Have you heard the one about the monk, the neuroscientist, and the tax-evading poet?
The Dalai Lama was in Washington, DC a few days ago – not meeting with President Obama, but with world-class neuroscientists, national leaders and policy-makers on education, and advanced contemplatives, one of whom has been dubbed the Happiest Man in the World. And I got to watch.
Admittedly, I attended with an agenda: to get the scoop on the latest findings and the future of mindfulness meditation and its impact on the brain.
I’ll be writing more about that meeting (Mind and Life XIX) in another post.
Right now, I want to share just one quote from the meeting. It was offered by one of the world’s premier neuroscientists, psychologist Richie Davidson, PhD, whose expert pursuit of understanding emotions and the brain makes him one of my heroes (and one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People“).
It was a bit of a surprise, in the midst of the very 21st-century discussion about the challenges of education and brain research — to hear Dr. Davidson share a bit of wisdom from Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862):
“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”
How does this relate to you (and to all of us, and to each one of us)? Let me count the ways:
- Your thoughts create new brain pathways, and even new neurons, throughout your life.
- The new pathways and neurons support the creation of new habits of the mind, crowding out the old, dysfunctional habits.
- Shedding old habits of the mind and re-shaping your brain creates new possibilities in how you feel and respond in relationships.
- New ways of feeling and responding in relationships allow for new global relationships, a new awareness that we’re all in this together, creating a new path for humanity.
Change one brain, and it is as if you have changed the world.
And according to Dan Siegel, MD (another hero of mine in the mindfulness-brain arena), as little as three minutes of meditation practice a day might be all it takes to get the ball rolling.
As another august thinker, my grandmother, used to say, “So, it wouldn’t hurt to try a little.”
Are you on Facebook? If you enjoy the articles and posts here on Rewire Your Brain For Love, you’ll probably enjoy my Facebook page, with even more tips to support your mindfulness meditation practice.
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Hello , I happened upon your site and I found it very interesting . I am aware of meditation, I do a Buddhist meditation sometimes, though not as often as I should. I would like to try your mindfullness meditation, to help in a difficult marital situation, but was wondering if your meditation
would be helpful to a person with an anxiety disorder . Any info. would be appreciated. Thank you.
Nancy,
The mindfulness meditation offered here is closely related to what you may already be familiar with through your Buddhist meditation. The research on the effects of mindfulness meditation does strongly support it’s use in anxiety disorders, but of course, you are the ultimate judge about what is helpful to you.
Many people find that knowing more about meditation’s positive effects on the brain — and that it re-wires how we tend to react in relationships — can be a much more powerful motivation to practice than “simply” reducing stress. You are welcome to try the mindfulness meditation download; of course, as with anything you might try, listen closely and compassionately to yourself. If it doesn’t feel right to you, honor that.
I hope that you do find it helpful, and if not, that you’ll keep seeking something that does.
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