Your mind is like the ocean. A brief introduction to transcendental meditation.
Metaphorically, Bob Roth compares the mind to the ocean. The nature of the ocean can seem turbulent on the surface, with crashing waves everywhere, but as you move below the surface, you will find stillness for miles and miles until you hit the ocean floor.
The mind is similar, while you may have a lot racing through your head right now, there is a deep stillness within you that is readily available should you simply set up the conditions so that your attention can be drawn inward. Bob has helped hundreds of thousands to find this stillness through transcendental meditation.
This is definitely one of my favorite conversations I’ve ever had on the podcast. You can listen to the entire episode here.
Bob Roth is one of the most respected meditation teachers on the planet, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation and quite simply one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met.
He’s also helped me realize that doing “nothing” was truly one of the best things I could do for my creativity, peace of mind and overall happiness.
On this episode, he guides us through a science backed introduction to transcendental meditation.
I loved how beautifully Bob broke down the difference between the three basic types of meditation.
3 Basic types of meditation
- Focused Attention: Begins with the assumption that the mind is constantly in motion (monkey mind) and thoughts are the disrupter of calm. By stopping the thoughts and you’ll create calm in your mind. Studies show that the mind enters a cycle of gamma brain waves during Focused Attention meditation, a high intensity brain pattern that illustrates how engaged the brain is involved while calming the mind.
- Open Monitoring: the approach of being mindful and recognizing thoughts as they appear in the mind. This technique focuses on being present in your thoughts and feelings. It qualifies that the types of thoughts you have can disrupt calm (when they’re about something in the past or future and not focused on the present moment). This type of dispassionate observation, observing your thoughts, feelings and breath without judgement can create theta brain waves, common when someone is thinking deeply about a single idea.
Both of the above types of meditation are considered cognitive approaches. Pertaining to your thoughts, moods and behaviors.
- Self Transcending: includes transcendental meditation, recognizes that there is a vertical dimension to the mind. We think deeply, we feel deeply, our mind is not just what’s at the surface of our thoughts. Transcendental meditation hypothesizes there’s a vertical dimension of the mind that’s far deeper than intuition or the subconscious, A place where the mind is already perfectly settled and unbounded.
3 scientific truths about how meditation affects the body
- According to a study conducted by Harvard Medical School, during Transcendental Meditation the body enters a state of rest twice as deep as during REM sleep (however, it cannot replace sleep). This is measured through a 30 to 40% reduction of cortisol during Transcendental Meditation, there is no drug or exercise known to reduce cortisol as effectively as transcendental meditation.
- Rebooting the Amygdala: The amygdala (the part of our brain that controls immediately reactions like ‘fight or flight’) becomes hyper aroused with PTSD, in the past we saw this mostly in survivors of war or soldiers. Now we’re seeing the symptoms of PTSD appearing in everyday people due to the constant stress and barrage of modern life. This fuels depression and substance abuse. Transcendental Meditation has been shown to “reboot” the amygdala, allowing your mind to return to a neutral space rather than being on constant edge.
- Transcendental Meditation alerts and wakes up up your prefrontal cortex (the part of our brain that handles sense of self, planning for the future, creative thinking) and helps activate the “imagination network.” Previously, scientists considered the non-focused or resting brain state as unimportant. New studies on the default resting state of the mind have revealed this is when our brain is capable of putting together deep insights and creative ideas, thus re-dubbing this resting state of mind as the “imagination network.”
If you want to learn more, check out the full episode and show notes for details on how you can connect with Bob and The David Lynch Foundation.
