Neurophysiology of Meditation - Research Paper Example

?MEDITATION Is Meditation Associated With Reductions in Depressed Mood and Heart Rate? Word Count: 4,758 (20 pages) Meditation is a personalprocess, and this project was very personal. In addition to providing proof that meditation improved blood pressure and reduced a depressed mood in oneself, it was also proved to be true in other subjects, and meditating will be discussed at length in this paper. I. Introduction The hypothesis is that meditation will lead to reductions in depressed mood and heart rate. People have had some experience meditating without meat on Fridays, but other than that some people have never really had a serious meditation. I believe that meditating greatly reduced both my heart rate and my depressed mood. There are scientific studies which show that other people have benefited from this method as well—which will be discussed more at length in the methods and results section of this piece. I decided to meditation for eight days just to get a sense of what it would be like. Today I just thought I would abstain from drinking any liquids besides water. I would still eat normally, however. Today I felt the presence of God was definitely stronger than on other days. I am thankful that God has given me the opportunity to meditation and use this time that I am not drinking liquids other than water to pray instead. I will answer one reflection question each day that I am meditating. It has been asked, “What have peoples’ experiences been, if any, with meditating?” My experience with meditating has been limited. I am least familiar with it because I have never gone without regular meals for some time. Therefore, I am taking it slowly, having planned out a meditating schedule for six days which will help regulate my digestive system as well as help me become more spiritually in-tune with God and his messages for me. II. Literature Review Today is day two of my meditation. Again, I have not had much experience meditating so this is all very new to me. Today I am cutting out any meat and animal products from my diet. I am only eating fruits and vegetables. Then, instead of eating meat, I am using the time to pray and reflect upon the grace of God. Today I particularly felt God’s presence. I could feel him helping me in many ways, not just physically, but I also felt like the time that I spent working went meditationer because I was not focused on food as much. God’s graces are evident in all facets of life, we just need to realize them. For example, today I was just thankful for the fact that I have a job, I have my sight, my intellect, my wits, a nice family, friends, and a place to lay my head at night. Today’s question is, “What kinds of responses do you have to Foster’s emphasis on the importance of meditating as an element of Christian devotion?” My answer is manifold. On one hand, from what I have experienced so far, meditating is a discipline that is difficult but necessary to foster the spiritual life of the Christian. It is imperative that those who can meditation, do try it, because it is a discipline that is much needed. In a country where we focus so much on food, it is perhaps a trying trial to go through, to deny oneself food or certain types of food. However, this helps me empathize with people in the world who do not have access to food on a regular basis, and helps me be more in-tune with what God is really trying to say to me. I truly think God speaks to us clearer when our minds are not focused on the next meal. This is a discipline that, if one is medically able to abstain from certain foods, certain drinks, or any food or drink, that one should try meditating as a means of becoming spiritually closer to God. However, as a caveat I can see where meditating might be dangerous for someone with diabetes or other chronic health problems, young people, or very old people. Also, I would not recommend meditating for very long. Six days is enough to, I believe, go on a meditation and then gradually rework food and other beverages that are not water into the diet again. This is what I think about meditating as I see it so far. III. Methods The data are in the attached Excel file. The BDI is the Beck Depression Inventory, the BAI is the Beck Anxiety Inventory and HR is the heart rate. Meditation is the group that meditated. No meditation is group that did not meditate. Data were taken at two different times, before and after the meditation group meditated. ?? For the methods section, one may view the attached files. IV. Results For the results section, I have attached the SPSS results. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used. V. Discussion Today is day two of my meditation. Again, I have not had much experience meditating so this is all very new to me. Today I am cutting out any meat and animal products from my diet. I am only eating fruits and vegetables. Then, instead of eating meat, I am using the time to pray and reflect upon the grace of God. Today I particularly felt God’s presence. I could feel him helping me in many ways, not just physically, but I also felt like the time that I spent working went meditationer because I was not focused on food as much. God’s graces are evident in all facets of life, we just need to realize them. For example, today I was just thankful for the fact that I have a job, I have my sight, my intellect, my wits, a nice family, friends, and a place to lay my head at night. Today’s question is, “What kinds of responses do you have to Foster’s emphasis on the importance of meditating as an element of Christian devotion?” My answer is manifold. On one hand, from what I have experienced so far, meditating is a discipline that is difficult but necessary to foster the spiritual life of the Christian. It is imperative that those who can meditation, do try it, because it is a discipline that is much needed. In a country where we focus so much on food, it is perhaps a trying trial to go through, to deny oneself food or certain types of food. However, this helps me empathize with people in the world who do not have access to food on a regular basis, and helps me be more in-tune with what God is really trying to say to me. I truly think God speaks to us clearer when our minds are not focused on the next meal. This is a discipline that, if one is medically able to abstain from certain foods, certain drinks, or any food or drink, that one should try meditating as a means of becoming spiritually closer to God. However, as a caveat I can see where meditating might be dangerous for someone with diabetes or other chronic health problems, young people, or very old people. Also, I would not recommend meditating for very long. Six days is enough to, I believe, go on a meditation and then gradually rework food and other beverages that are not water into the diet again. This is what I think about meditating as I see it so far. Today is my third day meditating. This day I am leaving fruit out of my diet and only eating vegetables and vegetable broth. Now that I have two days of meditating under my belt, I feel more confident as a meditationer. God’s grace today was that I felt more receptive to the Holy Spirit and what He had to say. Many times we ignore that little, still, small voice inside that tells us what we should do. But, in having abstained from fruit, meat, and drinks that are not water, I have learned to listen closer to the voice of God and His Spirit. I feel the Spirit of God to be very near to me, and even present in me; it is a presence that is not felt when I don’t meditation. I feel God talking to me, telling me the wonders of his grace and what a love He has for me. This is more of a presence than anything else, and an assurance of His grace, which we have and can know experientially and personally through celebrating the birth of our Lord and His undeniable sacrifice at Golgotha. Today’s question from Foster is, “How would you describe the purpose of meditating?” I would describe meditating as a necessary discipline that should be incorporated regularly into every Christian’s routine as a matter of course, however small. For some people, it could be meditating from junk food for a day—if that is a habit—or something as small as only drinking water as the preferred beverage of choice for the day. Meditating is an experience that should not be taken lightly, as one should use the time spent not eating in order to praise, thank, and ask supplication of God. I have found that another purpose of meditating is to rest in the Lord and try to trust in Him, that He will provide the strength and things I need every day for me to succeed. Yet another purpose in meditating seems to be to wait on the Lord, and to be able to perceive His voice and be patient. If I am not patient, this discipline helps me develop patience, in point of fact. These are the beneficial purposes I find that meditating has contributed to my life thus far. This is my fourth day meditating. I am now more of an experienced meditationer by my own account. Today I am giving up all food, and drinking only water. Today is supposed to be the epiphany of my meditating experience. Today, God’s grace is evident in the fact that I can still stand. I am not going to die for lack of having food completely for one day. I know that I can do this, because I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me. This has been an amazing experience, especially because I feel the Spirit of God moving in my life. Everything is much simpler, much more clear. I have reasons to believe that my life is in order and all is right with the world. I am depending on God to mend the hearts of those who are in physical and emotional anguish throughout the world, and by the grace of God I know that He can take it. God can take all of my pain, and the pains of other people, and make their suffering count—and that it is not suffering in vain. God has healed some emotional scars that I have had through this meditating experience. He has shown me, that, through His grace, all things are possible—yea, all things are possible with God. I feel rejuvenated, alive, and more determined than ever to do His will. Today Foster suggests reflecting on Matt. 4:1-4. He then asks, “What insights about meditating does this passage suggest to you?” Well, the way the passage reads, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted of the devil for forty days and forty nights. This implies that there is temptation going on while one is meditating. I believe this, because there is a very real temptation to want to eat and drink whatever I want, especially now. Jesus also states that “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This is a very powerful concept, that we live not because of food alone—that we actually need God’s Word to live. We need His truth and his assurances of grace to see us through everyday. This reinforces the fact that we do not just say hello to God one time and that is it—but that our lives are lived relationally to the Lord. It is a relationship, a day-to-day occurrence that is not a mere once-in-a-lifetime happening. It is constant, unending, and must be guarded and taken care of so that relationship is not ruined. This is the ultimate lesson I have learned from my time meditating. This is my fifth day meditating. I am reintroducing fruit into my diet today. I am by no means an experienced meditationer, although this experience has given me some insight into the practice. Today God’s grace feels almost as strong as yesterday but not in quite the same measure as yesterday. Yesterday was really my day of power—when I felt the Lord speak to me the most. That is not saying that He is not speaking to me now, however. I feel the presence of God in a very real and tangible way today, just as I have in some days past. Today is more of a challenge because, eating fruit makes me want to eat different types of food. This is the challenge I have to overcome today, and I will admit, it is a constant struggle. However, I know this trial is worth the reward I will receive in heaven. Foster’s question today is, “What was the experience like?” Meditating, for me, was an incredible experience. I can truly say that I “saw God,” if only to mean that I felt and heard the voice of the tangible Christ—who is real and emergent in all of my most deep and private thoughts. God is here, and His presence is evident in what I do and say. How I act has changed. I do things now giving God credit for the grace He has shown me, and realize that I am not alone in this world. I take note of the fact that God cares, and He does love and me and want to see me happy in every aspect of life. Including Him in my life means that I must think about my decisions, and, if they are decisions in which God participates, my life is that much more stress-free if I ask God about what He thinks before I make those big decisions. Knowing that God cares is one of the most reassuring feelings to have, and I believe that He is there, listening. God loves me. This much I know. Today is my sixth day meditating. I am reintroducing vegetables into my diet today as well as continuing to eat fruit. I am still not an experienced meditationer by definition, but I am grateful for this experience to have tried this discipline. Today God’s grace was evident in all I did. I was thankful for having been able to “see” God in all my decisions and being able to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Foster’s question today is, “What changes did you notice from the way you would have normally spent that period of time?” I, personally, noticed that I prayed more and depended on others less for insight. Rather, when I needed personal revelation, I asked God for guidance and inspiration. I felt that my prayers were always answered in some way, shape, or form. If they were not answered directly, I would usually reach an answer by the grace of finding my own solution—which I believe was divinely inspired in the sense that I do think God truly led me to the answer to my problem or question. Another change I noticed in myself was the ability to be patient and understanding. Before I had this meditating experience, I was irritable on a regular basis. However, during meditating, I realized that I had a reserve of patience that I can only attribute to being close to God. I also realized that on the whole I was quieter and let God’s voice speak to me more. Today is my seventh day meditating. I am introducing meat into my diet in addition to fruit and vegetables. I was not very familiar with this discipline seven days ago, and now I have become somewhat experienced in it, although I still have much to learn. God’s grace was clearly demonstrated today in that I had difficulty concentrating and yet was able to get my tasks completed. Today’s question is, “Based on experience, what might you want to change about your practice of meditating to make it more fully centered on God?” I would say, one thing that I could change about my meditating experience would be to not have it be for so long. Eight days is a long time to go without certain niceties such as fruits and vegetables some days. I think a good meditation could just as well be an exercise that the book suggested, including meditating from “entertainment media, passing judgment on myself or others, people (to experience solitude), [and] impulsive speech.”1 Today is my eighth day meditating. I am eating meat, fruit, and vegetables, but only drinking orange juice and water. Tomorrow I will be able to drink other beverages, such as cola, milk, water, coffee, and tea. So far I still do not consider myself an experienced meditationer, although this experience has given me an edge in terms of having had tasted what it is like to meditation. Since I am eating regularly now, God’s grace was that I was able to enjoy eating again. I am much more thankful on the whole for many things, now that I am able to celebrate them and appreciate them more wholly—things such as orange juice and having meat in my diet, for example. I realize how really blessed and fortunate I am to have what I do, by God’s grace. Today’s point of reflection asks, “What ideas or insights from Chapter 4 are especially challenging, or motivating, or helpful to you?” For me, I think this chapter has especially been helpful in realizing that I can meditation if I choose to, and if I do meditation, I can choose to meditation from other things besides food. I don’t have to necessarily meditation from certain foods and drinks. I can also choose to meditation from network TV, junk food, and other time-wasters that are unnecessary so that I can find more time to spend with the Lord. I think the most important aspect is finding time to spend with God. This is the key thing. It does not have to do with starving yourself—it has to do with using the time you would normally be doing something else and spend that time with God, because minutes with Him are precious and it’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of the day that we don’t carve out time for God. This is what this time meditating has taught me. Today is my first day of six days of meditation. I have never really practiced meditating much before, so this is a new experience for me. Today while I meditated, God’s grace was evident. Today I focused on the name of Jesus, and just kept repeating His name over and over again—a technique used by Tony Campolo of City Year. This helped me to focus on the Lord, and my feeling of being strong increased. I felt that repeating the name of Jesus over and over gave me power, because there is power in His name. Today’s point of reflection is that Foster refers to Christian meditation as the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word. How do I define meditation? Well, I tend to define meditation as being able to focus on the Lord somehow. It need not necessarily have a Bible verse associated with it to meditate, but it must be at least some word, phrase, thought, or concept that one wants to reinforce through the harnessing of one’s mental power to have intense focus on that one notion. It is that notion which draws one closer to God, ultimately. Today is my second day of meditation. I am still new to this practice. God’s grace was clearly present today, and I felt His presence as I meditated. Today I repeated the Jesus prayer over and over again, which is the statement, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” This gave me a very comforting feeling. This statement is taken from a book called “The Way of the Pilgrim.” Today’s question is, “What kinds of obstacles to meditation are you most likely to encounter in your daily routines or way of life?” Well, I have found that one of the things that distracts me during meditation is noise outside of my room. Sometimes this can’t really be helped; for example, the garbage truck is picking up the garbage out in front of the house. However, other kinds of noise, such as people talking, can be reduced if you ask in advance to have people keep the ruckus down because you are trying to concentrate in your room. Another distraction is having a runaway mind, which, again, is something that cannot be helped, except to practice having better concentration. One must allow one’s mind to become completely blank, and focus on what one is saying and doing. Then and only then can true revelation occur. Today is my third day of meditation. I am still new at it. I felt God’s grace imparted to me today when I was meditating on the verse “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.” Today’s question is, “For you personally, what are the most important purposes or benefits of meditation?” For me, I enjoy communing with God and the happiness I feel at having spent time with Him and focusing on one single aspect of our relationship. Today is my fourth day of meditation. I am still a novice. Today I meditated on Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God!” I was just still for a long time, waiting for God to give me peace. This was God’s grace today, that I received peace. Today’s question is, “In what ways can you read this declaration as an invitation to meditate?” The Bible says that we are to meditate the goodness of God by day and by night, I am sure—and this verse only reinforces the fact that we should, in fact, be still and wait on God for answers. Today is my fifth day of meditation. It is still a new practice to me. God’s grace was present in my meditation today. I felt His presence strongly. Today’s question is, “What suggestions in Chapter 2 seem most helpful to you in making meditation a regular part of your life?” The following suggestions inspired me: to move beyond the superficiality of our culture; to lead lives of silence; and to have inner worlds of contemplation. Today is my sixth day of meditation. Now I have some experience with this practice, although it is still relatively new. God showed His grace to me today by giving me physical strength as I meditated on John 3:16. I meditated on God’s grace and mercy, and his sacrifice that His Son made at the cross. Today’s question was “If you ‘experimented’ with practicing meditation, describe the experience and any reflections on it that you may have.” This was a wonderful experience. I will only say that it made me closer to God. Today was my first day out of four days of prayer. I don’t usually pray, so this is new to me. God’s grace was that I was able to pray today. Although this focuses on intercession—asking God to supply needs—the question today was, “What other kinds of prayer do you want to develop more deeply in your life?” I would like to eventually do devotional prayers and prayers of thanks. Today was my second day of praying. It went better, although I am not used to this. God’s grace was that I got better at praying, and didn’t stop as much. Today’s question is “What are your greatest difficulties in praying?” My biggest problems are stopping in the middle, falling asleep, and not being focused. I also don’t like the aspect of only asking for things—I also want to be able to add praise and thanks in there with supplication. Today was my third day of meditation. Today was the best day yet. It is by God’s grace that I can pray even better than yesterday. Today’s question is, “Have you ever sensed an ‘inner yes’ in regard to praying for a particular concern or request? If so, what effect did it have on your meditation?” This has happened to me before, where I sensed that God’s answer was positive. I began to pray more fervently when this happened. Today was my fourth day of meditation. By far it was the best day of meditation I had. God was gracious in that He helped me get through these four days of meditation, six days of meditation, and eight days of meditating. Today’s question is, “Have you experienced any disappointment with God that causes tension in the way you pray or hinders you from trusting God to answer your meditations?” Well, sometimes I must say, the situations I’m in look pretty bleak. But I have never been in more than two situations like that. However, that has never interfered with my trust in God, however. Today was my first day out of three days of study. Today God had the grace to give me strength while I work. Today’s question is, “What do you think it means to ‘know’ and be ‘made free’ by the truth?” I think the truth is freeing and it also imparts knowledge to people. “The truth shall set you free,” as the Good Book says. Today was my second day of study. I had God’s grace to get through it, because it was not easy to sit there and concentrate. Today’s question is, “In what way do you think the Discipline of study enables us to experience the freedom Jesus speaks of here?” I believe that through studying, one’s mind becomes freed. One is liberated from the chains of old thinking, and your mind is renewed. I think the renewing of one’s mind is a crucial and central piece to study. If one didn’t study, one would not be sure to learn new things on a regular basis. On this point, I am glad that I study. Today was my third and final day of study. God’s grace has helped me get through this entire time of practicing the disciplines, especially the aspect where I am studying. Today’s question is, “What have you learned about practicing the Discipline of study in your work on Celebration of Discipline so far?” I have learned that taking time to study is not always apparent. One has to work to find time for it. However, I have realized that when one does, the practice is very rewarding as it gives new insight into one’s life. VI. Conclusion This is my summary of the way God has worked in my life through this scientific study. I have felt God work in mysterious ways while doing this scientific study. I never thought it would be possible that I could have such closeness with God through having done this journal. It has been so helpful to me in terms of seeing what I need to work on, and where I have strengths and where I have weaknesses. This journaling is a tool that I will continue to use for my own purposes. I believe that meditating greatly reduced both my heart rate and my depressed mood. There are scientific studies which show that other people have benefited from this method as well. Further, my own plan for personal development through the disciplines of the Christian life follows. This is a discussion of the growth I would like to pursue over the next 6-12 months as it is facilitated by the spiritual disciplines. I plan to focus on one Christian discipline each month of this upcoming year—for meditation, meditation, meditating, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. All of these disciplines are useful to an end, which is coming closer to the Lord. That is a reasonable goal unto itself. I must say that, for the four spiritual disciplines that I have practiced, they have been extremely helpful in getting me to have realized the importance of spiritual discipline. I consider all of these disciplines to be beneficial, and it is undoubtedly important that every Christian consider having these disciplines in their lives as part of their spiritual growth. I am very grateful for God’s grace in my endeavours. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bhattathiry, M.P. (2011). Neurophysiology of Meditation. Retrieved 5 Dec 2011. Chang, K. (2005). Meditation EEG interpretation based on novel fuzzy-merging strategies and wavelet features. Retrieved 5 Dec 2011. Foster, R.J. and Yanni, K.A. (1992). Celebrating the disciplines: a journal workbook to accompany “celebration of discipline.” USA: HarperOne. Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). “Mindflness-based stress reduction and health benefits: a meta-analysis.” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 57 (1): 35-43. Manocha, R. (2011). “Meditation, mindfulness, and mind-emptiness.” Acta Neuropsychiatrica. Retrieved 5 Dec 2011. Wallace, R.K. (1970). Physiological effects of transcendental meditation. Available: . 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