>[!quote] Suzuki Shunryū >Zen is “the art of seeing into the nature of one’s own being ... it points the way from bondage to freedom.” ## Overview Meditation has measurable effects on brain composition. It [increases](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1361002/) cortical thickness, [changes patterns](https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2022/1/niac013/6758320?login=false#418874162) of electrical activity in key neural networks, [affects brainwave amplitude](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5261734/), and [shrinks](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6302143/) the amygdala. Scientific investigation has informed new [[Consciousness|theories of mind]] by combining neuroscience, experimental observation, and traditional techniques, in an effort to understand both the health benefits of meditation and the mechanisms behind them. Much of this work is oriented around public mental health research and [scaling advanced states of consciousness](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23836358/meditation-mindfulness-enlightenment-science-contemplative-buddhism-spirituality). One scientist equates meditation with consciousness itself. >[!quote] Ruben Laukkonen [...] we realized that to understand meditation is to understand consciousness. A general theory of meditation stems from the [active inference theory of consciousness](https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/daf5n_v1) developed by Ruben Laukkonen and Shamil Chandaria. This theory, "the beautiful loop," contributes the insight that meditation deconstructs predictive processing. [Predictive processing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictive_coding) claims that we experience the world according to our anticipations rather than as it is. Our waking consciousness is constructed of layers of probability awareness based on our life experience. With these layers we create a "reality model," with which we infer "what might happen" based on previously formed beliefs, our [[Bayesian Reasoning#Prior Knowledge|priors]]. These include [[embodiment|embodied]] beliefs along with intellectual. ## Modes All contemplative traditions describe layers of depth or modes of awareness accessible through corresponding meditation practices. [[The Four Frames of Reference]], for instance, provide various dimensions for a practitioner to orient their concentration. The entry-level layer is [[focused attention]], in which the meditator brings awareness to the breath. Deeper modes modes examine our inherited concepts, their [[meaning]] and [[abhasa|appearances]], as well as the space in which they arise. #### Focused attention The most familiar mode of meditation, focused attention places awareness on an object, usually the breath. Focusing on [[the breath]] brings it to the forefront of awareness and thus diminishes the priority of everything else. This, in a sense, lowers the internal noise of the practitioner. With practice a mantra, an emotion, a physical sensation, a lit candle, or even a specific thought can replace the breath. These are all means of moderate the [[cognition|mind's]] tendency to jump from topic to topic. #### Open-monitoring Open-monitoring practices drop the object of awareness while maintaining the lower noise level within the meditator. Where focused attention might fixate on a thought, [[open monitoring]] fixates on the space *between* thoughts. This is the phase of the quieter inner monologue experienced by seasoned meditators. #### Non-duality At some point in a practice, each of the above modes will begin to compete with each other. The popular mindfulness adage "not too tight, not too loose" is useful here. It reminds the practitioner to seek a middle way between both modes of awareness, neither identifying with the thoughts or the space.[^2] This opens the door to non-duality, which shifts awareness to the [[the conscious electromagnetic information field|field of awareness]] itself. Non-dual meditation deconstructs the self/other boundary and binary concepts. This is the conscious baseline of all experience. It is the attainment of [[deep okayness]]. #### Cessation Cessation, nirodha-samāpatti, or “cessation of thought and feeling,” is the intentional switching off of consciousness through meditation. It has been [measured](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0079612322001984?via%3Dihub) in a laboratory setting. Conceptually, it is the attainment of [[Clear Knowing & Release]]. >Speculatively, cessation could thus reflect a final release of the expectation to be aware or alert.[^1] [^1]: Laukkonen, R. E., Sacchet, M. D., Barendregt, H., Devaney, K. J., Chowdhury, A., & Slagter, H. A. (2023). Cessations of consciousness in meditation: Advancing a scientific understanding of nirodha samāpatti. _Progress in Brain Research_, _280_, 61-87. Cessation isn't permanent, but attaining awareness of it allows us to observe the mind as it reconstructs itself prior by prior, and gives us some agency within the process. It could be considered analogous to reprogramming the brain's plausibility structure. In this framing, attention and emotional regulation are simply side effects of a larger process of cognitive deconstruction. ## Thoughts Meditation [deconstructs the predictive mind](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/392634/how-meditation-works-new-science-consciousness) through “precision weighting” of the various objects of meditation. In a [[Beginners Mind]], experience is raw material to which the brain assigns an [emotional valence](https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-good-memory-or-a-bad-one-one-brain-molecule-decides-20220907/), which is placed into a hierarchy based on the quality of that experience. Meditation progressively reduces the priority of those valences, allowing new information to reveal itself. At the same time, it also raises the priority of largely unconscious processes. [^2]: Johnson, M. E. (2012). Not Too Tight and Not Too Loose, Properly Tuning the Lute: Avoiding the Extremes of Indulgence in Sense Pleasure and Self Mortification in the Vinaya. _Sri Lanka International Journal of Buddhist Studies (SIJBS)_, _2_, 188-204. Much of the model above follows a computational paradigm, explaining brain function as analogous to the layers of simple rules that give rise to computational complexity. But it could also be applied to an ecology of mind, which provides a better representation of emotional resilience. Practiced long enough, meditation will produce [adverse experiences](https://www.cheetahhouse.org/) that do not fit programming metaphors or the rosy veneer of pop wellness. The [[The Grime general model|csr model]] can be applied here to account for how various layers of belief might be thought of as plants that fill in space based on ecological conditions. %%