Is Vipassana meditation a generic term for a particular style of meditation or is it a specific technique.
Is there a particular style/form/type (you get the drift) of Vipassana meditation that is considered *THE* Vipassana meditation? Ken -- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Vipassana, which is a different style of meditation than TM. It's > also being used very successfully for rehabilitation in prisons > worldwide. If you would like to see the the documentary on this, I > could post it again. Very compelling. > > This was the conference which the Dalai Lama also spoke at. The Dalai > Lama and numerous other Lamas and Buddhists have been involved in and > interested in Neuroscience for many years. You'll soon see the > beginning studies coming out on all the different forms of Buddhist > meditation including classes of meditation like TM. > > > On Nov 18, 2005, at 11:55 AM, Dick Mays wrote: > > > This is from New Scientist magazine. It doesn't say what kind of > > meditation people were doing, but the results reported (in studies > > by neutral scientists) are pretty impressive. > > > > Meditation builds up the brain > > 15 November 2005 > > NewScientist.com news service > > Alison Motluk > > Bruce O'Hara, University of Kentucky > > Massachusetts General Hospital > > > > Meditating does more than just feel good and calm you down, it > > makes you perform better - and alters the structure of your brain, > > researchers have found. > > > > People who meditate say the practice restores their energy, and > > some claim they need less sleep as a result. Many studies have > > reported that the brain works differently during meditation - > > brainwave patterns change and neuronal firing patterns synchronise. > > But whether meditation actually brings any of the restorative > > benefits of sleep has remained largely unexplored. > > > > So Bruce O'Hara and colleagues at the University of Kentucky in > > Lexington, US, decided to investigate. They used a well-established > > "psychomotor vigilance task", which has long been used to quantify > > the effects of sleepiness on mental acuity. The test involves > > staring at an LCD screen and pressing a button as soon as an image > > pops up. Typically, people take 200 to 300 milliseconds to respond, > > but sleep-deprived people take much longer, and sometimes miss the > > stimulus altogether. > > > > Ten volunteers were tested before and after 40 minutes of either > > sleep, meditation, reading or light conversation, with all subjects > > trying all conditions. The 40-minute nap was known to improve > > performance (after an hour or so to recover from grogginess). But > > what astonished the researchers was that meditation was the only > > intervention that immediately led to superior performance, despite > > none of the volunteers being experienced at meditation. > > > > "Every single subject showed improvement," says O'Hara. The > > improvement was even more dramatic after a night without sleep. > > But, he admits: "Why it improves performance, we do not know." The > > team is now studying experienced meditators, who spend several > > hours each day in practice. > > > > Brain builder > > > > What effect meditating has on the structure of the brain has also > > been a matter of some debate. Now Sara Lazar at the Massachusetts > > General Hospital in Boston, US, and colleagues have used MRI to > > compare 15 meditators, with experience ranging from 1 to 30 years, > > and 15 non-meditators. > > > > They found that meditating actually increases the thickness of the > > cortex in areas involved in attention and sensory processing, such > > as the prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula. > > > > "You are exercising it while you meditate, and it gets bigger," she > > says. The finding is in line with studies showing that accomplished > > musicians, athletes and linguists all have thickening in relevant > > areas of the cortex. It is further evidence, says Lazar, that yogis > > "aren't just sitting there doing nothing". > > > > The growth of the cortex is not due to the growth of new neurons, > > she points out, but results from wider blood vessels, more > > supporting structures such as glia and astrocytes, and increased > > branching and connections. > > > > The new studies were presented at the Society for Neuroscience > > annual meeting, in Washington DC, US. > > > > > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Or go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > > and click 'Join This Group!' > > > > > > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS > > > > Visit your group "FairfieldLife" on the web. > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> AIDS in India: A "lurking bomb." 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