How Meditation Improves Mental Health

Meditation and Mental Health – Psychology

Half of the 1st world population is suffering from depressing thoughts, anxiety in the body/mind, fear or debilitating confusion at any given time!

For example, Social Anxiety Disorder SAD, alone affects 15 million adults, or 6.8% of the U.S. population, according to the National Institute of Mental Health USA.

What’s the Problem?

So, obviously something is radically WRONG! And, when something is radically wrong, we need something radically right, to counterbalance it!

We live in a world of systems. The systems of nature, the systems of social rule, the systems of education, the systems of employment etc.

Living systems are open self-organizing life forms that interact with their environment – a scientist

We are a living system that interacts with our environment, if our environment isn’t in optimal functioning order, we cannot be.

The systems we have built around psychology and well-being simply are not working. We haven’t understood nature. For us to understand nature, we have to understand ourselves.

But, I’m stepping ahead of myself, we need to unpack the systems somewhat first.

The old Mental Health system is redundant

Our old system of understanding psychology treats human beings as statistical data. Statistical data that aligns with the set social systems and rules we have created from ignorance of the way nature works.

We have come from the premise that we are mechanism only. A steady indoctrination that has arisen from the old science (which is actually new science as alchemy, the mother of science, understood it differently). This belief that human behavior can be explained by breaking it down into smaller component parts is a reductionist approach. And, quite frankly it’s failing.

They say that with each funeral of a scientist, a truth has the opportunity to arise

We also, know through modern sciences, like quantum mechanics and physics, that we are more than we can see. With a new understanding that 90 -95% of ‘reality’ is unseen. And, as science works on the premise that only what is measurable (seen) is real, we are clearly not seeing the whole picture.

What’s the brain got to do with it? whoooo…

We love how science has now admitted that the brain is plastic. Awesome. This gives us an opportunity for change; for transformation. If the brain is plastic, we can definitely create change in it, with it.

Also, small fractions of science are now also ‘seeing’ that maybe there is more to it than the brain itself. Some even ‘see’ that maybe consciousness doesn’t come from the brain. But, that maybe, just maybe the brain comes from consciousness.

That maybe the brain isn’t the whole mind. Whoa! Too much too soon. Well not really the Buddhists, Yogic and Hermetic traditions have been saying this for Eons.

“The mind, on the other hand, is not a physical object. It cannot be seen with the eyes, nor can it be photographed or repaired by surgery. The brain, therefore, is not the mind but simply part of the body. – Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

Whoaooo, what’s the mind but a second hand emotion?

This brings us into the subjective experience. Science cannot measure it! Simple. Simply? Where did my love go? Science can’t find it. The statistical data can’t fathom it.

When Johnny kissed Mary and ran off with Lucy, was Mary really supposed to just accept the loss, move on and kiss Peter instead. Was Mary really supposed to accept that her existence didn’t really matter. That John and Peter were just fishes in the sea, to be caught for fun, kissed and thrown back. Statistically maybe.

Statistically Mary ended up on antidepressants 10 years later after her psychologist said “That’s life, we have to learn to cope with it, it’s survival of the fittest baby, get on with it”

Meditation and the subjective experience

“No YOU don’t Mary! You can meditate and realise yourself, for yourself. Realise that your emotions were telling you that what was happening wasn’t OK with you. That you felt used, hurt, unsatisfied. And then, accept it. Fully, truly. Wholly.

So we have a changing brain that isn’t just mechanical, it involves our feelings. Oh no, we are doomed. We can’t possibly measure that. Get in the MRI. We need to ‘see’ what’s going on.

Oh wow. The brain’s lighting up when Mary feels Love. Let’s take her off the antidepressants. Slowly. Cautiously, she may relapse. The Love may not last. The brain is plastic remember. Mary’s mind may not cope.

Yes it will!

Mary has found a new mindfulness psychologist who did a thesis on “mindfulness and the effects of meditation on the whole system”. Who, also spent some time practicing Zen meditations and found out for herself, “hey, this really works”. She is now collecting statistical data on the ‘ever-changing brain function, meditation and the subjective experience”.

Mary has hit the jackpot. Her therapist understands her, relates to her, is compassionate and wants to help her. Amazing.

Be warned Meditation may also bring you closer to reality

Now, Mary begins to meditate with the help of her therapist. It’s a bit difficult at first, her mind is busy and she finds it hard to relax. Luckily Mary’s counselor gives here a few different methods and she finds one that works for her without too much effort.

A few weeks go by and she is established in a regular mind quieting practice. She begins to experience some peace, a lightness and less contraction in her body when the anxiety appears. However, some big feelings arise that Mary cannot cope with. Some old deeper beliefs and experiences that Mary had hidden deep within her subconscious.

Patiently and with compassion and being together in the pain Mary and her counselor go through these together. Mary feels vulnerable and scared. Her psychologist holds her in this, allows it. All the while guiding her to continue the meditating.

They bring some art into the practice, some writing /journaling. Mary finds that walking also helps, so she begins to go on a walk every second day or when she feels the anxiety arising.

Her therapist explains to her how the meditation is working on her system. Her body, her brain and her mind. This helps Mary to ‘see’ things clearly, to keep going, to trust in the process. She does feel an unusual calmness underneath it all, since meditating, so she knows something is happening.

One day, after a few months of this process and meditating daily, Mary is finding things difficult, so she goes for a walk. As she is walking in the park she notices a tree and is drawn to it. She walks up to the tree and lets herself gently fall to the ground, she has had enough.

Something happens to her. All her anxiety falls, spontaneously, suddenly. She sits there in awe, in awe at the tree and her experience. She feels the beauty of the tree, It’s like it can see her, she can see it for the first time. A feeling arises in her, a feeling of everything being OK. A feeling of peace of love. It lasts for about 5 minutes.

Mary’s entire system has collapsed, relaxed. Mary is experiencing a connection with herself, with life, with the beingness of nature.

Mary tells her counsellor in the next session and her counselor says “I have something for you to read, it’s called The Tao Te Ching, I think you will enjoy it”

Warm Blessings

Megan

Megan Jackson runs meditation and yoga retreats for women in Bali and Brisbane. She has been immersed in spiritual practice and study for 15 years, living it fully, with humility and compassion as her backbones for progress.