It starts early. The leaf blowers compete with the garbage trucks for morning's opening noisemaker. Wild herds of 16-wheelers soon join the workmen's jackhammers and nail guns. Barking dogs, honking horns, sirens, accidental alarms blare in odd concert with dueling music from open car windows, forming the sound backdrop of life in the city.

We take noise for granted. The hot gift this holiday season was the iPod, a tiny music box that carries thousands of songs, guaranteeing us zero risk of ever enduring silence.

Eighty -seven percent of Americans report watching TV before going to bed, which sleep researchers say contributes to insomnia. When people doze off to the TV, sleep patterns are actually interrupted because the brain still processes the dialog and drama, even if we aren't listening.

Sound is addictive. And, like any addiction or habit, the more continuous the exposure, the greater the unease when it is withdrawn, even if we feel better without it. We now prefer the jarring stimulation of noise to the calm and tranquility of quiet.

Say Something. Please

People often feel uncomfortable with silence. As a nation, we can tolerate “a moment” of silence to honor the dead, but there's a collective sigh of relief when it's time to talk.

Despite the loudness of our lives, the brain and body need silence. Our national parks are overflowing with folks who need respite from human-created noise. But most people can't get away to the wilderness on a frequent basis. It is possible, though, to quiet the mind daily and give the brain and body the internal stillness necessary for physical and psychological health.

Smile and Say ‘Om’

The antidote for the noisiness of our contemporary lives is a practice that dates back thousands of years—meditation. The word conjures up images of Asian monks clad in saffron robes sitting in caves high in the Himalayas. But, meditation is becoming as common to Americans as a gym workout.

Notes Eugene Taylor, Ph.D., author of The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation, “Secretaries are doing it as part of their daily noon yoga classes. Preadolescent teenagers dropped off at the YMCA by their mothers on a Saturday morning are learning it as part of their karate training. Truck drivers and housewives in the Stress Reduction Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center are practicing a combination of Hindu yoga and Buddhist insight meditation to control hypertension. Star athletes prepare themselves for a demanding basketball game with centering techniques they learned in Zen.”

The idea of meditating daily may seem impossible, if not absurd, in our drive-thru lives spent on the run between meetings and carpool. But the truth is that the time is there if we choose to use it that way. Meditation takes no more time than a rerun of Seinfeld, and the benefits for both body and mind are well-documented.

Meditators report they feel

• a greater sense of self-worth
• less inclined to be easily influenced by others
• able to arrive at decisions quicker and easier
• greater acceptance of themselves and others
• significantly fewer stressors and illness symptoms
• lower levels of anxiety, hostility, depression
• and more frequent bouts of well-being

Though the actual number of stressors is not lower for meditators, they perceive themselves as having fewer and being upset less by stressors they have.

Hot New Science: Neuroplasticity

The explanation for some of these differences may lie in one of the hottest topics in brain science: neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's recently discovered ability to change its structure and function, in particular by expanding or strengthening certain circuits by shrinking or weakening those that are rarely engaged.

In a study conducted by neuroscientist Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin, brain scans of novice meditators were compared with those of Buddhist monks who had spent more than 10,000 hours in meditation. The scans were done while the monks and new meditators were practicing “compassion” meditation, generating a feeling of loving kindness toward all beings.

During meditation, the monks showed a dramatic increase in high-frequency gamma-wave brain activity, which underlies higher mental activity such as consciousness. In almost every case, in the monks' brains the activity in the left pre-frontal cortex (the seat of positive emotions such as happiness) flooded activity in the right pre-frontal (site of negative emotions and anxiety). Davidson believes “the fact that monks with the most hours of meditation showed the greatest brain changes gives us confidence that the changes are actually produced by mental training.”

When we practice meditation we simply accept our present tense without judgment. Instead of rushing to the next experience, we can allow ourselves to be present with the one we are having at the moment.

Doing Nothing Takes Practice

Meditation isn't magical. It requires work, commitment and repetition, just like learning to ski or play the piano. The monks' brains didn't change as a result of attending one weekend retreat. Our bodies don't get—or stay—fit from occasional bench presses. We can't be fluent in a foreign language we seldom practice.

Approach meditation with a sense of discovery. Buddhist monk Sogyal Rinpoche advises, “In one sense meditation is an art, and you should bring to it an artist's delight and fertility of invention. Become as resourceful in inspiring yourself to enter your own peace as you are at being neurotic and competitive in the world.”

Meditation 101

How do you meditate? There are only two basics requirements:

• Repetition of a word, sound or phrase for 15-20 minutes.
• A relinquishment of attention to intruding thoughts and a return to the repetition.

There are many techniques of meditation. All of the major religions include some form of meditation in their teachings.

• Meditation with a mantra, a Sanskrit term meaning a “formula” of prayer or “one little word” is one common form. The word might be one that has a universal meeting, such as "Shalom" for peace or “Om”, meaning one.
• Another form consists of focusing on the breath, gently breathing in and out fully and comfortably, at a natural rate, usually through the nose.
• With either technique, sit comfortably in a chair, on the floor-whichever you prefer.
• Close your eyes gently and begin saying the word or turn your attention to your breath.
• When your mind wanders—thinking, remembering, daydreaming, planning—gently return to the word or to the awareness of your breath.
• Repeat for 15 or 20 minutes once or twice a day.

The process is simple but training the “monkey mind” to quiet itself takes time and perseverance. But the time-out from responding to external and internal noise for a brief time each day is like recharging the cell phone so that our physical, mental and spiritual batteries are ready to carry us into our lives again.

Last Updated: 4-26-2005

 

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