I found this week’s topic
fascinating. It is crazy to think about how much the brain does for us
everyday, and yet there is still so much we don’t know about it. I think
mindfulness and meditation is extremely intriguing because you can actively transform
your mind. Meditation allows you to control your own mind better; because it is
one of the few things in life you actually have full control of.
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| An image of mindfulness -- representing being focused on the present as well as the effects you have on others around you. |
At UCLA they have mindfulness
meditation groups and free online recordings of meditation talks for anyone to
listen to. Also, the Dalai Lama himself came to UCLA to give a talk about
mindfulness and meditation, so just another reason why UCLA is pretty cool and
go bruins. The Buddhist religion involves a lot of meditation. It evolved from
the Buddha himself (Siddhartha Gotama) becoming enlightened from meditation.
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| the 14th Dalai Lama |
Mindfulness can also help with other
aspects of one’s life. It can help you to build and develop a bigger brain,
cultivate positive emotions, control emotions in general and be more stable,
focus better, reduce stress levels and bolster your immune system. Research was
done by UCLA using MRIs to follow the growth of the brain by those who mediate.
Mindfulness, meditation and Buddhism
all have interested me before this topic came up. I have always been fascinated
with Buddhism and one of my life goals is to travel to Nepal. The whole culture
surrounding Buddhism is fascinating. Mindfulness also helped me recover from a
sever concussion and since then I have been more aware with the ways we can
control our brains and benefits of mindfulness. I think it is really an art to perfect mindfulness and meditation and something you get better at with practice.
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| Buddhist Monks |
Works Cited
The Buddhist
Centre. "What Is Meditation? | The Buddhist Centre." What Is Meditation?
| The Buddhist Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.
Lin, Judy.
"Neuroscientist Helps Pave Way for Dalai Lama's Visit." Neuroscientist
Helps Pave Way for Dalai Lama's Visit. N.p., 12 Feb. 2011. Web. 17 May
2015.
UCLA Health.
"UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center." UCLA Mindful Awareness Research
Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.
Vesna, Victoria.
"Neuroscience and Art." Neuroscience and Art. UCLA, Los Angeles. 17
May 2015. Lecture.
Wheeler, Mark. "How to Build a Bigger Brain." How
to Build a Bigger Brain. N.p., 12 May 2009. Web. 17 May 2015.
I was surprised to know that meditation has not just an emotional effect but it actually helps brain grow. However, it makes sense because brain is part of our body and we often say that our body, especially children' body, grow bigger while we sleep, which means that the growing process needs rest and stress-free environment. Also, I think it is great that you know how to control your emotions and cultivate positive emotions by meditating. We often think that it is our brain that controls our emotion but we can actually work together with our brain to control our emotion.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog post for this week, as I thought it was both interesting and thought provoking. I never really thought of how meditation can actually have scientific benefits to ones brain, and I love how you are able to relate your passion for this art to neuroscience. Also, I appreciate how you included different ways for others to get involved with this important practice.
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