Desire a Calmer Mind? You May Be Surprised by This Neuroscientist's Favorite Method
You are not alone if your mind feels like a browser with 37 tabs open, one of which is playing music that you can not find. Even a brief moment of mental calm can seem like a luxury in a world full of notifications, ongoing tension, and barely contained chaos. That quiet, however, is a must for neuroscientist Sara Lazar, who discovers it in the seemingly straightforward technique of open awareness meditation.
Lazar, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and associate researcher in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, says, "I just became aware that I am aware." "No particular emphasis. merely taking in the surroundings.
It is a radical form of the present that involves focusing on the subtle hum of your own consciousness rather than clearing your mind or burning incense. It is not overt. It is strong. Lazar also asserts that it has the power to alter your brain.
So, what exactly is meditation?
The interesting part is that meditation is more than one thing.
According to Lazar, "it is easier to define what meditation is not than what it is."
Breathwork, repeating a mantra, or silently seeing your thoughts pass by like clouds are some examples. It could include barefooting in the grass, guided audio, or flickering candles. However, deliberate focus is a fundamental component of all types of meditation.
There is no anchor, such as the breath or a mantra, in open awareness meditation. Instead of passing judgment, you are simply observing with fascination the flits of thought, the faint sparks of emotion, and the hum of consciousness in the background. And this action alone can provide unexpected clarity.
How the Brain Is Rewired by Meditation
Lazar and her colleagues have demonstrated through tiny but powerful MRI tests that meditation helps calm the amygdala, the almond-sized warning system in your brain that causes worry and fear.
An eight-week MBSR program comprising weekly group sessions and daily at-home practice was finished by 26 chronically stressed people in one study. Their self-reported stress levels fell after just two months, and brain scans revealed that their amygdalae had become less dense.
The group dealt with individuals who had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder in another ground-breaking study. Participants' terror responses to neutral facial expressions were exaggerated prior to the meditation training. Their brain scans, however, showed a newly formed connection between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that aids in emotion regulation and thought processes, in addition to the improvement of their anxiety symptoms following MBSR practice.
Peace in an Unpeaceful World on a Daily Basis
How does this apply in the real world, where the dishwasher is leaking, Slack is pinging, and your toddler is screaming?
According to Lazar, "the pressures themselves will not dissipate." "However, your relationship with them changes."
Meditation allows you to stand back and observe the wave without getting swept away by it, as opposed to becoming entangled in the emotional undertow. The goal is to break the mental cycle of reactivity, not to become apathetic.
Lazar compares it to a bubble popping.
And everything is altered by that insight.
Do You Want to Begin Meditating (Without Thinking You are Not Getting It Right)?
When it comes to meditation, Lazar advises beginning modestly. Her preferred recommendation? The Three-Minute Breathing Space is a quick, methodical technique that involves only three steps:
Increase your awareness to encompass your entire body as well as anything else that may be there.
It is manageable enough to complete in the car before school pickup, in between meetings, or even in a restroom stall if there is not another peaceful place to go.
You can build from there after you understand it:
As with a new workout, add a few minutes per week.
To use more of your senses, try meditation outside.
Afterward, take note of how you feel, even if only slightly: calmer and clearer.
And if it seems difficult to sit still? Make use of your daily existence as practice.
Take five seconds to hesitate each time you touch a doorknob. Feel the metal's coldness. Take note of your hand's grip. Breathe. Alternatively, pay attention to the warmth of the sun on your back or the rhythm of your feet on the ground as you walk to the car.
"Mindfulness may be practiced in little ways," Lazar explains. "This big, independent thing is not necessary. It may reside directly within your existence.
What's Your Reaction?
