Enlightenment and the Brain

[zen_fox]

http://www.ajna.com/articles/spirituality_and_science/enlightenment_and_the_brain.php


"However, research shows that individual spiritual practice is far less effective than a given attunement with syntropic fields of life and unity. At the trackerschool of Tom Brown jr., the world's leading expert in wilderness skills, a neuroloscientist examined the effects of spending time in a pure wilderness. His findings where truly stunning: While it takes a novice usually well over a year of dedicated mediation practice to sustain an alpha state for a few hours, people who never meditated in their lives could sustain deep alpha for hours after only 48 hours in pure wilderness."


"Dr. Hans Selye, endocrinologist of the University of Montreal, showed that the brain of every normal person is in a chronic state of survival stress that would only be appropriate in an acutely life threatening situation. This stress response is something we have adapted to so deeply that we do not perceive it anymore as particularly stressfull."

Please read the whole of the article.

[zen_fox]

http://www.ajna.com/sitemap.php

for those interested in spirituality, consciousness, and meditation (should be everyone reading this) this website has a lot of information available. I made a link to the sitemap for you.

[jayelowell]

for some reason i find inspiration in each one of your post!

[jayelowell]

i guess its time to go camping!

[zen_fox]

I've often heard from people who've done meditation with an enlightened person that the experiences changes drastically because of their presence. I've never done any group meditation or thought it necessary to find a guru or an enlightened teacher but this article is helping to persuade me.

[tejas]

According to the article it was being in the wilderness that caused it.

Nice website.

[montag]

I found this quote very enlightening..

Sri Bhagavan says that the Collective Mind or Ancient Mind determines our individual state of Mind. In the 1950s, Dr. Hans Selye, endocrinologist of the University of Montreal, showed that the brain of every normal person is in a chronic state of survival stress that would only be appropriate in an acutely life threatening situation. This stress response is something we have adapted to so deeply that we do not perceive it anymore as particularly stressfull.

This is so true IMO and even more now than in the fifties, all by design..

For anyone interested in understanding this better please read this if you haven't already - Silent weapons for a quiet war (http://www.syti.net/GB/SilentWeaponsGB.html)..

Good article, thanks for posting ZF..

[samson]

Dopamine, the essential neurotransmitter for frontal lobe activity, is necessary for feelings of enchantment with life and bliss, often described to accompany mystical union with God. Lack of dopamine will increase the person's urge to maintain their self-will and not let it merge with a greater reality, because something is felt as yet incomplete on the individual level. It is like dying: A person whose life feels complete and fulfilled usually has a much easier time to die when the time comes.

It is interesting to note that our original diet was loaded with Omega-3 fatty acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Which apparently made for a much smoother operation of the brain by increasing dopamine levels and the number of dopamine receptors in the brain.

Interesting read, zen_fox. :)

[zen_fox]

I've often wondered about why so many people need to "take the edge off" with a drink of alcohol. They're not alcoholics and they're not nervous people. I know from my own experience that after having a drink or two there is often an anxiety dropped that I didn't even know I was holding on to.

I think humans separation from nature, our lack of nutrition, and exposure to violence on a massive scale have made nearly all of us very weary of each other.

When I was younger I thought of moving into the city and becoming a famous author. Now I just want to get as far away from there as possible, get closer to trees and bugs.

[ichi wa zen]

I've often heard from people who've done meditation with an enlightened person that the experiences changes drastically because of their presence. I've never done any group meditation or thought it necessary to find a guru or an enlightened teacher but this article is helping to persuade me.

Not having a teacher and doing this type of stuff by yourself is the greatest danger!

We need a teacher.

EDIT and ofcourse no New Age gurus or other crap. Just a true Zen teacher.

[zen_fox]

What is the danger?

[orbandsceptre27]

- premature kundalini activation.

- not being sufficiently grounded.

- habitually using improper techniques.

A good teacher/guru is worth his/her weight/wait in gold!

[zen_fox]

and here I thought I'd found something for free. Ok, ok, so who do I need to pay to do nothing?

[orbandsceptre27]

and here I thought I'd found something for free. Ok, ok, so who do I need to pay to do nothing?


You don`t need any body!

[zen_fox]

The problem being that the closest zen center is about 100 miles from where I am. I am in a rather remote part of the United States and not wealthy enough to make any regular fees to some teacher I might need. For now the internet will need to be my guru.

[orbandsceptre27]

The problem being that the closest zen center is about 100 miles from where I am. I am in a rather remote part of the United States and not wealthy enough to make any regular fees to some teacher I might need. For now the internet will need to be my guru.


One great zen book recommended to me was "The Complete Book of Zen" by Kiew Kit Wong - Have a copy of Wong`s, "The Art of Chi Kung."

http://www.wongkk.com/

I spent a weekend learning chi kung from this guy about four years ago and I can tell you it was worth every penny. He is a Shaolin Grandmaster of Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Qui Gong (Chi Kung) and was selected as "Chi Kung Master of the Year" by his peers (back in 1997 I think it was). He also has many good instructors around the world working under the title of "The Shaolinwahnam Institute" (Wah and Nam being the two masters he apprenticed under).

Any of Eckhart Tolles books - "The Power of Now/Stillness Speaks/A New Earth" are great pointers to developing presence/living in the now/zen (whatever you`d like to call it). Also Anthony de Mellos "Awareness" I found very helpful.

Some of the most insightful posts I`ve read on this site regarding conscious awareness have been written by a guy with the i.d Sevenworlds. From reading his posts you will see he has transcended the ego to a large degree.

Hope this is of some help.

[ichi wa zen]

What is the danger?

To think you have attained some sort of thing called enlightenment.