Here’s a summary of an interesting article written by
researchers based in Wisconsin that has classified meditation types into three
broad categories based on their underlying brain processes.
1.
Attentional
2.
Constructive
3.
Deconstructive
Attentional meditation
This includes both focused attention and open monitoring
styles of meditation. Attention can be both narrow in scope (e.g., the breath) or
attentional control can be released and awareness placed on non-judgmentally
noticing thoughts and feelings (e.g., opening monitoring).
Cognitively, attentional meditation is underpinned by meta-awareness-
the cognitive state of being aware of the state of consciousness.
Without meta-awareness we become “experientially fused” with
what we experience. When this happens we are aware of the objects of our
attention but we are unaware of the processes that result in their
perception.
Other terms for experientially fused include ‘cognitive
fusion’ and ‘object mode’. The act of becoming aware of thoughts and feelings
has also been termed 'cognitive distancing', 'cognitive diffusion', and 'decentering'.
A classic situation where a person fluctuates between moments
of meta-awareness and experientially fused is when watching a movie. An
individual can become so engrossed in a movie that can become largely unaware of
the environment around them, instead they’re experientially fused with the
story. However, they can also experience moments of meta-awareness where they
attend to the fact they are actually watching a TV or movie screen.
Overall, meta-awareness is the ability to “take a step back”
and observe the mental processes that govern thoughts and feelings.
Constructive
meditation
Examples of meditation types that fall within this category
include meditation on loving-kindness and compassion and contemplating ones own
mortality (found in Buddhist as well as Platonic philosophy).
Some constructive meditation types cultivate feelings of patience
and equanimity- and nurture pro-social interpersonal relationships (e.g.,
loving-kindness). Others aim to restructure priorities and values and
ultimately reorientate the mind towards what is important in life (e.g.,
contemplating ones own mortality).
The two meditation types above illustrate the broadness of
this category. However, overall meditation types within this category foster an increased
state of wellbeing by targeting maladaptive thoughts concerning the self and
others and replacing them with those that are more adaptive.
Constructive meditation differs from attentional meditation in
that it not only involves monitoring thought patterns and emotions but also involves
systematically changing the content of thoughts in a positive manner.
Cognitive processes central to these broad types of meditation
are 1) cognitive reappraisal and 2) perspective taking.
Cognitive reappraisal involves changing how we think about
situations and events so that ultimately our responses to them are altered.
Reappraisal is important for regulating emotion and recruits brain areas
involved in cognitive control. In this way we can learn to become aware and
then regulate maladaptive thought patterns replacing these with feelings and thoughts that are substantially more positive.
Perspective taking requires an individual to consider how
they or another person would feel in a particular situation.
One common aspect of constructive meditation is the ability
to transform empathy into compassion, where an individual cultivates thought
patterns orientated away from themselves and more towards others.
In psychology, empathy is defined as the ability to
understand and resonate with others emotional state, while compassion is
defined as concern for the wellbeing of another with a motivation to help.
Without compassion empathy can lead to negative emotions. For
example, those with a high level of empathy show increased corticosteroid
response when they perceive stress in another individual. They themselves can
become engulfed in that emotion. So through the use of both meta-awareness and
a sense of compassion an individual can appraise the situation “step back” and
become motivated to help.
Deconstructive
meditation
This subgroup of meditation styles aims to decrease maladaptive
cognitive thought patterns by exploring the dynamics of perception, emotion and
thoughts. The aim is to generate insight into ones internal model of the self,
others, and the world. Meditation styles that fall within this category include
mindfulness styles and Vipassana.
The central cognitive mechanism in this form of meditation is
‘self-inquiry’,
which the authors define as the process of investigating the dynamics and
nature of conscious experience.
Essentially an individual cultivates a sense of
contemplation and discursive analysis of self-related processes. They then learn to identify assumptions that underlie an experience in an abstract
manner without trying to control the thoughts or feelings; they can then question
the logical consistency of these assumptions.
For example, if an individual is anxious, they may aim to identify
the fearful assumptions that underlie the emotion and then inquire into the
rational basis for their beliefs.
Another approach involves an individual directly examining
their experience by dissecting the feelings of anxiety into its components (thoughts
feelings and physical sensations) and notice how these are consistently
changing.
This sort of analysis can also be applied to the dynamic
nature of perception, thoughts and emotions, nature of awareness, or the
concept of the self.
The overall goal of this deconstructive meditation styles is
to elicit insight- a sudden shift in consciousness that involves awareness and
understanding of a concept that previously eluded ones grasp. It’s when we have
these moments of insight that maladaptive thoughts lose their strength.
With practice these moments of insight can extend beyond the
meditation practice. Within Buddhist practices fleeting moments of insight
become systematically solidified and integrated into ones life. However, this
also requires a meta-awareness.
For example, when a person is angry often their sense of
self becomes infused with the anger. The arising anger isn’t seen clearly but
instead becomes the lens through which the experience is observed. With a meta-
awareness based appraisal of the anger one can then begin the process of self
enquiry; deconstructing the associated thoughts and feelings into its various
components leading to an examination of how this relates to an individuals
sense of self and then questioning the validity of these beliefs.
Overall these classifications of meditation types based on
cognitive processes highlights the diversity by which different meditation
styles can foster increased wellbeing. The authors conclude by stating that
these classifications could help researchers investigate how meditation practice
can lead humans to flourish.
Personally I would enjoy seeing a shift in scientific
research towards examining not only how we can cure mental disorders but also
prevent and, furthermore, increase wellbeing beyond the norm.
Reference
Dah, C. J., Lutz, A., & Davidson, R. J. (2015).
Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: cognitive mechanisms in meditation
practice. Trends in Cognitive
Neurosciences, In Press.