neurodharma's Xanga

Monday, April 04, 2005

Mon, 04 Apr 2005 04:20:28 GMT

by it's content and its author, this just released book is fantastic, check it out:

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Wed, 08 Dec 2004 03:04:57 GMT

This article in the Sacramento Bee is about a very exciting study on participants in a year-long inensive meditation retreat.

Many thanks to dhak for the link.

Saturday, December 04, 2004

Sat, 04 Dec 2004 17:36:38 GMT

According to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 10,000 - 50,000 hours of compassion meditation causes dramatic changes in brain activity.

For more information, read this article in the Wall Street Journal.

and/or read the article in PNAS, if you are of a more scientific bent.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 05:10:44 GMT

One of the most difficult problems in studying emotion is deciding what an emotion is. Though it may seem obvious at first, what is it that exactly makes emotion different from thought?

The clearest difference may be that we feel emotions in our body, but don't really feel thoughts.

William James, the father of western psychology, thus made the somewhat radical suggestion that emotions are different from thoughts in that they are perceived directly from the organs.

(If this were the case, we would expect people to lack emotions altogether if the sensory nerves to their organs were severed. This is not the case, but interestingly some of these people report that they do not experience emotions as strongly.)

Click the graphic to see further developments of this model.

This model, though incomplete, continues to steer the study of emotions. For example, the most direct way we have of measuring someone's emotions in the lab is through their bodily changes (i.e. the polygraph).

All of this leaves one feeling like something about emotions has been lost in trying to separate them from thought. Emotions do result in bodily changes, but bodily changes don't seem to capture the essence of emotions.

Tibetans don't separate emotions from other mental factors, and have no direct translation for the term. Perhaps starting from the perspective of the mind, we can better understand what it is that makes emotions special.

Highly reccommended:

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Tue, 15 Jun 2004 19:39:49 GMT

The brain is wider than the sky,
  For, put them side by side,
The one the other will include
  With ease, and you beside.

The brain is deeper than the sea,
  For, hold them, blue to blue,
The one the other will absorb,
  As sponges, buckets do.

The brain is just the weight of God,
  For, lift them, pound for pound,
And they will differ, if they do,
  As syllable from sound.

- Emily Dickinson

check out this cool video lecture series

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Wed, 14 Apr 2004 14:01:33 GMT

let's get back to emotions. A long while ago, i wrote a post that concluded that when our emotionally driven urges are mal-adaptive, we are better off to avoid acting on those urges ... as difficult as that may be."

Emotional mind is hot. Rational mind is cool. Wise mind, serene and able to combine emotion and reason, keeps us out of hot water. It's a great state of mind from which to make decisions. Great ?!? But how do we get into wise mind?

Wise mind is aware, observing, nonjudgemental, and present (not distant or removed).

Here's an exercise that will put you in wise mind ...

For a period of one minute (no less no longer), try sitting comfortably and observe and describe to yourself everything you hear.* Avoid using similie or metaphor. if other thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them but then just go back to the task at hand. Afterwards, write what you observed as a post on your blog or a comment here.

* or some other sensation ... The only things actually available for you to observe and describe are your five senses, thoughts, emotions, and mental images. so choose one of those and give it a try.

Saturday, April 03, 2004

Sat, 03 Apr 2004 02:07:47 GMT

This summer, I will be attending The Mind and Life Summer Institute.

It's focus is very similar to what I write about here. It should be interesting, and I'm sure I'll be posting more about it here.

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Wed, 31 Mar 2004 06:47:33 GMT

Imagine that you are in the hellfire of emotional turmoil: a dark depression, anxiety, rageful with anger. you rip your own flesh ... you writhe in the pain of hell.

but there is a thin metal ladder leading out of the flames. you try to climb it, but it is hot and burns your hands, so you let go and jump back into the flames.

but if you manage to hold on, you eventually reach a narrow ledge above the flames. the pain is gone, but with your back against a cliff and a drop-off into a firey pit before you, this isn't such a secure place to be.

the ladder is still there for you to climb and it is still hot. you eventually reach a beautiful meadow: a wonderful place to stay and explore.

perhaps you grow weary of the meadow. you want to fly ... touch the sun!

the ladder is still there for you to climb. you grab the hot rungs to climb into the clouds, and when you arrive there it is glorious.

but why are you sitting alone in the clouds?

return, reside and now really experience the meadow!

Sunday, March 28, 2004

Sun, 28 Mar 2004 20:12:15 GMT

EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN ...

greetings and happy sunday, as today is the lord's day!

Today's topic: FAITH

I hypothesize this phenomenon (by some definition to be debated) is a universal human phenomenon with a strong physical basis in the brain.

Everyone has to believe in something ... be it science, jesus christ, etc.

by my hypothesis, it's pretty clear i fall quite strongly with the first, but my strong suscpicion is that they are neurologically the same.

living requires acting based on assumptions, be they empirical or sectarian, they are still leaps of faith all the same.

if you think, "that's all fine and good, but one is obviouslty more right ..." then you have encountered your own faith here as a relevant example of exactly that which interests me.

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Wed, 24 Mar 2004 17:08:06 GMT

NEURODHARMA's return is imminent.

stay tuned