DEPRESSION THE WAY OUT - Stress without Distress - notes on Hypnotism and Eastern Meditation

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PAHaworth
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DEPRESSION THE WAY OUT - Stress without Distress - notes on Hypnotism and Eastern Meditation

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Studies show that Christian meditation stimulates beta activity in the frontal lobe. This is what one would expect. After all, prayer from the biblical perspective is an extremely active process. Whether we are reflecting on God’s goodness, thanking Him for helping us in specific ways, seeking to know His will in a perplexing situation, or praying for individuals who have specific needs, Christian meditation and prayer create an active frontal lobe.
For clarity, the characteristics of Christian meditation are summarised as –
 Christian meditation and prayer provide a respite from stressful thoughts and feeling
 Reasoning powers of the brain must be active during the meditative process
 The beta brain wave in the frontal lobe predominates, which fosters active reasoning
 Our highest intellectual powers, including spiritual reasoning, reside in the frontal lobe.
Even though it can involve a high level of mental activity, Christian meditation and prayer are also very relaxing. A biofeedback monitor can be used to detect the relaxation of the body inherent in such meditation. Bio-feedback is simply a means of making any internal process of the human body externally visible by the use of monitoring devices attached to the skin.
One method of assessing tension is by measuring the skin’s electrical resistance When a person is emotionally tense, there tends to be a drop in this resistance. The skin more readily conducts an electric current that can be measured by an electric meter. The familiar lie detector test works on this principle.
Dr Nedley as part of a medical school class, carried a portable biofeedback monitor that took such a measurement as he went through his daily routine. He was impressed that it demonstrated the most relaxed state when he was actively praying to God.
Not every form of meditation, however, is characterised by beta activity and frontal lobe involvement. In sharp contrast to Christian meditation stand the meditative practices popularised in the eastern hemisphere, called Eastern meditation. It appears that its effectiveness results from a form of escapism. Many research studies have demonstrated an accentuation of what is called an alpha brain rhythm instead of the beta rhythm when an experienced subject engages in such Eastern-based practices as yoga or transcendental meditation.36
Alpha waves are brain waves of a lower frequency (8 to 13 cycles per second) than beta waves. Such waves indicate that a person has entered into a trance-like state where frontal lobe activity is weak. When the brain has an alpha rhythm, it cannot critically analyse incoming information. From the standpoint of both this alpha brain rhythm and the means to induce the meditative state, Eastern meditation is strikingly similar to hypnotism.
Hypnosis, by design, bypasses the frontal lobe as it helps the subject enter a trance-like state. Eastern religions use the principle of a solitary focus to induce a meditative state, similar to the technique employed by the hypnotist. As one author explains, mental focus for transcendental meditation can be achieved by focusing on a single word (called a mantra), a single shape, or a body part. Another ancient practice is to focus on the navel, the forehead, or some other body part. Just as the hypnotist requires this single-minded focus and an environment free from all outside diversions, so does the meditator.
The characteristics of Eastern medita¬tion are summarized as –
• Eastern meditation is in sharp contrast to Christian meditation
• An alpha brain rhythm is present instead of beta rhythm
• This signifies a trance-like state in which information bypasses the frontal lobe
• Like hypnotism, thoughts are repressed and reasoning is absent
• The meditator is open to mind control.
Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard researcher and physician, has presented what some have called a secular version of Eastern meditation. However, Benson uses the same elements as the Eastern meditator and the hypnotist - a quiet environment and a single-minded focus (in his case, a word or phrase of Hindu worship). Benson also mentions another essential element in this process - a passive attitude. In fact, he states that this is ‘perhaps the most important of the elements.’ All of these Eastern-style meditative relaxation techniques emphasize a passive attitude.
It is this passive attitude with a prominent alpha brain wave that illustrates one of the greatest problems with this meditative style. Although it may temporarily provide relief and relaxation by removing the mind’s focus on certain stressors, the practice does not appear able to help in subsequently dealing with stressors in a constructive way.
This stands in sharp contrast to the reflective meditation of the Christian. With biblical meditation and prayer, the emphasis is on an active reflection that helps focus the frontal lobe. Rather than striving for a passive state that represses thoughts, Christian meditation emphasises communion with God, thinking His thoughts, sensing His presence, and knowing His will. In addition to providing release from stress, this type of meditation provides an opportunity to get meaningful answers and solutions to problems.
There is further concern that the passive mental state cultivated by these meditative techniques may do more harm than good. It has long been known that Eastern meditation and secular relaxation training may have deleterious effects on the nervous system. A classic study found that, when compared with a control group, yoga produced higher levels of sympathetic activity with increased adrenaline output. Thus, yoga produced the same physical reactions as a sudden stressor. This was true for most measurements made on Eastern yoga practitioners.
In another study, subjects who received training in transcendental meditation displayed a higher cardiovascular stress response after learning this meditative practice.
We see that problems arise when escapist meditative practices are employed in place of constructive strategies to deal with stressors. Such a hypothesis is consistent with work cited by Dr. Larry Dossey. Research that studied stress hormones – before - immediately following - and two days after - surgeries yielded a surprising result. Immune-weakening stress hormones significantly increased only in those that had formal relaxation training. Those who apparently addressed their anxieties and fears without using escapism relaxation techniques did not show the rise in stress hormones.
A 3rd difficulty with Eastern methods relates to their potential danger when employed in a group setting. Remember that in Eastern-style meditation, alpha waves predominate and the reasoning powers of the frontal lobe are suppressed. In such an hypnotic-like state, an individual may record information and suggestions without interpretation and without frontal lobe evaluation. Thus, some wonder whether Eastern religious cults take advantage of adherents who enter a meditative state in a group setting and point out that the brain would be in a state where it would not critically analyse any information it received. The meditator would then be susceptible to mind control. These concerns appear to be well-founded and so meditation in a group setting should be avoided.

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