I recently read the book titled “Zen and the Brain” by James Austin, M.D. and it confirmed some very thought provoking and heated arguments that I commonly run into when speaking in the context of “the power of meditation”.This concept seems to always creep up in the meditating world. Claims that meditating in specific ways will enable you to (you fill in the blank), seem to me to cloud the water quite a bit. I would say pollute it. When I get periodicals, or got to web sites where Buddhists, or even just “new age or alternative” folks would be the audience I always feel like I am bombarded with information. These ads remind me of the carnies that yell and taunt you from their booths at the county fair.”It’s easy, Just $2.00, Look at these prizes…” It all becomes rather nauseating or maybe that’s the cotton candy. SO rather than be assaulted by claims of nirvana in with the correct mudra. I like to explore my mind in my own way, and that exploration sometimes needs some reinforcement. After reading this book I have come to understand the connections between mind and body with far more detail. This book is written with some level of medical lingo and a presumption that the reader is versed in neurology, psychology and medical research lingo. That said I am very please to find that physical health, awareness, consciousness, and mental capacity are all aspects that can be enhanced with meditation. Some of these enhancements can come naturally, or without direct thought. This book sites many instances and studies but the one that was very obvious was a study that involved folks who for one reason or another had lost both eyes, but were able to point to an exact position in the room where movement occurred. This might seem like a simple feat, but try it. This is an example of the mind rewiring itself to use the senses differently than they were designed. This and many more mental expansions are presented as a result of meditation. I believe that consciousness as most people understand it is a very limited “awareness”, when in fact consciousness involves the very fibers of our body. Synaesthesia presents proof that out heart and mind and other organs of our body actually carry some level of trained response to stimuli that occurs outside the body. A clear example of this is when someone else yawns it triggers a yawn in most of us. If someone else ducks we might also duck, before looking at what triggered that action. These are very simple actions that are programmed into our bodies. But we can program them to do more. Like the martial artist whose hands and feet are already moving to block a blow that isn’t even within their line of sight or like the juggler who “feels” where something is going to be, we can train our minds to react to external stimuli. But my interest lies deeper.
There are many recorded and documented instances where someone who received a heart, liver, lung transplant begin to experience cravings, reactions, even dreams that do not relate to them but are very clearly related to the donor of the organs. This type of connection to the donor through the donated organ speaks volumes to me. This is proof for me that our minds are merely where we think but our consciousness is stored in every fiber of our being. And with this proof we can meditate on improving respiration, and improve it, We can meditate on expanding our memory or our emotional relationships and change them physically. This spiral of action and reaction in a focused circle makes me wonder if enlightenment isn’t a state of knowing all as much as it is a state of being all, feeling all, seeing all clearly and with purpose. And these deep, spiraling lines of thought give me vertigo. And sometimes make me a little queasy.
The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground. ~Buddha
Only that in you which is me can hear what I'm saying. ~Baba Ram Dass
I am a part of all that I have met. ~Alfred Lord Tennyson
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