Lecture 3- Informal, Formal and Intensive Practices

Question 1

What does “Neurons that Fire together Wire Together” mean?

Answer 1

The more you run a neural circuit in your brain, the stronger that circuit becomes. This is why “practice makes perfect”. The more you practice, the stronger the circuits get.

Question 2

Elaborate on what can be hard for most of us in these modern times

4 points

Answer 2

• It can be very hard for most of us to ‘Be Here Now’ because being here now opens the door to all sorts of unwanted thoughts, images and feelings.
• In fact our constant activity is one way that we defend against or push unpleasant things out of our awareness.
• Typically, to do this we have to suspend our urgency to do stuff. We need to slow down a bit and pay attention. The intention is to BE HERE
• Slowing down can be really hard in our information age cuz it’s so speedy. Most of us are drinking from the firehose of information and it’s coming in so quickly and at such volume.

Question 3

Describe the 3 types of Mindfulness practice

Answer 3

INFORMAL- Things we do during the day that develop some mindfulness
FORMAL- When we take time out of the day to set aside resources to develop mindfulness
INTENSIVE RETREAT- When we go away somewhere and practice mindfulness over the course of many days

Question 4

Elaborate on Informal Mindfulness practice with examples

Answer 4

-We don’t have experimental data on the neurobiological behavioural effects of informal practice
-Experienced meditators report that doing them helps to sustain and deepen the effect of formal practice during the day
Examples-
Telephone meditation
Tail Light meditation
Shower meditation

Informal meditation practices can really be anything (walking the dog etc..) All that is required is that we resist the temptation to check our smart phones every 30 seconds, turn on some media, do something to bring us out of the moment.
-Any activity in which we can single task and be present becomes an opportunity for informal mindfulness practice

Question 5

Elaborate on Formal Mindfulness practice

with the study summaries

Answer 5

-There is a wealth of data to support their efficacy. Formal mindfulness practices change brain structure and function
1st study- Sarah Lazar, (Older meditators vs. non)
Cerebral Cortex thins as we get older
-Several areas such as the insula (proprioception, noticing what’s going on in the body in each moment) and areas of the brain involved in integration between affect (emotion) and cognition don’t deteriorate in the meditators in the way that they normally do in the non-meditators.

2nd study-Richard Davidson
Activation of the prefrontal cortex on the left side when
people are happy, engaged, relaxed. Activation on the right side when Hyper vigilant, anxious, stressed.
-Tibettan monk was off the charts to the degrees in which he leaned left in the favourable direction vs. leaning right.

Question 6

All of these (Formal/Informal Mindfulness) practices involve…..

(5 points)

Answer 6

RESTRAINT.

• They are not about becoming an ascetic or trying to wipe out our desire but rather to not just do what comes naturally, instead taking some time to focus on WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE CURRENT MOMENT
• With Breath awareness practices we learn to observe the breath arising, itches arising and we don’t just act on our impulses. We can watch them arise and transform.
• The same thing happens with Anger if we don’t just act it out. We can observe it and watch it transform by itself. The same with sadness.
• Mindfulness practices help us to realize that we have choices about whether or not to act on our impulses.
• This restraint turns out to be an essential ingredient in using mindfulness practices for a host of psychological and behavioural difficulties including anxiety, addictions, interpersonal conflicts and stress related medical disorders.

Question 7

Elaborate on Intensive Mindfulness retreat practice

What is Transference?

Answer 7

-We learn to develop sufficient concentration and sufficient open monitoring skills to really notice what the mind is doing in each moment. And what emerges is really amazing.
-There’s a concept in psychoanalysis called Transference which means we don’t actually see other people as they are but rather we see them as reflections of other people that they remind us of.
-The mind continues to make up stories even though we have so minimal data about the other people we’re with (in retreat). We think we’re describing reality. What we see in an intensive meditation retreat is “oh no”, the mind picks up on little tid bits and weaves whole stories endlessly.
Journalist- Sitting a silent retreat is like being trapped in a phone booth with a lunatic.

Question 8

Elaborate on Walking meditation

Answer 8

• Can be done formally or informally
• An opportunity to be mindful whenever we are walking
• When feeling more agitated, restless or sleepy it’s easier than following the breath. It brings more wakefulness.
• When we’re agitated it’s hard to sit still; much easier to be in motion. So it’s quite helpful when dealing with anxiety or depression.

Question 9

Elaborate on eating meditation

6 points

Answer 9

• Can be done formally or informally
• Helpful when we’re distracted because eating is a very vivid object of awareness, a very vivid stimulus so that if the mind is jumpy and easily distracted it’s often easier to focus on food.
• Useful if you ever struggle with eating appropriate amounts.
• Instead of snarfing down food to self soothe or to distract ourselves, we tend to notice when we’re full. We notice the sensations of distention in the stomach. We have time for the natural feedback loop to occur.
• Normally when we eat, if we eat slowly enough and attentively, as the food reaches the duodenum a signal is fed back to the hypothalamus that says “There’s satiation happening”. I’ve had enough
• When we eat mindfully most of us eat far less than we normally would, and feel a lot more satisfied