In September 2002, Tibetan monk Mingyur Rinpoche flew 18hrs over 3 days to reach a brain imaging lab in Madison WI run by neuroscientist Richie Davidson.
He was taken to the EEG room to have his brain waves measured during meditation.
The resulting scans shocked everyone. 🧵
He was taken to the EEG room to have his brain waves measured during meditation.
The resulting scans shocked everyone. 🧵
The protocol had Mingyur alternate between 1 min of meditation on compassion and 30sec of a neutral resting period. He would have to do this 4 times in rapid succession to ensure confidence in any effect measured.
But the scientists had doubts that this would work…
But the scientists had doubts that this would work…
Davidson, a meditator himself, knew that it takes time to settle the mind, much longer than just a few minutes. Surely it would be impossible for Mingyur to enter these states so quickly. He would need to achieve an inner quiet almost instantaneously for the experiment to work.
With all eyes on the EEG monitor, Mingyur began the meditation. Suddenly there was a huge burst of electrical activity on the display!
All assumed he must have moved and tugged on the sensors, a mere artifact. But strangely, this electrical burst lasted exactly 60sec…
All assumed he must have moved and tugged on the sensors, a mere artifact. But strangely, this electrical burst lasted exactly 60sec…
Also strange, the giant spikes diminished but were still present during his 30sec resting period. It was clear that Mingyur had not moved at all.
Everyone watched in silence as the experiment continued.
As the next 60sec meditation period began, another huge electrical spike!
Everyone watched in silence as the experiment continued.
As the next 60sec meditation period began, another huge electrical spike!
This pattern repeated each time he was instructed to meditate on compassion.
The team knew that they were witnessing something never seen before in a lab. But this was just the beginning…
The team knew that they were witnessing something never seen before in a lab. But this was just the beginning…
Mingyur was then run through a batch of tests with fMRI with the same protocol.
During his 60sec meditation Mingyur’s brain circuitry for empathy rose to a level 800% greater than the rest period.
Such an extreme increase with such rapidity was baffling…
During his 60sec meditation Mingyur’s brain circuitry for empathy rose to a level 800% greater than the rest period.
Such an extreme increase with such rapidity was baffling…
The closest resemblance to this kind of brain activity would be an epileptic seizure, but they are brief, not maintained for a full minute.
The findings stunned the world of neuroscience. Mingyur returned to his home in Nepal, and vanished…
The findings stunned the world of neuroscience. Mingyur returned to his home in Nepal, and vanished…
A few years earlier the monk had announced that he would be starting another meditation retreat.
This isn’t your typical Western 10day mediation spa, this is a minimum 3 years in a remote hermitage high in the mountains.
During those 3 years nobody heard a word from him…
This isn’t your typical Western 10day mediation spa, this is a minimum 3 years in a remote hermitage high in the mountains.
During those 3 years nobody heard a word from him…
Suddenly, in Nov 2015, after more than 4 years of no contact, Mingyur suddenly reappears at his monastery.
Only a few months later he’s on a plane back to the lab in Wisconsin…
Only a few months later he’s on a plane back to the lab in Wisconsin…
With scans from 2002, 2010 and later in 2016, Davidson and his team discovered something remarkable about Mingyur’s brain.
He’s in the 99th percentile compared to brains of people the same age. So if you had 100 people, all 41 years old, he would have the “youngest” brain…
He’s in the 99th percentile compared to brains of people the same age. So if you had 100 people, all 41 years old, he would have the “youngest” brain…
Essentially his brain was aging much more slowly than the average person. Although he was 41, he had the brain of a 33 year old!
But Mingyur was only a single case and Davidson had lined up over a dozen more advanced meditators for scans.
More data was needed.
But Mingyur was only a single case and Davidson had lined up over a dozen more advanced meditators for scans.
More data was needed.
For the next decade engineer Antoine Lutz analysed the data from Davidson’s scans and one day they stumbled upon a pattern hidden in the data.
They found it in the baseline readings. All the monks and yogis had the same pattern of elevated gamma oscillations BEFORE any test.
They found it in the baseline readings. All the monks and yogis had the same pattern of elevated gamma oscillations BEFORE any test.
Gamma, the fastest brainwave, occurs during moments when regions of the brain are firing in harmony. Think moments of insight when everything just “clicks” or when the perfect flow state is achieved briefly for maximum performance.
For most people these moments are brief, maybe a fraction of a second. But for the monks, these gamma moments of mental harmony are amplified and extended to incredible heights.
On avg. they showed a 25x greater amplitude of gamma oscillations during baseline than the controls
On avg. they showed a 25x greater amplitude of gamma oscillations during baseline than the controls
In other words, this is a PERMANENT state of higher functioning. A state of higher awareness and harmony that continues throughout their daily lives, not just during meditation.
A 14th century Tibetan text describes it as:
A 14th century Tibetan text describes it as:
This was a revolutionary moment. No brain lab had ever seen gamma oscillations that persist for longer that fractions of a second. Yet amazingly, they discovered these gamma patterns continued and even persisted while the monks were asleep!
Ultimately Davidson and his team had discovered a hidden treasure, a brain transformed beyond the ordinary.
Now imagine what is beyond the shallow grasp of the material science of the West. What else has been cultivated and grown in the minds and hearts of these men?
Now imagine what is beyond the shallow grasp of the material science of the West. What else has been cultivated and grown in the minds and hearts of these men?
For the full story check out Davidson’s book Altered Traits>
amzn.to
amzn.to
You can also find this story and more like it on our podcast Mysterious Universe (WARNING: it gets weirder than monks hooked up to EEGs!)
mysteriousuniverse.org
mysteriousuniverse.org
An afterthought >
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