The Science of Consciousness

I’m a natural skeptic of anything that seems “group think”, but am also naturally drawn toward expanded knowledge and seeing our world through new thought provoking perspectives. Having gone through Transcendental Meditation training 2+ years ago, I am finally unable to resist the tug of science and knowledge offered through the deeper teachings with in the organization which offers TM. Up to this point, I figured…I’ve got the meditation practice I have been seeking (which is without a doubt TM), but I’m good seeking my own knowledge rabbit holes through teachings of Abraham Hicks, Marianne Williamson (yes the presidential candidate), Tolle, Northrup, Chopra, Dyer, Ruiz…my bookshelf is full of them. All full of the same essence found in the Bible, Quron, Bhagavad Gita, and Buddhist teachings.

But here’s the thing. The Knowledge is there but the science is not. And while the Veda’s (simply translates to “knowledge”) are still crossing into quantifiable science, it is quite staggering…and I’m just a teensy step in.

Dr. Nadar is an M.D., MIT researcher, Harvard Medical School fellow, and neuro-scientist, who teaches on the relationship between the mind and body, on consciousness with physiology. In this podcast, he briefly describes levels of consciousness….in my opinion relating most closely to the entertaining yet powerful teachings of Abraham Hicks (with her somewhat bizarre delivery)…and summarized beautifully in this 15 min Spotify podcast, Meeting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Meditation is the fastest growing health trend! Do you know why?

Meditation reduces stress, anxiety, blood pressure, and heart disease and increases energy, clarity, creativity and gray matter in the brain.

Meditation’s popularity increased “more than threefold” in the US over the past five years, according to a recent report from the CDC. While Yoga is still the most popular “complementary” health practice, meditation is identified as the fastest-growing trend, with 4.1% using meditation in 2012 and 14.2% in 2017.

I read something the other day that said meditation today is where yoga was 20 years ago. How amazing is that!! 20 years ago I had been on my mat a few times but it would be awhile before I found it regularly. Becoming more mainstream, acceptable, and accessible certainly had an impact on my yoga practice and hopefully we will continue to see incredible growth in meditative practices in the next decade!

Do you know why it resonates? What type of meditation do you do? What are some of your experiences? I would love to hear from those regular practitioners and perhaps do a full day workshop for the community? How amazing could it be if most of our neighbors, friends, FAMILY, could experience the truly remarkable and expansive results meditation brings.

Or how those of you who don’t get what the deal is. You sit and you fall asleep or you get restless and get up. You try guided apps, or sitting in a class, and it just doesn’t work for you. What are the things that come up? The mind is a fierce advocate of ours, determined to keep us on track and on top of all our our shit. Even some that we need to let go of (actually a lot of it). If this sound familiar, I hope you continue your journey within and consider learning more about the EASE meditation can and should be. You will find it. You found this! I am a cup of coffee or a phone call away. Let’s sit and talk about it, with out all the “stuff” that may come with meditation sometimes. The journey within is very much like the onion, or the snake skin (Angela Robinson!), doing what we can, one layer at a time.