Imagine you’re standing on the rocky shore, looking down into the water below. The surface of the ocean is churned up, covered in whitecaps whipped up by the wind.

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You dive into the water and, as you cut through the waves, immediately things begin to settle. As you descend further it becomes progressively quieter and more peaceful until you touch the floor of the ocean itself. A stillness surrounds you. 

Settling your mind to the deepest, inner state of Being

This analogy is useful to help us understand the different layers of your mind. Like the ocean, the conscious, surface layers of the mind are busy and active. The deeper levels are progressively more subtle and refined, until you reach the baseline of the mind — pure, inner, serene quiet. 

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— Ordinary thinking is like swimming on the surface of the churned-up ocean.
— Meditation is diving down into the depths.
— Your essential state of Being is experienced at the baseline of the mind, as if you’re resting on the sea floor. 

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Meditation doesn’t create this state of Being. Rather than developing a new state of consciousness, meditation is a technique to draw the mind inwards, naturally and effortlessly. Meditation reveals the inner reality that’s already there, deep within. 

Turning the mind inwards 

Every thought starts at the deepest level of consciousness — at a layer that is so subtle the average mind can’t even detect it. Then, as the thought bubbles up to the more conscious, surface level, it is recognized in the mind and we notice the thought. 

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In Vedic Meditation (one of the oldest techniques in the world), we reverse this process by drawing the mind inwards, away from the noisy surface layers of thinking towards subtler and finer strata of thoughts. And then the meditator transcends, or moves beyond, thinking to arrive at the source of all cognitions — a state of Being. This is a state of consciousness without thoughts. 

The science of Being 

Experiences of Being are measurable: we can track what’s happening in your brain and your body when you access that least-excited state. We can also observe how this state changes you over time; impacting your mood, health, energy levels and much more. 

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It’s important to note that not all forms of meditation are the same. Just as different techniques are approached and practiced differently, they also produce distinct effects on the mind and body. This is particularly relevant when evaluating the effect on brain functioning.

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In this article I will focus on how a regular experience of this inner restful state positively changes your brain. 

The optimized brain signature of Being 

For every thought, experience, and feeling there is a corresponding activity in the brain. The opposite is also true. For every neurological change there is a corresponding shift in mental activity. Everything that happens inside your brain affects your mental state. 

What you do with your brain changes it 

It was previously thought that once the brain matured, its structure didn’t change. Now neuroscientists estimate that about 70 per cent of brain connections change every day. This continuous rewiring of connections between neurons is called neural plasticity. Rather than being a fixed and static structure, your brain is malleable, constantly remodelling itself depending on the experiences you have. 

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As you watch the fireworks on New Year’s Eve, the experience sculpts your brain; that wave of activity leaves a trace in terms of the neuronal circuitry of your brain. This can happen at any age — whether you’re 4 or 94, you have the capacity to positively expand these inter-neuronal connections. Study another language, learn to play a musical instrument or memorise 25,000 different streets and landmarks of London in a black cab (known as ‘The Knowledge’) — each of these will ask those neurons to fire differently, expanding the dendritic web and amplifying the connectivity of your brain. 

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It is exactly this phenomenon that explains how a regular and reliable experience of Being during meditation optimizes the brain. 

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Here are some of the key changes we see in practitioners of a transcending style of meditation when they sit and close their eyes to meditate. 

Alpha brain waves 

It’s possible to measure the electrical activity of brain waves using an electroencephalograph (EEG). Researchers have shown these varying wave patterns are associated with different types of cognitive functioning. Delta waves are a reliable indicator of sleep, when the brain is recovering from waking state activities. Theta waves are seen in a drowsy, dreaming state of consciousness.

In an automatic self-transcending technique, meditators are found to have a greatly increased level of alpha waves. Alpha waves are associated with a deeply relaxed inner wakefulness and an absence of anxiety. 

Left and right brain coherence 

Another interesting change relates to the degree of orderliness and coherence associated with different parts of the brain — particularly the left and right cerebral hemispheres. The right hemisphere is considered to be responsible for the ‘artistic’, intuitive aspect of a person’s nature. This tends to involve non-verbal idea formation, spatial composition and synthesis. The left hemisphere is associated with logical, analytical and verbal thinking. 

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For most people the two hemispheres are not in balance, with either the right or left side showing a more dominant functioning. And for the majority of people, the brain waves in different regions tend to be random and disorderly. When we look at the patterns of psychotic patients, we see they have a significantly higher level of disorder and incoherence. It makes sense that a more coherent, orderly brain signature will lead to more effective and creative thinking. 

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One of the findings of neuroscientific research into meditators shows moments of synchronous activity in different parts of the brain. These peak coherence events are thought to correlate with moments of transcendence or Being. In particular, brain waves in the two cerebral hemispheres begin firing in synchrony, cooperating with each other in a better way. The implication for creativity is significant — the increased coordination between the two sides of the brain engages their complementary functioning, resulting in an enhanced creative process. 

Pre-frontal cortex engagement 

Meditation activates the front of your brain, known as the pre-frontal cortex. This area is responsible for the higher-order executive processing functions that are key to decision-making, like organization, planning, evaluation, differentiation between options and risk assessment. 

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This is why it’s often referred to as the CEO of the brain. This centre is also responsible for performance of motor controls, which regulate movement. 

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The orderliness between left and right hemispheres also happens between the front and back of the brain. Alpha brain waves spread forward in a synchronous pattern to the frontal area, resulting in a more coherent brain signature overall. This global coherence suggests that greater coordination between mind and body will lead to an improved synthesis of thinking and doing. 

Increased oxygen to the brain 

Oxygen is critical for optimal brain functioning. Although the brain accounts for only about 2 per cent of body weight, it consumes 20 per cent of the body’s oxygen intake. If oxygen supply is reduced, brain function declines. If the supply is cut off for more than a few minutes the brain begins to deteriorate irreversibly. 

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There are a number of factors that contribute to a reduction in the oxygen supply to the brain — old age and high blood pressure are two of the most common. When the arteries to the head become blocked by the build-up of fats this can seriously affect mental functioning. In one study, when the arteries of elderly patients were cleared, their IQ scores increased significantly. In addition, measurements of their personality showed a significant reduction in anxiety, distress and disorientation. 

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During the transcending style of meditation, blood-flow patterns are significantly higher in the executive and attention areas and measurably lower in arousal areas. This is good news for your mental functioning. 

In conclusion:

— Form adapts to function — what you do with your brain changes it. 

— Meditation delivers a distinct, optimized brain signature. 

— Effects compound and stabilize over time. 

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These optimized brain events observed in meditators lead to an upgrade in all aspects of mental functioning including improved memory, enhanced focus and concentration and greater clarity and creativity.

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Jillian Lavendar is one of the world’s most experienced teachers of Vedic Meditation and the author of Do Reset: Meditate. Move beyond thinking. Find Clarity. and Why Meditate? Because it Works. As co-founder of New York Meditation Center and London Meditation Centre, alongside her partner Michael Miller, she has helped thousands of people across the globe transform their lives through meditation. 

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Order Jillian’s new book, Do Reset: Meditate. Move beyond thinking. Find Clarity. here: https://www.amazon.com/Do-Reset-Meditate-thinking-clarity/dp/191416847X