Dhyana: Exiting Default Mode.
(under 3 minute read)
Now at the seventh of the eight limbs, dhyana, translated as meditation, takes us into a realm beyond our individuality & opens the door to changing how we think & feel.
As mentioned in the last piece on dharana (concentration), through practicing relaxed concentration (this could be during a meditation practice or other activities), we are able to enter a state of meditation. In this state, our ego begins to soften & we are able to transcend our own individuality into a state of connection & union. Essentially, true meditation begins where “I” end.
During our normal waking consciousness, our mind & brain spend much of our time in what is called the “default mode network” (DMN).
As suggested by the name, the DMN is our default way of being and thinking whenever our mind isn’t occupied or focused on a task. A series of brain structures are active when we are in this mode, our mind wanders from place to place (the “monkey mind”) & becomes involved in ruminating & self-referential thinking.
In other words, we think about ourselves. We think about our past, our future, persistent beliefs about ourselves begin to come up (“I’ll never be able to do …”), along with the narrative we carry about ourselves (“I’m like this because…”, “if they hadn’t treated me this way I would be different”, etc.). We become wrapped up in our own ideas of ourselves as an individual & tune out of the present moment.
Increased time spent in the DMN is also linked to low moods, depression and anxiety.
This level of being keeps us locked in an experience of separateness.
Within a meditation practice, through relaxed concentration, we first develop self-awareness by becoming aware of these patterns, we then learn to regulate this habit by continuously bringing ourselves back to our object of meditation (this could be breath, an image or simple watching of the mind without following thoughts) when we notice the mind wandering.
Then the meditative state comes, our usual thoughts & impressions begin to fall away & we feel our boundaries start to dissolve as we begin to merge with all around us, our separation is replaced with union.
In this sense, meditative states of consciousness could be seen as the exact opposite of the DMN state & multiple studies have found meditation to reduce DMN activity both during the practice & after, while also improving connectivity in areas of the brain responsible for self-monitoring & cognitive control.
Interestingly enough, this mirrors the results from research into the effects of psychedelics on the DMN. This reduction of DMN activity is the neural correlate to the experience of ego-dissolution.
Meditation not only takes us out of self-centred thinking but it also trains us to be better able to come back from it when we fall back in.
Through meditation, we begin to step outside of our experience of separateness & experience a transcendence of our individuality, instead connecting with our own formless & divine nature, cultivating a sense of union with all around us.
Through experiences of self transcendence during meditation, our ideas of our own identity change. We are no longer bound to our own stories & conditioning, instead our boundaries begin to dissolve leaving us open & connected to the world around us.
