Consciousness Studies Online: Recent Comments

Comment on Neurological Differences Between Three Major Meditative Tradtions

Eric W Thompson — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:27:36 GMT

Hi Fred,
Thanks so much for your reply. I just finished reading the first paper you mentioned and found it to be quite interesting and informative. The reported phenomenology does appear to be a witnessing substrate consciousness (turya) that underlies waking, dreaming, and sleeping states, and I am convinced of that. There are certainly some very profound changes taking place within the nervous system. And I completely agree with you that enlightenment "is the experience of our divine nature 24/7--through sleeping, dreaming, and waking," an unbounded Self with bounded experiences, rather than a new, bounded experience--like a hand on your head." When mentioning the "hand on the head," I did not mean to say that enlightenment was simply a bounded experience. What I didn't mention was that such reports of "the hand on the head" are likewise reported as bounded experiences within a context of boundless awareness. In other words, within the context of that boundless experience there was manifested over time a particularly profound shift within the nervous system. Obviously, the bounded experience of this "felt shift" is not in itself enlightenment.

Your "junction point model" (was it borrowed from James?) seems quite apt in describing states of consciousness in relation to the substrate consciousness. I would very much like to have lunch with you at the 2008 Tucson conference. I'm not certain what days I will be able to attend, as I will have classes that I won't be able to miss that week. Will you be presenting?

Thanks for all your work. I do sincerely appreciate your clarifying words, and welcome more of the same whenever you have the time and care to share them.

Take care,
Eric Thompson
Metanoia
Consciousness Studies Online

Comment on Neurological Differences Between Three Major Meditative Tradtions

Fred Travis — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:30:33 GMT

Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Eric.

You may be interested in a paper that describes a context analysis of Transcendental Consciousness experiences (Travis, F. and Pearson, C. (2000). Pure consciousness: Distinct phenomenological and physiological correlates of "consciousness itself". The International journal of neuroscience. 100(1-4).) This state is characterized by the absence of time, space and body sense. It is an experience outside of time--it is eternal; it is outside of space and body sense--unbounded. It is our divine nature--far from being a "superficial" experience.

You may also be interested in this paper of people who report the experience of enlightenment through TM practice (Travis, F. T., Arenander, A. T. and DuBois, D. (2004). Psychological and physiological characteristics of a proposed object-referral/self-referral continuum of self-awareness. Consciousness and Cognition. 13: 401-420.) Enlightenment is the experience of our divine nature 24/7--through sleeping, dreaming, and waking. It is the experience of unbounded Self with bounded experiences, rather than a new, bounded experience--like a hand on your head. This paper reports physiological and psychological characteristics of these subjects. While these subjects reached enlightenment after practicing TM practice, obviously enlightenment is not the property of a specific meditation technique, but the property of the human nervous system

Thank you again for your thoughtful comments. Perhaps we can have lunch at the 2008 Tucson conference.
Fred Travis
Center for Brain, Consciousness and Cogntion

Comment on Neurological Differences Between Three Major Meditative Tradtions

Eric W Thompson — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:36:28 GMT

Yes, this particular study was certainly conducted by a faculty member of the Maharishi University of Management. As such, it is very possible that his observations and motivations carry bias. That is why I stated that my motivation in making the post was not in any way an attempt to promote TM above any other form of meditation.

Indeed, I've studied the available neurological research on several different contemplative traditions, and my main intention is to present the overall available research without preference for any particular tradition. They each have their pros and cons. TM's advantage, of course, is that of all the major forms of meditation studied, it is one of the easiest to learn and master and helps cultivate many empirically proven benefits. Not everyone is interested in the austere practices of Zen meditation, and TM can be a valuable alternative in this respect, since it only requires twenty minutes twice a day.

However, as far as I am aware, TM's long-term neurological shifts do not seem to be nearly as profound as those reported in Zazen meditation. James H. Austin's Zen Brain Reflections touches upon this apparent fact, clearly stating that the reports of transcendental consciousness in TM seem mostly superficial in comparison to some of the more profound Kensho states commonly reported in Zen. The term "superficial," in this case, refers to the temporal nature of both the state of consciousness and its overall effect upon the brain and nervous system.

Another example of profound effects upon the nervous system induced through meditation, is the report of Tibetan Buddhist monks after extensive training in Shamatha. Such reports invariably include a strange sensation often described as feeling as though a human hand has been firmly placed on top of the crown of the head. Furthermore, this is described as a permanent sensation, which reflects profound neurological changes that have taken place over time. And again, no such profound changes have ever been recorded in the hundreds of research studies involving TM. In other words, I do not in any way believe TM to be the cream of the crop of meditative disciplines. I simply want to present the available research in a way that helps individuals make more informed choices. I should also state that Dr. Travis explicitly asked that researchers in contemplative neuroscience begin to agree upon and use standard research protocols, so as to allow the specific neurological differences between the various meditative disciplines to become more apparent. I will therefore be presenting neurological research on other traditions, as well, such as Zazen, mindfulness meditation, Tibetan Buddhist meditation, heart-centered prayer, Sahaja meditation, and Nidra yoga.

I should also state that I do not practice TM, nor am I in any way affiliated with MUM or the TM organization. Anyway, please stick around for future posts, and you'll see that I am attempting to represent as many of the contemplative traditions as is possible. After all, that's what contemplative neuroscience should ultimately be about.

Thanks for your comment,
Eric
Consciousness Studies Online

Comment on Neurological Differences Between Three Major Meditative Tradtions

letsthink — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:22:07 GMT

I suggest when evaluating the study which purports to favor TM that the reader know that the study was done by people affiliated with the TM organization.

Comment on Theta Rhythm Involved in First Language Semantic Retrieval

Eric W Thompson — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:37:01 GMT

Thanks for your comment. Yes, I agree that rTMS is a promising new field and is particularly useful for entrainment, since it allows specific brain sites to be stimulated at the exclusion of others. In that regard, audio entrainment has definite limitations. As such, I am working on unique ways to combine magnetic, audio, and photic entrainment, so as to effectively enhance specific contemplative, cognitive, and emotional functions.

We're developing a device that uses weak magnetic pulses driven by isochronic signals. Also underway is a form of photic entrainment designed to simulate the brain's random-firing neural process.

I perused your TMS page and found it quite interesting. I agree with you that TMS is still a very important technology in the stuidy and enhancement of consciousness, even though Persinger typically reduces all mystical experiences down to neuronal processes. Such reduction is equivalent to saying that a television's circuitry "causes" the television programming. The programming is actually nonlocal, but if we supercharge the TV's circuitry, we will obviously be able to pick up new channels and receive them more clearly.

Thanks again,
Eric
Consciousness Studies Online

Comment on Theta Rhythm Involved in First Language Semantic Retrieval

rob — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:34:29 GMT

Interesting read.

I especially like your idea of stimulating specific areas of the brain dealing with whatever the student will have to study. I imagine that as we begin to know more about neurological structures and there respective functions, stimulating certain areas when need will be the next logical step.

One method that could be used to stimulate those areas would be entrainment (using vibration to bring the brain into certain states - much like two tunning forks responding to each other vibration). Typically sound is used, but now there is something called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in which electromagnetic fields are used.