Dream 1
-Yellow candy coated song.
-classical song-ugly colors.
-yellow rice crispy treat band, chocolate, candy canes and treats all stuck here and there.
Dream 2
-Linear music
-Two radiating beams
-Cross each other and create a cross-wave effect.
Dream 3
-Classical/Symphonic
-Radial rainbow spokes (7 spoked and 13 spoked)
-black background
-Colors keyed in a darkish blue
-Also rainbow squiggly shapes stacked in a concentric ring, with other floating symbols (+-++- -)
Placed on vertical planes in a...space of raw wooden desks.
-Austere/Buoyant sound
Dream4
-Symphony
-Sounds that recycle into themselves_ accompanied with a nice steady tone.
-Like a light band that travels concentrically in and out of intervals, hitting the same set of notes/tightly bound.
-Spherical and pale
-Shimmering sounds- harder to form a specific shape. Exist maybe as a thin wall of shimmer or iridescent.
-Some shapes are long and diagonal/I didn't see the specific shape though.
-It is this big pattern that is repeating itself, overlapping and morphing.
Dream 5
-gray geodesic dome type of shape with white balls affixed to it.
-A large moving complex concentric structure ( hard to hold on to)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Hypothesis for First Days/Mondays
Sundays and Mondays are important to me. They are days when commitments to a spiritual and intellectual life are in the forefront; ritual and attention set the tone for the week. These days have distinctly structured my time this summer.
On Sundays I attend an unprogramed meeting for worship at the Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena. This is a Quaker gathering, which is why I will refer to this time as First Day, in line with Quaker diction.
My only class at school on Mondays is from two to seven pm, taught by Tom LaDuke. It is a critique-based class called CREAM.
Both of these gathering retain similar function and priority and energy in my life. And it is important to me that I give them as complete attention as possible. Both meetings also ask for a commitment of reverence and respect.
In this experiment I was interested in teasing out how my attention differed in these spaces – as indicated through memory capture and retention. One week after each First Day/Monday experience set I would sit down and write something that demonstrated what I had been attending to at the time.
In the circumstances different atmospheres are facilitated – spaces of quiet reverence, spaces of lively discussion and learning. Sharing is paramount to each of these social spaces and my experience of both situations has been edifying.
As the experiment progressed and more data was collected the contrast between the kinds of attention began to show itself. The different sorts of reverence created memories of a different texture and certainty. Notes were taken during CREAM crits, and the analysis set forth during the class was input, learned in a way that made reflection come easier a week later. When remembering back to the mornings at the Quaker Meeting, energy was spent for plain recall: what happened, what was noticed? Meaning of emotional value set the memories in place, however in revisiting the ministry one week later it was not possible to achieve any more thorough inquiry into what was shared.
On Sundays I attend an unprogramed meeting for worship at the Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena. This is a Quaker gathering, which is why I will refer to this time as First Day, in line with Quaker diction.
My only class at school on Mondays is from two to seven pm, taught by Tom LaDuke. It is a critique-based class called CREAM.
Both of these gathering retain similar function and priority and energy in my life. And it is important to me that I give them as complete attention as possible. Both meetings also ask for a commitment of reverence and respect.
In this experiment I was interested in teasing out how my attention differed in these spaces – as indicated through memory capture and retention. One week after each First Day/Monday experience set I would sit down and write something that demonstrated what I had been attending to at the time.
In the circumstances different atmospheres are facilitated – spaces of quiet reverence, spaces of lively discussion and learning. Sharing is paramount to each of these social spaces and my experience of both situations has been edifying.
As the experiment progressed and more data was collected the contrast between the kinds of attention began to show itself. The different sorts of reverence created memories of a different texture and certainty. Notes were taken during CREAM crits, and the analysis set forth during the class was input, learned in a way that made reflection come easier a week later. When remembering back to the mornings at the Quaker Meeting, energy was spent for plain recall: what happened, what was noticed? Meaning of emotional value set the memories in place, however in revisiting the ministry one week later it was not possible to achieve any more thorough inquiry into what was shared.
STRESS
Curious about my own inability to focus on task outside of my primary interest i.e. subjects that do not involve some sort of art practice, I wondered how the level of stress I am under had an affect on my attention. It wasn’t like I was not interested in other things besides the making of art; it was more like I had a block that seemed to make focusing and retaining new information unbelievably difficult. I felt as if the reasons for my stress lie only in my emotions, which is partly true, but found its affects to lie more deeply in the amount and duration of the stress. Stress is something that everyone goes through but large amounts of stress can have damaging physical and psychological effects on a person.
Something that stress, emotion, and memory have in common is the area in the brain that processes that information, most notably the hippocampus which is located within the brains limbic system. The hippocampus has a lot to do with learning and memory as well the processing of the stress hormone cortisol, which helps to mobilize fuel, cue attention and memory, and prepare the body and brain to battle challenges to equilibrium. The hippocampus has also shown to be a critical component in the biology of stress and mood since it contains a vast number of cortisol receptors and is the first in regulating the feedback loop of the fight-or-flight response, which is registered in the amygdala.
Stress comes in both good and bad form: the good stress is the everyday stress, the stress that comes in short periods of time and is actually beneficial to the brains health and aids in the learning process. The bad stress on the other hand is when the stress becomes an overload; heavy workloads, family issues, financial issues, whatever. After so long it can start to take its toll. An overload in stress causes an unhealthy does of cortisol to be released into the hippocampus and can start to alter the brains chemistry to shift towards anxiety and/or depression. In a worst case scenario according to John J. Ratey, M.D. in his book Spark, mild stress can become chronic; the unrelenting cascade of cortisol triggers genetic actions that begin to sever synaptic connections and cause dendrites to atrophy and cells to die; eventually, the hippocampus can end up physically shriveled, like a raisin. And if there are not adequate cortisol receptors at the time memories are being formed the learning process is less efficient. The hippocampus is the key in coordinating memory storage, in both short-term memory and in the recall of relatively recent long-term memories.
Around the board the stress experts say the management of stress is a fairly easy thing to do, as im sure we all have heard by this point in time, EXERCISE is the key to reducing stress, studies have also pointed that exercise can reduce the affects of anxiety and depression as well help repair a damaged hippocampus, because exercise is one of those good stressor that the brain needs. But like everything, that is a lot easier said then done. In my experiences I have felt the benefits that exercise, and even nutrition can have on the reduction of stress, but the world I live in is also loaded with the pressure of deadlines and leaves no room for unexpected stressors, let alone enough time to add in an exercise routine.
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/02/05/stress-and-neural-wreckage-part-of-the-brain-plasticity-puzzle
Personal Expeirement
The book, You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay, became biblical for me. I turned to it for every ailment to find out what was mentally and emotionally going on with me and I would try to share the information with anyone who would listen. I was already a pretty aware person and was fond of metacognition. To have a manual for my metacognition was amazing. I remember having the worst sinus cold, head pounding and couldn't possibly breathe a squeak through my nose. I looked up Sinus Problems in the book and the probable cause was listed as, 'Irritation to one person, someone close.' I realized that I was totally irritated with my boyfriend at the time. The new thought pattern/affirmation was "I declare peace and harmony indwell me and surround me at all times. All is well." As soon as I allowed myself to start to feel that, I could feel the pressure lessen and my sinus cavities crackling open. It was absolutely astonishing. I didn't always have that quick of a response but it was becoming quicker the more I was aware and practiced.
These experiences provided a foundation for me to try my own affirmations and see how my body responded. For example while walking down the street I would try out thinking, “I am strong and in alignment” and see how that would shift my posture and stride.
For this project I wanted to take it to another awareness level, superseding the thought process. I decided to experiment with feeling sensations in my body and translating them one to one on a full sized sheet of paper depicting the colors and/or textures as they appeared to me as I was feeling them.
My hypothesis was that the more I practiced doing this, I would eventually become more sensitive and aware of my body and the energies or emotions being directed in certain areas.
This was my first attempt. As you can see I had feelings in my feet, middle area and a lot going on around my head. Below is a detail of the head area. You can click on any of these pictures to make them larger.
As I continued this project I began to see and feel the dilemma of translating from a 3 dimensional body to a flat piece of paper. If I was feeling something on my tongue, it was hard to convey that horizontal sensation. I had contemplated what I would do to distinguish in the drawing, from front or back, but realized that I didn't really care since there isn't that much distance from my stomach through to my back.
Above is a detail of one of my sensation drawings that needed something protruding from it. All of these colors and markings are my closest attempts to what I am seeing connected to these sensations when I close my eyes and feel.
I have really enjoyed this project and it is still continuing. I don't know if I will want to take it to more of a sculptural level, but I am liking the process as it goes.
These experiences provided a foundation for me to try my own affirmations and see how my body responded. For example while walking down the street I would try out thinking, “I am strong and in alignment” and see how that would shift my posture and stride.
For this project I wanted to take it to another awareness level, superseding the thought process. I decided to experiment with feeling sensations in my body and translating them one to one on a full sized sheet of paper depicting the colors and/or textures as they appeared to me as I was feeling them.
My hypothesis was that the more I practiced doing this, I would eventually become more sensitive and aware of my body and the energies or emotions being directed in certain areas.
This was my first attempt. As you can see I had feelings in my feet, middle area and a lot going on around my head. Below is a detail of the head area. You can click on any of these pictures to make them larger.
As I continued this project I began to see and feel the dilemma of translating from a 3 dimensional body to a flat piece of paper. If I was feeling something on my tongue, it was hard to convey that horizontal sensation. I had contemplated what I would do to distinguish in the drawing, from front or back, but realized that I didn't really care since there isn't that much distance from my stomach through to my back.
Above is a detail of one of my sensation drawings that needed something protruding from it. All of these colors and markings are my closest attempts to what I am seeing connected to these sensations when I close my eyes and feel.
I have really enjoyed this project and it is still continuing. I don't know if I will want to take it to more of a sculptural level, but I am liking the process as it goes.
The Power of Our Beliefs and Perceptions
In my search for health in my life I came across a book back in 2000 called You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. Within this book was an index of almost every possible ailment one could think of (or have) listed with the way one was possibly thinking and feeling to get that ailment, plus a new thought pattern (affirmation) to help correct it. For example, Asthma's probable cause is listed as 'Smother love. Inability to breath for one's self. Feeling stifled. Suppressed crying.' The new thought pattern/affirmation is, "It is safe now for me to take charge of my own life. I choose to be free."
Flipping through the pages I was able to see some connections to the ailments of my friends and family and the way they think, but it was harder to see those connections in myself. But because I was seeing the connections for other people, I realized that it was possibly true for myself.
The basis of Hay’s book is that we have to retrain ourselves to love and accept ourselves completely, as we did when we were babies before we were taught otherwise. As well as feeling and expressing gratitude for whatever you can. For that whatever you think and feel about yourself and your life will be experienced that way.
Since I picked up that book I have been testing her philosophy and have witnessed remarkable changes within myself. But at the same time I have been wondering whether there is any scientific backing to the process to fall back on in a conversation with someone who may balk at a flowery looking self-help book.
Richard Wiseman, a professor at University of Hertfordshire in the UK, did a 10 year study of the beliefs and experiences of self proclaimed lucky and unlucky people. He then turned his findings into a book called The Luck Factor. Wiseman delineates 4 key traits that “lucky” people have over “unlucky” people.
Lucky people…
1. Create, notice and act upon chance opportunities
2. Use intuition to make successful decisions
3. Expect the best for the future
4. Transform bad luck into good fortune
In his book and on the website, Wiseman gives practical tips and exercises to make yourself into one of the lucky ones.
His approach is a little more pragmatic than Hay’s, and could probably reach a wider audience, but it feels like they are running a parallel course with different vocabulary.
Both have affirmations, suggest meditation, and are teaching us how to rewire our nueroplastic brains for more positive experiences in our life.
Dr. Bruce Lipton has been driving home the biological science behind all of this with his book The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles. Lipton, a stem cell researcher discovered the "brain" of a cell is actually its membrane and not the nucleus (which contains our DNA) as previously thought. The membrane reacts according to its perception of its environment.
Here is a montage of Dr. Bruce Lipton sharing his discoveries with Dr. Wayne Dryer
Author Joseph Jaworski eloquently states from his book Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadreship,
"I had always thought we used language to describe the world, now I was seeing that was not the case, to the contrary, it is through language that we create the world, because its nothing until we describe it. And when we describe it, we create distinctions that govern our actions. To put it another way, we do not describe the world we see, we see the world we describe."
And I might add, that we feel it too.
---------Supplemental Links-----------
A rudimentary version of Louise Hay's health index for reference.
Louise Hay also has a collaborative movie that helps put a lot of her teachings into perspective through the eyes of other teachers. You can watch the trailer at http://www.youcanhealyourlifemovie.com
Richard Wiseman is conducting an experiment on happiness. The Science of Happiness experiment is going on from August 3rd-7th 2009. It is too late to join the experiment, but you can still try it on yourself after you watch the video explaining it. If you want to keep up with what is happening with the experiment, you can follow his blog.
*update*
In going to YouTube to find the instruction video, I found four! So he is trying four different experiments for happiness. The video below is the instructions for the one I am participating in.
And here are the links to the other three: Gratitude, Kindness, Smiling
Flipping through the pages I was able to see some connections to the ailments of my friends and family and the way they think, but it was harder to see those connections in myself. But because I was seeing the connections for other people, I realized that it was possibly true for myself.
The basis of Hay’s book is that we have to retrain ourselves to love and accept ourselves completely, as we did when we were babies before we were taught otherwise. As well as feeling and expressing gratitude for whatever you can. For that whatever you think and feel about yourself and your life will be experienced that way.
Since I picked up that book I have been testing her philosophy and have witnessed remarkable changes within myself. But at the same time I have been wondering whether there is any scientific backing to the process to fall back on in a conversation with someone who may balk at a flowery looking self-help book.
Richard Wiseman, a professor at University of Hertfordshire in the UK, did a 10 year study of the beliefs and experiences of self proclaimed lucky and unlucky people. He then turned his findings into a book called The Luck Factor. Wiseman delineates 4 key traits that “lucky” people have over “unlucky” people.
Lucky people…
1. Create, notice and act upon chance opportunities
2. Use intuition to make successful decisions
3. Expect the best for the future
4. Transform bad luck into good fortune
In his book and on the website, Wiseman gives practical tips and exercises to make yourself into one of the lucky ones.
His approach is a little more pragmatic than Hay’s, and could probably reach a wider audience, but it feels like they are running a parallel course with different vocabulary.
Both have affirmations, suggest meditation, and are teaching us how to rewire our nueroplastic brains for more positive experiences in our life.
Dr. Bruce Lipton has been driving home the biological science behind all of this with his book The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles. Lipton, a stem cell researcher discovered the "brain" of a cell is actually its membrane and not the nucleus (which contains our DNA) as previously thought. The membrane reacts according to its perception of its environment.
Here is a montage of Dr. Bruce Lipton sharing his discoveries with Dr. Wayne Dryer
Author Joseph Jaworski eloquently states from his book Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadreship,
"I had always thought we used language to describe the world, now I was seeing that was not the case, to the contrary, it is through language that we create the world, because its nothing until we describe it. And when we describe it, we create distinctions that govern our actions. To put it another way, we do not describe the world we see, we see the world we describe."
And I might add, that we feel it too.
---------Supplemental Links-----------
A rudimentary version of Louise Hay's health index for reference.
Louise Hay also has a collaborative movie that helps put a lot of her teachings into perspective through the eyes of other teachers. You can watch the trailer at http://www.youcanhealyourlifemovie.com
Richard Wiseman is conducting an experiment on happiness. The Science of Happiness experiment is going on from August 3rd-7th 2009. It is too late to join the experiment, but you can still try it on yourself after you watch the video explaining it. If you want to keep up with what is happening with the experiment, you can follow his blog.
*update*
In going to YouTube to find the instruction video, I found four! So he is trying four different experiments for happiness. The video below is the instructions for the one I am participating in.
And here are the links to the other three: Gratitude, Kindness, Smiling
Spelunking Ear Drum Dwellings
As artists we are accustomed to making connections between seemingly disparate themes and images to generate new ideas and forms. Synesthesia when used as a perceptual mode or even as a concept brings attention to the multi-sensory way that we can perceive our external and internal worlds.
According to David M. Eagleman, Ph.D., a Neuroscientist working out of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Texas, their is still dispute on what exactly goes on in the brain to cause synesthesia. From a neurological view their are two schools of thought. One is that the brain of a synesthete, compared to a "normal" brain, is equipped with a greater concentration of the neural pathways that connect disparate sensory regions in the brain. This would cause a greater flow of information between the brains different regions, resulting in joined synesthetic perceptions. The other theory, the one favored by Eagleman, is that all brains have the same basic wiring and concentration of that wiring. Eagleman argues that it is a matter of exciters and inhibitors that either promote the cross pollination of information or restrict it. Eagleman gives examples of people who do not normally experience synesthesia, but who under certain conditions do. For example, fatigue can actually heighten ones ability to experience synesthesia, also the influence of LSD and DMT are known to incite joined perceptual sensations in the brain. The fact that these "normal" people are capable of synesthetic perception under uninhibited states points to Eagleman's favored theory of exiters and inhibitors (Eagleman).
In my experience with synesthesia it always occurs in a state in between dreaming and waking. It is a state where my mind is loose enough to perceive the visuals that are presented to me by the sound, be it ambient or musical, and my mind is conscious enough to recognize and recall the images and sensations. I have known that my brain operates this way for years but I had forgotten the key which is attention. I was reminded of this after reading Jeffrey M Schwartz, M.D. book, The Mind & the Brain, Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. In Chapter 10 of his book Schwartz speaks about the power of attention in directing what we see. "Brain activity in a ciruit that is physiologically dedicated to a particular task is markedly amplified by the mental act of focusing attention on the feature that the circuit is hard-wired to to process. In addition, during the directing of such selective attention, the prefrontal cortex is activated. As we saw in Chapter 9, this is also the brain region implicated in volition or, as we are seeing, in directing and focusing attention's beam"(Schwartz). This is an extremely useful insight, that by anticipating a certain mode of perception, in my case synesthesia in sleep/waking states, the circuits already in place in my brain are already activated and primed for a synesthetic experience.
According to David M. Eagleman, Ph.D., a Neuroscientist working out of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Texas, their is still dispute on what exactly goes on in the brain to cause synesthesia. From a neurological view their are two schools of thought. One is that the brain of a synesthete, compared to a "normal" brain, is equipped with a greater concentration of the neural pathways that connect disparate sensory regions in the brain. This would cause a greater flow of information between the brains different regions, resulting in joined synesthetic perceptions. The other theory, the one favored by Eagleman, is that all brains have the same basic wiring and concentration of that wiring. Eagleman argues that it is a matter of exciters and inhibitors that either promote the cross pollination of information or restrict it. Eagleman gives examples of people who do not normally experience synesthesia, but who under certain conditions do. For example, fatigue can actually heighten ones ability to experience synesthesia, also the influence of LSD and DMT are known to incite joined perceptual sensations in the brain. The fact that these "normal" people are capable of synesthetic perception under uninhibited states points to Eagleman's favored theory of exiters and inhibitors (Eagleman).
In my experience with synesthesia it always occurs in a state in between dreaming and waking. It is a state where my mind is loose enough to perceive the visuals that are presented to me by the sound, be it ambient or musical, and my mind is conscious enough to recognize and recall the images and sensations. I have known that my brain operates this way for years but I had forgotten the key which is attention. I was reminded of this after reading Jeffrey M Schwartz, M.D. book, The Mind & the Brain, Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. In Chapter 10 of his book Schwartz speaks about the power of attention in directing what we see. "Brain activity in a ciruit that is physiologically dedicated to a particular task is markedly amplified by the mental act of focusing attention on the feature that the circuit is hard-wired to to process. In addition, during the directing of such selective attention, the prefrontal cortex is activated. As we saw in Chapter 9, this is also the brain region implicated in volition or, as we are seeing, in directing and focusing attention's beam"(Schwartz). This is an extremely useful insight, that by anticipating a certain mode of perception, in my case synesthesia in sleep/waking states, the circuits already in place in my brain are already activated and primed for a synesthetic experience.
Red Mondays and Gemstone Jalapeños: The Synesthetic World
This is a really interesting and informative video on synesthesia. It documents David Eagleman, Ph.D., and four synesthetes.
Produced by Montana State University.
Outline: Meditation & Perception of Time (Anna Takahashi)
Meditation and Perception of Time
Based on Attention, Positive Visualization, Emotion, and Physical Sensation
Can a positive visual image in the mind alter one's emotion in a significantly positively way? This experiment looks into the relationship between physical sensation, emotion and attention in meditation. During this meditation, The Secret Universal Mind Meditationa meditation sound track is played through head phones. The track itself is 60 minutes long, and functions as a guideline to judge the duration of the meditation session. The goal of the meditation is to continuously meditate for 20 minutes or more, without keeping track of the time. I am free to discontinue the session at any given moment, and will press the stop button and record the time displayed on the control.
This project started in mid July of 2009 when I became intrigued by how attention is capable of altering the way in which one perceives one's surrounding environment. Personally, I have noticed how attention is capable of altering sensation, most notably during my 10 minute meditation rituals that I had continued from January 10th through March 15th of 2009, right after I had moved to Pasadena, California from Tokyo, Japan.
When I arrived in America in December of 2008, I arranged a meeting with my friend and psychotherapist, Dr. Tatsuko Martin who is also a prominent author in Japan spreading the notion of "positive thinking", as a method to support individuals to realize one's goal or wishes. At the time I consulted Dr. Martin, I had anxieties regarding my graduate studies in fine arts, along with personal issues regarding relationships. I also had many high goals that I aimed to achieve in America. Dr. Martin endowed me with her wisdom on solving these issues: many clients of hers have succeeded in solving their problems through this method; vizualizing the outcomes of achieving the goals while in meditation, in a way that would fill me with a positive and joyful sensation. In addition, I was advised to take a look at The Secret (DVD), so that I would get a better visual idea of what she was referring to as "positive visualization".
Having a background of being brought up by spiritually-open parents, I strongly "believed" that this method of meditation would benefit me in some unpredictable way. This is a crucial point. Although I must honestly mention that I was slightly skeptical of the validity of this method at first. I immediately started meditating every morning, partially out of curiosity to see what would result from this process. Fundamentally, the intensity of my belief is what motivated me to continue this practice and invest serious concentration into it. Also, it was influential to the degree of concentration I was able to force.
The experiment looks into how emotion, physical sensation and attention can change the degree of concentration and perception of time during a meditation session.
Based on Attention, Positive Visualization, Emotion, and Physical Sensation
Can a positive visual image in the mind alter one's emotion in a significantly positively way? This experiment looks into the relationship between physical sensation, emotion and attention in meditation. During this meditation, The Secret Universal Mind Meditationa meditation sound track is played through head phones. The track itself is 60 minutes long, and functions as a guideline to judge the duration of the meditation session. The goal of the meditation is to continuously meditate for 20 minutes or more, without keeping track of the time. I am free to discontinue the session at any given moment, and will press the stop button and record the time displayed on the control.
This project started in mid July of 2009 when I became intrigued by how attention is capable of altering the way in which one perceives one's surrounding environment. Personally, I have noticed how attention is capable of altering sensation, most notably during my 10 minute meditation rituals that I had continued from January 10th through March 15th of 2009, right after I had moved to Pasadena, California from Tokyo, Japan.
When I arrived in America in December of 2008, I arranged a meeting with my friend and psychotherapist, Dr. Tatsuko Martin who is also a prominent author in Japan spreading the notion of "positive thinking", as a method to support individuals to realize one's goal or wishes. At the time I consulted Dr. Martin, I had anxieties regarding my graduate studies in fine arts, along with personal issues regarding relationships. I also had many high goals that I aimed to achieve in America. Dr. Martin endowed me with her wisdom on solving these issues: many clients of hers have succeeded in solving their problems through this method; vizualizing the outcomes of achieving the goals while in meditation, in a way that would fill me with a positive and joyful sensation. In addition, I was advised to take a look at The Secret (DVD), so that I would get a better visual idea of what she was referring to as "positive visualization".
Having a background of being brought up by spiritually-open parents, I strongly "believed" that this method of meditation would benefit me in some unpredictable way. This is a crucial point. Although I must honestly mention that I was slightly skeptical of the validity of this method at first. I immediately started meditating every morning, partially out of curiosity to see what would result from this process. Fundamentally, the intensity of my belief is what motivated me to continue this practice and invest serious concentration into it. Also, it was influential to the degree of concentration I was able to force.
The experiment looks into how emotion, physical sensation and attention can change the degree of concentration and perception of time during a meditation session.
Research Method (Anna Takahashi)
:: Hypothesis ::
The degree of concentration is affected by physical state and immediate emotions (i.e. it would be hard to
concentrate when I am sick and depressed), but the perception of time would not change significantly.
:: Questions ::
- How does emotion affect concentration?
- How does physical sensation affect concentration?
- How does degree of concentration affect perception of time?
- How does attention change perception of time?
Meditation Music:
The Secret Universal Mind Meditation
-Produced By Kelly Howell (BRAIN SYNC)
Meditation Method:
----------------
Reference Material
- Action in Perception by Alva Noe
- The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz
- The Secret (DVD) by TS Production, LLC
- 願いがつぎつぎに叶う幸運セラピー Dr.タツコ マーティン
Online Reference
http://thesecret.tv/
http://www.brainsync.com/
The degree of concentration is affected by physical state and immediate emotions (i.e. it would be hard to
concentrate when I am sick and depressed), but the perception of time would not change significantly.
:: Questions ::
- How does emotion affect concentration?
- How does physical sensation affect concentration?
- How does degree of concentration affect perception of time?
- How does attention change perception of time?
Meditation Music:
The Secret Universal Mind Meditation
-Produced By Kelly Howell (BRAIN SYNC)
Subject of Visualization:
Momentary issues that I wish to resolve, and goals that I wish to accomplish in the future.
Momentary issues that I wish to resolve, and goals that I wish to accomplish in the future.
Meditation Method:
- Sitting on carpet, cross legged.
- Deep breathing while focusing on images based on positive visualization.
- Sound device is stopped when I decide to stop the meditation.
- Time on the sound device is recorded.
- Emotion, physical and mental sensations I felt during the session is recorded.
----------------
Reference Material
- Action in Perception by Alva Noe
- The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz
- The Secret (DVD) by TS Production, LLC
- 願いがつぎつぎに叶う幸運セラピー Dr.タツコ マーティン
Online Reference
http://thesecret.tv/
http://www.brainsync.com/
Experiment Details (Anna Takahashi)
*Pink indicates session that lasted 20 minutes or more
*Blue indicates session that lasted less than 15 minutes
July 3 17:38
First day of meditation. Focused on visualizing the image of subject. Images were blurry and lucid, and often times jumping between multiple subjects.
July 4 16:52
Meditation was inturrupted by phone ring. I got up to stop the phone and sat back down. My concentration was scattered. I was distracted by hunger. Visualizing image was harder, but slightly easier than the previous day, since I had an idea (an image) that I was able to start from rather than conjure up from scratch.
----------------
July 5 19:02
Drowsiness and slight muscle pain was distracting. Focused on visualization and the joyful sensation I felt from the images. Also, I was trying to breathe in a stable rythm to take my attention away from the slight muscle pain I was feeling.
*An important wish came true.
July 6 23:47
I took time to prepare my rythm of breathing and relaxed my body before entering meditation. It was easier to visualize and stay in a positive mind-state. I felt content after the meditation and felt that it was crucial for me to prepare my body and breathing before entering a session.
July 7 23:20
I got up early to meditate. Despite the drowsiness, I was able to alter my mood into peacefulness by taking time to breathe and appreciate the morning sunlight and fresh air. Similar to the previous day, I was able to concentrate my attention on my visualizations. I got out of the meditation, refreshed and content.
July 8 22:46
I started out by focusing on breathing. It was easier to focus on visualization since I am starting to have a stable image of what I wish for. Breathing is a good guide to hold my concentration.
July 9 15:01
Painting workshop day. Slept at around 3 a.m. yesterday and got up a little late, but tried meditating for the amount of time I had. I was slightly distracted by the amount of time passed, since I was conscious of the clock. As predicted, session did not work well. I must consider taking a time off from the sessions on Sculpture and Painting workshop days...
July 10 20:53
Started meditation in a very relaxed state. Felt peaceful during meditation. I focused on conjuring up further details of what I was visualizing. I was becoming more accustomed to focusing on the images and the positive emotions. I was becoming more confident about the meditation and my ability to endure the sessions. My initial skepticism had disappeared and I felt that I had more faith in how the meditation was influencing my metality.
---------------- July 11-14th: Did not meditate due to assignment submission
July 15 21:19
Was anxious to how long I would be able to endure the meditation since it had been 5 days since the last one. Attention scattered for a while until my image focused. I had a hard time concentrating so I strained my focus until I felt relaxed and stable. Once I felt my mind relaxed and my breathing in harmony with my peaceful mindstate, I was able to focus on my visualization.
*A sign that my desired wish will soon actualize, manifested itself in a form of phone call.
July 16 24:49
I decided that I would take time off from my sessions on Painting workshop days, but I decided to meditate for the better. I was able to focus on meditation since I set an alarm clock for 30 minutes, so I would be notified if I spent too much time on my session. I got into total concentration for an enduring time. The music started to sound more blurred, as the focus on the image became more constant and stable. After the meditation I felt content and energetic.
July 17 25:42
Feeling of anticipation, positive emotions, full concentration on positive image. During the session I felt myself smiling naturally. I felt my body become lighter. I felt the warm sensation of the sunshine on my body and the feeling of becoming one with the light surrounding me. It was the first time I felt that I was actually in total concentration and even out of my body. It was as if my physicality evaporated into the light. The sensation was something profound.
July 18 26:36
Due to family issues, I dedicated my time to visualizing positive wishes for my family and relatives. My concentration lasted longer than any session. Time was not an issue during this session. I was once again feeling more of the sensation of becoming one with my breathing and the amibient light. I felt content and refreshed after I got out of the session.
----------------
July 19 24:10
I dedicated some time to say my gratitude and send good wishes to my family overseas. This started my session peacefully. I was able to breathe in a stable rythm and focus on my visualizations. I felt being in perfect harmony with my breathing and the ambient light.
July 20 21:27
Stabilized breathing and relaxed body before session. I was feeling in harmony with the ambient light. The light I felt on my eyelids became a point of focus whenever my attention started to wander. From there, I drove my attention back to breathing and then to my images. I felt peaceful after the session.
July 22 20:58
I once again used the outside lightsource as a point of reference. I was able to rely on the light less this time. I was more focused on my visualization. I felt refreshed and relaxed after the session.
July 24 22:21
Attention seemed to scatter. It was somehow hard to keep a stable concentration. I couldn't find a definite reason. I tried to concentrate on visualizing but I kept jumping from one subject to another. My images seemed more thin.
----------------
July 26 16:59
Attention seemed to scatter. It was somehow hard to keep a stable concentration. I couldn't find a definite reason. I tried to concentrate on visualizing but I kept jumping from one subject to another. My images seemed more thin.
July 27 19:13
I aimed to meditate longer than the previous day, but attention seemed to scatter. I was trying to stayed focused on my breathing, but it was hard to keep my breathing stable. I was going back and forth between visualizing and breathing. I endured the session longer than the day before, but I ended with a slight frustration.
July 29 20:17
Again, I aimed to meditate longer than the previous day. I was starting to feel doubt in my meditation session since I felt that I was aiming more towards prolonging the record of my sessions rather than focusing on the visualization of my goals. My focus was scattered and I was once again feeling irritated.
July 31 18:19
Attention was scattered. Body temperature was warm. Mood was not so content, felt a little bit irritated and pessimistic. I noticed the sensation is due to the time of the month, which is a week before my period.
Aug 1 18:33
Drowsiness, body temperature: warm, had some water and took a shower. Sunshine was starting to fill my room so I felt freshness, warmness and joyfulness. Was able to start meditation in a relaxed state. Taking time to prepare my mind by inhaling and exhaling and visualizing my subject. I was able to focus on my subject in a happy state.
----------------
Aug 2 14:25
Drowsiness and lack of sleep(went to sleep at around 3:30a.m.). Physical uncomfortableness in stomach.Could not concentrate. Felt irritated. Attention was scattering during meditation and it was hard to stay focused on my subject. Time felt stretched out. It was suffering to endure the usual timespan. So I decided to stop.
Aug 3 12:48
Was not feeling well in the stomach. My attention kept wandering to the sensation I felt in my stomach. I was also feeling my body temperature being slightly high and I was slightly perspiring. I decided to end the session after I felt content with stabilizing my breath.
*Blue indicates session that lasted less than 15 minutes
July 3 17:38
First day of meditation. Focused on visualizing the image of subject. Images were blurry and lucid, and often times jumping between multiple subjects.
July 4 16:52
Meditation was inturrupted by phone ring. I got up to stop the phone and sat back down. My concentration was scattered. I was distracted by hunger. Visualizing image was harder, but slightly easier than the previous day, since I had an idea (an image) that I was able to start from rather than conjure up from scratch.
----------------
July 5 19:02
Drowsiness and slight muscle pain was distracting. Focused on visualization and the joyful sensation I felt from the images. Also, I was trying to breathe in a stable rythm to take my attention away from the slight muscle pain I was feeling.
*An important wish came true.
July 6 23:47
I took time to prepare my rythm of breathing and relaxed my body before entering meditation. It was easier to visualize and stay in a positive mind-state. I felt content after the meditation and felt that it was crucial for me to prepare my body and breathing before entering a session.
July 7 23:20
I got up early to meditate. Despite the drowsiness, I was able to alter my mood into peacefulness by taking time to breathe and appreciate the morning sunlight and fresh air. Similar to the previous day, I was able to concentrate my attention on my visualizations. I got out of the meditation, refreshed and content.
July 8 22:46
I started out by focusing on breathing. It was easier to focus on visualization since I am starting to have a stable image of what I wish for. Breathing is a good guide to hold my concentration.
July 9 15:01
Painting workshop day. Slept at around 3 a.m. yesterday and got up a little late, but tried meditating for the amount of time I had. I was slightly distracted by the amount of time passed, since I was conscious of the clock. As predicted, session did not work well. I must consider taking a time off from the sessions on Sculpture and Painting workshop days...
July 10 20:53
Started meditation in a very relaxed state. Felt peaceful during meditation. I focused on conjuring up further details of what I was visualizing. I was becoming more accustomed to focusing on the images and the positive emotions. I was becoming more confident about the meditation and my ability to endure the sessions. My initial skepticism had disappeared and I felt that I had more faith in how the meditation was influencing my metality.
---------------- July 11-14th: Did not meditate due to assignment submission
July 15 21:19
Was anxious to how long I would be able to endure the meditation since it had been 5 days since the last one. Attention scattered for a while until my image focused. I had a hard time concentrating so I strained my focus until I felt relaxed and stable. Once I felt my mind relaxed and my breathing in harmony with my peaceful mindstate, I was able to focus on my visualization.
*A sign that my desired wish will soon actualize, manifested itself in a form of phone call.
July 16 24:49
I decided that I would take time off from my sessions on Painting workshop days, but I decided to meditate for the better. I was able to focus on meditation since I set an alarm clock for 30 minutes, so I would be notified if I spent too much time on my session. I got into total concentration for an enduring time. The music started to sound more blurred, as the focus on the image became more constant and stable. After the meditation I felt content and energetic.
July 17 25:42
Feeling of anticipation, positive emotions, full concentration on positive image. During the session I felt myself smiling naturally. I felt my body become lighter. I felt the warm sensation of the sunshine on my body and the feeling of becoming one with the light surrounding me. It was the first time I felt that I was actually in total concentration and even out of my body. It was as if my physicality evaporated into the light. The sensation was something profound.
July 18 26:36
Due to family issues, I dedicated my time to visualizing positive wishes for my family and relatives. My concentration lasted longer than any session. Time was not an issue during this session. I was once again feeling more of the sensation of becoming one with my breathing and the amibient light. I felt content and refreshed after I got out of the session.
----------------
July 19 24:10
I dedicated some time to say my gratitude and send good wishes to my family overseas. This started my session peacefully. I was able to breathe in a stable rythm and focus on my visualizations. I felt being in perfect harmony with my breathing and the ambient light.
July 20 21:27
Stabilized breathing and relaxed body before session. I was feeling in harmony with the ambient light. The light I felt on my eyelids became a point of focus whenever my attention started to wander. From there, I drove my attention back to breathing and then to my images. I felt peaceful after the session.
July 22 20:58
I once again used the outside lightsource as a point of reference. I was able to rely on the light less this time. I was more focused on my visualization. I felt refreshed and relaxed after the session.
July 24 22:21
Attention seemed to scatter. It was somehow hard to keep a stable concentration. I couldn't find a definite reason. I tried to concentrate on visualizing but I kept jumping from one subject to another. My images seemed more thin.
----------------
July 26 16:59
Attention seemed to scatter. It was somehow hard to keep a stable concentration. I couldn't find a definite reason. I tried to concentrate on visualizing but I kept jumping from one subject to another. My images seemed more thin.
July 27 19:13
I aimed to meditate longer than the previous day, but attention seemed to scatter. I was trying to stayed focused on my breathing, but it was hard to keep my breathing stable. I was going back and forth between visualizing and breathing. I endured the session longer than the day before, but I ended with a slight frustration.
July 29 20:17
Again, I aimed to meditate longer than the previous day. I was starting to feel doubt in my meditation session since I felt that I was aiming more towards prolonging the record of my sessions rather than focusing on the visualization of my goals. My focus was scattered and I was once again feeling irritated.
July 31 18:19
Attention was scattered. Body temperature was warm. Mood was not so content, felt a little bit irritated and pessimistic. I noticed the sensation is due to the time of the month, which is a week before my period.
Aug 1 18:33
Drowsiness, body temperature: warm, had some water and took a shower. Sunshine was starting to fill my room so I felt freshness, warmness and joyfulness. Was able to start meditation in a relaxed state. Taking time to prepare my mind by inhaling and exhaling and visualizing my subject. I was able to focus on my subject in a happy state.
----------------
Aug 2 14:25
Drowsiness and lack of sleep(went to sleep at around 3:30a.m.). Physical uncomfortableness in stomach.Could not concentrate. Felt irritated. Attention was scattering during meditation and it was hard to stay focused on my subject. Time felt stretched out. It was suffering to endure the usual timespan. So I decided to stop.
Aug 3 12:48
Was not feeling well in the stomach. My attention kept wandering to the sensation I felt in my stomach. I was also feeling my body temperature being slightly high and I was slightly perspiring. I decided to end the session after I felt content with stabilizing my breath.
Result (Anna Takahashi)
::Result::
The perception of time is greatly affected by the physical sensations and emotional state. The more stable my emotion is, the more concentration. Therefore, focus is on the visualization rather than time. When I am irritated, I am more focused on enduring the amount of time I set for myself, and passing time can even be painful at times.
The perception of time is affected not only by the momentary physical state and degree of concentration, but the size of the space in which I place myself in. In a small room time felt longer, whereas in a larger room it felt shorter. However, this is possibly an issue regarding the unfamiliarity of the space, hence a subconscious distraction involved. This is an issue that requires further experimentation to prove its validity. In addition, it must be noted that the difference in the perception of time eventually became leveled.
Further questions have risen from this experimentation.
The perception of time is greatly affected by the physical sensations and emotional state. The more stable my emotion is, the more concentration. Therefore, focus is on the visualization rather than time. When I am irritated, I am more focused on enduring the amount of time I set for myself, and passing time can even be painful at times.
The perception of time is affected not only by the momentary physical state and degree of concentration, but the size of the space in which I place myself in. In a small room time felt longer, whereas in a larger room it felt shorter. However, this is possibly an issue regarding the unfamiliarity of the space, hence a subconscious distraction involved. This is an issue that requires further experimentation to prove its validity. In addition, it must be noted that the difference in the perception of time eventually became leveled.
Further questions have risen from this experimentation.
- Does spatial size affect the perception of time?
- If so, what kind of spatial size affects perception of time in what way?
- Does time of day at which session is conducted, have a significant affect in attention?
- Is the body more suited for meditation before or after a meal?
- Does spatial size affect the duration of attention? (i.e. Would a smaller space be more distracting compared to a larger space?)
- Would a longer duration of meditation session (i.e. 1 hour) involve different issues such as back pain, perspiration, thirst, etc.?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Dr. Richard Cytowic on Synesthesia
Dr. Richard Cytowic, MD, a leading neurologist in the field of synesthesia talks to Nora Young on Spark.
Listen at 20:30-26:50
"[f]ar from being rare synesthesia is extremely common and the question is what good does it do?...What we think it is, is a gene for creativity and what this gene does is make us able to make connections between seemingly different things. And that's the definition for metaphor, seeing the similar in the dissimilar" (Cytowic).
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