Meditation and mindfulness may give your brain a boost( The Mashington Post)

By Carolyn Butler
Monday, February 14, 2011; 8:17 PM

They are the simplest instructions in the world: Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, clear your mind and try to focus on the present moment. Yet I am confident that anyone who has tried meditation will agree with me that what seems so basic and easy on paper is often incredibly challenging in real life.

I've dabbled in mantras and mindfulness over the years but have never really been able to stick to a regular meditation practice. My mind always seems to wander from pressing concerns such as the grocery list to past blunders or lapses, then I get a backache or an itchy nose (or both) and start feeling bored, and eventually I end up so stressed out about de-stressing that I give up. But I keep coming back and trying again, every so often, because I honestly feel like a calmer, saner and more well-adjusted person when I meditate, even if it's just for a few minutes in bed at the end of the day.

Now there's even more reason to give it another go: New research from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston indicates that meditating regularly can actually change our brain structure for the better, and in just a few months.

The small study, published last month in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, tracked 16 people who took a course on mindfulness-based stress reduction - a type of meditation that, besides focusing your attention, includes guided relaxation exercises and easy stretching - and practiced for about 30 minutes a day. After eight weeks, MRI scans showed significant gray matter density growth in areas of the brain involved in learning and memory, empathy and compassion, sense of self and emotional regulation, when compared with a control group.
In addition, the researchers referred to an earlier study that found a decrease in gray matter in the amygdala, a region of the brain that affects fear and stress, which correlated with a change in self-reported stress levels.

"This is really, clearly, where we can see, for the first time, that when people say, 'Oh, I feel better, I'm not as stressed when I meditate,' they're not just saying that - that there is a biological reason why they're feeling less stress," says senior author Sara Lazar, a psychology instructor at Harvard Medical School. She notes that these findings build on prior research that has found positive brain changes in long-term meditators: "But this is proof that it's really meditation that's making the difference," as opposed to other potential factors such as diet or lifestyle, she says. "And it doesn't take long to get there."

None of this comes as a surprise to dedicated meditators or to doctors who regularly prescribe the practice.

"The study shows that meditation induces certain physiological brain changes that are consistent with many of the health benefits we see clinically," says family medicine and chronic pain specialist Gary Kaplan, director of the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine in McLean, who recommends meditation as part of a treatment plan for every one of his patients. He reports that patients who follow this advice typically sleep better, have less pain, less anxiety and depression, and a better general sense of well-being. Kaplan adds that this admittedly anecdotal evidence comes on top of at least a decade's worth of research showing that meditation can have a range of benefits such as reduced stress and blood pressure, migraine relief, an improved attention span and better immune function.

Given that meditation is readily accessible, cheap and portable and has few if any risks, there's really no harm in giving it a try, says Kaplan, who suggests that getting a book or CD on the topic or taking a basic class is a good way to start.

He acknowledges that the practice is far from easy, at least in part because the mind is bound to wander. "We spend a whole bunch of time time-traveling - a lot of time in the future, worrying, and a lot in the past, dwelling on regrets and grief and loss - and we spend very little time in the present, focused on what's going on at this moment," he explains. "So allowing that chatter to quiet and becoming present in the moment, while being gentle with the thoughts that come in and out of the mind and any anxiety that's there, that can be difficult."

For those who are skeptical or who continue to struggle, Hugh Byrne, a senior teacher with the Insight Mediation Community of Washington, suggests some tips for getting going - and sticking with it:

Seek the right style. There are many forms of meditation, with different objectives, and it's important to do some research and find the one that works best for you, whether it involves walking, chanting or deep-breathing exercises.

Practice, practice, practice. It's essential to cultivate a regular, daily routine to get your mind in the habit of meditating, even if it's just five or 10 minutes to start, says Byrne, who recommends slowly increasing that to 30 minutes or more every day.

Be mindful all day long. Meditation "isn't just about bringing awareness to your experience while you're sitting cross-legged with eyes closed," says Byrne. "It's also a practice that you can bring into the rest of your life: when you're eating, sitting in a traffic jam, or relating to a partner, spouse, kids or colleagues at work." He suggests finding a few minutes here and there to get centered.

Don't be discouraged by a wandering mind. It's totally normal. "The important thing is just to notice when you move into planning the future or ruminating on the past or daydreaming, just notice that and gently bring attention back to the present," says Byrne. "And come back into the body, without judgment or criticism."

引用自 The Mashington Post

靈山禪寺--2011密集禪修簡章

是誰能與我們朝夕相處，形影不離，廝守終生？夫妻？父子？母女？答案是除了自己外，應無第二人能如此的親密．但對如此親密的自己，有誰能非常的了解自己？不了解，又如何去關心自己，幫助自己，讓自己過個自在安樂的生活？

靈山禪寺將在今年的五月二十七日至六月十四日，舉辦四念處密集禪修，邀請智光禪師來指導，歡迎大家一起來了解自己，認識這個與我們朝夕相處的人，進而讓他（她）度過有意義，有價值的人生，甚而能獲得完全的解脫．

指導禪師：Sayadaw U Nyanaramsi 智光禪師（緬甸恰密禪修中心）

禪修法門：四念處內觀（毗婆舍那）

 禪修日期：２０１１年５月２７日～６月１４日

 報名方式：一律採通訊報名
（報名表可電話索取，或上網下載．網址：http://www.tt034.org.tw）
 報名日期：即日起至4月30日止（錄取人數50名）
錄取者將於5月15日寄發錄取通知單
 報名地點：南投縣名間鄉新民村員集路163號 靈山禪寺
 主辦單位：財團法人悲廣文教基金會
 協辦單位：靈山禪寺
 連絡電話：049-2734171 、 2734178
 傳真電話：049-2735163
 網　　址：http://www.tt034.org.tw

不受第二箭。身苦，心不苦！

多聞聖弟子，身觸生苦受，大苦逼迫，乃至奪命，
不起憂悲稱怨、啼哭號呼、心亂發狂。
當於爾時，唯生一受，所謂身受，不生心受。
譬如士夫被一毒箭，不被第二毒箭。

一般人習慣於被苦、樂受時耽溺黏著，甚至得意忘形，不思樂受無常，故貪執不捨，樂受滅時，悵然若失，甚至沮喪消沉；苦受生時，怨懟惱恨，甚至心生狂亂，不思苦受亦無常，故瞋執抗拒，苦上加苦。原以為可以藉由要樂不要苦而避苦趨樂，卻因此而隨苦、樂受浮沉流轉，永無超越、自在之時！

徹見每個覺受的集、滅、味、患、離，正是離繫解脫的關鍵。修行人深知苦、樂受皆無常，隨因緣變異而生滅，故時時正觀一切受的集、滅、味、患、離，不隨感受變異生滅而起貪、瞋、癡，於樂受無染，於苦受無染，於不苦不樂受亦無染，自證永離貪、瞋、癡，其心寂靜、自在、清涼。

所以，我們如果願意對自己的覺受多一份警覺，修習「於苦不傾動，於樂不染著」，則不只能在「情緒管理」上加分，尤其對於一些難治的長期病痛，也會有降低痛苦、增加療癒的可能性。


原始佛法中的「四念處」修法，在西方一些先進的醫療院所，已經發展成所謂的「正念療法」，作為輔助性的療程。對一些在藥物治療上不見進展的患者，產生明顯的助益。所以，平常修習、多修習「四念處」，絕對有助於身心的平衡與寂靜，也有助於免疫功能的自我修復。

（本文摘自 張碧華主編 《原始佛法生死書》）

Ps. 「於苦不傾動，於樂不染著」於我，並不容易，故以此篇提醒自己，也與大
家分享。願皆證永離貪、瞋、癡，內心寂靜、自在、清涼！