Science has struggled to dismiss a distinction between your brain and your mind. The brain is easy to define. It’s that gray organ inside your skull. Your mind is more abstract – consciousness, feelings, beliefs, etc. Does your mind exist separate from your brain? New evidence suggests it does. Your mind does require all those neurons and synapses toexist. It’s the same process for every being in the kingdom Animalia, whether the result of the connections is some primitive action or a complex thought.
What concerns us when we consider mindfulness meditation is really our bio-chemical response. With the correct practices we can produce the responses that will relax our bodies and quell the centers in our brains that fire when we are stressed. The responses can also enhance the parts of the brain that are associated with creativity. The response can also take the form of emotional composure. The overall effect gives us a feeling of mental clarity and equanimity.
All this happens through pathways that have either already been identified or are in the process of being identified. There is undoubtedly a physical basis to everything we experience in our minds. That is what the science is all about. Yet, because of our advanced human consciousness and self-awareness we have developed a belief that there is a sharp distinction between mind and brain. It’s a belief that is now being supported by quantum field theory.
We should embrace the science and use it to develop more practical forms of mindfulness. That is what EM is all about.
