--- In [email protected], Vaj <vajradh...@...> wrote: > > > On May 28, 2009, at 11:19 AM, sparaig wrote: > > > --- In [email protected], Vaj <vajradhatu@> wrote: > > [...] > >> I'm glad you brought up shamatha too Willy since TM is a form of > >> shamatha. There's a big upsurge in interest in that form of > >> meditation as well, esp. since the guys and gals in the Shamatha > >> Project were regularly transcending for hours at a time, and emerging > >> refreshed. > > > > The physiological correlates for "pure consciousness" during TM > > practice > > are reasonably well-documented. > > Unfortunately Lawson, not many non-TM folks who are familiar which > the merging field of contemplative science takes seriously the "pure > consciousness" label. That's all it really is, an arbitrarily > assigned label.
yes, which is why I put the term in "quotation marks." > > > Since the research you have been citing for the Buddhist meditators > > eschews alpha coherence and TM-style breath suspension (the afore- > > mentioned correlates) as unworthy of consideration, I have to conclude > > that there are other physiological correlates being found for > > transcending > > that you and the researchers consider more important markers. > > Neuroplastic changes to the brain, activation of areas of the brain > associated with empathy and positive emotions. Slowing of aging at > the cellular level is another important one--a claim long made by > yogis, but only fairly recently actually shown to be taking place at > the cellular level. Another very important area of research is in > regards to the mid-prefrontal cortex which tends to shut down it's > relational/resonance circuits in response to anything different (e.g. > different people, people suffering terribly) whereas in experienced > meditators, these areas actually 'light up' (link). Another > interesting observation is muting of the startle reflex in advanced > meditators, which of course, is one of the traditional observations > for samadhi. Open-presence style meditation enables a non-reactive > awareness of the stream of on-going experience and so therefore tends > reduce "elaborative" thinking when conscious awareness selects a > particular object. In advanced forms of calming/transcending > meditation, one observation is that specific neural systems > associated with conflict monitoring (e.g. the dorsal anterior > cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), selective > attention (e.g. the temporal-parietal junction, ventro-lateral > prefrontal cortex, frontal eye fields and intraparietal sulcus) and > sustaining attention (e.g. right frontal and parietal areas and the > thalamus) are involved in inducing and maintaining the state of > advanced transcending meditation. The neurophysiological changes > would be significant improvements in the ability for sustained > attention and selective attention. There is also EEG evidence for > partial �deautomatization� of the mental processes that shape and > interpret perceptual stimuli. As these changes are engrained, one > develops a true "effortless attention" where the props of meditation > and monitoring (e.g. waiting for the mantra, returning to the mantra) > are no longer needed. Simultaneous with the arising of this level of > true effortless meditation, the need for sleep begins to be reduced. > Another interesting one is increased immune function. Meditators show > twice the amount of increased antibodies after being given a flu > vaccine. So those are a few of the observations that come immediately > to mind. But are these considered markers of "transcending for hours" [during meditation] which is what I was asking about? > > > > > > Do you know what those markers are? I can't find any published > > research > > on the physiological correlates of transcending for hours at a time. > > > The Shamatha Project has only made some preliminary results public, > but a number of the aforementioned observations do come from advanced > contemplatives. The other results will come out over the next few > years. It's also important to distinguish between the type of > meditation being used: Focused Attention (e.g. TM, shamatha) or Open > Presence style of meditation, as these are two major branches of > meditation practice that have quite different correlates. > Well, I was explicitly asking about "transcending"... L
