Becoming Accustom to Positive, Aware, and Open Thinking

I have mentioned before scientific research on meditation and contemplative practices. I was recently reminded about the importance of a daily practice to replace negative and destructive thinking with positive, aware, and open thinking. Research on the brain functions not only give credence to Buddha-Dharma methods but are also explaining why such practices work.

Khenpo Choga Rinpoche has often reminded me that it is very important to repeat my meditative and contemplative practices often. Repeatedly he reminds me that initially we learn (through hearing, studying, reading). Next through practice, we become familiar and accustom to the essence of the Dharma-teachings. Finally by “sitting” (meditative practices) with our experience, the essence of the Dharma become an integral part of our being.

When it comes to destructive/negative thinking (aka emotions), I see the benefits of practices come in two waves. The first is on those situations where we think before we respond. The second is on the immediate responses to a situation.

The first level of success, from training and practice, comes from interrupting a pattern. We are given methods to interrupt negative responses, thinking, and emotions to situations throughout most practices. Within the Buddha Path, my daily practice text, there are methods and reminders throughout. This is the thinking method applied to stop a pattern before we get caught up in a negative path. Hopefully I interrupt a pattern before I am caught up in negative thoughts which can result in negative actions if left unchecked.

We all hold habitual patterns that can raise their ugly head when confronted with the right circumstances. From what I see, whether these patterns have been formed in this life or have been carried over from a past life is not so very important. A negative/harmful habitual pattern, no matter its origin, is to be eliminated.

The second level of success is much more subtle and long-time coming. This second wave is when we eliminate the patterns completely from our thinking. The negative response is no longer available. This is where a negative emotion does not even arise when faced with a situation. In traditional teachings, my teachers have referred to this as burning all the seeds of negative thinking from us. For example, once the seeds of jealousy are completely burned, it is not possible to become jealous. No matter what situation arises, we can no longer elicit that emotion.

From what I have experienced, these changes in habitual patterns happen very slowly. There is no quick fix especially when it comes to the immediate response mechanisms. I feel that we can only have affect on these after only with many hours of practice. The changes occur slowly and almost without detection to us. My best measure comes from my teacher, Khenpo Choga Rinpoche, who is most willing to access my small successes and huge failings. I still have a very long way to go. (There are still lots of seeds of negative thinking within me, I fear!)

I am not trained in Western science. (In fact, I sometimes think that I am not trained in anything really.) However, I do come across items of interest from the scientific community. Recently I came across a discussion on reactive emotions. It seems that neuroscience has identified two primary ways that we respond to situations.

The first method used by the brain travels immediately from our sense to the amygdala, a walnut-sized region within the depths of each hemisphere of the brain. This region of the brain which bypasses the so-called thinking brain functions. Scientist consider this brain function as the key to the “fight or flight” responses. Its most noted responses are associated with immediate danger which triggers fear. As I see it, this region is the key to our automatic habitual responses to a situation triggering fear, anger, jealously, desire, etc.

In the second method, our brain processes information through the frontal lobes and hippocampus regions of the brain as well as others. Through this method, our response is processed before we react. There seems to be a delay between the circumstance and the reaction.

So why do I bring this up? For me, I feel that it very well explains the two waves of benefits from mediation and contemplative practices. Initially through practice and familiarization, we can work on brain processing situations. We can interrupt negative responses and “chose” a positive response.

With years of practice, we then begin to work on the short cut amygdala process of the brain. Many scientist consider this immediate response mechanism of the brain as hard-wired into the brain. As such, only recently has there be any studies on the ability for someone to modify this brain process. I see modifying these ‘automatic processes’ as the great benefit of long-term and frequent practice.

I know of no other way for us to modify our thinking process other than spending the time with practice. There are no quick fixes. We have spent lifetimes building habitual patterns. They take time to redirect and correct.

Many Dharma Blessings,

Geoff Kaessner