Tag Archives: Naropa

Buddhism, how to meditate, Meditation, Metaphysics, mind, Neuroscience, Psychology

How our breath affects our brain: Tummo the practice of inner heat.

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Did you know that deep breathing might actually stimulate parts of your brain? Recent MRI studies show that when you take a sharp, deep breath, the lower part of your brain—including the thalamus, hypothalamus, pineal gland, pituitary gland, and cerebellum—gets gently shifted by the movement of your sinuses and trachea. This could have some amazing effects on your health, well-being, and even spiritual awareness.

Deep breathing boosts oxygen levels, helping your brain function better and improving focus and clarity. It also activates your parasympathetic nervous system—the part responsible for relaxation—helping to lower stress and anxiety. Since the hypothalamus and pituitary gland regulate hormones, deep breathing might even help balance mood, energy, and metabolism. Better oxygenation and stimulation of the cerebellum can improve coordination, posture, and overall body awareness.

Tummo is an advanced meditation practice within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, known for generating inner heat to enhance meditation and spiritual awakening. Famous among monks in the Himalayan regions, Tummo involves breathing techniques, visualization, and meditation. By focusing on the navel chakra, practitioners generate a warm energy within, creating what is described as “psychic heat,” which helps in controlling the body’s energy channels and managing the mind’s energies. Through Tummo, practitioners aim for a profound meditative state, increasing mental clarity and spiritual insight while symbolically burning away impurities and distractions.

From the actual tantric view, the inner anatomy of our kleshas work in a way that they are supported as we ride on the bodily winds. Kleshas are the root cause of our suffering, they are our mental afflictions. They block our innate wisdom and joy. So when we put those winds into the Tummo fire, the kleshas cease to function and dissolve from within. We transform their energy or essence into wisdom. This is not just a visualization it’s a real inner alchemical process, that deepens the Buddha dharma‘s influence in our daily life and ultimately leads to liberation and enlightenment. 

Hatha Yoga is known for its holistic approach to physical and mental well-being, where breathing exercises, or Pranayama, are key. These exercises regulate breath, which is believed to control life force, or prana. Techniques like the Ujjayi breath, Kapalabhati, and Nadi Shodhana are meant to calm the mind, purify the energy channels, and harmonize the body’s energies. Ujjayi breath involves a rhythmic in-and-out pattern through the nose with gentle throat constriction, fostering concentration. Pranayama in Hatha Yoga not only enhances physical health and lung capacity but also reduces stress and improves mental clarity, promoting overall balance and preparation for meditation.

In Hatha Yoga, practices like Kapalabhati and Bhastrika Pranayama align closely with the aims of Tibetan Tummo. Kapalabhati, or “skull shining breath,” involves rapid, forceful exhalations and passive inhalations, generating internal heat and cleansing the respiratory system. Bhastrika, or “bellows breath,” mimics a bellows with active inhalations and exhalations, building body heat and enhancing prana flow.

These practices show how breathwork can physiologically generate heat, similar to Tummo. Although Pranayama in Hatha Yoga doesn’t usually include the same meditative visualization as Tummo, they are all important in managing heat and energy within the body. Both traditions share a focus on breath as a powerful tool for stimulating the brain and enhancing mental and physical health.

This video linked from the Stevens Institute of Technology highlights a fascinating finding: breathing moves your brain, affecting the thalamus, hypothalamus, pineal gland, pituitary gland, and cerebellum as the sinuses and trachea move with each breath. This direct stimulation might influence mental clarity, emotional balance, and even spiritual awareness.

For instance, engaging the thalamus might enhance perception and focus, engaging the hypothalamus could influence mood and stress levels, and stimulating the pineal gland, often called the “third eye,” could impact intuition and awareness. The stimulation of the pituitary gland might affect hormonal balance, and engaging the cerebellum could improve coordination and balance.

Breathwork’s impact on specific areas of the brain could be compared to a gentle massage that influences these regions’ functionality. Just like physical massage increases blood flow and relieves tension in muscles, breathing exercises can enhance circulation and the delivery of oxygen to the brain. This boost in blood flow may help ensure that glands such as the hypothalamus and pituitary gland are well-nourished, potentially improving their ability to release hormones in a balanced manner. Enhanced blood circulation could help the glands work more efficiently, much like how a massage helps improve muscle function. This improvement might lead to better regulation of hormones related to mood, sleep, and metabolism, demonstrating yet another way deep breathing can contribute to overall health and well-being. Through this increased blood flow and rhythmic gentle pressure from breath movements, the body’s natural processes are supported, fostering both physical and mental health benefits.

Deep breathing isn’t just about physical health. Many ancient traditions link it to higher consciousness. Breathwork can lead to deep meditative states, vivid dreams, and heightened perception. Cultures around the world have used practices like pranayama and Tummo to enhance meditation and spiritual growth.

So next time you’re looking for a simple way to boost well-being, try a deep breath. Have you ever experimented with breathwork? What was your experience like?

QP

Buddhism, consciousness, Meditation, Metaphysics, mind, Neuroscience, Philosophy

Lucid Dreaming and Quantum Consciousness: Bridging Scientific and Metaphysical Perspectives

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Have you ever had a nightmare and wished so bad that you could wake up, or how about you dream you are on the beach with your lover and everything is perfect and then you wake up, or have you ever wished you could control your dreams? Well, you likely said yes to all three of these questions. Would you be surprised to know that you can control or stay lucid in the dream state? 

Humans often find themselves unaware that they’re dreaming. However, there are occasions when we experience a phenomenon known as lucid dreaming. During lucid dreaming, we become conscious within our dreams, recognizing the dream state while still asleep. What’s fascinating is that in these instances, we not only realize we’re dreaming but also gain control over our actions and the situations we find ourselves in within the dream world. This intriguing aspect of consciousness has attracted the attention of researchers seeking to understand its underlying mechanisms.

I’ve been practising Dream Yoga since I was a young child. I used to think that I just had a vivid imagination, but everything changed at a rave party when I had a conversation with a young man who opened my eyes to the possibility of enhancing my nightly dream experiences through practice. I learned that I was not alone with this experience and better yet that I could actually practice a few easy things and maybe even enhance the quality of my nightly adventures.

Here is my technique, take a few moments before you go to bed and in a relaxed way, stare at your hands and repeat several times “When I see my hands I will know that I am dreaming, when I see my hands I will know that I am dreaming” 5 or 6 times should do. Then say ” when I know that I am dreaming I can do anything, When I know that I am dreaming I can do anything” also about five or six times. Turn out the light and be ready for the cinema of your mind to begin. Remember that this is a practice, you need time to learn these new skills. Don’t give up try again in different ways and situations.

Many ask me what some of my common experiences are, well the biggest on is that I have never had a nightmare for many many years. If I don’t like the dream I just fly off somewhere else more beautiful. Maybe its not like flying, I sort of just been myself to another location. It seems to be quite common at least for me that the best time to dream is from 03:00 till your alarm wakes up and when you are really good at it you can dream between snoozes.

Tibetan yogis have been training in dream yoga (milam Tibetan)and clear light yoga (ösel Tibetan) for more than a thousand years. The idea is to transcend samsara by recognising the illusory nature of all appearances. The reasoning is that we sleep 33% of our lives why not use this time also to meditate. One could realise enlightenment in their dreams or because of the training realise the illusory nature of the waking world. Both states of existence or Bardos have similar qualities, and are not to be taken as real and independent.

These two practices were kept and transmitted by a famous yogi called Naropa, his 6 yogas are sometimes called the “Way of means” as opposed to the “way of devotion” in the Kagyu Tradition. To learn these practices one would normally have to already have a tremendous amount of devotion or be required to practice at least 4 or 5 Ngondros. and be in retreat for 3 years. Today this has changed many modern yogis or Buddhist lamas have broken the tradition and begun to teach modern yogis these techniques because if they do not the teachings will be lost.

Scientific studies have provided evidence supporting the existence of lucid dreaming as an objectively verifiable phenomenon. Researchers have utilized techniques such as polysomnography and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activity during lucid dreaming episodes. These studies have shown increased brain activity in regions associated with self-awareness and metacognition, such as the prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex, during lucid compared to non-lucid REM sleep.

Moreover, research has revealed considerable variability in the frequency of lucid dreaming among individuals. While some people experience lucid dreams infrequently or never, others report having them several times per week or even nightly. This variation has led researchers to explore potential differences in brain structure and function that may be associated with the frequency of lucid dreaming.

Recent studies have suggested a possible link between the frequency of lucid dreaming and specific brain regions, particularly the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC). The aPFC is known to be involved in metacognitive processes, such as self-reflection and monitoring internal states. Individuals with higher levels of metacognitive ability have been found to exhibit greater activation in the aPFC and show differences in gray matter volume in this region.

To further investigate this connection, researchers have conducted studies comparing brain structure and function in individuals who experience frequent lucid dreams with those who experience them less often. By controlling for variables such as dream recall frequency, these studies aim to determine whether differences in brain anatomy and connectivity are associated specifically with the frequency of lucid dreaming.

Some Quantum theorists have suggested that the phenomena observed in quantum physics, such as the non-locality of particles and the role of observation in determining outcomes, may have parallels with the subjective experience of consciousness and perception, including the phenomenon of lucid dreaming.

  1. David Bohm: Bohm was a theoretical physicist who proposed an interpretation of quantum mechanics known as the “Bohmian interpretation” or “pilot-wave theory.” He suggested that quantum particles are guided by an underlying order or “implicate order,” which may have implications for consciousness and the mind.
    1. Roger Penrose: Penrose is a mathematical physicist who, along with Stuart Hameroff, proposed the “orchestrated objective reduction” (Orch-OR) theory of consciousness. This theory posits that consciousness arises from quantum processes occurring within microtubules in neurons. While controversial, this theory suggests a connection between quantum physics and consciousness.
    2. Henry Stapp: Stapp is a theoretical physicist who has written extensively on the relationship between quantum mechanics and the mind. He has proposed that conscious experience involves the collapse of the quantum wave function and that mental processes may influence the outcome of quantum events.
    3. Evan Thompson: Thompson is a philosopher and cognitive scientist who has explored the relationship between consciousness and quantum physics from a philosophical perspective. In his book “Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy,” he discusses the parallels between the experience of lucid dreaming and certain aspects of quantum mechanics.

These theorists have approached the topic from various perspectives, from physics and neuroscience to philosophy and psychology. While their ideas remain speculative and controversial, they have sparked interesting discussions and debates about the nature of consciousness and its potential connections to the fundamental principles of quantum physics. This is an important development in the merging of scientific and metaphysical thought and theory. By including lucid dreaming in the discussion we bridge the gap between the waking and. sleeping bardos and worlds.

Sweet Dreams,

QP