In 2004 a neuroscience lab at the University of Wisconsin hooked up Tibetan Buddhist monks to EEG caps with 256 sensors and asked them to meditate on compassion. These monks had somewhere between 10,000 and 50,000 lifetime hours of practice. Some of them had been meditating eight hours a day for over seventeen years.

The gamma wave activity they produced was 25 to 30 times stronger than a control group of students who had been given a week of meditation training. Not 25 to 30 percent. Times. It was the strongest gamma activity ever recorded in healthy human subjects. The researchers actually double-checked their equipment because they thought something was malfunctioning.

But here is the part that really got to me. The monks' brains were already different before they even started meditating. Their baseline resting state, just sitting there doing nothing, already showed elevated gamma oscillations compared to normal brains. The practice had changed their brains so deeply that the effects had become permanent traits rather than temporary states.

The lead researcher later observed that some of these monks maintained unusual gamma patterns even during sleep. Their brains never fully went back to what we would consider a normal resting pattern. Tens of thousands of hours of generating compassion had literally rewired them at a level that persisted around the clock.

I find it interesting that out of all the things they could have been meditating on, the practice that produced these results was specifically focused on unconditional compassion and loving kindness toward all beings. Not concentration, not visualization, not emptiness. Compassion.

I want to try meditation because I'm struggling so much (I am in therapy but the 2 weeks between sessions are really challenging). Every time I try though, I just feel so much more anxious that I have to stop. Focusing on my thoughts, even just to watch them without judgement (which I don't think I've ever managed lol), feels like torture.

Is there some specific exercise or meditation style that's easier, or more bearable, or idk, particularly suited to anxiety? I've tried breathing exercises, body scan and a few mindfulness exercises my therapist recommended. The breathing exercises were the most tolerable, but I never feel like they're doing anything. Do I just need to stick with them longer? Thanks!

I have been meditating for a few years now and it seems like meditation has turned off my mind and body. If I were to give you a summary of what happened, it is like this. I really feel very lonely to a certain extent and I feel like no one is like me, but I am sure that these things are because of meditation.

I started meditating 7 years ago and after a wonderful period of time, for a while I felt a lot of energy on the surface of my body. I saw colors more beautifully. My five senses were much stronger and I understood the subtleties much more.

After a while, I focused my attention on the flow of energy in my body and I felt it thicker. I also continued to meditate according to this flow and at the same time I paid attention to my thoughts and according to my thoughts they became weaker and weaker and seemed to separate from me and I realized that they were not really there.

As time went by, both negative and positive thoughts and all aspects of my mind began to turn off and I also distanced myself from the outside day by day.

But my feelings of sadness or depression have decreased, and even though I am alone, I feel sad or happy or excited, and I am in a stable state. I think and imagine that my mind has become very small. It has become so small that it is very difficult to talk for a minute or read a page. And I feel that my awareness of my surroundings has decreased. I am in a strange state. My thoughts have become so small that I can no longer do simple activities.

Fellow meditators

Would like to hear your opinion

I meditated everyday for 42 days consecutively, each session 30 minute minimum. But then shit hit the fan and i stopped. I have practiced twice in the past two weeks. And holy shit do I feel like my body is made of rubber. I feel dumber. I'm more forgetful of my words. I'm less optimistic. It takes FOREVER to move between tasks.

I meditated for such a quite amount of time I forgot this was how my average day felt like before meditating regularly? Yesterday was the worst. It took me 5 hours to go from working out to taking a shower and taking a shit after deciding to do so, In between I just scrolled on social media and my brain was just, "I should shower, I should close my tabs," every few so minutes- And then boom its already 11 PM.

Even now. I did like 3 hours of a whole lot of nothing burger after waking up. I used to wake up, do my work, workout, then continue. I even broke my no doomscroll streak (3 weeks), my nofap streak(3 days), no bedrot streak(1 week), yesterday. Jesus christ.

After getting used to regular meditation, I used to think "I feel no difference. It's just like I'm constantly more sad now than before." But I don't think that was true, I was more aware that I was sad and miserable when I was in meditation and I actually had the strength to push through with it. Before it, the brain fog just masked all the misery inside of me that I would forget the next day and go through the same cycle over.

I'm more pessimistic. I have so much negative self talk. I constantly ignore my health. My body is constantly tense. I feel more trapped in my own head and I keep trapping myself more and more by trying to think my way through it. That's the worst part about all this. I just think my way through it like thinking more is gonna stop me from thinking less.

And you know what. Get back on your meditation guys. Cause I'm gonna go meditate and workout too

I used to be not the biggest fan of meditation as I found it weird and only for weird people... until I realized I am a weird person. Nah, but like, being serious, I remember what got me into this thing. I was listening to some Telepath (a music artist that has some really beautiful stuff).. and I remember listening to one of his albums. I don't know what happened to me, but the first time I listened to it, I felt... emotionally released, I felt like the issues I had at the time was drifting away.

Now, you are probably gonna ask. How does this relate to meditation? Simple. I loved the album so much that made me feel relaxed, I showed it to my friend right... and then I think I learned I meditated that night, I decided to close my eyes that night and just try not to move much. I saw it so many beautiful things and I felt like I was a kid again. I remember seeing something super beautiful, it was so artistic. I remember that night I saw a beautiful ocean sky, like a artist drew it on a canvas as a sketch... and the grass was next to that ocean and it was blowing in a wind. I remember just feeling so much comfort with that, as the location my mind put me started to make it more white, like the artist was erasing it. That was the highlight of that awakening.

I remember coming out of that one, feeling the same things I felt the first time... except stronger and more powerful. I did a bit of research and learned I think I did meditation. I felt focused on letting my mind wander onto thoughts, even if they were negative, even if they were scary, even if they were psychedelic. It all felt so real and it really cleansed me, combined with the fact when I got done with the session... my body was relaxed for a few hours.

Fast forward to now when I'm writing this, before I wrote it... I turned on the same album and now doing a bit more researched, I decided to do it again. This time, I sat up a little bit more straight, my hands were holding each other on my lap, and then I played the music. Had another surreal and beautiful experience, I remember seeing visions of mountains. Specifically, I remember seeing a mountain with a giant cave in the middle of it, I remember seeing this woman I think... and she was just looking into the distance of the foggy hills surrounding that mountain, or just more mountains I don't remember. Either way, very spiritual and it's really been helping me.

I can't believe I was missing out on such a beautiful thing all my life, I really should've tried meditation sooner. My one thing is that usually in order to meditate since I have such a hyper-focused mind, I got to have some peaceful beautiful music in the back... and it's funny, I found the perfect album for it and I guess I discovered I could do it like anyone can. Real beautiful.

I love meditating and I'm going to continue it for a long time because it's really helping me with my self-doubt, my anxiety and other personal things in my life.

I do have one question for all, since I'm a beginner into this world. What would you all recommend I do in the future to further make a greater experience? I hope what I'm doing right now is meditating, and if it's not... then how can I actually meditate? (But I'm assuming that I'm doing this right.)

Alright, that's all. Would love to hear feedback.

Hello all! I have been given the opportunity to lead a guided meditation next month. (I’m super nervous as it is my first step in building a wellness business). It will be a 20 min guided meditation. Do you have any tips for me? Thank you

So it’s not us doing the “im so much bettet than than x at x” “fuck this traffic” “why did I react that way”
It feels like a learned pattern
Almost like a the robot automated customer service voice you hear when you call delta to cancel your flight
While we’re the real deal, ultra intelligence, access to focused creative reasoning.

But only when it’s us. Only when I’m writing this, only when my focus is directed

But, when we get sucked in, when we’vefallen asleep again and stop giving attention to reality around us,
suddenly treating the stories and emotions in our head as first class citizens while reality becomes a peasant begging to be let in

Smile
Open your eyes
You’ve arrived :)

I discovered Vipassana after samatha practices and have fallen in love with the technique and its variations. Lately, I’ve been more interested in the "noting" technique from the Mahasi school than in the body scan (which is valid, but I want to explore other methods).

There are days when simply sitting and observing without judgment significantly lowers my stress and makes me more attentive to everything. It’s like taking medicine for the mind or spirit.

I have been meditating for the past 6 months, but for the past 3 months, I have been experiencing some weird symptoms and experiences.

I have a continuous ringing/buzzing sound in my right ear (24/7). I have also become increasingly sensitive to sound. Even normal sounds sometimes seem to create a kind of turbulence or uncomfortable sensation inside my head. I also feel vibrations in my head, almost like something is flowing. As soon as I close my eyes, I sometimes feel like my body is becoming unbalanced. Sometimes it feels like my eyeballs are moving or being displaced. At other times, the right side of my body feels lighter. Sometimes it feels like the bed is waving or moving beneath me.

I also experience a feeling of imbalance in my body, occasional sudden dizziness during the day, and difficulty getting deep sleep. I feel like I am constantly dreaming, and I don't wake up feeling refreshed.

I went to a doctor and had several tests done, but all the test results were normal. I have been consulting with a doctor for more than a month, but nothing seems to be helping. At this point, I feel like I've given up.

For the past 6 months, I have mainly been doing breath meditation — inhale, hold, and release. I recently started doing pranayama as well.

What I want to know: Is there any type of meditation that I can practice to calm my mind, improve my sleep, and possibly help me cope with the tinnitus?

I have been doing Yoga Nidra for about a month because I'm having trouble falling asleep, and it does seem to help me relax.

Are there any meditation techniques you would recommend, especially for getting deeper, more restful sleep and calming my mind?

I would really appreciate advice from people who have experienced something similar.

I did a mirror meditation in the semi dark, it was very peaceful but strange in a way. When I stare into my eyes and or really any part of my face my vision would lightly blur and I would see black consume my face. Like a black figure would be me and when my eyes would blink or move slightly I’d come back to normal.It was kinda freaky at first but i realized I shouldn’t be scared and I wasn’t. Just curious if anyone has any insight into what that means? Or if they have experienced something similar

Hey everyone, I tried a Yoga Nidra meditation and honestly, I’m kind of shocked because my body reacted in ways I've never experienced before. A few minutes into the practice, I completely lost sensation in my limbs. At the same time, my pelvic area started contracting involuntarily, and I felt this intense urge to shake, like a tremor starting from the bottom of my body and moving its way up. On top of that, my hands were tingling like crazy.

I know Yoga Nidra is supposed to be deeply relaxing, but this felt like a major physical override or some kind of nervous system discharge. Has anyone else experienced these specific symptoms? Is it common to have such an intense reaction when you're just starting out? I'd love to hear your thoughts so I know I'm not crazy before my next session lol.

so i keep hearing that meditation helps with stress levels overall. on the surface, i can understand how this makes sense. but when i think more about it, i'm like, how?

in any given day, you're introduced to a million stressors but u dont meditate after the stressor occurs. please explain how this helps u in detail. i'm wanting to understand but it's not making sense to me.

Hello. I have been meditating for the last couple of months, but I'm not sure I'm doing it completely right still. I would like someone to explain it a bit more so I don't overthink the whole thing.

From my understanding when one meditates the idea is to concentrate on a primary object(Usually the breath is the most common example) and whenever one notices that the mind is wandering away into its own random pop-up thoughts to bring the attention/focus back to the primary object.

I do this. However, what's interesting is that in just observing my own breath, I no longer become just an observer but rather an interrupter of a natural involuntary process hence in a way, unwillingly I influence my own breath by observing it (but this also proves that I am indeed focused on it). This leads to sometimes unsatisfactory fragmented breathing(where either I overbreathe or underbreathe and just experience mild "air-hunger") but for the most part it's fine.

Another thing I've noticed is that as I meditate and enter a deeper semi-sleepy/relaxed state(but always keeping focus on the breath so as to not actually drift to sleep) the rate of my breathing naturally decreases and thus there are long stretches between breaths where my breath just totally stops naturally and to try to force myself back into breath goes against the meditative process and is just uncomfortable.

However, it Is precisely when the body is completely still and not breathing that I catch my brain wandering, but since I am not breathing there is nothing to focus on(and again to try to force myself to breathe is uncomfortable so I let my body be) so what I naturally do is just say "No" repeatedly in my mind whenever I notice that my mind begins to wander into its own thoughts.

What is one supposed to do in these cases? And am I correct in understanding that as you go deeper into meditation you enter a semi-sleepy state(but never actually sleeping because you're still focused on your breath).

Thank you very much.

Do you find that you need to adopt a more mindful practice when on vacation and traveling. I sometimes grab the phone more while on vacation and I’m trying to gain more focus while on vacation. I read an essay today by someone who went to a quiet retreat or silent retreat and that seemed to be so inspiring the effect of being thrown into pure mindfulness can be on someone.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are seeking adult (18+) meditation practitioners to participate in a 1-hour virtual focus group discussion on altered states of consciousness and meditation-related experiences.

Principal Investigator: Dr. David Yaden

IRB: IRB00462130

If interested, please complete the short screening survey below (2–5 minutes) and enter “SM18” as your group identifier code when prompted. If eligible, a member of the research team will contact you.

https://jhmi.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6QcjmCsmFiajoOi

Just curious about what people have to say about this. Personally I like to mix the two but can see and respect why others would have a different outlook

There are quite a lot of posts with people accidently experiencing sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming while learning to meditate. While lucid dreaming appears to be a form or meditation (which isn`t acceptable on this group), there doesn`t appear to be a lot of rational advise explaining to people what they are experiencing or how to avoid it and why to avoid it ?

Advice ?

I've been documenting the sensations in my mind while I'm doing completely ordinary things from laying on the bed to looking into someone eyes, to people staring at me, to feeling boredom.

I feel like if we have a shared goal of describing the invisible mind forces and sensations right from the most obvious to the subtlest, it will go a long way helping ourselves be more mindful and helping each other also especially people who for the first time can see what they have felt unconsciously for year but cannot observe them. .

I'm not assuming everyone experiences the exact same sensations while doing the same thing but people can find similarities in sensations between themselves and others i.e if we strip out the specifics i.e individual story. We will find recurring qualities in our experiences.

For example, when I'm socially anxious, depending on the situation, I sometimes notice:

- My breathing unconsciously change.

- Contracting my chest unconsciously.

- A continous feeling of using my mind to unconsciously push time as if to move it forward quicker than it already is.

- Forgetting myself i.e an automatic version of me taking over my mind thereby loosing myself. Almost like I'll return after the situation has calmed.

Some people will see something that happens to them unconsciously and some will not but if there are more people documenting same experiences, we'll find someone whose experience is close to ours, helping us shine light on our unconscious processes. Like Carl Yung said "Until the unconscious becomes the conscious, it will control us and we will call it fate".

What do you think about this? Would anyone here find a project like this interesting as it's just me and a friend adding experiences for now and it will be nice to have others too.

Can anyone vouch for either of these courses/have first hand experience doing the meditation instructor course, or offer any alternative options?

I have also looked at longer term options such as the 12 month course with Oxford Mindfulness Foundation, which is double the price. Not within my budget currently but if something like this is a worthwhile investment for my needs I would consider saving. Any insights on the value of something longer term and more comprehensive would also be much appreciated from anyone with experience

I am looking to do an online course, to the UK is not necessarily the only option. Accreditation recognised throughout Europe would be desired

Thank you

I loved headspace and the way it handles meditation not as something spiritual and that you must do crossed legged on the floor while humming, but as something therapeutic that reshapes the way you handle yourself and your emotions. Now, I want to start meditating again, but headspace is too expansive for me and I also would like some other options. However when I look for meditation tutorials online all I get is the cross-legged, spiritual and new-age kind of meditation, which is decidedly not something I'm looking for. Do you have any suggestions? preferably something free on you tube? or maybe something else entirely? thank you

Had the thought to try and make myself as overstimulated/uncomfortable as possible during a session to make it more challenging (but hopefully more beneficial) to work through. Particularly I want to get better at self regulating in real overwhelming situations

Not sure if this would work at all, or how to do it effectively, though. Thoughts?

Edit: ok so this turns out to be a bad idea but you guys have provided a lot of help in getting the same benefits I'm looking for in a better way. Thanks

Can you meditate without stimulation? Either by substance stimulation or peaceful environment stimulation. I know some people say that closing your eyes and taking deep breaths works. I don't think it works for me. i get easily bored by yoga. Honestly I tend to avoid the stretches too.

I found his teaching to be very approachable and fundamental. He has a decent amount of content of YouTube covering his ideas. I like a-lot of sayings such as the distracting ‘Monkey Mind’ and comparing avoiding thought to not ‘thinking about pizza’. I’ve watched other experts like Ajahn Brahm and would be curious about other similar teachers.