test 1 Flashcards
the five styles of meditation
- concentration- strengthen the muscle of attention. To focus on one thing. (candle light, breathing, mantra)
- Awareness - simply being with what is, there is no need to do anything, or be anyone
- Mindfullness- notice what you notice as you notice it, without elaborating, without judgment, attachement or aversion
- Heart-fullness - inclining the mind toward opening the heart and cultivating compassion, love and kindness
- Inquiry - using a question as a prompt for discovery (e.g who am I? What is the meaning of death?)
Three families of meditation
attentional family :
focused-attention practices(shamatha, mantra) / open monitoring- meta awareness (kundalini yoga, MBSR)
Constructive family :
- relation orientation (loving-kindness, centering prayer )
- values orientation (contemplations on morality, kriva yoga)
- Perception orientation (auto-suggestions, visualizations)
Deconstructive family
- Object- oriented insights - self to investigate consciousness
- Subject-oriented insights - inquiring into the nature of thought etc.
- Non dual-oriented insight- cognitive structure of self/ other and subject/ object are no longer dominant made of experience
Brain areas recruited consistently across multiple meditation techniques
insula
anterior cingulate cortex
frontopolar cortex
premotor cortex
focus attention
may lead to three type of improvement
- monitoring the locus of attention
- disengaging from distraction
- shifting attention back to its intended target
Associated with activations in premotor cortex (PMC) and Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) & deactivations in Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC) and inferior partiel lobule (IPL)
Mantra Recitation
a type of attentional practice but with linguistic verbal- motor component
-Associated with activation in PMC, supplementary motor area (SMA), basal ganglia, fusiform gyrus, census and precuneus & deactivations in the insula
Open monitoring
bring attention to the present moment and impartially observing all mental content (thoughts, emotions, sensations)
-Associated with activations in SMA, PMC, ACC, Insula, Inferior frontal cortex, deactivations in the thalamus
love- kindness & compassion
aims to deepen feelings of sympathetic joy for all living beings, as well as to promote altruistic behaviours
-Associated with activations in the insult, somatosensory cortex & IPL
Focus attention (FA) and Open Monitoring (OM) were related to
increases in anterior theta activity
posterior alpha activity
frontal gamma
Concentration (Shamatha) as a base & a super power
time dilation- make the most of time by taming the mind
spacious mind- still & quiet mind feels like vast, open space
natural joy- instead of chasing joy, find it where we already are
full presence - enables us to really hear one another
what is mindfulness?
a new idea in psychology with its roots in ancient indian culture around 2,500 years ago..
-Often used as an english translation of the Pali word Sati: awareness & remembering or recollecting
we are remembering to bring to mind the present moment
- recollection of the present moment, sustained awareness of what is happening to us and within us on each occasion of experience
- know a definition
= mindfulness is attention. It is nonjudgmental, receptive awareness, respectful awareness
Scientific evidence to practice meditation
- effects on stress: may lower stress- mindfulness is not only associated with feeling less stressed, it decreases levels of cortisol, helps women with breast cancer, helps lower stress and fatigue of people with arthritis
- effects on the brain: may increase gray matter volume which are implicated in stress, affect and emotion processing
- it may increase cortical thickness. which is associated with cognitive function such as decision making, problem solving, attention, memory
- it may affect white matter in a protective way- may be protective against mental health problems
- it changes brain function and functional connectivity- brain plasticity. training modulates task-specific cortical recruitment
- It may alter brain rhythms mindfulness meditation- enhanced alpha and theta power
Physical health benefits of meditation
a) can lower your blood pressure
b) it can protect your telomeres
Buddhism overview the triple gem:
buddha
dhamma
sangha
buddha: the self awakened one; orignal nature of the heart
dhamma: the teaching; the nature of reality
sangha: the awakened community, any harmonious assembly, all beings
Buddhist overview; tenants of buddhism, 3 marks of existence
dukkha: suffering, pain, frustration, dissatisfaction, anxiety, stress
anicca: impermanence
anatta: non-self
is buddhism a religon?
the buddhism path:
1) to lead a moral life
2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions
3) to develop wisdom and understanding
the four noble truths
dukkha’s (suffering) causes and solution
- The noble truth of dukkha- stress, dissatisfaction, suffering
- the noble truth of the casual arising of dukkha- grasping, clinging, wanting, craving
- the noble truth of nirvana- the ending of dukkha - awakening, enlightenment
- the noble truth of the path leading to awakening- the eightfold path
the eightfold path
set of interconnected factors/ conditions, which lead to the cessation of dukkha
- complete or perfect vision- right view or understanding
- perfect emotion or aspiration, right thought or attitude
- Perfected or whole speech- truthful, uplifting
- integral action, right action, non exploitat6ion of oneself
- proper livelihood, right livelihood, correct action
- complete or full effort, energy or vitality
- complete or thorough awareness, right mindfulness of things, oneself, feelings, thought, people
- full, integral or holistic, concentration, meditation
the four immeasurable
love, compassion, joy and equanimity
five precepts
moral code: abstain from killing human beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication
Nirvana/ Nibbana
extinction of craving and aversion, with the resultant escape from the cycle of rebirth
samsara / Arahant
awakening, enlightenment.
one who achieved nirvana, including the buddha
bodhi
awakening, enlightenment
karma
the force that drives samsara- the cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being; actions of body, speech or mind that spring from mental intent and bring about a consequence
sunyata
emptiness; not merely sentient beings are empty of atman, but all phenomena are without any essence
life of siddhartha gautama
dates - 566 - 486 B.C.E
At 29 he saw the four sights - an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a ascetic holy man
at 35: enlightenment under the bodhi tree in the town of bodh gaya, india
taoism
emphasize living in harmony with the tao ( the source and the driving force behind everything that exists; ultimately inexpressible)
takes form as a pair of opposites, known as yin and yang
wu-wei- action through non-action, naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity and the three treasures: compassion, moderation, humility
tao te ching- the founding text of taoism
the ideas expressed by way of paradox, analogy, appropriation of ancient sayings, repetition, symmetry, rhyme, and rhythm.
zen: two main schools
soto school: practices mainly zazen (seated meditation) and mindfulness of daily activities. if one penetrates deeply into the meditative state, one will come to the realization of the true nature of reality
rinzai school: practices meditation- the koan
Satori
the enlightenment. The breakthrough from this dualistic world to the non-dualistic realm of reality
1) freedom from greed
2) satisfaction with whatever one has
3) quiet and solitary life
4) diligence
5) right mindfulness
6) samadhi: to remain undisturbed
7) wisdom for self-reflection
8) freedom from random discussion and thoughts
meditation has been associated with changes in:
white matter
gray matter
cortical thickness
neuroplasticity
- increased insulation and speed of neurotransmission (oligodendrocytes)
- increased neuropil (dendrites & axons)
- decreased neuronal loss
- enhanced neurogenesis ( hippocampus, involved in learning and memory, emotion, stress, depression)
- neuropharmacological changes (NT synthesis and release, NT uptake, receptor up- or down regulation)
occipital lobe
decode visual information: form, color and movement are analyzed here. recognize and identify objects
temporal lobe
let your hear & distinguish the volume and frequency of sound
let you understand speech (wernickes area)
-implicated in forming and recalling memories (hippocampus)
parietal lobe
handle your sensory perceptions- touch, temperature, pain
provide visuospatial orientation and the sense of self in space and time
frontal lobe
responsible for reasoning planning, problem solving, imagining (lateral PFC)
- Modulation of emotions (medial PFC)
- Speech (brook’s area)
- voluntary movement (motor and premotor areas)
- seed of personality
limbic system
olfaction, emotions, learning and memory corpus callous amygdala hippocampus parahippocampal gyrus cingulate gyrus
