“This withdrawal from the day’s turmoil into creative silence is not a
luxury, a fad, or a futility. It
dissolves mental tensions and heals negative emotions.” – Paul Brunton
Modern meditation teacher Bob Roth says, “We are living in an epidemic of toxic trauma
and stress that cuts across all demographics. Modern medicine has no magic pill
to either prevent stress or cure it. We
can mask it with 6 glasses of wine or 5 cups of espresso before six in the
morning or we can manage it with Ambien and Xanax . . . but [there is] nothing
curative.”
Roth, who has taught meditation for over 40 years, considers
himself an atypical meditation teacher.
He says he is a skeptic, even a cynic when it comes to alternative new
age culture. However, throughout his
long career he has taught meditation to inner city children, prisoners, men on
death row, the mission district in San Francisco, veterans and women and
children survivors of domestic violence.
Recently, in an interview, Mr. Roth
was asked: “Why meditation now?”
His answer:
“Science.”
Meditation, an
ancient practice, has recently gone mainstream. Roth states that science didn’t take mediation
seriously until about 5-7 years ago when brain research started coming out. However, meditation is now backed by science and is being taught in big banks,
corporations, hospitals, and professional athletic teams. Research is providing ample evidence that
regular meditation practice is not only good for our health but essential to
the well-being of a society drowning in fear and anxiety.
Last month at my father’s funeral in Michigan, I ran into my uncle,
a physician from Boston who I hadn't seen in nearly 20 years. Not long into our conversation we discovered
we had something in common. We both
practice meditation.
I was not the least surprised by my uncle’s scientific
explanations in support of meditation, because they also happen to support my own personal
experiences. When I began my
practice in earnest over 25 years ago no one had to convince me of the therapeutic
benefits of meditation. Meditation was
something I was naturally drawn to as a way to balance a stressful work life as
an emergency room trauma nurse. However,
what I did not anticipate was that meditation practice would radically change
my life for the better.
My story continues.
When I arrived back home from my fathers funeral, my daughter, who
happens to be a physician in Chicago, calls to tell me that Rush Medical Center,
where she works as a chief resident, asked her to offer guided meditation as
part of a wellness program for interns and residents, and she wanted to know if
I would give her a simple meditation process to share with the residents.
Being scientists like my uncle, I figured the residents
would respond well to scientific evidence.
So I did some fact checking of my own with regard to the science behind
the practice of meditation.
This is what I found:
Even though meditation has been around for thousands of
years, only recently have scientists had the tools to look into the brain to
see what actually happens when people meditate.
Research has revealed that due to chronic stress our brain is in a state
of imbalance.
According to a 2007 New York Times article, "Recent research has shown that meditation is good for the brain. It appears to increase gray matter, improve the immune system, reduce stress and promote a sense of well-being."
It has long been known that high levels of stress stimulate the”
flight or fight” response which in turn decreases the immune response. A weakened immune system lowers the ability
to fight stress, thus a vicious cycle ensues.
“Anything that interrupts this cycle [such as meditation] by providing a
sense of relaxation and safety will also be immune enhancing”, states Jeffrey
Leiphart PhD, San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
MRI and EEG studies demonstrate that meditation results in a feeling of positive
well-being. “The amygdala [region of
brain associated with emotions] calms down . . . and all parts of the brain start to
communicate”.
Meditation has also been found to decrease anxiety and
depression, improve cognitive abilities, concentration, self-awareness and
sleep. “Veterans, who hadn’t slept well for months, began sleeping 18 hours a
night for days in a row after learning how to meditate,” says Roth. The body performs a very important function
during sleep. It releases toxins. Therefore adequate sleep is vitally
important to the maintenance of health. Something
most people can probably attest to from personal experience.
Recently, “The National Institutes of Health funded a 26
million dollar study on transcendental meditation (TM) and its effect on high
blood pressure. As a result of this
study the American Heart Association released a statement saying TM
is in many regards as effective a tool in reducing high blood pressure as
medication and with no negative side effects.”
You need only Google “benefits of meditation” to find reams
of convincing evidence that meditation promotes good health. However, in my own practice of meditation for
over two decades, I‘ve discovered meditation to be good not only for my mind
and body but also for my soul. Thomas
Moore in his bestselling book, “Care of the Soul”, states the following:
The great malady of the twentieth century, implicated in all of our
trouble and affecting us individually and socially, is ‘loss of soul’.
Even though Moore finds it difficult to define exactly what
soul is, he states, “We know intuitively that soul has to do with genuineness
and depth.”
How mind, body and soul interrelate is perhaps something
modern science has yet to wrap its head around. My own experience leads me to believe that we
each have an “inner sense” that when developed or strengthened is like a compass that steers us in the right direction and is not dependent upon science
or any other authority. I’m not saying
we don’t need science to inform us.
Science is a marvelous tool.
Where would we be without our cell phones and lap tops! What I am saying is that meditation nourishes
the soul -that part of us that is innately aware and intuitive- and points us
in the direction of our most authentic self.
Meditation is not about "zoning out", but is a relaxed state of heightened awareness and focused
attention. It is about being comfortable with silence. Meditation,
though not a religion, is compatible with any religious affiliation because its emphasis is
on experience rather than a particular belief system. A common meditation practice focuses
attention on the breath by simply observing the breathing process or the
natural flow of breath in and out. This
technique gently calms the mind and emotions and pleasantly anchors the
practitioner in the present moment.
Other techniques withdraw attention directly into the silent
center that lies at the depths of our inner being. This silent core is where one’s true nature
or higher power resides, however one views that power or names it. Author, Susan Murphy has this to say about inner silence: "Whenever we find our way into such a silence, it is a little like remembering a child's kind of trust in what is happening . . . We're not focused on past memories or what we already know . . . It is like recognizing the one we have longed for, the one we always knew we really were . . . " In my own practice I've discovered this silent core to be the location of true peace and fulfillment.
Like anything else, meditation works best when used
consistently, or when it becomes a daily
practice, preferably 20 minutes twice a day (morning and evening) to begin with.
As a good friend of mine always says
when we see each other, “Bern, the best is yet to come!” the same rings true of
meditation. As the practice of
meditation evolves, a subtle, yet radical shift in perspective may begin to occur,
establishing the practitioner in what some call, “the natural state” or “true
self”.
What is meant by
“natural state” is simply the state of innocence we were born into. As infants and children we experienced the
world with fresh eyes and an open heart, free from layers of conditioning accumulated
over a lifetime- the obsessions, judgments and attachments to self-image,
belief systems, and even our own suffering.
Therefore, meditation not only dissolves stress, but
provides a doorway into our our most authentic self, the self we inadvertently lost
sight of somewhere between childhood and adulthood. And when this door begins to open, a
whole new world presents itself- a more expansive, balanced perspective where wonder and awe for this magnificent gift called life is ever present.
If someone were to ask:
“Why meditation now?”
I’d have to say: “Because it works!”
