I count 1-10 and repeat until my mind becomes quiet or at least less noisy. I have a much easier time of it since I've been doing it for so long, my mind becomes quieter easier and much sooner.
There is science that shows that prayer and meditation have the same effect on the brain and body.
Here are the parts of the brain forming neural circuts that are involved when one meditates and contemplates God or prays:Occipital Parietal Circuit:Identifies God as an object or personality outside of oneself. Children see God as a person and that is likely due to not being able to process abstract spiritual ideas.Parietal Frontal Circuit:Establishes a relationship between you and others, God included. It puts God outside of yourself and allows you to experience His presence. So if you decrease activity in this area you diminish the boundaries between you and God as well as you and others. You begin to feel a sense of unity as a result.Frontal Lobe: This are creates, intergrates and brings to fruition all your ideas about God. This includes the logic you use to evaluate your religious or spiritual beliefs and belief systems. It also intellectually attempts to answer the big questions, the who, what, when, where and why’s of spiritual and religious beliefs and questions. The frontal lobe also controls everything we are conscious of, our sense of logic, reason, our attention, language skills and voluntary motivation.Thalamus: Gives emotional meaning to God and the ideas you have surrounding Him. The Thalamus produces a holistic sense of the world and seems to be the key organ in making God real in an objective sense. The thalamus sends sensory information to all parts of the brain and gives a sense of meaning. It gives you a sense of what ultimate reality may be.Amygdala: When stimulated to excess God seems overly authoritative and punitive and fear results and this suppresses the frontal lobe’s ability to logically think about God.Striatum: This area inhibits the amygdale and allows the feeling of safety to become prominent during prayer or meditation or in being in the presence of God.Anterior Cingulate: This area seems to allow you to experience God as a loving and compassionate entity. It decreases fear, guilt, anxiety, apprehension and anger by suppressing the activity of the amygdala. Prayer and meditation specifically strengthen the anterior cingulated.Parietal Lobe: This are controls your sense of self, thus when its activity decreases you are then able to feel oneness with others, the universe and God. This area is more active during everyday life in those who pray and meditate frequently and when one prays or meditates activity diminishes resulting in a sense of oneness.The circuit activated by meditation according to the studies found in the book What God does to your Brain, is as follows:Pre-Frontal Cortex > Anterior Cingulate > Bsal Ganglia > Thalamus.This may be because during meditation and prolonged prayer we become more focused and alert (PFC), more empathetic and socially aware (Anterior Cingulate), and have more control over our emotions (Basal Ganglia). This then affects our sensory perceptions of the world (Thalamus), and all this information is then relayed to all other parts of the brain.Friar John Main, Friar Thomas Keating and Trappist monks describe a type of meditation specific to Christianity and Keating updated and modified a fourteenth century text The Cloud of Unknowing:“It brings us into the presence of God and thus fosters the contemplative attitudes of listening and receptivity. It is not contemplative in the strict sense, which in Catholic tradition has always been regarded as a pure gift of the Spirit, but rather it is a preparation for contemplation by reducing the obstacles caused by the hyperactivity of our minds and of our lives.”Keating called his simple meditation “The Centering Prayer.”The techniques of Christian meditation came to an apex in the twelfth century by Guigo II, a Carthusian monk who categorized four levels of meditation or four types: Lectio (slowly reading scripture), meditation (contemplating the deeper meanings of scripture), oratio (spontaneous prayer), and contemplation (wordlessly focusing on God’s love).And here we have scripture which tells us of meditation in the Bible. "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things." (Php 4:8)
Paul clearly teaches us to "meditate on these things", and "meditation" is certainly a Biblical subject: Isaac meditated in the field at eventide - Gen 24:63 Joshua was charged by God to mediate "day and night" - Josh 1:8 The "blessed man" in Psalms 1 is one who meditates - Ps 1:1-2 David became wiser than his teachers through meditation - Ps 119:99 Paul commanded Timothy to "meditate on these things" - 1Ti 4:15How does meditation bring us closer to the Lord?
President [David O.] McKay said, “We don’t take sufficient time to meditate.” I get up early in the morning … , five o’clock, when my mind and spirit are clear and rested. Then I meditate. You can come closer to the Lord than you imagine when you learn to meditate. Let your spirits be taught by the Spirit.8
"We pay too little attention to the value of meditation, a principle of devotion.... Meditation is the language of the soul. It is defined as 'a form of private devotion, or spiritual exercise, consisting in deep, continued reflection on some religious theme.' Meditation is a form of prayer.... "Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord." 2
The above quotes about meditation are from David O. McKay. We as Latter Day Saints are advised to meditate. We can enjoy the ample blessings from meditation as Latter Day Saints without worshipping any God other than our own. God is the author of all truth and if a thing is healthy and beneficial how are we to not partake of that which offers us blessings of health and communion with God. We know the benefits and effects are the same as with prayer so we still pray but add meditation to our spiritual regimine.
Meditation may seem like a foreign practice but it has been practiced by billions of people over thousands of years. It can help you as it helped me. I used to be so rageful on the roads but after meditating daily over these last few years I rarely get angry while driving and am no longer prone to being reckless because of it. My wife and I argue less and we are more productive in moments of friction because I am less reactive and more peaceful.
Meditation has completely transformed me for the better. And anyone can do it and partake of a similar transformation. Because it is not in learning how to be peaceful that one becomes peaceful. True transformation happens in the moment and meditation has helped me be present in the moment. And it can help transform you the way it has me.
