In 2012, Dr. Richard Davidson at the University of Wisonsin tested meditating monks and non-meditating volunteers in their response to pain and the threat of pain. The brains pain centers were monitored as a heat applicator was placed on the arm of the test subjects. The meditating and non-meditating test subjects responded similarly when the heat was applied, but when test subjects were told the heat would be applied in 10 seconds, the non-meditators pain centers reacted, while the meditators pain centers did not react. The meditators stayed in the present moment longer and did not actually react to the threat of pain when it was announced.
This study basically shows us that we can lesson our suffering in this life by being fully present and not projecting into the future, what if this or what if that does, or doesn't happen? As the Buddha said, the cause of all of our suffering is hope and fear. Or at least the expectation of them. Not that we should not have hope, or that we won't have fear...but that our attachment to our expectations is what causes this suffering. We have been hard-wired genetically from early man to have a Fight or Flight response. It is what has kept us alive in situations of danger. During our Fight or Flight Response there is a natural increase in our stress hormones (Adrenaline and Cortisol), and an increase in our heart rate, a thickening of our blood platelets, as well as a decrease of blood circulation to non-critical areas like our digestion. When we meditate, we get a reverse of all of these effects; with meditation our blood platelets thin, our heart rate decreases, we strengthen our immune system and improve our digestion. In addition, when we meditate, we will find that our Stress Response is decreased and our ability to respond rather than react to stressful situations is increased. When we choose to Meditate, we can make profound changes in our life, and the lives of those around us.
There are more and more studies being done these days that indicate scientifically that meditation changes our very physiology. We see increases in the grey matter of the hippocampus brain center responsible for learning, spatial orientation and memory, and decreases in the grey matter of the amygdala brain center responsible for Fight or Flight. (Mass. General, 2011). Other studies indicate the maintenance or even lengthening of telomeres in our body, the part of our DNA that cap our chromosomes and helps prevent deterioration. As we age, these telomeres decline more and more over time, but in the case of some studies meditators were able to actually preserve the length of their telomeres, suggesting that meditation has positive restorative and preventative health effects on our bodies.
These studies, in and off themselves, are amazing and show the tremendous benefits of meditation, but even greater than that are experiencing the effects yourself! We all need down time, time to allow ourselves to just be, to breath quietly, to be away from electronic devices and chatter, and to get into a restful place. We all need to slow down and be able to sit with ourselves long enough to find that calm and accepting place from which to observe ourselves non-judgmentally. We all need time to get truly quiet in our minds and bodies so that our nervous system can have an opportunity to reset, and so that we can manage our response to stress better. We all need a little more Peace.
Sarah Ritchie
BA, BEd., RMT, Reiki Master, Certified davidji Masters of Wisdom and Meditation Teacher