By:Rachel Nuwer..
Matthieu Ricard, a 66-year old Tibetan monk and geneticist, produces brain gamma waves—linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory—never before reported in neuroscience, leading researchers to conclude that Ricard is the world’s happiest man. The secret to his success in achieving bliss? Meditation, he claims.
Matthieu Ricard, a 66-year old Tibetan monk and geneticist, produces brain gamma waves—linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory—never before reported in neuroscience, leading researchers to conclude that Ricard is the world’s happiest man. The secret to his success in achieving bliss? Meditation, he claims.
“Meditating is like lifting weights or exercising for the
mind”, Ricard told the Daily News. “Anyone can be happy by simply training
their brain”, he says.
a-buddhist-monk-shows-unheard-of-brain-activity-during-meditation2To
quantify just how happy Ricard is, neuroscientists at the University of
Wisconsin attached 256 sensors to the monk’s skull. When he meditated on
compassion, the researchers were shocked to see that Ricard’s brian produces a
level of gamma waves off the charts. He also demonstrated excessive activity in
his brain’s left prefrontal cortex compared to its right counterpart, meaning
he has an abnormally large capacity for happiness and a reduced propensity
towards negativity, the researchers say.
During the same study, the neuroscientists also peeked into
the minds of other monks. They found that long-term practitioners—those who
have engaged in more than 50,000 rounds of meditation—showed significant
changes in their brain function, although that those with only three weeks of
20-minute meditation per day also demonstrated some change.
To spread the word on achieving happiness and enlightenment,
Ricard authored Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill.
Proceeds from the book go towards over 100 humanitarian projects.
“Try sincerely to check, to investigate,” he explained to
the Daily News. “That’s what Buddhism has been trying to unravel — the
mechanism of happiness and suffering. It is a science of the mind.”
David Lynch explains Consciousness, Creativity and benefits
of Transcendental Meditation (TM)..
One of the greatest American filmmakers, television
director, visual artist and musician is David Lynch. Lynch is an advocate of
the use of Transcendental Meditation (TM) in bringing peace to the world. His
passion to help students learn the TM techniques has launched the David Lynch
Foundation For Consciousness-Based Education and Peace. In this video, David
Lynch answers a couple of questions on his understanding of how TM can affect
creativity and overall learning and expansion of the human mind.
Source:smithsonianmag.com Via:collectivelyconscious.net
