ㅡ Meditation rewires the brain ?

 

 

https://www.quora.com/How-does-meditation-rewire-the-brain-if-you-re-just-sitting-in-silence

How does meditation rewire the brain if you’re just sitting in silence?

 

Ian Su · Updated July 23

meditate 2 hours per day

 

How does meditation rewire the brain if you’re just sitting in silence?

 

“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.”

Socrates

 

That’s a very important question anyone should understand before they even try to meditate. Blind faiths or superstition won’t do any good for anyone.

Our brain has two primitive functions that is seeking pleasures and avoid pains. From the pleasure seeking function we develop all kinds of cravings from food (dopamine), sex (oxytoxin), recognition (serotonin) and all kinds of adventures (drinks, drugs, gambling, bungee jumping, sky diving, adrenaline rushing activities…etc). From the avoid pain function we develop all types of aversions such as getting sick, getting old, getting attacked, raped, bad smell, darkness, spiders, embarrassment, loneliness … and finally death. We are constantly seeking pleasures and avoid pain even during our sleep. If there is a ant crawl over your arm or mosquito bite you during your sleep, your unconscious mind will scratch to get rid of that discomfort.

The source of all sufferings are our cravings and aversions. A person does not crave, simply can’t suffer. Cravings are like fires. Once you caught on fire, you keep burning and feeling very uncomfortable until you can get what you want. Unfortunately, many things we just can’t get or don’t have control over like your hair will turn white. Most people you see on the streets have inflamed cravings and aversions due to how modern society works. Our expectation are so high, there is no way we can ever be happy. In the information age, we are all about instant gratification and sensory overloading. So people are in constant pain and the inflammation level is higher than ever. There is always something we want to get but couldn’t. Or something we want to get rid off but couldn’t.

Sensory deprivation or sitting in silence and observe your breaths working like pouring cool bottle water onto a camp fire. A little bit won’t do any good, but when you do it daily eventually the camp fire will stop overheating. Some people closed their eyes and sit there, but they are actually seeking pleasure and avoid pain by putting on some wonderful music, using some kind of imagination, visualization, mantra, or some kind of mental manipulation - or even pills - to direct and control their mind. All of that won’t work. Instead of control, meditation is letting go. You allow anything to flow out of you. You don’t chase, you don’t misdirect and you don’t do anything. Only letting go. View the reality as it is.

What will work is when you don’t expect miracles or anything special. You simply observe your breaths. What ever come to you, you are aware of it, but continue to observe your breaths with your equanimity. The opposite side of every emotion is your breaths. When you are angry, there is an angry breathing pattern. When you are relax there is a relax breathing pattern. There is a breathing pattern for every emotion. Instead of reacting to your emotion, you observe your breathing patterns. During meditation you need to become a security camera instead of a store manager who constantly react to customer. As a security camera, you can see what happen, but you don’t have means to react. Each training session is 60 minutes and you train twice a day. This is to change the fundamental wiring of your brain. So no longer you are in this automatic pleasure seeking and pain avoidance mode at least during the two hours training daily. You break the automatic reaction. You are only a silent observer. Meditation is like cool streams of water that can cool down our over-heated cravings and aversions.

You have the other twenty two hours to function as a normal person who works, pay taxes and fulfill duties. Because your cravings and aversions are not inflamed, you will function better and more efficient. You will experience more joy, wisdom and kindness each day. It’s that simple!! Who is the richest person in the world? The one who needs the least.