existential insight is of particular interest here. Research evidence on changes in the brain and cognitive processing associated with visualization-based meditation is presented in this context. We then explore how visualization-based meditation can impact all three dimensions of the MSRC, including conceptual processing, and we also highlight possible contributions of this type of meditation to the development of more advanced modes of existential awareness (MEA). The final section of the chapter integrates insights from the theoretical considerations with examples of how to introduce visualization-based meditation into everyday activities.
References
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Dahl, C.J., Lutz, A. and Davidson, R.J., 2015. Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19 (9), pp. 515–523.
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Holmes, E.A., Arntz, A. and Smucker, M.R., 2007. Imagery rescripting in cognitive behaviour therapy: Images, treatment techniques and outcomes. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 38 (4), pp. 297–305.
Holmes, E.A., Lang, T.J. and Shah, D.M., 2009. Developing interpretation bias modification as a ‘cognitive vaccine’ for depressed mood: Imagining positive events makes you feel better than thinking about them verbally. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118 (1), p. 76.
Kongtrul, J., 2002. Creation and completion: Essential points of tantric meditation. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Kosslyn, S.M., Ganis, G. and Thompson, W.L., 2001. Neural foundations of imagery. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2 (9), pp. 635–642.
Kozhevnikov, M., Elliott, J., Shephard, J. and Gramann, K., 2013. Neurocognitive and somatic components of temperature increases during g-tummo meditation: Legend and reality. PLoS One, 8 (3), p. e58244.
Kozhevnikov, M., Louchakova, O., Josipovic, Z. and Motes, M.A., 2009. The enhancement of visuospatial processing efficiency through Buddhist deity meditation. Psychological Science, 20 (5), pp. 645–653.
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Lehmann, D., Faber, P.L., Achermann, P., Jeanmonod, D., Gianotti, L.R. and Pizzagalli, D., 2001. Brain sources of EEG gamma frequency during volitionally meditation-induced, altered states of consciousness, and experience of the self. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 108 (2), pp. 111–121.
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sp; Chapter 6
Existential insight and dream yoga
Buddhist teachings distinguish between two basic meditation styles: the calm abiding practices developing concentration (Shamatha) and practices cultivating insight into the nature of self and reality (Vipassana) (Wallace, 1999). Mindfulness and meta-awareness are the two main faculties developed in the practice of Shamatha, with meditation on the breath or visualization-based meditations being the main techniques applied. In contrast, Vipassana practices build on established mindfulness and meta-awareness foundations and use these faculties in investigating processes of the mind, the nature of self and the nature of reality. Practices developing compassion, loving kindness, rejoicing and equanimity as well as deity practices are sometimes singled out as other types of meditation outside of the categories of Shamatha and Vipassana (Lutz, Dunne and Davidson, 2007). However, as we have discussed in previous chapters they can also be considered as techniques developing attention and meta-awareness and some aspects of insight. This highlights the fact that Shamatha and Vipassana practices, while separable types of meditation, are typically both present in every meditation practice even though to different degrees. While Shamatha practices lead to only limited basic insight, Vipassana practices target the development of insight building on the pre-requisites of stable attention and enhanced meta-awareness cultivated in Shamatha. In this chapter, we will consider different gradients of existential insight and specific meditations particularly targeting its development.
The chapter starts by an in-depth exploration of the progression of cultivating existential insight with long-term meditation practice. This exploration is grounded in Tibetan Buddhist distinctions of three basic layers of consciousness with insight practices targeting access to and examination of increasingly deeper layers of consciousness. We will introduce the practice of dream yoga as a technique employed in cultivation of insight into the illusory nature of mind and reality. The chapter then progresses into a more detailed outline of how meditations developing contemplative insight are typically practiced and considerations about neuroscientific evidence regarding development of existential insight. This discussion will then be placed into the broader context of enhancing the metacognitive self-regulatory capacity (MSRC) of the mind and associated changes in modes of existential awareness (MEA) as the two main pillars of well-being. The final section of the chapter will outline how the practices of insight could be introduced into regular long-term meditation training as part of everyday activities including dream states during sleeping.
What is existential insight? The Western approach
In the Western scientific literature on meditation, open monitoring meditation (Lutz et al., 2008) has been closely linked to insight practice. Open monitoring involves vigilance, non-reactive noticing and examining the patterns of perceptions, thoughts and affect in the mind. In this framework open monitoring was primarily defined in terms of attention processes with particular focus on developing sustained attention and metacognitive awareness. Hence, the purpose of open monitoring practices is to gain familiarity with cognitive and affective patterns in our mind and with long-term practice to notice increasingly more nuanced habitual tendencies and reactions. The practice of open monitoring results in a less reactive awareness of mental processes and behaviour, and enables modification of mental habits which are not conducive to well-being. With further self-reflective inquiry, open monitoring can support the development of existential insight, this suggests that open monitoring and existential insight are not to be equated.
Indeed, a most recent and clearer categorization of meditation practices differentiated between open monitoring which could be considered a part of the attention family of meditations and a deconstructive family of meditations which refers to practices cultivating insight (Dahl, Lutz and Davidson, 2015). While both open monitoring and insight practices can look similar on the surface, they differ in terms of involvement of self-inquiry, which is a feature of insight practices only. Specifically, the deconstructive family of meditations applies self-inquiry in examining the processes and states of the mind, from perceptions, thoughts and affect to the more complex constructs of the self and reality. In this way, the deconstructive family can be differentiated from the attention family of meditation practices which primarily aim to develop attention focus and meta-awareness and in the traditional Buddhist terminology would fall under the label of Shamatha. In the same framework (Dahl, Lutz and Davidson, 2015) the deconstructive family also differs from a constructive family of meditation practices that aim to develop particular qualities such as compassion and loving kindness.
Importantly, the practices in the deconstructive family are further divided into three subgroups – object-oriented insight, subject-oriented insight and non-dual-oriented insight (Dahl, Lutz and Davidson, 2015). The object-oriented practices support self-inquiry of contents and processes of consciousness, for example, noticing and examining sensations of sound or bodily sensations. The subject-oriented practices can investigate the same content, but go further in the self-inquiry and question the nature of thoughts, sensations, affect etc. Finally, the non-dual practices examine the boundaries between the observer (the self) and the observed (object/subject of consciousness) which are closely linked to inquiry into the nature of self and at the most advanced levels also explore the nature of reality.
This framework (Dahl, Lutz and Davidson, 2015) is helpful in highlighting some of the subtle distinctions between inquiry practices and other meditations; for instance, as we have mentioned, it clearly states the similarities in the form of open monitoring practices and insight practices and also points to their deep differences in terms of the self-reflective processes and differences in results in terms of attentional/meta-awareness skills versus experiential insight. Furthermore, the distinctions between object-oriented, subject-oriented and non-dual insight practices clearly outline that insight practices differ in their focus and depth of resulting insight. However, there are also several aspects of the framework which could be questioned – for example, constructive family practices likely also support the development of contemplative insight, even though not to the same degree as the deconstructive family practices. So in some regards the distinctions between the families of meditation practices cannot be interpreted strictly.
In addition, the distinctions between the object-oriented and subject-oriented insight practices seem problematic. The framework suggests that the cognitive component in the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) could be considered an example of the object-oriented insight (Dahl, Lutz and Davidson, 2015). The insight aspect of MBCT is particularly related to the experience of decentring from thoughts, affect and also sensations in the body which arises as part of training in the MBCT. In this way, mental processes and contents are not perceived as solid facts, but as changeable events (Teasdale, 1999) characterized by lessening of emersion and identification with them. In comparison, the framework of meditation families also suggests that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) could be considered as an example of subject-oriented insight (Dahl, Lutz and Davidson, 2015), which is a more advanced level than object-oriented insight. This is surprising given that CBT encourages active changes in thinking and emphasizes modifiability of thoughts, but does not necessarily require the participant to inquire about the nature of thoughts. Decentring encouraged in MBCT actually seems to entail more advanced experiential understanding of the transient nature of thoughts, emotions and sensations.
Similarly, it is questionable whether the levels of insight arising from secular practices such as those implemented in MBCT and CBT could be comparable to the insight arising from meditations in the traditional Buddhist context. Here, for instance, the authors of the framework list Tibetan Buddhist Mahamudra Analytical Meditation and Dzogchen Analytical Meditation as well as Zen Koan practices in the same category of subject-oriented insight as CBT. However, the traditional Buddhist practices are grounded in a broader and much deeper understand
ing of the importance of phenomena and human suffering than CBT. These deeper analytical foundations directly feed into the insight which arises as a result of the traditional Buddhist practices in comparison to CBT. Moreover, the insight from CBT is mostly restricted to our own well-being whereas the insight in Mahayana Buddhist practices such as those mentioned in this category is intrinsically linked to the views about happiness and suffering of all beings. So while the categorization of meditation practices into the three families and the distinctions between subcategories of insight practices in the deconstructive family encourages more fine-grained differentiations amongst meditation types, these need to be carefully examined further.
What is existential insight? The Buddhist approach
An alternative approach to conceptualizing the different levels of insight can be based on Buddhist theories of consciousness. This is because the underlying assumption of insight practices is that they enable shifts in awareness towards increasingly more advanced experiential understanding of deeper layers of consciousness. Specifically, the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Dzogchen describes three main layers of consciousness. The first one is often referred to as the ordinary mind; it is the layer of consciousness we are all familiar with, manifested by thoughts, sensations, perceptions, memories and affect. This is the layer of consciousness most of the research in psychology and neuroscience investigates.
Insight meditation practices working with the ordinary level of consciousness enable the practitioner to become more familiar with the patterns of conscious tendencies we have – the usual ways we respond to some triggers, the typical memories which arise in certain situations, the common themes that arise in our mind when we are faced with praise, criticism, boredom etc. Hence, the insight practices working with this level of consciousness enable us to gain more introspective metacognitive familiarity with how our ordinary mind works. This process of observing more closely the thinking and affective patterns in our mind is enabled by stabilization of our attention and enhancement of meta-awareness through the practices of Shamatha. If we get easily distracted and are unable to notice the processes in our mind for more than a couple of seconds, it would be nearly impossible for us to focus on the processes in our mind long enough to be able to derive any knowledge about how we usually think, feel and respond. This is why practices of Shamatha are indispensable in enabling insight into the processes and nature of the mind. Accordingly, we could claim that initial levels of insight in terms of familiarity with habitual patterns in our mind are developed as part of Shamatha practice.
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