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I HAVE SPENT more than 20 years studying
various forms of meditation. Sometimes I
studied from books, but mostly I studied
directly with reputable teachers. I
recited mantras, I practiced breathing
techniques, I paid attention to my
breathing, and I observed the thoughts
in my mind. I practiced yoga asanas. I
stood on my head! I practiced meditating
once a day, twice a day, and three times
a day. I repeated the gyatri mantra
125,000 times in 30 days (at least I
think so, I lost count so many times,
I’m not sure!). I meditated early, I
meditated late, and I meditated in the
middle of the day. I went to intensive
retreats. I stayed up with the sacred
fire all night (I fell asleep! Luckily,
I was sitting with a more devoted
student who kept watch while I was
snoring). I gazed at candles, I listened
to tones, and I practiced bhakti yoga,
karma yoga, jnana yoga (not too much of
this, my left brain was not working well
in those days!), and hatha yoga.
I even lived in a yoga ashram for more
than a year. Up at five in the morning
every day for an hour of hatha yoga and
an hour of meditation and breathing
techniques. We also did breathing
exercises and meditation before lunch,
and then another hour or more of
meditation and breathing before bed. I
did jala neti, sutra neti, dhoti, and
lots of other cleansing and purifying
exercises. All this was combined with a
large dose of selfless service (or at
least as selfless is I was able to
manage at the time), as in the
proverbial carrying of water and cutting
of wood (although we had running water
and gas heat, so we did dishes and
cleaned toilets instead).
All this was valuable experience, I
learned a lot and the practices probably
set the stage for later developments.
However, as far as meditating was
concerned, I don't think I got very far.
Oh, I could sit for an hour without
moving too much. However, my mind was
wandering all over the place, my legs
hurt, and I would often fall asleep. I
had no clue about whether I was close to
meditation or in meditation or on the
other side of the planet from
meditation. There were no guideposts! My
teachers would tell me "keep practicing
-- you’ll get it sooner or later" or
"the harder you try to get it, the less
likely you will be to find it." Of
course "it" wasn't "something to be
found" anyway according to all the
philosophy I was learning at the time
(probably true information, but
frustrating nonetheless).
I gave up all that meditating for a
while. I was discouraged. I had worked
hard. I had believed that meditation was
good for what ailed me, that it was good
for the soul and would help me find true
happiness, contentment, and
enlightenment. However, I didn’t know if
I was close or a million miles away. My
teachers were not forthcoming with an
analysis of my meditation practice. What
I usually heard was "keep practicing,
when you are ready you will be initiated
into a higher practice. You must prepare
yourself first." After 20 plus years, I
was ready to move on.
Discovering Brainwave Biofeedback
Several years later I discovered
brainwave biofeedback. I had been doing
biofeedback as my profession since 1974
but had not done much with brainwave
biofeedback (neurofeedback).
Neurofeedback was unique in its ability
to identify states of consciousness and
then give that information back to me in
a form I could use. What I used it for
was to refine my ability to reach
specific, identifiable, desirable states
of awareness. I could sit and close my
eyes and listen to a variety of tones
that told me where I was along the
spectrum of consciousness. Was I moving
closer to a meditative state? If I was,
I heard a lower tone. If I moved farther
away from a meditative state, then I
heard a higher tone. If I was falling
asleep, the tones stopped altogether,
creating just enough of a change to help
me move back up out of sleep, but not so
much that it took me out of meditation.
Since I have been practicing meditation
using neurofeedback equipment, I have a
much better sense of how to let myself
reach deeply meditative states of
consciousness. I have found these states
to be intrinsically healing. I can also
bring healing imagery with me into these
states, where I am more receptive. These
healing states also facilitate access to
my own spontaneous inner healing
imagery. I sometimes experience
intuitive leaps and I often have a
better perspective on my life, my
relationships, and my work when I have
regular access to these states.
How exciting it has been for me to
finally experience some of the wonderful
things that were promised when I began
to practice meditation! Of course, when
I meditated in the past, I did have some
sessions where I felt I was in a
peaceful state. I was relaxed, my mind
was calm, but it only lasted for a few
moments. With neurofeedback technology,
I can remain in this meditative state
for a much longer period. Neurofeedback
doesn’t "put me there;" it just lets me
know when I’m closer or farther away.
Certainly, I move in and out of that
state, but I am more aware of where I am
in the process.
Many teachers of meditation would like
us to believe that this is a complex
process and in some ways, it is. The
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali talk
about "stilling the modifications of the
mind" and that certainly takes time and
practice. The difference is that this
technology makes the practice
significantly more effective. Studies
done by several researchers have shown
that six months to a year of practice
with neurofeedback technology results in
the same control of brainwave states
that 20-year meditators exhibit (see
The High Performance Mind: Mastering
Brainwaves for Insight, Healing, and
Creativity by Anna Wise).
Now, it is highly probable that my early
practice with meditation was a good
foundation for my later refinement of
that practice with neurofeedback
technology. However, why not start right
away with neurofeedback technology, to
make the time spent much more
productive?
Some might say that long years of
practice builds character and prepares
the student for the changes that will
take place in the mind, body, and
personality. Maybe that is true.
However, this is the dawning of a new
millennium and maybe we are at a point
where we are ready for a faster and more
effective way to access these
meditative, healing states of
consciousness. Things happen for a
reason.
We are given gifts to use if we are able
to accept them. In the past, the luxury
of pursuing the spiritual path was the
privilege of a selected few. This was
mostly because few could or would
persist with the training. Wouldn't it
be nice if everyone had access to these
healing states without having to spend a
lifetime of intensive practice to learn
them?
There are other neurotechnologies that
complement neurofeedback. Audiovisual
entrainment is one. Various audio tapes
that use a variety of techniques to
induce an altered state of consciousness
and certain types of auditory and visual
training can also have beneficial
effects. This is not to say that all of
this comes easily. Much of what we have
to struggle with in any spiritual
pursuit is our own fear of letting go.
This fear also gets in the way when
using neurotechnology. With
neurotechnology, however, we can more
easily identify the blocks and learn to
move beyond them.
Copyright 1999 John S. Anderson. This
article appeared earlier in Twin
Cities Wellness (April 1999).
Reprinted by permission.
John S. Anderson, M.A., L.A.D.C.,
B.C.I.A., is the director of the
Minnesota Neurotherapy Institute (MNI)
in St. Louis Park. He works with people
confronting a wide variety of personal
and professional issues including
depression, anxiety, sleep and learning
disorders, heart and blood pressure
problems, attention problems, and more.
His email address is
jsander@fishnet.com. |
