Merle, I know you didn't address this question to me but I'll answer as if you had.
I'm 'hiding' (not responding to your most recent posts)for two reasons: 1. They don't interest me. Many of your posts as far as I'm concerned are not about anything even remotely associated with zen. A good recent example is the one about the German water bed. 2. I almost never go to links posted unless the links are in support of something the poster wrote. I NEVER go to links with no explanation attached, and 'Gee, I really liked this' is not what I call an explanation. 3 or 4 of your most recent posts were like this. I'm interested in what YOU think and what YOUR experiences in zen have been, not just following pointers to SOMEONE ELSE'S thoughts and opinions who do not participate in the Zen Forum and with whom I cannot interact. ...Bill! --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...> wrote: > > hi edgar..where is everyone hiding?..merle > > Â > > > > > > > > >Compassion meditation may boost neural basis of empathy, study > findsOctober 4th, 2012 in Psychology & Psychiatry > >The idea behind the compassion-based meditation is that > "the feelings we have about people can be trained in optimal ways," says > Lobsang > Tenzin Negi, who developed the protocol. > > > > > >(Medical Xpress)â"A compassion-based meditation program can > significantly improve a person's ability to read the facial expressions of > others, finds a study published by Social Cognitive and Affective > Neuroscience. > This boost in empathic accuracy was detected through both behavioral testing > of > the study participants and through functional magnetic resonance imaging > (fMRI) > scans of their brain activity. > >"It's an intriguing result, suggesting that a behavioral intervention could > enhance a key aspect of empathy," says lead author Jennifer Mascaro, a > post-doctoral fellow in anthropology at Emory University. "Previous research > has > shown that both children and adults who are better at reading the emotional > expressions of others have better relationships." > >The meditation protocol, known as Cognitively-Based Compassion Training, or > CBCT, was developed at Emory by study co-author Lobsang Tenzin Negi, director > of > the Emory-Tibet Partnership. Although derived from ancient Tibetan Buddhist > practices, the CBCT program is secular in content and presentation. > >The research team also included senior author Charles Raison, formerly a > psychiatrist at Emory's School of Medicine and currently at the University of > Arizona, and Emory anthropologist James Rilling. > >When most people think of meditation, they think of a style known as > "mindfulness," in which practitioners seek to improve their ability to > concentrate and to be non-judgmentally aware of their thoughts and feelings. > While CBCT includes these mindfulness elements, the practice focuses more > specifically on training people to analyze and reinterpret their > relationships > with others. > >"The idea is that the feelings we have about people can be trained in > >optimal > ways," Negi explains. "CBCT aims to condition one's mind to recognize how we > are > all inter-dependent, and that everybody desires to be happy and free from > suffering at a deep level." > >Study participants were healthy adults without prior meditation experience. > Thirteen participants randomized to CBCT meditation completed regular weekly > training sessions and at-home practice for eight weeks. Eight randomized > control > subjects did not meditate, but instead completed health discussion classes > that > covered mind-body subjects like the effects of exercise and stress on > well-being. > >To test empathic accuracy before and following CBCT, all participants > received fMRI brain scans while completing a modified version of the Reading > the > Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). The RMET consists of black-and-white > photographs > that show just the eye region of people making various expressions. Those > being > tested must judge what the person in the photograph is thinking or feeling. > >Eight out of the 13 participants in the CBCT meditation group improved their > RMET scores by an average of 4.6 percent, while the control participants > showed > no increase, and in the majority of cases, a decrease in correct answers for > the > RMET. > >The meditators, in comparison to those in the control group, also had > significant increases in neural activity in areas of the brain important for > empathy, including the inferior frontal gyrus and dorsomedial prefrontal > cortex. > These changes in brain activity accounted for changes in the empathic > accuracy > scores of the participants. > >"These findings raise the intriguing possibility that CBCT may have enhanced > empathic abilities by increasing activity in parts of the brain that are of > central importance for our ability to recognize the emotional states of > others," > Raison says. "An important next step will be to evaluate the effects of CBCT > on > diverse populations that may particularly benefit from enhanced empathic > accuracy, such as those suffering from high-functioning autism or severe > depression." > >Findings from the current study add to a growing database indicating that > >the > CBCT style of meditation may have physical and emotional effects relevant to > health and well-being. For example, previous research at Emory found that > practicing CBCT reduced emotional distress and enhanced physical resilience > in > response to stress in both healthy young adults and in high-risk adolescents > in > foster care. > >Provided by Emory University > >"Compassion meditation may boost neural basis of empathy, study finds." > October 4th, 2012. > http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-compassion-meditation-boost-neural-basis.html > > > > > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! 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