Q. How important is what i eat to my meditation and "no (narrative) thoughts"?
G. This question has fascinated me for a while. As i have frequently noted, i have virtually no narrative thoughts except when my blood sugar is very low (i'm hypoglycemic) or when i am very tired. How does that happen? Is there a model for how narrative thoughts arise w/low energy or blood sugar or how blood glucose levels affect "mind-wandering" in general?
Recently, a Theravadin jhana master and friend from the Yale "experienced meditator" study, Ron Serrano, sent me a new paper w/proposed answers to those questions: "Absent without leave; a neuroenergetic theory of mind wandering" by Peter Killeen, a Professor @ Arizona State University.
Killeen's "Neuroenergetics Theory of Attention" proposes that mind-wandering is "often due to fatigue of the relevant processing units in the brain caused by insufficient supply of the neurons' preferred fuel, lactate, from nearby astrocytes." Killeen also works on ADHD and the role that low energy/glucose metabolism plays in it.
OK, so what is an astrocyte? Where are they and how many do i have?
Well, astrocytes are the most abundant cell in the brain and are as numerous as neurons, which they surround. Since we have about 100,000,000,314 neurons, there are many astrocytes. They were poorly understood until recently, but now are known to provide nutrients to the nervous tissue and neurons, maintain the blood/brain barrier and repair traumatic injuries to the brain and spinal cord.
Astrocytes take up glucose from the blood circulating in the capillaries and convert it to glycogen and lactate, which store energy. When astrocytes are activated, they release these energy-storing chemicals into the space around the neurons, which take it in to fuel signal processing and transmission.
As we know, paying attention requires energy. In the immeditate/short term, energy comes from nearby mitochondrial "cellular power plants", but replenishment comes from the energy stored in the astrocytes.
The brain is an "energy hog"; it is 2% of the body's weight but consumes 25% of its glucose. If there is not enough energy in any part of that supply chain, information processing slows and mind wandering occurs.
The brain's functional elements deplete the energy resources in the neurons in a dozen seconds and then draw down energy stored in the astrocytes over dozens of minutes. Restoring the energy stores in our astrocytes takes hours.
The resulting energy "insufficiency" is a/the principal cause of inattention, distraction and mind-wandering. The mind wanders as attention moves from de-energized brain elements that were the focus, to ones that have more energy.
Focused attention to stimuli fatigues functional elements, depletes their energy and processing speed slows. How fast a signal moves depends upon the energy available for the response.
A simple schematic shows how this works for meditation. The "A" state is where the meditator maintains the desired focus. "~A" is when the meditator gets drawn away to "other stuff". If/when energy falls, depending on their experience and skill, the meditator has some likelihood, λ, that (s)he will be distracted to ~A (as we know there are many ~A s).
The probability, α, that the meditator returns to his/her desired initial focus, also depends on the energy, level of training, experience, etc. (BTW, how likely you are to remain in your meditative focus, A, is α/(α + λ)). The higher your α, and the lower your λ, the better your meditation will be; depleted energy resources make this harder.
Killeen's model looks a lot like the two neural networks model discussed many times before, most recently in "nondual awakening and autism...the battle of the 'blah, blah' and 'tasking' networks". The two networks, the Default Mode Network (DMN, "blah, blah",~A) and the Task Control Network (TCN, now/now/now, A) compete for attention and dominance.
If the DMN is dominant over the TCN, perhaps through insufficient energy, what results is increasingly poor task performance accuracy, slower response times, unstable meditation and "mind wandering".
If the TCN is dominant over the DMN, i.e. there is sufficient energy, what results is excellent task performance accuracy, faster response times, little "mind wandering" and stable meditation.
This approach has also been applied to ADHD, both in the Wen paper in the "battle of the 'blah, blah' and 'tasking' networks" blogpost, and in work by Killeen, et al. "A behavior neuroenergetics theory of ADHD" (2013).
How do we eat "right" to have enough energy to support our meditation?
Ramana Maharshi, countless yogis and the Bhagavad Gita all emphasize the importance of diet as a great aid to meditation. Experience has shown that certain foods often result in energies that can slow, deaden, still or agitate the mind.
Eating what is for you a mostly sattvic diet can be a great aid in your practice. As Ramana Maharshi said in Who Am I?, “Of all the restrictive rules, that relating to the taking of sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; by observing that rule, the sattvic quality of mind will increase, and that will be helpful to Self Inquiry.”
BTW1. my new book "Dancing Beyond Thought: Bhagavad Gita Verses and Dialogues for Awakening" is now on Amazon. There is a companion youTube video w/my chanting these 60 verses, w/annotations: "Dancing Beyond Thought: Bhagavad Gita Verses for Awakening". The book is also now available as a free download. As w/my "Happiness Beyond Thought", any profits go to disabled/orphaned kids in south India.
BTW2. Because of great interest, the blog tripped some limits w/Google Blogger for the new magazine format, so comments aren't visible for any posts. i found a "workaround", which "may" work, is "temporary" and requires my editing the HTML to change some limits, which i'm reluctant to do. Google is supposedly working on a fix. Meanwhile, will continue to post blog to FB and Google+, so comments can be made there.
G. This question has fascinated me for a while. As i have frequently noted, i have virtually no narrative thoughts except when my blood sugar is very low (i'm hypoglycemic) or when i am very tired. How does that happen? Is there a model for how narrative thoughts arise w/low energy or blood sugar or how blood glucose levels affect "mind-wandering" in general?
 |
| Peter Killeen Arizona State University |
Recently, a Theravadin jhana master and friend from the Yale "experienced meditator" study, Ron Serrano, sent me a new paper w/proposed answers to those questions: "Absent without leave; a neuroenergetic theory of mind wandering" by Peter Killeen, a Professor @ Arizona State University.
Killeen's "Neuroenergetics Theory of Attention" proposes that mind-wandering is "often due to fatigue of the relevant processing units in the brain caused by insufficient supply of the neurons' preferred fuel, lactate, from nearby astrocytes." Killeen also works on ADHD and the role that low energy/glucose metabolism plays in it.
OK, so what is an astrocyte? Where are they and how many do i have?
 |
| Astrocyte |
Astrocytes take up glucose from the blood circulating in the capillaries and convert it to glycogen and lactate, which store energy. When astrocytes are activated, they release these energy-storing chemicals into the space around the neurons, which take it in to fuel signal processing and transmission.
As we know, paying attention requires energy. In the immeditate/short term, energy comes from nearby mitochondrial "cellular power plants", but replenishment comes from the energy stored in the astrocytes.
The brain is an "energy hog"; it is 2% of the body's weight but consumes 25% of its glucose. If there is not enough energy in any part of that supply chain, information processing slows and mind wandering occurs.
The brain's functional elements deplete the energy resources in the neurons in a dozen seconds and then draw down energy stored in the astrocytes over dozens of minutes. Restoring the energy stores in our astrocytes takes hours.
The resulting energy "insufficiency" is a/the principal cause of inattention, distraction and mind-wandering. The mind wanders as attention moves from de-energized brain elements that were the focus, to ones that have more energy.
 |
| A = Meditative Focus ~A = Attention on other stuff |
A simple schematic shows how this works for meditation. The "A" state is where the meditator maintains the desired focus. "~A" is when the meditator gets drawn away to "other stuff". If/when energy falls, depending on their experience and skill, the meditator has some likelihood, λ, that (s)he will be distracted to ~A (as we know there are many ~A s).
The probability, α, that the meditator returns to his/her desired initial focus, also depends on the energy, level of training, experience, etc. (BTW, how likely you are to remain in your meditative focus, A, is α/(α + λ)). The higher your α, and the lower your λ, the better your meditation will be; depleted energy resources make this harder.
 |
| Default Mode Network DMN |
 |
| Task Control Network TCN |
Killeen's model looks a lot like the two neural networks model discussed many times before, most recently in "nondual awakening and autism...the battle of the 'blah, blah' and 'tasking' networks". The two networks, the Default Mode Network (DMN, "blah, blah",~A) and the Task Control Network (TCN, now/now/now, A) compete for attention and dominance.
 |
| DMN > TCN energy down mind wandering |
If the DMN is dominant over the TCN, perhaps through insufficient energy, what results is increasingly poor task performance accuracy, slower response times, unstable meditation and "mind wandering".
 |
| TCN > DMN high energy stable meditation |
If the TCN is dominant over the DMN, i.e. there is sufficient energy, what results is excellent task performance accuracy, faster response times, little "mind wandering" and stable meditation.
This approach has also been applied to ADHD, both in the Wen paper in the "battle of the 'blah, blah' and 'tasking' networks" blogpost, and in work by Killeen, et al. "A behavior neuroenergetics theory of ADHD" (2013).
How do we eat "right" to have enough energy to support our meditation?
Ramana Maharshi, countless yogis and the Bhagavad Gita all emphasize the importance of diet as a great aid to meditation. Experience has shown that certain foods often result in energies that can slow, deaden, still or agitate the mind.
There are many diet approaches, as we know. There is a useful energetic categorization, employed by many yoga and meditation schools, in the Bhagavad Gita. In this approach, there are three categories of energy production from food; sattva, tamas, and rajas.
Sattvic foods are fresh, wholesome, healthy, purifying, satisfying, balanced, and assist in attaining knowledge. These include milk, butter, fruits, vegetables and grains.
Tamasic foods produce dullness, indolence, torpor, and confusion. These include alcohol, meat and foods which are overripe, stale, overcooked, or tasteless.
Rajasic foods produce energies which are passionate and stimulating and lead to attachment, activity, and restlessness. They are bitter, salty, sour, spicy, harsh or pungent. Some examples are meat, fish, alcohol, eggs, and caffeine.
Sattvic foods are fresh, wholesome, healthy, purifying, satisfying, balanced, and assist in attaining knowledge. These include milk, butter, fruits, vegetables and grains.
Tamasic foods produce dullness, indolence, torpor, and confusion. These include alcohol, meat and foods which are overripe, stale, overcooked, or tasteless.
Rajasic foods produce energies which are passionate and stimulating and lead to attachment, activity, and restlessness. They are bitter, salty, sour, spicy, harsh or pungent. Some examples are meat, fish, alcohol, eggs, and caffeine.
 |
| Ron Serrano Theravadin Jhana Master |
While these designations bear the mark of their cultural heritage and the low quality food, and food storage, available in the emerging world, there is value in this energy-focused perspective.
Swami Rama, in my second yoga teachers’ training course, approached diet and its effect on the mind in a directly, personal way. we maintained a journal for weeks on the effects that specific foods had on our mind and energy.
If you eat spicy pizza and become excited and agitated, then that is rajasic for you. If you eat oatmeal and a whole grain bran muffin and feel energized but calm, then that is sattvic for you. If you have a "super-sized" (decaffeinated) sugary drink and feel drowsy and dull, that is tamasic for you.
IME, strict guidelines from the latest diet craze are less useful than your own direct observations on what effect certain foods have on your emotions, energy and mental activity.
IME, strict guidelines from the latest diet craze are less useful than your own direct observations on what effect certain foods have on your emotions, energy and mental activity.
i found that many effects of food on my energy and meditation were different from the models and that those effects change with time. Listen to your body, not your mind, as to what you eat. As practice deepens, sensitivity to your mental state increases and the effects of food become more noticeable. Changes occur, so repeating the food effects journal process is useful.
As a personal anecdote, i was a vegetarian for many years for philosophical reasons, before it was "in", so vegetarian food quality was often poor. What appeared was often canned vegetables, not fresh Thai food.
i was negotiating a joint venture w/our largest customer, in Tokyo, and i was a physical wreck, near exhaustion. Our Japanese folk, seeing my situation, took me out for shabu-shabu - raw, thin beef strips thrown into boiling water. i made an almost immediate and astonishing recovery. If i had been listening to my body, rather than to the I/ego's storyline, this would not have happened.
What i do now is to really "feel" what the body needs at that time and eat that.
i was negotiating a joint venture w/our largest customer, in Tokyo, and i was a physical wreck, near exhaustion. Our Japanese folk, seeing my situation, took me out for shabu-shabu - raw, thin beef strips thrown into boiling water. i made an almost immediate and astonishing recovery. If i had been listening to my body, rather than to the I/ego's storyline, this would not have happened.
What i do now is to really "feel" what the body needs at that time and eat that.
 |
| Ramana Maharshi |
Eating what is for you a mostly sattvic diet can be a great aid in your practice. As Ramana Maharshi said in Who Am I?, “Of all the restrictive rules, that relating to the taking of sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; by observing that rule, the sattvic quality of mind will increase, and that will be helpful to Self Inquiry.”
BTW1. my new book "Dancing Beyond Thought: Bhagavad Gita Verses and Dialogues for Awakening" is now on Amazon. There is a companion youTube video w/my chanting these 60 verses, w/annotations: "Dancing Beyond Thought: Bhagavad Gita Verses for Awakening". The book is also now available as a free download. As w/my "Happiness Beyond Thought", any profits go to disabled/orphaned kids in south India.
BTW2. Because of great interest, the blog tripped some limits w/Google Blogger for the new magazine format, so comments aren't visible for any posts. i found a "workaround", which "may" work, is "temporary" and requires my editing the HTML to change some limits, which i'm reluctant to do. Google is supposedly working on a fix. Meanwhile, will continue to post blog to FB and Google+, so comments can be made there.
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