Over the past several months, I’ve experienced how valuable what I call assisted meditation can be to in support of weight loss (I suspect largely due to reduced stress and cortisol levels).
But I found this snippet — in Downtime, Evolution, and Meditation — particularly interesting (emphasis mine):
Meditation was invented during the founding of the Axial religions, around 500 BCE. Before that, I suspect that people had little need for it. Life had been simple enough and still natural enough to allow the brain the down time it needed. But with the construction of massive city states, civilizations, new technologies, and highly interconnected modern societies, people’s ability to cope with the novelty overload they were experiencing began to break down. Siddhartha Gautama (the historical person now known by his title, the Buddha) said that suffering was caused by tanha which is usually translated as “desire,” but which could easily be alternatively translated as “seeking.” Seeking causes suffering. Constantly on the lookout for novelty, you cannot rest. You get caught in a hyperactive feedback loop that eventually rags you out. To combat this affliction of modernity, the Buddha prescribed meditation.
I’m perhaps making too much of this (thanks to watching a dozen video presentations on food addiction and dopamine), but I find this tweak re seeking compelling.
Read the whole post for more.
Just to let you know, I am have been reading your blog since connecting with you on Stephan’s blog site, and I am soooo impressed ! Thanks so much for all the content and the thoughtfulness with which you write and consider information.
I like this link of Sharma’s alot and feel that it ties into what you are addressing, albeit via a somewhat different avenue, but one which I am experiencing can also have meditative effects, dependent upon just how exercise/movement is approached sometimes:
http://www.drsharma.ca/is-exercise-more-about-calories-in-than-calories-out.html
I very consciously approach my circuit exercise in a meditative way, sometimes.This takes the form of going more inside myself and being attuned to what my body is experiencing in a different way, which very much affects me mentally. There is no “pushing” during these times, but rather a feeling of kind of getting into a state of “flow.” Sometimes on the recovery stations, where I run in place, I really experience this “flow” bigtime. I run in a low impact way, but fairly fast, and if there is noone following me on the circuit, sometimes I will just goooooo….letting go of my surroundings and entering a state that feels very much like a calm, peacefulness that is quite akin, for me, to what I have experienced with meditation.
I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that while yes, I am building muscle and burning fat with my consistent circuit work and dancercise, at least equally importantly, and I believe more importantly, I am impacting my virtually lifelong “Cortisol Queen” status and I believe what Sharma writes about this. I believe the effects are HUGE for me.
For me, as the journey continues…more of the puzzle pieces fall in place.
I am ahppy to have found your blog!
mem, thanks so much for the kind comment! Yes, I’m also a fan of Dr. Sharma’s and I totally agree that exercise is much more than calories out. Back before I wrecked my knee I walked religiously and found that definitely had a meditative quality to it. Now that I’m doing water “walking” in the pool, it has a similar effect (going back and forth for an hour will do that ;).
Beth, I’ve been listening to Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book on audio, “Full Catastrophe Living” and doing Sitting Meditation for 30 minutes in the morning six days a week. I’m giving it until September 1st, then re-evaluating.
So far, listening to the audio book and re-listening to certain parts has helped me reframe some things. I can’t tell yet whether the Sitting is “doing anything”.
It’s been a tumultuous year, with things “not going the way I want”. My displeasure has only resulted in a lot of agitated thoughts and the strong desire for things to be different than they are.
I’m with you, re: the importance of managing stress.
Michelle, I hope the meditation works for you. I’m still not doing 30 minutes of meditation … I started out with 5 minutes of my “assisted” meditation in the morning and evening (I think doing it before bed helps with sleep). Now 6 months later, I’m up to 20 minutes, still assisted.
I think meditation is like anything else … it’s important to do what you’ll do regularly.
I can certainly tell that it’s helped me in terms of managing cravings … and I can also tell that my version (which incorporates 10-second breaths) is helping physically as well. I’ve used it to wean myself off of blood pressure medicine in April & May … went from 150/95 late last year to actually 95/65 last week. Probably one of the benefits of having beginners simply focus on the breath in meditation!