9/28/15

As an assignment for my learning theory class, we're required to learn a skill. I've decided the skill I will learn is meditation.

A little background: I've struggled with an overactive mind and racing thoughts since childhood. I've never been formally diagnosed, but it's probably a symptom of OCD. Depression and anxiety are often symptoms that go along with that, and I've had problems with them as well. I've had counseling off and on over the years and my counselors usually recommend meditation. I've even tried it a time or two in their offices, just to "go along" with them. My father, who has a PhD. in child development and family relations, has also suggested meditation. However, I've never had the patience or the commitment to really learn the skill. I've also found myself skeptical about any real benefit it could be to me. I've said to myself, "how hard can it be to sit quietly and think of nothing? What good could it possibly do?"

Now, with a class grade on the line and fresh motivation (my acceptance to graduate school) to train my mind to focus, concentrate, and think more productively, I'm going to try this meditation thing again.

I thought I would begin my journey with some research. I first went to Google. Doesn't everyone go to Google these days? It led me to this great article on the Forbes magazine website entitled "7 ways meditation can actually change the brain."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/02/09/7-ways-meditation-can-actually-change-the-brain/

Having read it, I was actually quite intrigued and excited about how meditation could change my brain and improve my life!

My next stop was Wikipedia, where I read the entry on meditation. I was intrigued by these quotes:

            "Meditation in the broad sense of a type of discipline, found in various forms            in many cultures, by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the      reflexive, "thinking" mind (sometimes called "discursive thinking" or "logic")            into a deeper, more devout, or more relaxed state. ("Meditation", n.d.)

I'm very attracted to the idea of trying to get past my own logic or "discursive thinking" since it's been often stated by friends and family that it "hangs me up" more often than it should. It's even an obstacle to my learning how to meditate in the first place. After all, how do you know if you’re having any success learning something that’s inside the mind? A behaviorist would say learning to meditate successfully is not scientifically or objectively measurable. I could really fake the whole thing, but I’m really hoping to learn something that will improve my life.

More from Wikipedia:

            “Scholars have noted that "the term 'meditation' as it has entered       contemporary usage" is parallel to the term "contemplation" in Christianity,   but in many cases, practices similar to modern forms of meditation were        simply called 'prayer'. Christian, Judaic and Islamic forms of meditation are       typically devotional, scriptural or thematic, while Asian forms of meditation   are often more purely technical.” ("Meditation", n.d.)

            "In the West, meditation is sometimes thought of in two broad categories:      concentrative meditation and mindfulness meditation. These two categories           are discussed in the following two paragraphs, with concentrative meditation           being used interchangeably with focused attention and mindfulness            meditation being used interchangeably with open monitoring,

            Direction of mental attention... A practitioner can focus intensively on one      particular object (so-called concentrative meditation), on all mental events            that enter the field of awareness (so-called mindfulness meditation), or both            specific focal points and the field of awareness.

            One style, Focused Attention (FA) meditation, entails the voluntary focusing of attention on a chosen object. The other style, Open Monitoring (OM)       meditation, involves non-reactive monitoring of the content of experience      from moment to moment." ("Meditation", n.d.)

The following day, I spent a few minutes in bed before getting up trying to listen to, and focus on my own breathing.

This year I've put a renewed focus on exercise. I've never really mastered running and I haven't done it for years, but this week I ran a few times. It led me to think about the way meditation and running might work together. Running forces me to be mindful about things like breathing and what's going on with my body.

My next step in researching meditation was to post the following question on my Facebook page:

“For one of my grad school classes, I'm researching meditation. Do any of you meditate regularly, and if so, is there a particular technique you use? What were some things that helped you learn how to meditate?”

My old high school friend Darren Lamb was one of the responses. He teaches a 1-hour introductory meditation class. I think this might be a good way to begin, since social cognitive theory says learning is often best accomplished in a social context, even though meditation is a highly individual activity.

From Darren Lamb's Facebook post: “On the first Sunday of every month i teach a free class at the Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy in Sugarhouse. Classes start at 4:00. If you go to www.theworstbuddhist.com you can find all the info in the very top post.”

Some other friends replied with suggestions for beginning books, authors, websites and materials on mediation.

            Beginner Books & Materials on Meditation:

            Pema Chodron

            8 Minute Meditation Expanded: Victor Davich

            Kelly Howell

            Kenji Kumara

            Miracle of Mindfulness: Thich Nhat Hanh

            Search Inside Yourself: Chade- Meng Tan

            Guided Meditations for Busy People (CD) Bodhipaksa

            Headspace.com

            15-minute mind hack: Vishen Lakhiani

Another high school friend, Jeannette Maw, suggested I watch a YouTube video on meditation called "15-Minute Mind Hack by Vishen Lakhiani, which I did. In this video, he explains and demonstrates a 6-phase meditation with the following phases:

There is also a phone app at his website, omvana.com.

I ran out of time to do any further research or experimentation on meditation this week, but I think for next week I will download Vishen's app and try his 6-phase meditation every day. The beauty of it is that it is effective even if you have only a few minutes each day to do it. That seems like it would fit well into my busy schedule right now.