The problems w/the self-referential internal narrative (SRIN) w/its endless "blah, blah" is widely recognized. Many spiritual traditions emphasize the importance on "no (problematic) thoughts". (Blogpost - "Who else believes 'no thoughts' is the goal of meditation?"). Obsessing about the past, projecting the future, worrying about relationships, etc., when we aren't actively engaged in "doing something" causes much anxiety, fear, depression and anger and a host of likely physical maladies.
A recent paper in Science, a premier research publication, details a fascinating study on SRIN/"blah, blah" - "Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind", by Wilson, T.D. et al. and his team from the University of VA and Harvard.
Wilson's paper starts with a famous quote from John Milton's Paradise Lost:
The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell and a Hell of Heaven.
This research is focused on "just how far people will go to avoid introspection" and was discussed in the NYTimes..."No Time to Think". As the lead author, Tim Wilson from UVA, stated, "We had noted how wedded to our devices we all seem to be and that people seem to find any excuse they can to keep busy. No one had done a simple study letting people go off on their own and think.”
There has been an explosion in research on the Default Mode Network (DMN/DN) (post - "Three Neural Networks Dancing...") where SRIN originates, and much understanding has been gained on how to decrease or stop it (post - "Folk Who Meditate Decrease Mind Wandering").
we have learned how deactivating key centers of the DMN/DN can produce the primary mystical experiences of psychedelics and long-term meditation (vid - "Meditation Works Like Magic Mushrooms"). Instead of being someone "extending through time", only "now, now, now" exists, and instead of there being "others", everything is one thing.
There were two main questions that Wilson et al. asked:
a) Do people choose to put themselves in default mode by disengaging from the external world?
b) When they are in this default mode, is it a pleasing experience?
Recent research shows that 95% of American adults do at least one leisure activity a day but 83% spent no time "relaxing or thinking". Other studies found that folk are happier when their minds are engaged in what they are "doing" instead of having their minds "wandering". As Wilson et al. states "it is surprisingly difficult to think in enjoyable ways even in the absence of competing external demands." So folk avoid SRIN/"blah, blah" - it is not "enjoyable".
To try to measure this effect, the study gathered a bunch (146) of college students (who else?). They sat in a bare room for from 6 to 15 minutes in different experimental layouts; no electronics, no paper or writing implements, etc., remaining seated and awake. They were to "entertain themselves with their thoughts" after which they would report how "enjoyable it was", "how hard it was to concentrate", etc.
On a 1 - 9 scale, the "extent of mind wandering" had 89% of folk @ or above the midpoint, and "difficulty to concentrate" had 58% of participants @ or above the midpoint. "Enjoyment" had a multi-factor scale; they "did not enjoy the experience very much". So their minds wandered a lot, they had a hard time concentrating and they didn't enjoy it.
The researchers thought that perhaps the results were because the students were in an unfamiliar environment. So 44 of them did the same study @ home on a web link "when they were alone and free of external distractions" (really, college students @ home - free of external distractions???).
Not surprisingly, 1/3 of the students reported they had "cheated" by listening to music or their cell phone or leaving their chair. Not only that, but "enjoyment" in the study was lower @ home, and it was harder to concentrate.
Well, would the participants enjoy themselves more if they had something to do @ home? Fifteen students read a book, listened to music, or surfed the web, but couldn't communicate w/others, so that the difference between nonsocial activities and nonsocial internal thinking could be determined.
No surprise, the @ home "doing something" students enjoyed surfing the web, reading or listening to music much more than "just thinking". It was also much "easier to concentrate" and their minds wandered much less.
But, perhaps this "difficulty with 'just thinking' is distinctive to college students", so the researchers gathered 66 folk from a farmers' market and a local church. This "community" group had the same @ home instructions as the students and ranged in age from 18 to 77 w/a median of 48 yrs and earned a lot more than the students did.
The results were the same as those of the students..."There was no evidence that enjoyment of the thinking period was related to participants' age, education, income, or the frequency with which they used smart phones or social media."
The scientists even gave directions to participants to choose a favorite topic to focus on before they started the test, however "none reliably increased participants' enjoyment of the thinking period."
Now to the really fascinating part of the study...Since "most people do not enjoy 'just thinking'", would they rather do an unpleasant activity than "just thinking"? They gathered up 55 undergrads and went back to their laboratory space.
This group received the standard instructions to "entertain themselves with their thoughts" for 15 minutes, but now could experience "negative stimulation" during the thinking period by pushing a button which gave an electric shock if they so desired. They rated the alternatives and reported if they would pay to not experience a stimulus again if they were given $5.
Looking only at folk who would pay to avoid being shocked again, 2/3 of the men gave themselves at least one shock, w/a mean of 1.5 shocks per shocker during the thinking period. (One "outlier" gave himself 190 shocks...???) Only one fourth of the women gave themselves shocks (women are smarter) but those who did, averaged 2.3 shocks per shocker (well, maybe not so much).
As the report states "But what is striking is that simply being alone with their own thoughts for 15 min was apparently so aversive that it drove many participants to self-administer an electric shock that they had earlier said they would pay to avoid."
As the research concluded, "that may be why many people seek to gain better control of their thoughts with meditation and other techniques, with clear benefits. Without such training, people prefer "doing" to "thinking"...
The untutored mind does not like to be alone with itself."
A recent paper in Science, a premier research publication, details a fascinating study on SRIN/"blah, blah" - "Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind", by Wilson, T.D. et al. and his team from the University of VA and Harvard.
 |
| Timothy Wilson Professor of Psychology U of Virginia |
Wilson's paper starts with a famous quote from John Milton's Paradise Lost:
The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell and a Hell of Heaven.
This research is focused on "just how far people will go to avoid introspection" and was discussed in the NYTimes..."No Time to Think". As the lead author, Tim Wilson from UVA, stated, "We had noted how wedded to our devices we all seem to be and that people seem to find any excuse they can to keep busy. No one had done a simple study letting people go off on their own and think.”
There has been an explosion in research on the Default Mode Network (DMN/DN) (post - "Three Neural Networks Dancing...") where SRIN originates, and much understanding has been gained on how to decrease or stop it (post - "Folk Who Meditate Decrease Mind Wandering").
we have learned how deactivating key centers of the DMN/DN can produce the primary mystical experiences of psychedelics and long-term meditation (vid - "Meditation Works Like Magic Mushrooms"). Instead of being someone "extending through time", only "now, now, now" exists, and instead of there being "others", everything is one thing.
 |
| Paradise Lost John Milton |
There were two main questions that Wilson et al. asked:
a) Do people choose to put themselves in default mode by disengaging from the external world?
b) When they are in this default mode, is it a pleasing experience?
Recent research shows that 95% of American adults do at least one leisure activity a day but 83% spent no time "relaxing or thinking". Other studies found that folk are happier when their minds are engaged in what they are "doing" instead of having their minds "wandering". As Wilson et al. states "it is surprisingly difficult to think in enjoyable ways even in the absence of competing external demands." So folk avoid SRIN/"blah, blah" - it is not "enjoyable".
To try to measure this effect, the study gathered a bunch (146) of college students (who else?). They sat in a bare room for from 6 to 15 minutes in different experimental layouts; no electronics, no paper or writing implements, etc., remaining seated and awake. They were to "entertain themselves with their thoughts" after which they would report how "enjoyable it was", "how hard it was to concentrate", etc. On a 1 - 9 scale, the "extent of mind wandering" had 89% of folk @ or above the midpoint, and "difficulty to concentrate" had 58% of participants @ or above the midpoint. "Enjoyment" had a multi-factor scale; they "did not enjoy the experience very much". So their minds wandered a lot, they had a hard time concentrating and they didn't enjoy it.
The researchers thought that perhaps the results were because the students were in an unfamiliar environment. So 44 of them did the same study @ home on a web link "when they were alone and free of external distractions" (really, college students @ home - free of external distractions???).
Not surprisingly, 1/3 of the students reported they had "cheated" by listening to music or their cell phone or leaving their chair. Not only that, but "enjoyment" in the study was lower @ home, and it was harder to concentrate.Well, would the participants enjoy themselves more if they had something to do @ home? Fifteen students read a book, listened to music, or surfed the web, but couldn't communicate w/others, so that the difference between nonsocial activities and nonsocial internal thinking could be determined.
No surprise, the @ home "doing something" students enjoyed surfing the web, reading or listening to music much more than "just thinking". It was also much "easier to concentrate" and their minds wandered much less.
But, perhaps this "difficulty with 'just thinking' is distinctive to college students", so the researchers gathered 66 folk from a farmers' market and a local church. This "community" group had the same @ home instructions as the students and ranged in age from 18 to 77 w/a median of 48 yrs and earned a lot more than the students did. The results were the same as those of the students..."There was no evidence that enjoyment of the thinking period was related to participants' age, education, income, or the frequency with which they used smart phones or social media."
The scientists even gave directions to participants to choose a favorite topic to focus on before they started the test, however "none reliably increased participants' enjoyment of the thinking period."
Now to the really fascinating part of the study...Since "most people do not enjoy 'just thinking'", would they rather do an unpleasant activity than "just thinking"? They gathered up 55 undergrads and went back to their laboratory space.
This group received the standard instructions to "entertain themselves with their thoughts" for 15 minutes, but now could experience "negative stimulation" during the thinking period by pushing a button which gave an electric shock if they so desired. They rated the alternatives and reported if they would pay to not experience a stimulus again if they were given $5.
As the report states "But what is striking is that simply being alone with their own thoughts for 15 min was apparently so aversive that it drove many participants to self-administer an electric shock that they had earlier said they would pay to avoid."
As the research concluded, "that may be why many people seek to gain better control of their thoughts with meditation and other techniques, with clear benefits. Without such training, people prefer "doing" to "thinking"...
The untutored mind does not like to be alone with itself."
Carrying this to an extreme example you can look at inmates in solitary confinement in American prisons who very regularly do extreme self harm, cutting their wrists etc. Very disturbing documentary online on PBS Frontline, Solitary Nation.
ReplyDeleteHi Robin. There is a stream-able series, Rectify, on Netflix, which focuses on a folk put into solitary confinement on death row, and then got released on DNA evidence after 19 years. The first episode of Season 1 goes through his coping mechanisms, as contrasted to his peers, and how he then saw "the world" when he was released.
DeleteIt is a very powerful and clear message of what is possible in dealing w/"blah, blah" under extreme stress and what can result. Much that he experiences and says is pure "nondual awakening" that i totally resonate with. i realize this is fiction, and what was on Frontline was the reality, which is deeply disturbing, but this captured "nondual awakening" as clearly as i have seen it done in popular media.
Both are strong demonstrations of the need for some "mind" training programs for folk who are trapped w/'blah, blah" under extremely difficult conditions.
stillness
This aversion to being "alone with one's thoughts" is something that seems common among many of the people I know, who busy themselves with stimuli; for example, pulling out their cell phone when alone for a moment or leaving on the television as they fall asleep. It is quite paradoxical that a useful way to free oneself of oppressive mental chatter is to become extremely familiar with it through detached observation, persevering through the boredom, frustration, and emotional entanglement that it provokes. Ignoring the chatter increases it; accepting it dissolves it, until it is so rarified as to be virtually nonexistent. At least this partially describes my experience.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my brother, diagnosed as schizotypal, has the opposite inclination as those in the study you mention. He is generally more interested in his inner talk than almost anything else, describing it as a source of comfort, even though I suspect it reinforces his crippling depression and anxiety. He is warm and caring, but extremely shy and withdrawn. On disability for most of his adult life, he spends most of his day alone, lost in thought. I think he could find some peace by engaging in Self Inquiry or other practice (I have benefitted a great deal), but he is resistant to such suggestions. It seems this is partly due to a desire to preserve his personal agency and independence, and partly due to his strong Christian beliefs (he adheres to a unique, personal theology).
Any suggestion as to how I might be able to introduce him to or remind him of that "space beyond thoughts"? Would I be better off accepting him as he is, and make no effort to influence him in such a way? I know this is a long-winded post on a complex subject, and you may not have the time or opportunity to reply in depth, which I completely understand. After about fifteen years of study and meditation, I find your approach to these topics to be especially practical, thorough, and precise, so I was curious if you had any "thoughts" on introducing Self Inquiry to people with fairly severe "mental illness" (in the modern, medical sense).
Regards
Brian de Vries
Hi Brian.
DeleteIn working w/folk professionally diagnosed w/DSM-5 psychopathological states, i work w/the situations openly and realistically, recognizing that it may only be possible to ameliorate the situation, and decrease the level of "meds", rather than fully correct it.
Having said that, folk i have worked with have seen significantly improved functionality and decreased meds w/self-inquiry, if they used self-inquiry as part of their recovery protocol. A folk who had dropped out of Harvard w/deep depression and ADHD, was able to return and graduate, w/dramatically decreased meds, to a fully functional life.
As has been reported in an earlier blogpost, (Dark Night of the Soul?...who/why/what to do) i have seen great damage done to folk who had a "Dark Night of the Soul" by psychologists who were eager to psychopathologize the situation as "depersonalization disorder". Context-setting, self-inquiry and physical exercise are critical to ameliorating the situation if it develops, or avoiding it if they are done during the awakening process. If it is placed in proper context, "depersonalization", literally, is the ultimate goal of self-inquiry. BTW, very few psychologists understand nondual awakening.
Also, some devout spiritual folk have been mis-diagnosed as "schizotypal" as well. See blogpost "Is nondual awakening a mental disorder? Is it schizophrenia?". i, of course, have no idea what your brother's situation is, exactly, but it worth being skeptical.
Re Chrisitanity, there is much good work emerging on seeing the Christian teachings through the perspective of "nonduality". my frequent collaborator, Rich Doyle, teaches a course @ Penn State that is basically "seeing the Bible from a nondual perspective" which has been very successful. i have been urging him to make it into a book, which he is working on.
i would also recommend that you see if you can interest your brother in the work of Richard Rohr and the Center for Action and Contemplation. he is among the best-known of the current folk working on Christianity from a meditative nondual perspective. i work w/folk who also work closely w/Rohr's work - they seem to fit together very well.
Trust this is useful.
stillness
BTW, Brian, there is also much literature around nonduality and Christianity that emerged from an ashram in south India @ which i spent most of a month, four years ago, Santivanam (literally "peace in the forest").
DeleteIt was established by French Catholic Benedictines in the 1940s; one of the founders (in whose hut i stayed until the rats drove me out) was Henri Le Saux. he discovered Ramana Maharshi, left the ashram, and became Swami Abhishiktananda. He wrote many excellent books including Saccidananda: A Christian Approach to Advaitic Experiences. These might also be interesting for your brother.
The current head of the ashram, Brother John Martin, has also written several books that are available from the ashram, directly, that are also on an advaitic approach to Christianity. youTube video @ http://youtu.be/iNv6SVpfqcc.
stillness
Thank you for the suggestions; I look forward to sharing them with my brother.
DeleteBrian