Given the likelihood that some of these trumpeted findings are not true, what should an interested newcomer to contemplative practice do? Here is where an open-minded form of curiosity about ones own experience could be helpful as one embarks on a practice, asking oneself questions like: what does this contemplative practice really feel like as I do it? What do I feel in my body when I practice? What do I feel later in the day? What does it feel like when I practice two days in a row? By starting to ask these types of questions and then listening deeply to the responses that follow, you may be able to develop your own gut sense. Ultimately, it may be this development of gut sense (which several early stage brain studies focusing on the insular cortex suggest may be facilitated by mindfulness practice (!)) that will help us as we inevitably, each one of us, have to face situations where a medical therapy or behavioral practice is offered in the context of real scientific uncertainty. Certainly our current knowledge of the brain, which is in its infancy, fits this description. With the science changing underneath our feet, and scientific methods in flux, it is difficult to precisely know the significance of any single study of meditation and the brain. Our own experiences as contemplative practitioners, on the other hand, will travel with us wherever we go. ~ Catherine Kerr See also: Dr. Kerrs CV https://vivo.brown.edu/display/ck5 Mindfulness Starts With the Body: A View from the Brain (TEDxCollegeHill) youtu.be/AGnGRgyLwMs The Mind and Life Institute mindandlife.org
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 21:52:40 +0000
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