Buddhist meditation and it's effects on human personality

[Hans de Vries]

Anyone familiar with studies showing beneficial effects of various types of Buddhist meditation on human psychology? Not just stress reduction and other mundane shit but deeper changes. Is it possible to experience a deep personality transformation with meditation (long term)?

[Prometheus]

I'm not sure: here's some studies.Most of them look like they are tracking short term goals, but let us know if you find anything longer term: i'd be interested.

 

If you ask a Buddhist though, they will tell you that if you meditate for any specific purpose you are doing it wrong. It's just sitting.

[John Cuthber]

I don't see how there could be a valid experimental design.

How do you rule out the placebo effect?

[EdEarl]

I believe it does. Of course, everyone changes over time, and it's possible to change in many ways. Temple Grandin's mother helped Temple, who is a high functioning autistic, function in the world, and Temple became a world renounced PhD. John Nash, Nobel Laureate in Economics, professor of mathematics who is schizophrenic taught himself to ignore the people his mind imagines and know who real people were, which allows him to cope with little or no medication. Hitler changed from rebellious teenager to international criminal. These are extreme examples.

 

Doing mindfulness meditation means one examines their own life, the actions and motivations, and one decides to change wherever warranted. Buddhist philosophy teaches living an uncomplicated life that focuses on learning to be content with oneself and kind to others. One meditates to become aware of things that will change life for the better, and over time, those changes become systemic and automatic; thus, transforming one's life. It is such a simple prescription that it may seem like it cannot work, but studies show it does.

[John Cuthber]

There was a talk I went to about mindfulness. They cited studies that showed all sorts of benefits.
At the end I asked what the reference interventions had been in those studies.

They were rather embarrassed and said there weren't any.

 

This whole area is full of bad studies, partly because it's difficult to make good studies, and partly because bad ones sell more books.

 

 

In what other field could someone seriously post on a science forum that they believe something because it was said to have worked for two people (presumably, having met neither of those people)?

[EdEarl]

If you are referring to my three examples, none of them practiced mindfulness meditation AFAIK. I merely said people change gave a brief description of how they changed IMO. In two cases, Temple and John, documentaries about their lives said they worked toward making those changes by conscious decisions. They aren't scientific studies. However, what they did is similar to a person who has been driving to work on the freeway for twenty years, deciding to take a side street and drive through a city park because the beautiful park makes them feel good; whereas, sitting on the freeway in gridlock makes them feel bad. The difference is that changing ones route is a physical action that is obvious; however, changing a motivation is not obvious, except to the person making the change. And, it is difficult or impossible to scientifically study whether someone changes their motivation or not.

[Phi for All]

Is it possible to experience a deep personality transformation with meditation (long term)?

 

This probably scales with how much of an impulsive, ignorant loudmouth you are. If you're above 80% on the obnoxious scale (and I'm not saying you are), I think sitting quietly would allow for a pretty deep personality transformation.

 

As long as you remembered how grateful everyone was when you were quiet, it could be long term.

 

If you don't have an obnoxious personality, "deep personality transformation" is a bit vague. What is it you're doing/not doing now that makes you want to meditate, and what exactly do you want to transform into? Are you talking about something like being very nervous around more than one person, and meditation might help you relax in situations with lots of people around? Or are we talking about something else, where you go from being a wallflower to the life of the party? Librarian to stand-up comic, like that?

 

I don't see the harm in meditating to relax, clear your mind, and slow life down for a bit. I don't think it will "transform" you by itself. Maybe as part of a process?

[EdEarl]

I think many regular posters on this forum are already rational, mindful thinkers. Many of us would say there are things about themselves they are working on changing, and many things they have already changed. For them, adding meditation to their lives probably would not make big transformations. For those who are not as rational, the changes would be bigger because mindfulness teaches rational thinking. gtg...later

[Xalatan]

It would be interesting to measure tangible electrophysiological parameters like brain waves to see if perhaps there is a tendency for beta to alpha transition. Also neuroendocrine parameters like cortisol, melatonin etc to see if there is any effect on hypothalamic function.

[EdEarl]

It would be interesting to measure tangible electrophysiological parameters like brain waves to see if perhaps there is a tendency for beta to alpha transition. Also neuroendocrine parameters like cortisol, melatonin etc to see if there is any effect on hypothalamic function.

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/mindfulness-meditation-associated-lower-stress-hormone

 

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2009/issue61/

 

http://commons.clarku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=surj

 

I searched and found some, but I have not read them critically, just scanned them.