Meditation and the Brain Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Meditation and the Brain When discussing the relationship of brain and behavior, the materialist view of human experience runs into conflict with the historically dominant religious accounts. Recent studies, however, suggests that there may be a "middle view" between the two world-views. Religions, especially Buddhism, stress the role of meditation in one's spiritual growth. Meditation has tangible psychological and physiological benefits, though, which can be explained strictly in neurobiological terms. Understanding of how meditation affects the brain, and, by extension, human behavior, also gives insight into consciousness, the role of feedback loops, and the nature of the I-function. The goal of Buddhist meditation is to detach oneself from desires and objects which are the cause of suffering. Other forms of meditation, while differing in terms of their metaphysical grounding (1), effectively separate the individual from the transitory nature of the world. In prayer, the effort is largely mental, but Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Zen meditation also involve the body. Body positioning is important to the meditation, and in Zen, the object is to have as little tension as possible in the body. "The body has a way of communicating outwardly to the world and inwardly to oneself. How you position your body has a lot to do with what happens with your mind and your breath . . . Although [Zen meditation] looks very disciplined, the muscles should be soft. There should be no tension in the body" (2). The correlation of physical states with mental states in meditation reinforces the correspondence between neural functions and behavior. Zen practice also has a revealing theory about the nature of the self, namely that it ... ...n." http://www.zen-mtn.org/zmm/zazen.shtml 3)"Buddhist Meditation and Personal Construct Psychology" by Phouttasone Thirakoul. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/Pilou.html 4)"Physiological Functioning." http://info.miu.edu/tm_research/tm_charts/1Phys.html 5)"Addiction and Zen." http://viacorp.com/addiction.html 6)"Psychotherapy, Meditation, & Spirituality." http://www.buddhanet.net/psyspir3.htm 7)"Grief and the Mindfulness Approach." http://www.buddhanet.net/psygrief.htm 8)" Wallis, Claudia. "Faith & Healing." Time. June 24, 1998. Vol. 147, no.26." http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/REL100/TIME960624.HTM 9)"God on the Brain," by Jeremy Creedon. http://www.utne.com/lens98/spirit/god.html 10) "Zen and the Brain (Review)," by Kimford O. Meadov." http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/journals/archive/jama/vol_281/no_4/review_2.htm