Higher ground
Everyone assumes that heaven is high above the ground somewhere, while hell is down below. But why can’t heaven be below us, and hell high above? According to a new study, our brains seem to automatically link elevation with goodwill. In one experiment in a mall in mid-December 2009, researchers set up Salvation Army kettles in three locations: the top of an escalator, the bottom of an escalator, and away from any escalators. Shoppers contributed more often at the top of the escalator and least often at the bottom of the escalator. Likewise, in two experiments in an auditorium, people randomly assigned to sit on stage were more helpful and less malicious toward another person than people assigned to sit at floor level and especially more than people assigned to sit in the orchestra pit. People were also more cooperative after watching a video clip looking out the window of an airplane, compared with looking out the window of a car.

Sanna, L. et al., “Rising Up to Higher Virtues: Experiencing Elevated Physical Height Uplifts Prosocial Actions,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (forthcoming).

From the Boston Globe.

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The first week (Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 1) focused on the quality of calmness, which is where our more turbulent and distracting emotions have settled down, and the mind is increasingly clear of thought.

I recorded two parts of the second week, Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 2, in which we focused on giving rise to contentment in meditation, which includes both physical aspects (relaxation, energy) and mental aspects (contentment, which includes confidence, patience, lovingkindness, etc).

I also recorded two parts of the third week, which focus on how to develop concentration, which I define as “continuity of purposeful awareness. These two recordings, completely unedited, are below:

Cultivating Concentration, Part I.

Cultivating Concentration, Part II.

Related posts:

1. Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 2
2. Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 1
3. Give the teens in your life the gift of calmness

The first week (Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 1) focused on the quality of calmness, which is where our more turbulent and distracting emotions have settles down, and the mind is increasingly clear of thought. This doesn’t mean that the mind is “blank.” In fact when the mind is calm it’s full of an awareness of perception, feeling, and emotion.

I recorded two parts of the second week, where we focused on giving rise to contentment in meditation. These two recordings, completely unedited, are below:

Cultivating Contentment, Part I.

Cultivating Contentment, Part II.

Related posts:

1. Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 3
2. Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 1
3. Give the teens in your life the gift of calmness

My approach is to take the traditional “five dhyana factors,” which are usually enumerated pretty much as “what happens when your meditation practice really takes off), and turned them into a course in “how to cultivate dhyana.”

So over three weeks I’m introducing ways to help:

1. Calm the mind (so that we reduce the amount of thinking we do)
2. Develop contentment (so that the practice is enjoyable, even blissful)
3. Develop concentration (in the sense of sustained attention)

In the first week we looked at ways that we could calm the mind, with some guided meditations and an introductory talk. The audio is completely unedited…

You can listen online or download the file.

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1. Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 2
2. Calmness, Contentment, Concentration: Part 3
3. Give the teens in your life the gift of calmness

Anyway, there was an interesting article recently in the New York Times, called Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind, confirming the notion that daydreaming can be a creative act. Fortunately research is being done on the topic, and there are some interesting results:

During waking hours, people’s minds seem to wander about 30 percent of the time, according to estimates by psychologists who have interrupted people throughout the day to ask what they’re thinking. If you’re driving down a straight, empty highway, your mind might be wandering three-quarters of the time…

From one third to three quarters of our time being spent in mental wandering sounds about right. At first, meditation can seem more like “driving down a straight, empty highway,” so I wouldn’t be surprised if beginner’s mind’s wander the vast majority of the time when they first get started.

There’s one questionable assumption:

“People assume mind wandering is a bad thing, but if we couldn’t do it during a boring task, life would be horrible,” Dr. Smallwood says. “Imagine if you couldn’t escape mentally from a traffic jam.”

You’d be stuck contemplating the mass of idling cars, a mental exercise that is much less pleasant than dreaming about a beach and much less useful than mulling what to do once you get off the road.

Actually, there’s not just a choice between mind wandering and “contemplating the mass of idling cars,” but also the option to mindfully observe our present-moment experience, which can be very satisfying in itself. Or we can consciously do something like lovngkindness, which is neither mind-wandering nor simply observing what’s present. But I agree that mind-wandering can help us pass the time when things are dull.

The most interesting thing for me though is where we learn that “studies have found that people prone to mind wandering also score higher on tests of creativity.” We can mindfully allow the mind to wander, gently steering it away from useless thinking (e.g. thinking that leads to stress or depression), and catch the more creative thoughts, filing them for future exploration:

“For creativity you need your mind to wander [...] but you also need to be able to notice that you’re mind wandering and catch the idea when you have it. If Archimedes had come up with a solution in the bathtub but didn’t notice he’d had the idea, what good would it have done him?”

This dynamic is explored in more detail in an article I blogged about a few days back.

When you try to solve a problem, you begin by concentrating on obvious facts and familiar solutions, to see if the answer lies there. This is a mostly left-brain stage of attack. If the answer doesn’t come, the right and left hemispheres of the brain activate together. Neural networks on the right side scan remote memories that could be vaguely relevant. A wide range of distant information that is normally tuned out becomes available to the left hemisphere, which searches for unseen patterns, alternative meanings, and high-level abstractions.

Having glimpsed such a connection, the left brain must quickly lock in on it before it escapes. The attention system must radically reverse gears, going from defocused attention to extremely focused attention. In a flash, the brain pulls together these disparate shreds of thought and binds them into a new single idea that enters consciousness. This is the “aha!” moment of insight, often followed by a spark of pleasure as the brain recognizes the novelty of what it’s come up with.

Now the brain must evaluate the idea it just generated. Is it worth pursuing? Creativity requires constant shifting, blender pulses of both divergent thinking and convergent thinking, to combine new information with old and forgotten ideas. Highly creative people are very good at marshaling their brains into bilateral mode, and the more creative they are, the more they dual-activate.

At the moment I’m teaching teenagers how to use their brains more effectively. One thing I need to do is to find out how they can enhance their creativity. That’s something I’ll have to daydream about…

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A recent discussion on the mechanisms by which the Medicine Buddha mantra might actually promote health reminded me of an article I read a few years ago in New Scientist, comparing the effects of “spiritual meditation” and “secular meditation.” Here’s an extract:

College students who volunteered for the study were randomly assigned to one of three groups regardless of their spiritual beliefs. The 25 students in the spiritual meditation group were told to concentrate on a phrase such as “God is love” or “God is peace” during their meditation periods. Those in the secular meditation group used a phrase such as “I am happy” or “I am joyful” while the third group were simply told to relax.

Subjects were asked to practise their technique for 20 minutes each day for two weeks, at the beginning and end of which the researchers used psychological profiling to assess their mood. They also tested pain tolerance as measured by the amount of time the volunteers could keep their hands in water at 2 °C. Those practising spiritual meditation showed greater reductions in anxiety than the other two groups and were able to keep their hands in the cold water for nearly double the time – on average 92 seconds versus 49 for the relaxation group.

I can well imagine the validity of this result. We’re inherently social animals, and a large component of the social relations we have take place in the mind. To take a negative example, who hasn’t had a full-fledged argument with “another person” raging in their head? Although of course the “other person” is purely imagined, the argument produces anger and all its attendant physiological responses, right down to adrenalin surges and increased heartrate. Or who hasn’t had a sexual fantasy about another person?

In visualization meditation we imagine the presence of a loving figure who sends blessings to us. We establish a “relationship” with this figure, and communicate through verses of worship, and through mantras. The experience of being loved is experientially real — as real as the hurt or anger that arises when we imagine a spouse has been unfaithful.

After reading this article I found myself turning more to visualization, although not in the rather formal way I’d been taught. Instead I’d simply imagine that the Buddha was sitting with me as I meditated, and I’d from time to time repeat the phrase “Feel the love of the Buddha.” The experience was very affirming.

Going back to the article, it’s a shame they didn’t compare “spiritual meditation” with mindfulness or lovingkindness meditation, rather than with rather lame affirmations and vague instructions to relax. Unfortunately the experiment, as formulated, doesn’t tell us anything about the relative merits of the more common real-life meditation techniques. It’s suggestive, though, that “relational meditation” (to coin a phrase) may be, for many people, a very effective technique.

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This image from an EIZO medical imaging “pinup” calendar reminds me of an ancient Buddhist deconstructive technique that aims to remind us of impermanence and to lessen sexual craving.

Here’s a late example from Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara:

She … on embracing whom you experienced the highest bliss;
She is nothing but bones … why do you not willingly cuddle them and feel bliss?

This next one’s older. It’s by Rajadatta, who was a monk at the time of the Buddha. This is him describing how he became Enlightened:

I, a monk, gone to the charnel ground, saw a woman cast away, discarded there in the cemetery. Though some were disgusted, seeing her — dead, evil — lust appeared, as if I were blind to the oozings. In less time than it takes for rice to cook, I got out of that place. Mindful, alert, I sat down to one side. Then apt attention arose in me, the drawbacks appeared, disenchantment stood at an even keel: With that, my heart was released. See the Dhamma’s true rightness! The three knowledges have been attained; the Awakened One’s bidding, done.

It might strike you that visualizing someone of the opposite sex (I’m sure nuns did the same kind of deconstructive reflections) as a collection of bones is dehumanizing, but actually it’s the opposite. When we see someone primarily as an object for our gratification, we’re not really seeing them as a human being at all. When we bear in mind their mortality we’re able to step away from our grasping attitude and create a space in which compassion can develop.

The pin-up above is very clever. It takes a model in a classic erotic pose, but for me at least the photographic medium makes it impossible to find the woman arousing. I find myself longing to have sexual longing, and at the same time I find myself thinking the whole business of lust is rather ridiculous. Which is what Shantideva was trying to point out. Rajadatta was, I think, also baffled, and even frightened, by his sexual arousal at the sight of a corpse, which isn’t — in any real sense — a human being.

You can see the whole range of “pinups” here.

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Bodhipaksa is working on a book developed out of reflections on the 6 Element practice, and he’s allowed me to read 4 of the chapters so far. It’s an amazing book, I can’t wait till it comes out.

In the 6 Element Practice you contemplate how the elements of earth, water, air, fire (energy), space and consciousness are inside of us, outside of us, then you say, "they are not me, they are not mine."

It leads to a kind of spiritual death, and in the FWBO/TBMSG it is used as a run up to ordination, when you get a sadhana practice, a visualization of an archetypal Buddha, who has qualities you move towards, you become. I have not been asked to join the order, but I think about what sadhana I want to do when (hopefully) I’m asked to join. I have a connection with Avalokita, and others, and more recently with Amoghasiddhi.

But that’s in the system of meditation designed by Sangharakshita for the F\WBO. I think you can just do this meditation. I’ve spent time doing it after liking it on one retreat. I’ve had some profound experiences, and been brought up to the great fear.

So Bodhipaksa has gained some insights from the meditation and he’s done some back ground research into various aspects, and it’s really quite interesting. I find it quite amazing. I can’t wait till it comes out. It’s the kind of book that you read on a solitary retreat, it’s that awesome.

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Here are some practical tips to help you get mindful now.

• Meditate. Meditating is nothing more than focusing on the present moment. The easiest way to meditate is to simply focus on your breath—not because your breath has some magical quality, but because it’s always there with you. The challenge is to keep your attention on your breathing. Inevitably, your mind will wander and thoughts will arise—and that’s fine. When it happens, just let go of the thought and bring your attention back to the present by focusing once again on your breath.

• Use a reminder of the string-around-your-finger variety. Wear your watch upside-down, put a quarter in your shoe, or put a smudge on one of the lenses of your glasses. When you notice it, let that serve as a reminder for you to notice your surroundings, become aware of your senses and your bodily sensations, and bring your focus into the present. If you get to the point where you’re going entire days without noticing it, switch up the reminder.

• Practice slowing down time by attending to the subtleties of experience in the here and now. Take a minute and go get a handful of raisins. Now eat one—but don’t just pop it in your mouth. Instead, imagine you’ve never seen a raisin before. Look it over carefully. Consider its shape, weight, color, and texture. Rub the raisin gently across your lips, noticing how it feels. Now put the raisin in your mouth, and roll it around slowly with your tongue. Notice how it feels in your mouth. Take a small bite, noting the flavor. Next, chew the raisin slowly, focusing on its taste and texture. Then swallow, and follow its path down your throat as far as you can. You can have a few more—but remember to focus on what each one looks, tastes, and feels like on your lips, in your mouth, and down your throat.

• Make it new. When you’re performing music, giving a presentation, or even just recounting a favorite story, try to make it new in subtle ways, delivering it in a way you’ve never done before. Rather than performing it by rote, take a risk and try something different—use different words, add a pause, try to express a particular emotion to the audience. Not only will you enjoy it more yourself, but studies find that audiences prefer such performances too. Somehow mindfulness seems to leave an imprint on everything we do.

• Mind the gap. Whenever you find yourself waiting—for the checkout line to move, for the traffic light to change, for the Web page to load—get present. Instead of being impatient and wishing things would go faster, be grateful for the gift of a respite—for the 30 seconds or a minute or two minutes during which you have no obligations. Take the opportunity to mindfully breathe in, breathe out, and savor the moment.

• Focus on the soles of your feet. Here’s a good trick to return to mindfulness if you feel angry or aggressive. Shift all your attention to the soles of your feet. Move your toes slowly, feel the weave of your socks and the curve of your arch. Breathe naturally and focus on the soles of your feet until you feel calm. Practice this exercise until you can use it wherever you are and whenever you find yourself feeling verbally or physically aggressive.

• Focus on your senses. When you observe your surroundings without judging them good or bad, you naturally nudge your awareness into the present moment. Close your eyes and focus on your sense of scent and mentally list all the smells you’re aware of—the restaurant downstairs, the wet pavement outside, the perfume of a nearby co-worker. Next, list all the different sounds you can hear—the ventilation system, cars in the distance, the hum of your computer, typing, footsteps. Then open your eyes and list all the things you see—the rustling of the trees, the faces in the crowd, the wrinkles on your palm. Finally, list all the things you can sense that you appreciate—the way a beam of sunlight hits the brick building across the street, the welcome sight of a friend’s smile, the smell of cookies baking. Remember, you’re not looking for things to appreciate—you’re appreciating the things you sense. With luck, this exercise will put you in a state of relaxed attention that reduces anxiety and makes you feel more fully alive.

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The practice of metta (lovingkindness), uncovering the force of love that can uproot fear, anger, and guilt, begins with befriending ourselves. The foundation of metta practice is to know how to be our own friend. According to the Buddha,

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”

How few of us embrace ourselves in this way! With metta practice we uncover the possibility of truly respecting ourselves. We discover, as Walt Whitman put it,

“I am larger and better than I thought. I did not think I held so much goodness.”

~ Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness

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