Originally Posted by lokariototal
There seems to be a contradiction I find in meditation that I just can't explain....
On one hand, meditation is good because it frees us from our thoughts, which can cause anxiety, depression, etc. Thinking too much can lead us to having no sense of inner peace.
On the other hand, however, the capacity to think is the reason why we are where we are now. If it not were for thoughts, there wouldn't be any science, medicine, streets, houses, hospitals, etc.
So my question is.. How do you reconcile the ideas of Meditation and Thinking? Is thinking a good or a bad thing? What's the truth about the relationship between meditation and thought??????
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Hi there and welcome to the community
I believe the answer is simply not allowing your thoughts to run your life. Meditation allows you to be aware of thoughts and the sensations which accompany them. Many of these are unproductive thoughts that constantly use energy on worry/fear about the future, regret or sadness about the past and totally steal the gift of the present moment
The mind is wonderful in the respect that we don't have to consciously think about how to walk, dress ourselves etc. Once learned, these actions are automatic. Meditation allows us to let go of the myriad of self sabotaging thoughts that constantly fill the mind up, leaving no room for insightful and new ideas to move forward in life and therefore we become stuck in the rut of dwelling in the past or worrying /fearing the future.
Social phobia, stress and anxiety are rife in the fast paced modern lives most of us live and when stress occurs, heaps of toxic hormones are released within us which cause sleepless nights, an endless list of stress related illnesses, diseases and even premature aging and death.
Just take broken sleep for example. A typical human goes through a series of sleep cycles every night. A cycle begins the moment you close your eyes as the brain almost immediately begins to increase its production of Alpha waves. As you relax and become more drowsy Alpha waves increase and deepen, eventually becoming Theta. It's at this crossover point into Theta that you actually drift off to sleep and release consciousness of the outside world. As with Alpha waves, the Theta waves deepen and increase. At the lower levels of Theta is your REM sleep.
The deeper Theta levels are where your body starts to release greater amounts of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) for tissue repair and organs, such as the liver begin purging themselves of accumulated toxins. Gradually you drop down through Theta and enter Delta. Delta sleep is where you get your deepest, most recuperative rest. If you've ever had one of those nights in which you seem to dream all the time, and when you wake up you're still fatigued and don't feel at all rested, then you know what it feels like to go without the necessary amounts of Delta level sleep. Even though you were asleep as evidenced by the fact that you were dreaming, you wake up and feel as tired or more so than before you went to bed. So Delta sleep is critical to rejuvenation of both mind and body. Like the other levels, Delta gradually deepens down to around .5 to 1hz in frequency. You remain in Delta for a time and then begin the climb back up through the various brainwave levels in reverse order. When you get back up to the Alpha level again this completes one sleep cycle. It varies from individual to individual but a normal sleep cycle usually takes from 60 to 90 minutes to complete before it begins all over again. But each sleep cycle is different in one very critical way. The time you spend in the Delta wave level decreases with each successive cycle. Perhaps in your first cycle you spend 30 or 40 minutes in Delta out of a 90 minute cycle. On the next cycle you may only spend 20 to 25 minutes in Delta. And on the next cycle perhaps you spend only 15 minutes there. Each cycle remains the same length overall but your Delta time decreases. That means your first two or three sleep cycles each night are probably the most critical.
Meditation has helped many people including myself to once again enjoy restful sleep. If it only helped people sleep restfully, it would allow the body to rest, rejuvenate and repair itself as it was designed to do.
There are endless benefits to spending a little time each day meditating in the various beneficial states of Alpha, Theta and Delta.
I believe meditation allows you to unclutter the mind. Have you ever been in the house of someone who hoards everything and finds it really unfunctional because of all the useless stuff that takes all the space? If they allow the useless stuff to go, their home becomes a spacious, functional and happy place.
Meditation creates a healthy balance for the mind, body and spirit. When the mind is not over cluttered, there is room for insights to come to help you reach your goals and dreams.
I hope this is of help and wish you much peace and joy
The relationship between meditation and thought??
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