A study by University of Queensland and University of California-Berkeley researchers suggests meditation can strongly affect attention and consciousness.
With the support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 76 monks participated in the study near or at their mountain retreats in India's Himalaya, Zanskar and Ladakhi mountain ranges.
The researchers wanted to gain insights into how visual perception is regulated within one's brain.
The researchers tested two types of meditation. One was a "compassion"-oriented meditation, described as a contemplation of suffering within the world combined with an emanation of loving kindness.
The other was "one-point" meditation, described as the maintained focus of attention on a single object or thought leading to a stability and clarity of mind.
The findings suggest processes particularly associated with one-point meditation, perhaps involving intense attentional focus and the ability to stabilize the mind, contribute to the ability of the monks and demonstrated individuals trained in meditation can considerably alter their perceptions.
The study is detailed in the latest issue of the scientific journal Current Biology.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
