Biotechnology rediscovered an ancient technique
But more interesting were the results of research conducted with Richie geshe he thought only one person came ... and a person actually very unconventional. Is it possible to discern the presence of the same type of changes in brain activity of ordinary people? To answer these questions, he and his colleagues decided to study what happened to people working in a biotechnology company, a sector which is under enormous competitive pressure to develop and market new productos.6
" Employees of these companies, "began Davidson are often very pressed for time and even in the best case, are under great stress. That is why, considering the possibility of carrying out an experiment that could also be useful to staff, request assistance from Jon Kabat-Zinn, University of Massachusetts.
"Jon, perhaps the most experienced Western teaching mindfulness meditation to a wide variety of people outside the religious sphere, was immediately agreed to collaborate with us and agreed to fly during ten consecutive weeks, from Massachusetts to Madison (Wisconsin) to be responsible for leading the training sessions.
"In July we asked people interested in the practice of meditation to register in the program. In September, before undertaking the meditation sessions, we conducted an EEG-registration and other biological variables to determine the normal functioning of the participants. After completing this evaluation, randomly assign participants to the meditation group, and others to a different group (which we call "control group waiting list") saying that in time we could not work with all and call them and to impart the same training. "
- "They did so because there was not enough space, or was a deliberate strategy? "Inquired the Dalai Lama.
"It was something deliberate," said Davidson because, in this way, we would have a neutral control group (consisting of members of the same company, being subject to the same stress and were also interested in meditation) that could serve to make necessary comparisons. By the time we conducted the initial assessment, we did not know who would be assigned to the meditation and the control group.
"Then, the meditation group received often impart regular training to Jon Kabat-Zinn, who is a two to three hours per week for eight weeks a full day of retiro.7 also obtained permission from the president of the company so that employees could attend meditation sessions, a comment that sparked the friendly smile of the Dalai Lama.
"Then put up a pretty little room in the company would use as a meditation room, and after the sixth week, we held a silent retreat for a day. All members of this group also received an invitation to practice daily for forty five minutes and, at the end of the day, scoring in a small form the time they had actually been practicing. Later we submitted these data, which Jon Kabat-Zinn received no training until the conclusion of a rigorous analysis. The training concluded in mid-November, and organize things to happen in the autumn months because, at the end, all participants, both members of the meditation group and the control group would be vaccinated against the flu. "
- And what was the meaning of all this? Asked the Dalai Lama.
-Taking blood samples, "said Davidson moments after the vaccine that would allow us to quantitatively assess the functioning of the immune system of subjects. Thus we could determine whether meditation had had an effect on the immune system.
I note, in this sense, the existence of an interesting anecdote that, I believe, has not yet been explained. Shortly before the Desert Storm campaign, the U.S. soldiers who went to the Persian Gulf were vaccinated against hepatitis A, and a large percentage of them seroconverted in response to the vaccine, ie, they received the vaccine, did not work. The explanation was given for this is that the stress involved the possibility of going to war interfered with the functioning of your immune system. There is also recent research showing that family members are responsible for caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease have a poor response to the vaccine gripe.8 All these data suggest that stress can have an impact very powerful measures of immunity.
Davidson knew that the high left prefrontal area activation predicts immune system response to the vaccine more positive, but wanted to take another step and also determine the effects of practice of mindfulness on the immune system.
"The experiment also aimed to determine whether meditation, the antidote to stress, have a beneficial effect on the immune system, a point that has never before been investigated. At the conclusion of the experiment, all participants-including those in the control group who had not received training in meditation were vaccinated and returned back to the lab to record EEG activity, which was repeated four months later. Finally, the control group received meditation training once completed all assessments.
"I tell them now four results and observation from this study. As expected, the first discovery was that the reports of the meditation group participants showed a clear decrease in anxiety. They also had less negative emotions and more positive emotions than the control group. That was something that, as suggested by some previous studies, we expected that to happen, so no surprise. The main focus of our study focused on changes in brain function.
"Statistical analysis of data from the first evaluation carried out between July September-before the subjects were assigned to their respective groups showed no evidence of any statistically significant difference in EEG data on the left frontal activation (associated, remember, positive emotions). But in the third evaluation, conducted four months after completing training, the group that had received training in meditation showed a significant increase in activation compared to the one shown left before undertaking training.
"We should also note that the greater the tilt to the left in the activity prefrontal, showed more positive emotions in daily life who had gone through meditation training. But the most curious, "said Davidson is that in the control group, things just seemed to move in the opposite direction because, as he said:
" "However, the control group got worse! And that perhaps it was because we had promised that, after undergoing training in meditation, I would spend a very elaborate test, and angry (-with good reason!) With us ... although it should be noted that also finally received the promised training.
"But the most interesting finding, and that surprised us, because never before had been discovered was that the meditation group showed significantly better immune response to influenza vaccine control group. This is a reverse effect caused by the stress that clearly demonstrates the positive effects of meditation on the effectiveness of the vaccine. Other research has shown the presence of a positive correlation between these values \u200b\u200band the lower probability of contracting influenza in the event that the subject is exposed to the virus. "
The Richie's previous research had shown that people that show a greater activation of left prefrontal lobe (associated, remember, positive emotions) also have a higher intensity of some parameters related to immune function. These findings led to Richie hypothesis is that the more positive is the willingness of the person, more and better the immune system's ability to respond to the flu vaccine. And the results showed that the group had gone through the training of mindfulness meditative had a greater response to influenza vaccine and, what is even more important, the greater the tilt to the left in the activity cerebral of a person, the more they have positive response to the vaccine.
The Dalai Lama is very interested in Richie's report on the effects of meditation on the immune system, because it supported its view that emotions like anger or stress are harmful to human life and mental serenity caring attitude are, however, very helpful. And we must also emphasize that all these conclusions are not derived from any religion, God or nirvana, but the results of scientific research. More arguments, as was mentioned earlier in the meeting, in favor of secular ethic.
Some data confusing
Richie said he was excited about these findings, but said it must be very cautious and considered as temporary, because only are based on a small number of people.9 Thus I wanted to repeat the experiment using MRI (rather than EEG) because in this way can penetrate deep in the brain and see directly what happens in the amygdala. After all, the EEG data reflect only the left frontal activity and only allow us to infer that mindfulness meditation decreases the activation of the amygdala, which the NMR meanwhile, he would confirm.
"I pointed out then," said Richie, focusing on a data set that were a bit confusing at the end of each day, we gave people a short questionnaire which should record the time they had practiced. And we believe that their answers were sincere, because there was even someone who told us that he never practiced outside of class. When we analyzed the possible relationship between changes (in the immune system and brain activity) and the time participants reported investing in practice, we found that there was absolutely no correlation. "
" Maybe"Dalai Lama then said they were better prepared and had no need to practice much.
"Then," continued Richie consider the possibility that those who were in the meditation group practices spontaneously in their everyday lives. Perhaps, when they were subjected to stress, paying attention to your breathing, or beginning to experience the emergence of bodily sensations, as they had been taught meditation classes. "
" The mindfulness meditation "agreed the Dalai Lama, supporting the hypothesis of Richie-can be well out in the midst of everyday activity.
But there is another possible explanation for the data of Davidson and, in the case of beginners, it may suffice to attend eight classes of meditation (of thirty to forty-five minutes) more than eight hours a day retirement to enjoy its benefits in mood, brain activity and immune function. One way or another, all members of the meditation group had gone through at least fourteen hours of practice. The oddest thing was that the extra day of practice time did not seem to result in an improvement of these benefits, or, in other words, there is no relationship linear and that tends to occur between increasing the dose of a particular medication and promptly in the patient's recovery.
should say that the results of the investigation into Richie resemble those that have been found in studies that have correlated exercise and heart disease among sedentary people. In this sense, people who have never done exercise appear to benefit greatly as they move from being sedentary (ie year zero) to make a couple or three hours of weekly exercise, but increased three hours does not seem to have a large impact . May suffice, then, with fourteen hours of meditation, the minimum amount of people attending Kabat-Zinn courses to reach the highest point highlighted by the research of Davidson.
"But whatever the explanation, we are very satisfied and even excited about the results. We hope to continue this collaboration and examine the lasting effect of some of the insights of Buddhism on the brain and body to make us happier and maybe even healthier. "
" Excellent! "- Said the Dalai Lama.
Research to understand the mental states
At this point the meeting, the table was literally covered with all that had been accumulated during the week: books, notebooks, a model of the brain removed, PDAs, cameras, audio and video, water bottles, etc..
- What kind of research then asked the Dalai Lama, opening our last debate, do you think we should pay more attention?
After a long pause, the Dalai Lama began to establish relations between the two presentations by Richie about the neurology of the destructive emotions:
"When Richie talked about the type of antidotes that could be used to offset the effect of negative emotions I felt the same term "antidote" and posed a critical appraisal. It might be possible to present things so simply examine what mental states oppose or counteract other, as when we speak of the relationship between the left prefrontal cortex and the amygdala.
Suppose the case of an emotional state off or indifferent.
One can not say that this state is negative or destructive, because it depends on the circumstances. Perhaps, if you feel very arrogant and self-esteem disproportionate, that state be positive turn to put on our site, but if, on the contrary, you have low self-esteem, or is mired in depression, there seems to be very useful. I do not think, therefore we can say that a particular state is positive or negative regardless of the context in which it occurs.
could also consider two different types of emotional states and trying to evaluate them in terms of setting and to determine which is the exact opposite. It would be something similar to what happens chemically between an acid and base. It is wrong to say that it is positive and one negative, but only that they are incompatible and cancel each other out.
Another very interesting, "said the Dalai Lama to our attention in a very different direction, is that when one is dreaming, sensory powers also seem lethargic, so he does not see or hear anything. But if, when you're dreaming, you yell, you hear and wake up, which seems to suggest that, although the level of ordinary sensory awareness is idle, stay active a subtle level of consciousness that allows you to wake up when someone screams. That would also be a very interesting area of \u200b\u200bstudy.
What is the part of the brain that is activated he asked then-when one is dreaming and what is the relationship that keeps all our earlier discussion of the part of the brain remains active in direct perceptual awareness as opposed to conceptual mental cognition?
-brain regions, "said Richie responsible for visual perception are also those that are activated during sleep. In addition, Alan Hobson and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School have found that two thirds of the predominant emotional content in dreams of ordinary people are related to anxiety. Recent studies have also indicated the presence of a special activation during sleep of the amygdala (which is associated with certain negative emotions) and a very limited activation of the frontal lobe. It seems, then, as if there is a dynamic equilibrium between the two regions and, with increasing activation of one of them decreases the other.
In other words, the uncontrolled activation of the amygdala, free from the restrictions imposed by the prefrontal area plays an important role in creating the emotional reality of the subconscious that is highlighted in our dream life.
- Do you think then asked the Dala Lama's experience, or the cultivation of love and compassion while one is dreaming may have an effect on activation in the frontal cortex?
"This seems like a very interesting question," said Richie. We recently published an article stating that people who have many positive emotions in waking life also display the same pattern of frontal activation and show more positive emotions during the dream-they are part, on balance, the third of people with no dreams of ansiedad.10
"So, then the Dalai Lama said," the fact of having a healthy mind is not only beneficial for the vigil, but also for sleep.
Thus, the Dalai Lama echoed a famous Buddhist tradition on the benefits of virtue, that the mental state that one has just before sleep also extends to dreams. Buddhist texts also consider positive dreams to those who benefit from the cultivation of positive emotions like love and compassion. "This is absolutely true," agreed Richie. A strong correlation exists between emotions and the emotions oníncas vigilic.
"It would be wrong" stated Owen conclude that a third of people have dreams positive. The fact is that, generally speaking, about two-thirds of dreams are negative. It is true that some people tend to have more positive emotions, but rarely find a person whose dreams are always positive. Another interesting feature on the emotional tone of dreams is that in them, emotions tend to decrease. Perhaps a neutral having a dream start, but then usually get worse and almost never improves. I remember on one occasion, I had a very interesting dream with actress Marilyn Monroe ...
sleep then woke up, "continued Owen, after the interpreters will explain the Dalai Lama who was speaking and, more than I wanted, I could never retake.
"According to teachers and hermits have in the past," said Matthieu, illustrating the opposite, many practitioners who develop the ability to become aware of dreams and modify at will. Maybe then, the dream start by being very dramatic and negative, but then suddenly concludes that cycle and follows a very positive way. In fact, this is one of the goals of yoga practice or lucid dream. "
anger stripped of illusion Alan Wallace took
then its role as coordinator and redirected philosophical debate to the central theme of our meeting, destructive emotions, and outlined as follows the difference between the views held about the science and Buddhism.
"The first day we note that, according to science, all emotions are okay, because they fulfill a function. Consequently, we should not get rid of anger or any so-called destructive emotions, but far enough to find appropriate and suitable circumstances for each of them. Buddhism, however, aims to eradicate all mental afflictions to never again arise. From this perspective, negative emotions are never appropriate, and some of them are a real disease. "
then proceeded to point out that, for the West, normalcy is a point of arrival while for Buddhism, there is a starting point.
"West sees positively normal, but, for Buddhism, it is just the springboard that allows access to the practice of Dharma. Only from there can recognize that we are sunk in the ocean of suffering, because our minds are dysfunctional, that is, because we cling to the mental afflictions.
"And this appears to be a big difference ... until we look more closely. The presentation of Paul Ekman highlight a couple of issues that seem very relevant, and that the presence of anger distorts our perception and cognition and this is followed by a refractory period during which one can not freely dispose of their intelligence . From a Buddhist perspective, anger is, by definition, a distressing mental state that derives from the illusion that distorts our cognition of reality. If there is anything like the anger that was not the result of illusion and did not distort our view of reality, do not call it anger.
"This opens the doors a very interesting research I've been talking to Richie and referred to the possibility of an emotion resembling anger, but that is not followed (or just if it is followed) a refractory period and no distortion (or very little distorted) perception and cognition.
"At higher levels of spiritual development," said Alan then, you may feel a strong energizing when she witnesses an injustice, but I think it was appropriate to dismiss it as a mental affliction. Perhaps, then, whether there is a constructive anger, could say that anger is constructive anger stripped of illusion. " "In themselves, the desire and aversion, then the Dalai Lama said, highlighting another important difference are not mental afflictions. I do not think we can say that if one dislikes the Brussels sprouts, suffering from mental distress ... unless it is combined with bonding. And the same could be said about the case of anger, because the simple fact that it appears a strong emotion does not necessarily imply the emergence of the mental distress of Wrath, by definition, is illusory.
A constructive anger
-In his commentary seems to notice me, "said Paul, who had a trying time to intervene, two different issues, both intricate and interesting. The first has to do with the fact whether, in the refractory period that accompanies an episode of anger or other emotions constructively, one is really distorted. And in this regard, I discuss a few things. If anger is constructive, the refractory period is shorter, and are better able to respond to changing circumstances that motivated it. On the other hand, I think the word is distorted in this case, ambiguous and might be appropriate to substitute another as focused, for example. It is true that anger causes a narrowing of attention, but also is accompanied by a focus on the event that triggered it and our reply.
But when the refractory period is longer, not only focused, but also sets up the distortion. This is what happens, I think, when one begins to consider other issues that were not present in the triggering situation. Consider, for example, if a phone call from my wife, who, incidentally, I do not think you really like to talk much about it in his absence-we spoke the other day. The fact that in this case, I remembered my relationship with my mother (who never could express my anger) means that not only was responding to my wife, my response was distorted and consequently the refractory period was longer.
emotions mobilize us and help us get up and, therefore, also enable us to respond to what happens next. Therefore I say that they are adaptive. When they are inappropriate, ie, when followed by a long refractory period, one just responding to things that are no longer present. I think these are all things that can help us because when one is overwhelmed by issues external to the situation, you can learn to get rid of them to respond to time without any distortion.
"I'd like Richie said then play a couple of issues related to the notion of distortion. As you saw in the images of the brain that I showed on Wednesday, the amygdala (very involved in negative emotions) and hippocampus (linked to certain aspects of memory) are adjacent to structures which are closely related neurons, a fact that in any way, it seems accidental.
When a given stimulus produces in us an emotion, it almost always triggers the emergence of related memories. I am sure that when Paul began to think of his mother, the circuits connecting the amygdala with the hippocampus were very active. Therefore, in most cases, emotion-tinged influence or we do not have to use the term "distortion." - Our perception.
"Throughout this week I had over and over again," Paul said with a tone of satisfaction, the same experience that I have read Darwin, and is that every time I think of something, Darwin had already thought of before. The same thing happened here, as they continually discover that many of my ideas are confirmed and refined. I must say that for me has been a real joy to participate in this meeting.
"I think Alan Richie said, taking up again the discussion has posed a major challenge to scientific research of emotion. I do not think science has really taken the idea that the negative emotions are healthy elements that must be preserved. Perhaps, for example, we speak of a compassionate kind of anger, but has some of the qualities of anger, is stripped of all illusion or distorted component.
"Scientists," continued Richie, while the Dalai Lama nodded have begun to deconstruct certain cognitive processes. Today we no longer think in terms of attention, memory or learning as a single process. There many different forms and subtypes of each. And while so far not been studied, I'm sure the same could be said about emotions like anger. The challenge, from my point of view, would begin to identify how these processes actually work in the brain. "
" I think that the same applies, Matthieu illustrated with an analogy, when we look at a wall from away. Distant view looks very smooth, but when we look more closely, we note the presence of many irregularities. Similarly, when we look more closely attachment found in it many different shades. Obviously, addiction-like desire and obsession is one of the most destructive mental factors and shading, but within it, as well as within the anger, you may notice the existence of tenderness and altruism.
I also believe that when we affirm the need to completely eradicate the anger, the rage should differentiate clearly emerging as an emotion of anger that accompanies a certain train of thought. This seems very important, because it can help to discriminate between someone very clever of someone who is not. The only thing we should rid it of the ordinary demonstration of the anger that, in most cases is expressed as hostility ... except when we have to act drastically to prevent someone plunges off a cliff. What we usually call anger is not simply an expression of animosity toward anyone.
We say that in the early stages of training a meditator, anger emerge as usual, but the difference lies in what happens next, because we may be enslaved by anger or leave in a second or third time without serious consequences. It is also clear that, in the state of Buddhahood, anger and no reason to continue existing. But this is the third step. We have also noted in passing, when talked about the "clarity" - which, at the time of its emergence, rage is not always fundamental and inherently negative. Similarly, if we let ourselves be carried away by desire, and goes on in nature, we discover that this is an aspect of this and in the case of confusion, to discover its importance to free ourselves from the concepts. Thus, emotions are not intrinsically positive or negative, all that matters is whether or not one is enslaved by them.
"If there were no memory of the anger," said Paul, we could not learn anything from the experience of anger, but there are times when there is a discrepancy between what we have learned and what we apply, which increases the length of the refractory period. But we must also learn how to act when we are angry. I believe that nature does not necessarily give us the impetus to attack others but to address the problems. But during the growth process and watching others, our experience may be just the opposite and lead us to believe that when we are angry, we should not deal with the obstacles, but face the person who has caused - Paul concluded, illustrating his comments with Owen taking the shoulders and shaking.
This is a facet learned from the wrath to automated finishing and we must unlearn. And to do so, we can use processes that we become more aware and help us unlearn responses, memories and perceptions automatic. These responses can be good or bad, but the Darwinian view that I tried to explain here is that all such an integral part of the excitement, but have been acquired through unfortunate experiences. Is the whole world? Some of us possess a temperament more inclined to learn something harmful and therefore must work harder. But I must tell you that today I am much more optimistic than last week and not think we should consider the temperament as something fixed and immutable.
Our time had finished and undertook a debriefing:
"I think this meeting has been very helpful, at least it was for the scientific wing of the dialogue and I hope it was for His Holiness.
Then, the Dalai Lama clasped his hands in recognition.
"We organized this meeting by way of a gift for you," I said and certainly has been very rewarding for us all. I know from personal experience that these meetings become, somehow, life and all participants will resume our daily activities from a slightly than grateful for having had the opportunity to discuss these issues with you. I would therefore like to express my deepest gratitude.
"I replied then the Dalai Lama would like to thank all of you. The task that we have been busy I find it very noble and very sincere.
He added that in the thirteen-year life of the talks organized by the Mind and Life Institute, had witnessed the learning and development that stems from a sincere search.
"But we must be very aware," he added as a warning that, when things are going well and achieve success, there are times when we are in danger of forgetting our motivations and goals. I think therefore it is important to remember the original ideal has mobilized us. Thus we have ensured the success in the future.
presentations by scientists and other participants demonstrate the rigor and precision of his work, which is certainly surprising. And I also feel that when every one of you was showing your presentation, we not only transmitting information but also a genuine human feeling, something I have in very high esteem. In this regard, I must say that the emotional climate that we shared I found really special. This is what I find most important. Do not know if we can continue to enjoy it, but in any case and no one can deny that here do we have enjoyed. Thank you very much for it to all of you.
So just weave the rich tapestry of intellectual dialogue and complex, often very stimulating. Its impact on the life and work of many participants would be equally rich.
EPILOGUE: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
Dharamsala's meeting was much more than a trip just fading into the memory and that only lasts a photo album tucked away in one of the shelves of memory, but Quite to the contrary, had the taste of a pilgrimage, one way or another, ended up transforming the lives of all participants. I have no doubt that the meeting with the Dalai Lama has made each of us a very different impression, but neither do I have that footprint can still be seen in our lives and in our work. And, like pilgrims, each of us went home having learned their own lessons.
Our return journey began with what was supposed to be a drive four hours to the airport in Jammu, where we had to take the plane back to New Delhi. The road was downhill, and we expected to go in many less time than the outward journey, but all cars, trucks and even rickshaws looked forward to our rickety bus traveling as best he could through the narrow, winding mountain road and took eight or nine long hours to take us to our destination .
When we finally arrived at the airport in Jammu, our high intellectual discourse on the destructive emotions suddenly stumbled against the more sober reality, since the city was under martial law and soldiers were everywhere. A few days earlier, terrorists had killed more than thirty Sikhs in a suburb of Srinagar, the nearby provincial capital of revolt of Kashmir. The murmur of terrorism, the mobilization of the destructive emotions in the service of psychological warfare, was in the air. Once at the airport we were surprised that the Indian soldiers carefully recorded our purses and we confiscated the batteries and any sharp object (we had no idea that this was an omen that in the not too distant future, would become in a routine to ensure the safety of air travel.)
Our group was still in a sort of protective bubble, and Paul Ekman perfectly summed up our feelings when he said that this experience would force him to revise some of scientific findings about the smile. In the past people had written that can not maintain a Duchenne smile, that is, a smile that makes operating even the muscles around the eye for long. But the truth is that throughout the week, had warned that he kept for long periods, such a smile and had a very clear sense of pleasure that accompanies it.
In fact, although he hates meetings and, as far as possible, avoid them (or leave as you can), Paul had been completely absorbed. As we said, five days had seemed one. And is that attention had changed their way of experiencing time, one of several hallmarks of the state of flux, a state of absorption very energizing. And the truth is that his comments summed up perfectly what everyone had felt.
Indeed, each of us felt personally moved by the encounter. But the most tangible impact of that week was clearly highlighted in the diversity of projects that emerged during the weeks and months, each of which reflected the new thinking and involved a review of our respective jobs.
reconsidered philosophy
One of the first signs of this impact occurred at two weeks of the match when Owen Flanagan delivered the John Findley Lecture at Boston University entitled "Destructive Emotions." Although, during the week of the meeting, had played the role of skeptic, in his lecture (and in a subsequent article with the same title published in the journal Consciousness and Emotiori) Owen introduced in Western philosophical discourse vision of Tibetan Buddhism around to the destructive emotions that the Dalai Lama and others had presented in Dharamsala.
At that conference, for example, Owen described the western common belief that emotions are biologically determined, and therefore we can not do much to change destructive emotions and contrasted with the assertion of Tibetan Buddhism that is possible to reduce the effect of destructive emotions. "Some Tibetan Buddhists said, in this sense, not only believe that is possible, but is also highly recommended, and to eradicate overcome emotions like anger and hostility to which Western philosophers considered natural and immutable." ;
Owen also questioned the idea that destructive emotions necessarily meet a vital and adaptive evolution. He noted that all the wisdom traditions-from the Bible to Confucius, the Koran, Buddhist texts and moral philosophers as Aristotle, Kant, Mill and urge us to try to exert some control over them. Owen was also echoed by Richard Davidson's comment that, despite the skepticism of pseudoscientific manifest to the subject of brain plasticity, "there is growing evidence that the human brain is very malleable and the possibility therefore, to exercise emotional self-control have encouraged both religious traditions.
As a final comment, Owen added that he liked the Tibetan Buddhism because it conveys the message that "we are all committed to the project to find ways to" transcend the genotype. " It is true that we are animals, but the fact remains that we are also some very special animals able to adapt and modify the legacy of Mother Nature. "
Owen proceeded to develop these themes in the book he had begun writing during our visit to Dharamsala, The Problem of the Soul, which aims to reconcile the humanistic truths with scientific truths, finding a way to discoveries for cognitive neuroscience clearly calls into question the image we have of ourselves and return the free will and the ability to even have something resembling a soul. In his view, the fact that Buddhism has settled on a phenomenological approach "makes it almost unique in a collision between the big ethical and metaphysical traditions that gives us a vision of human being that is perfectly suited to what he says the science with respect to how we see ourselves and our place in the world. "
- Owen Flanagan, "Destructive Emotions", Consciousness and Emotions, 1, 2 (2000): pp. 259-81.
- Owen Flanagan, The Problem of Soul: Two Visions of Mind and How to Reconcile Them (New York: Bassic Books, 2002).
A challenge for psychology
The extent to which cross two systems of thought holds great potential for interbreeding. That was precisely what happened in our encounter with Western and Buddhist views of psychology, to the extent that the fertility of this exchange of intellectual paradigms inspired another article, this time not philosophical but psychological.
To demonstrate the usefulness of such dialogues in generating hypotheses for research in the field of psychology, Alan Wallace and Matthieu Ricard (Buddhist perspective) and Paul Ekman and Richard Davidson (from the perspective of Western psychology) wrote an article entitled "Buddhist and Western Perspectives on Well-Being," which emphasizes the challenges of the model Buddhist beliefs underlying basic psychology about the nature of being.
Buddhism, for example, posits the possibility of sukha, "a deep sense of serenity and wholeness that emerges from the exceptionally healthy mind", a concept which has no equivalent in English, nor any direct equivalent in the field of psychology (although some psychologists have begun recently to postulate the need for "positive psychology" that can encompass both concepts.) But Buddhism is not to go ahead and also affirms the possibility of developing this capability and offers a set of methods to achieve the state of sukha. This training begins with a positive change in emotions drain-lines leading to a more permanent transformation of mood and, finally, advocates a change in temperament.
This notion provides the modern psychology of optimal functioning model that transcends his own. The article in question proposes to research psychologists advanced practitioners Buddhism for assessing changes in brain function in biological activity in the emotional experiences in cognitive skills and social interactions. And, as noted in Chapter 1, this program has already begun to be implemented.
The last book written by Paul Ekman, Gripped by Emotion, reflects the changes caused by the integration of Buddhist ideas and Western psychology that occurred during our meeting in Dharamsala. According to Paul, the conversation with the Dalai Lama helped crystallize some ideas or confirm your hunches. Among the ideas he had outlined his own, which were confirmed by thought Buddhist, for example, it should be noted different strategies to deal with destructive emotions, depending on whether the collision occurs before, during or after the episode in question. When I finally finished the manuscript, Paul had entwined many of these ideas throughout the book.
Richard Davidson, Paul Ekman, Alan Wallace and Matthieu Ricard, "Buddhist and Western Perspectives on Well-Being", manuscript in press.
Paul Ekman, Gripped by Emotion (New York: Times Books / Henry Holt, 2003).
research mind
The relationship between Buddhist thought and science of the mind has taken yet another way that expands the discussion up to include a circle of scientists even wider.
The day concluded the meeting in Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama accepted our invitation to visit Harvard University and attend a meeting organized by the Mind and Life Institute in the biobehavioral sciences researchers to explore the Buddhist scholars how their different views can enrich the scientific study of the mind. The essential question of this meeting will be: "Can modern science make use of the bi-millennial mind research carried out by Buddhism? ". This ninth meeting
Mind and Life - "Investigating the Mind" - has been organized by Richard Davidson, in collaboration with Anne Harrington, a co-director of the Mind / Brain / Behavior Initiative at Harvard (which co-sponsoring the event) and had also participated in the fifth Mind and Life meeting, which revolved take altruism and compassion. To this end they have organized a two-day meeting, with sessions for the following topics, attention and cognitive control of mental activity, emotions and mental imagery. In addition, 13 and 14 September 2003 have also scheduled the meeting "Investigating the Mind", which is the first event of the Mind and Life Institute partially open to the public, although the sessions will be directed primarily to researchers in the fields of psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience and medicine more particularly, to graduates looking for topics for his doctoral thesis.
Paradoxically, Western researchers so far have been devoted to the study of attention, consider that the mechanisms that enhance the care are a major focus of scientific interest, but have shown little interest in the Eastern methods for cultivation of care. According to Buddhism, however, attention training is the key to gain control of our inner life and the very foundation of spiritual practice. This meeting will focus on points, then, to recover lost time and explore the implications of the Buddhist notion of care for modern research.
emotions represent an unprecedented opportunity for science. Western psychology has long been assuming the inability to voluntarily manage our emotions, but the Buddhist training has many practical strategies for learning to control and channel better. Therefore, one the focus of the session will focus on emotions in the review of the assumptions that underpin this belief. Another issue revolves around the power of compassion, an emotion almost completely ignored by western science.
The session on the imagery, finally, presented to scientists Buddhist methods to systematically generate and control mental images, a system that is unparalleled in Western science and that could increase our ability to study images populate our inner world.
Dalai Lama addition, we also talk about the Buddhist tradition Alan Wallace, Thupten Jinpa, Matthieu Ricard, Georges Dreyfus (professor of religion at Williams College who achieved the degree of Geshe as a Tibetan Buddhist monk) and Ajahn Amaro (an Englishman who is now abbot of a Thai Buddhist monastery in California.)
the side of science, "Investigating the Mind" has aroused the interest of more than a dozen leading researchers. The main presenter Scientific Session of the attention will be Jonathan Cohen, a psychiatrist who directs the Center for Study of Brain, Mind and Behavior at Princeton University. The mental imagery session will keynote Stephen Kosslyn, Department Head of psychology at Harvard University, and psychologist in the department of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. And experts Richard Davidson and Paul Ekman were also among the speakers at the session aimed at emotion. Finally, the meeting concluded with a reflection on the meaning of dialogue by Jerome Kagan, a prominent developmental psychologist at Harvard University and the philosophical-usual comments at the meetings of the Mind and Life of Evan Thompson, a philosopher at York University in Toronto . Thompson has long been involved in the dialogue between Buddhism and Western science and philosophy, has been a close collaborator of Francisco Varela and beside him, co-author of The Embodied Mind, which explores the contribution of Buddhist thought to the scientific study of the mind.
Some of the participants have shown interest in expanding their own research, especially Stephen Kosslyri, whose research focuses on visual imagery. Kosslyn previous encounters with Matthieu Ricard have called your attention to the powerful effect of meditation for enhanced visualization capability that has begun to investigate advanced practitioners as Oser Lama.
- Mind and Life XI, "Investigating the Mind: Exchanges Between Buddhism and the Biobehavioral Sciences on How the Mind Works. " Boston, Massachusetts, 13 and September 14, 2003. Those interested in learning more about this meeting can visit the following website: www.InvestigatingTheMind.org.
Inspiration for teachers
Education is also one of the fields that has benefited from the philosophical and scientific study of mind of our dialogue. When he left Dharamsala, Mark Greenberg told us that the comments of the Dalai Lama had been very inspiring when thinking about new ways to help children manage their emotions positive and had been a genuine turning point. He said PATHS programs and contributed very positively to help children better manage negative emotions and reagents (helping to calm, increase your self-control and better manage the anxiety). Now, however, was well aware of the extraordinary importance of helping them also to cultivate a "positive thinking" (to enable them to develop attitudes such as optimism, tolerance and respect for others.) After all, this is the most direct way to contribute to the goal of better manage destructive emotions.
In this sense, Mark has started to design exercises for the development of emotions as compassion in children over six years and also is investigating the effects of lessons on topics such as respect, forgiveness and social responsibility in children of twelve and thirteen. Also included in their programs and implemented one of the specific suggestions of our meeting, that the younger children to praise someone who has been helpful to others with very positive results since, as teachers, this simple practice has mobilized a very positive mood of the classroom.
Another source of inspiration for Mark occurred during the conversation around teacher training and more in particular, the idea that teachers could spend five minutes in small groups each morning before class for greater awareness of their motivation for that day. Perhaps it might also reconsider what attracted the world of education, what their current expectations, they want to teach children that day, the children need to be loved and respected, how that could help control when they misbehave and the myriad possible ways to help people become more empathetic and respectful. Mark also wants to study the effect on teachers, and pupils from the simple fact start the day focused and positive.
Another source of inspiration for Mark Davidson came from the report about the neurological changes induced by meditation, something that made him wonder about the possible neurological effects of its program of social and emotional learning in the infant brain and decided to look neuroscientists to determine the effects of its programs. Currently, this research project has been designed and is awaiting a federal government grant to carry out.
But the most significant moment for Mark personally came during the tea break following his presentation of emotional learning programs, when the Dalai Lama invited him to return to Dharamsala to share your experience with Tibetan teachers. More specifically, the Dalai Lama asked Mark to share his ideas in some of the annual meetings of teacher education which brings together teachers of the Tibetan Children's Village in Dharamsala and other schools in the settlements of Tibetan refugees are scattered throughout the India. Despite initial difficulties in setting the date, Mark has now scheduled the return trip to Dharamsala.
- Those who are interested in PATHS can visit: www.colorado.edu / cspv / blueprints / model / ten_paths.htm
Madison Project
The five days spent in Dharamsala Richard Davidson had a powerful impact on its research agenda. In previous years, had developed a keen interest in neuroplasticity (ie, the ability of individuals to modify their emotions, behavior, and to the functioning of the brain), but the meeting strengthened his determination to continue with this agenda scientific and stretch to determine the potential benefits of meditation for cultivating positive emotions. In the past, his work had focused on how to decrease negative emotions, but now he was very interested to expand his research to the cultivation of positive emotions such as joy and compassion.
Richie was surprised that such important qualities as kindness and compassion were so alien to Western psychological vocabulary of emotions. Now felt that they should re-occupy the central role they deserve, not only for its relevance to psychological science, but also for its importance to the individual and society. Today we have a new generation of scientists, especially brain imaging techniques to assess the ongoing impact of the centuries-old methods for the cultivation of emotions positive and thus bring back to the scientific study of emotions in the field of psychology.
This, Richie invited to his laboratory in Madison advanced practitioners of meditation as Oser Lama, who had spent several years in intensive retreat, to assist him in brain imaging studies. As noted in Chapter 1, the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala had promised to visit his laboratory in Madison next spring, a promise that gave him the impetus and a deadline for initiating this research which, incidentally, is already beginning to give very promising results. At present, hopes the program will endure time required to locate and investigate with a few advanced practitioners, given the accuracy of MRI, why would not exceed six subjects and then publish the results of a first-line scientific journal.
We could say that the professional interests of Davidson full circle in his career and returns to its starting point. During his college years at Harvard, Richie was very interested in meditation, and his doctoral thesis focused on attention and meditation. Subsequently, however, the unreliability of personal data based primarily on self-reports and scarcity (according to standards current) physiological data forced him to postpone the inquiry because he knew that the practice is not aimed so much to bring about specific changes and to transform everyday life. Today, however, new brain imaging techniques allow you to have the scientific tools necessary to investigate the presence of much more lasting changes.
- Those who are interested in this particular visit the following websites: http://www.keckbainimaging.org and http://www.psyphz.psych.wisc.edu
cultivation
emotional balance Of the participants, perhaps Paul Ekman was the most impacted our meeting. During the long, busy, dusty bus ride back to Dharamsala led us to the airport in Jammu, Paul was reflecting on what the week would bring to their daily lives as a research scientist. Before coming I had heard, with his usual skepticism, many stories about these encounters caused changes in the participants. Now I had touched his turn.
Most surprising of all was that he had re-established contact with what had originally attracted to the field of psychology. As he said: "I have over forty years in the field of psychology emotion, and my original motivation was to contribute to reducing the suffering and cruelty of human beings. Now it seems like I've regained my roots and my motivation and I can put everything I learned at that time in the service of my original goals. This week, he added, has given me a new vision of what I can do at this stage of my life. "
Although I had been putting off their previous obligations, for the first time in nearly a decade was felt to be taking a new era marked by the adult training program we outlined at the meeting and we now refer to as the " , The cultivation of balance emotional. "
In Madison, Paul summarized the Dalai Lama all the discoveries that were made in this regard so far. "In Dharamsala I heard that you were interested in any research that might demonstrate the benefits of a secular version of meditation. Several of us have echoed this demand and have developed an approach that combines meditation practice with Western psychological techniques. The design of our research included a control group and using both psychological and biological measures soon after and one year after the experiment, to try to determine its usefulness. "
Paul was stunned and shocked when, after listening to the draft program, and the need to raise funds, the Dalai Lama promised fifty thousand dollars of copyright of his latest book, a further sign that the patent interest.
"Cultivating Emotional Balance" is based on the training program in mindfulness secularized Richie presented, as noted in Chapter 14, the last day of our meeting and picked up the research he conducted in collaboration with Jon Kabat-Zinn. But in addition to learning this type of meditation, participants may also benefit from other methods provided by Western psychology, as the positive resolution of conflicts (derived from their investigation on the relationship) or other instructions from research conducted by Paul around the recognition subtle facial expressions of emotion. The program will cover the various dimensions of emotional intelligence as self-consciousness and capacity to properly manage our emotions and emotions of others.
In developing the program "The cultivation of emotional equilibrium" involving many of the members the meeting of Dharamsala. Alan Wallace and Matthieu Ricard (as well as Jon Kabat-Zinn, who collaborated with Richard Davidson on the scientific evaluation of mindfulness meditation) have been very active in the design of the breeding program of care. Mark Greenberg, who was one of those who most enthusiastically embraced the idea of \u200b\u200ban emotional education program for adults, has acted as scientific coordinator and helped design the evaluation of its effectiveness. Jeanne Tsai, finally, to contribute their expertise in the study of emotion designing and developing the interpersonal awareness measures to be used in evaluating their effectiveness. At the time of this writing, the pilot phase has already been designed.
- Those who are interested in progress in this regard may please visit: www.MindandLife.org.
"The project exceptional people"
Another related project is rooted in a surprising and powerful private exchange that took place between Paul Ekman and the Dalai Lama during breaks for tea on Wednesday, when daughter Eve made him the Dalai Lama a personal question about relationships and where His Holiness said, rubbing his hands affectionately. As I said then This small meeting was "what some call a transformative mystical experience. I felt inexplicably flooded with a wonderful physical warmth that covered my body and my face for five and ten minutes and left me with a very palpable sense of kindness that had never experienced before and that lasted throughout the rest of the game. "
For Paul, this was a unique moment, a feeling of being embraced by the generosity, respect and compassion. And that moment came after the Dalai Lama told him what a good father he was. Somehow, that combination shook the very roots of vital motivation.
About a year later, Paul related that experience, and the changes it had experienced since a particularly traumatic incident of his life. "My father was a really violent. When, at eighteen, I told him he had decided not to study medicine (like him, who was a pediatrician), but psychology, told me not to tell him. Then I asked if I wanted to feel for him as he had felt for his father, who also, incidentally, had refused to support him in his studies. Then it hit me and knocked me down, when I got up, I said that this had been the Last time, because I was older and the next time I was assaulted, he returned the blow. After that episode I left home and I did not see him until ten years later.
"Since that episode, which happened about fifty years," said Paul will have had a fit of rage per week of which I have almost always done repenting. But since that day in Dharamsala when I had the private meeting with His Holiness things have changed a lot. In the four months I had no anger, and in all of last year, I felt no rage. All my life I've been struggling with anger, but now-a Dharamsala year after I get angry only very occasionally. I believe that physical contact with that type of kindness can have a truly transforming. "
is likely that psychology is the science that has the experience more vital importance of the scientist. In this sense, Paul says he wants me to investigate the transforming quality of human interaction with amazing people like the Dalai Lama. That decision was what led him to sketch "The project extraordinary people" who appeared in Madison and the Lama Oser (as described in Chapter 1) was the first experimental subject. But
the subjects of this research are very few and are being investigated in different ways in different laboratories. In Madison, Richard Davidson used brain imaging techniques to study long-lasting neurological effects of meditation practice, while Paul, the University of California, used methods for determining the ability to read emotions in facial expression in order to gauge the impact on emotional empathy and other skills.
- Those who are interested in the advances made in this direction can visit the website: www.paulekman.com
A two-way exchange
Experience the venerable Ajahn Maha Somchai Kusalacitto (by name by his full title) adds an interesting twist to these research projects, a reminder that the dialogue between Buddhism and science of the mind is a two-way street. In an interview with an American visitor, several months after meeting in Dharamsala, Kusalacitto noted the importance of research and scientific evaluation of the effects of spiritual attainments of advanced meditators.
One of the reasons that led him to be interested in this research was linked to the growing problems noted in Thailand and, more particularly, the social cost of emotions destructive manifested, for example, the increasing rate of child abuse. He said the research highlights the benefits of Buddhist practice, which should have greater influence in Eastern countries, where they sense the presence of a lack of real understanding of the value of Buddhist teachings and practices. "In this regard," said West can help promote interest and acceptance of Buddhist values. And the Thais tend to neglect what we already excited about anything that comes from the West. "
The curtain falls Just before the meeting
Madison received bad news from the physical state of Francisco Varela, as we learn that, despite the chemotherapy, his liver transplant had suffered a virulent recurrence. Medicine could not do anything for him, and doctors had thrown in the towel. Francisco was home with his family and not come to Madison, so Adam Engle, with whom he founded the Mind and Life Institute-arranged everything to allow me to participate by videoconference over the Internet. This was how Francisco eventually became a virtual presence by observing the meeting of Madison from the screen of your computer in your bedroom in Paris.
Alconclusion of the meeting all we express our most sincere wishes for recovery to a card that Anton Lutz, the colleague who replaced him at Madison-handed the next day at his home in Paris.
Francisco died at his home a few days later. The virtual meeting with the Dalai Lama Madison marked the final curtain fell on his life as a scientist.
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