The Mind-Universal Consciousness Itself

Written by Mathew Naismith

The following comes from an interesting discussion I put up on the TED site asking do we think while meditating? The following is an interesting exchange between myself & an internet friend of mine.

Discussion:

What if I told you that we actually have a higher mental activity while in deep meditation not less!! I’ve actually been saying this for some time now & of course been laughed at by most other spiritually aware people in saying so but this is the second scientific study I have come across saying the something. It’s important we are fully aware of ourselves & stop burying our heads in the sand just because it goes against our old conscious beliefs.

 As quoted from the link below: Gamma brain waves (39-100 hz) are involved in higher mental activity and consolidation of information. An interesting study has shown that advanced Tibetan meditators produce higher levels of gamma than non-meditators both before and during meditation.

 The below link is an interesting read:

http://www.brainandhealth.com/Brain-Waves.html

Response:

Not sure our brains are the focal point Mathew? I tend to say heart/mind and that would explain the automatic singing even if that function of her brain was shut down.

 As there are two major types of meditation - analytical and calming - then I would expect a monks brain to be clearly focused on the subject he is analyzing during that session. But if he was accomplished in calm-abiding then the thoughts would be stilled, they can maintain this shut down for hours on end and are quite oblivious to the passing of time.

 Both quite different skills and the later takes many years and the right circumstances to achieve. Maybe your study was testing the former?

G’day Kate

The brain is different to the mind, when we pass on our brain stays behind however our mind is always a part of consciousness.  In this mind thought prevails however the reason we think we are no longer thinking is because of our way of thinking has changed nothing more nor less, the mind never stops thinking unlike the brain. How do ghosts, spirits & other non-physical entities interact especially in the physical realm if it wasn’t for thought?  

You must understand Kate this study endorses what meditators go through as no other range of thought that I know of to date reaches such levels except through meditation which means there is more activity going on within the mind therefore the brain than any other mode of thought or system of thought.

Let’s ask the question why? I said previous that the mind is different to the brain, the brain is only as good as the input of information however when we tap into the universal mind through meditation, which is consciousness itself, certain parts of the brain come to life & other parts shut off.  Like I said in my previous reply during one study on a person singing hymns, the part of the brain controlling speech shut down but they were still singing, we no longer needed the physical part of the brain for speech just like a ghost or spirit but became connected with the mind (consciousness) itself.  So why does this universal mind/consciousness make us feel like we are not thinking? It’s a much calmer way of thinking for the main reason we no longer have fixated attachments & worries to contend with, it’s as if a veil has been lifted off so of course we are going to think we are not thinking.

So the answer to the question; why is the frequency range higher when meditating than in any other thought mode is we are tapping into the universal mind (consciousness) which is vast so it’s obviously going to be more active which in turn makes the physical brain more active in certain parts of the brain.  

Love

Mathew

The following link will take you to this discussion on TED:

http://www.ted.com/conversations/19379/do_we_think_while_meditating.html?c=708364

There is also another interesting conversation on this topic on the following site as well:

http://indigosociety.com/showthread.php?71506-The-Mind-Universal-Consciousness-Itself