Friday, June 10, 2005
Meditation, Happiness and Mind Control
Once upon a time there was a Tai-Chi practitioner -- me. Tai-Chi meditation, at least at the level that I practiced it, is done standing. The thighs are bent so that all the weight is absorbed by the leg muscles. In addition to dealing with that (shaking legs etc.), one is supposed to clear his/her mind and focus on some distant point (there's more to it but I tried to be quick).
To be honest, I hated it. Not so much because of the rigorous stance, but because I had a hard time "clearing my mind" and truth be told - I was bored. However, it's been about a year and a half since I stopped practicing and I miss it terribly. More and more each day. I can't explain why I miss it, or what it is that I miss most, and I also can't explain what is different when I practice Tai-Chi (other than my body now has no bruises from sparring) than when I don't. I just know/feel that I miss it.
Then, about a week or two ago, I watched a show The Pursuit of Happiness where, among other things, they checked brain waves of Tibetan Monks.
A couple of days ago I also came across this article in Nature about mind focusing as a result of meditation, again, of Tibetan Monks.
I, personally, always thought that the mind is something we can control more than we think. If we're down, we can make ourselves 'up' by positive thinking, if we're obsessed and/or worried about something, we can calm ourselves. The trick is not to get dragged down by emotions and not to let them control you. You should control them.
It's not easy to accomplish, and one needs to practice this a lot, but it is possible.
My point - I think I'll go back to practicing Tai-Chi in the fall.
Categories: science
To be honest, I hated it. Not so much because of the rigorous stance, but because I had a hard time "clearing my mind" and truth be told - I was bored. However, it's been about a year and a half since I stopped practicing and I miss it terribly. More and more each day. I can't explain why I miss it, or what it is that I miss most, and I also can't explain what is different when I practice Tai-Chi (other than my body now has no bruises from sparring) than when I don't. I just know/feel that I miss it.
Then, about a week or two ago, I watched a show The Pursuit of Happiness where, among other things, they checked brain waves of Tibetan Monks.
"Rather than thinking about qualities like happiness as a trait," Davidson says, "we should think about them as a skill, not unlike a motor skill, like bicycle riding or skiing. These are skills that can be trained. I think it is just unambiguously the case that happiness is not a luxury for our culture but it is a necessity."
A couple of days ago I also came across this article in Nature about mind focusing as a result of meditation, again, of Tibetan Monks.
Meditation could conceivably help people with depression, or who have recently suffered a trauma, to stop their minds constantly dwelling on negative thoughts, she suggests.
I, personally, always thought that the mind is something we can control more than we think. If we're down, we can make ourselves 'up' by positive thinking, if we're obsessed and/or worried about something, we can calm ourselves. The trick is not to get dragged down by emotions and not to let them control you. You should control them.
It's not easy to accomplish, and one needs to practice this a lot, but it is possible.
My point - I think I'll go back to practicing Tai-Chi in the fall.
Categories: science
