Learn to be Kind

"We're in the midst of a revolution in brain science. The long-held
dogma that brain connections are unchangeable after age five, is being
usurped with findings that the brain is more plastic than we thought.

"Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison published a study
in PLoS One this week, showing that our capacity for empathy can be
learned and mastered – as one might learn to play soccer or piano. The
skill here comes from meditation.

"They studied the fMRI scans of 32 subjects, half were trained
meditators including the Olympians of meditation, the Tibetan monks.
The others were age-matched novices.

"In the brain scanner, all were subjected to emotional sounds (like a
baby laughing or woman screaming.)

"They found that the insula (the area of the brain responsible for
physical feelings of compassion) was highly active in the experts. And
the right temporal-parietal juncture (an area connected to
understanding anothers' emotional state) was also much more active in
experts than in the novices.

"It may not be proof that we can turn a schoolyard bully into Ghandi,
but it shows meditative training has a significant impact.

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.

All sorts of good things are trainable, not only our
"mirror neurons," and even just that one thing has
enormous implications.

There's plenty of water, here and elsewhere, to dip
your toes into and to discover thereby a much wider
world. ...w

--- Dan Gaylinn < Dan%40trancecoach.com">Dantrancecoach.com> wrote:

> "We're in the midst of a revolution in brain
&gt; science. The long-held
> dogma that brain connections are unchangeable after
&gt; age five, is being
&gt; usurped with findings that the brain is more plastic
> than we thought.
>
> "Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
&gt; published a study
&gt; in PLoS One this week, showing that our capacity for
> empathy can be
> learned and mastered – as one might learn to play
>; soccer or piano. The
> skill here comes from meditation.
>
> "They studied the fMRI scans of 32 subjects, half
>; were trained
> meditators including the Olympians of meditation,
> the Tibetan monks.
&gt; The others were age-matched novices.
>
> "In the brain scanner, all were subjected to
> emotional sounds (like a
> baby laughing or woman screaming.)
>
> "They found that the insula (the area of the brain
&gt; responsible for
> physical feelings of compassion) was highly active
&gt; in the experts. And
> the right temporal-parietal juncture (an area
>; connected to
> understanding anothers' emotional state) was also
>; much more active in
> experts than in the novices.
>
> "It may not be proof that we can turn a schoolyard
> bully into Ghandi,
> but it shows meditative training has a significant
> impact.
>
>
> ------------------------------------
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&gt;
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>
>
>

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