Achieving Your Health, Wealth & Happiness with Daily 10-Minutes Mental Silence.

Looking After Your Brain. Neural Correlates of Thoughtless Awareness.

Dear Friend,

If you were to have a brain scan would anything show up corresponding to the state of thoughtless awareness?

And how might this account for the extraordinary sense of wellbeing you’re getting from your meditation practice?

Anticipating that you might get into a lively discussion about Sahaja yoga with someone at the bus-stop or at a dinner party, I’ve used Google AI below to produce for you an overview answer to the above two questions.

For the full AI response along with links to sources, they are shared here.

“The neural correlates of thoughtless awareness (or mental silence) in Sahaja Yoga meditation involve a unique combination of increased frontal midline theta wave activity, activation of attention and emotional control networks, and the deactivation of regions responsible for irrelevant sensory processing and social narration. [1, 2, 3]

🧠 Brainwave Activity (EEG Signatures)

Frontal Midline Theta Waves: When practitioners report entering a state of thoughtless awareness, EEG readings show a prominent shift to frontal midline theta activity. “...studies of Sahaja meditation have found that when the meditators signaled that they had reached a state of thoughtless awareness or “oneness,” theta activity appeared in the frontal mid-line areas of the brain...” as documented by Sahaja Online. This specific wave activity is strongly associated with deep positive emotional states and focused attention. [1]
Enhanced Alpha Power: Alongside theta bursts, an overall increase in alpha power is observed across the brain, which correlates to a state of highly alert, yet relaxed contemplation. [1]

🗺️ Functional Brain Mapping (fMRI Data)

Sustained Attention Network Activation: Neuroimaging indicates significant activation in the fronto-parieto-temporal regions. These networks handle sustained attention and cognitive control skills, allowing practitioners to block intrusive thoughts. [1, 2, 3]
Limbic and Insula Activation: The limbic regions, which control emotional state and mood, activate during the initial self-control process. This correlates with the subjective experience of bliss and positive mood. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The "Effortless" Drop in Activity: Once mental silence is achieved, neuroimaging reveals a drop in activity across the right inferior frontal cortex and the insula. “After passing through an initial intense neural self-control process necessary to silence the mind, Sahaja meditators experienced reduced brain activity... reflecting the effortless process of attentional contemplation...” according to data from Sahaja Online. [1, 2, 3]
Thalamic and Frontal Deactivation: Recent studies show a noticeable deactivation of the bilateral thalamus and frontal areas. This helps to diminish the perception of external environmental distractions and tones down social judgment or narrative "mentalizing". [1, 2]

🧬 Structural Changes (Grey Matter Changes)

Long-term practitioners display distinct anatomical differences compared to non-meditators:

Larger Overall Grey Matter Volume: Experienced meditators show an increased volume of grey matter throughout the entire brain.”

Your Brain’s Grey Matter is linked to your creativity. More below.

Also below: Making the most of sleep; and, getting to peace even when you’re not asleep.

Best wishes

PS.
Moon Calendar (at end) this coming week: Tue. 11th August - Shivaratri( Inner Truth); Wed. 12th - New Moon / Amavasya (New beginnings).

Click Here For Online Community Meditation Sessions & Resources + 21-Day Challenge Course

Sleep Hygiene - Simple Practices for Better Rest .

The regular things you do to prepare for bed is called your ‘sleep hygiene’. This may or may not include locking your phone away in another room. According to this Harvard Health article there are some fairly simple things you can do to ensure that you get the best possible sleep and enough of it. And don’t forget to raise your kundalini, put on a bandhan and go thoughtless as you drift off into Noddy Land…Wind Down .

Path to Peace - If You Don’t Think it, is it Real? (a Meditation).

Try this simple experiment. One by one pull into your full attention all the niggling little worries you may have at the back of your mind. As each worry is pulled into full view, you can then dismiss it by saying ‘not this, not this’. Once you’ve done this for all your worries, pay attention for a moment to your state of mind. Is it calmer? If you do feel calmer and more peaceful, then you’ve just demonstrated to yourself that if you don’t think it then it’s not real. This is the first step to a resolution. Try again with this short guided meditation...Stilling Self .

Gen Z - The Future of Effortlessness.

You don’t have to be Gen Z (in twenties) to have some of that Gen Z vibe. The response of Gen Z to work and social pressures has been called ‘lying flat’ ot Tang Ping in Chinese where it appears to have originated. A positive interpretation of that is effortlessness. And the way to live that and still be a productive member of society could well be through ‘thoughtless awareness’. Here’s why…Only Connect .

Click Here to Download the Free Meditation App 'We Meditate'

What Others Are Reading

Quote of the Week

“Your realisation (kundalini awakening) takes place in complete effortlessness, ‘prayatna shaithilya’ - means ‘relax your efforts’.

The second stage is ‘vichara shaithilya’ - thoughtless awareness. You got without doing anything.

And the third stage is complete negation of thought, ‘abhava’, and the bliss of peace.

Why do you have to have vichara shaithilya?

It is because when you project any thought, it is artificial. It is not Reality. Thought always stands between you and Reality. When you put in an effort, you stand against becoming.

So to be, to be, you don’t have to put in any effort. If you have to put in an effort, that means you are not yet that. ”

July 14th 1984, Leysin (Switzerland)

About Shri Mataji (More Than Human)

Your Question Answered

Also feel free to share here any experiences you’ve had with the meditation; any insights, or any comments that might be helpful to other readers

My head is buzzing with work stuff when I get home, which affects my ability to relax, so evening meditation is more difficult for me. That’s why I prefer meditating in the morning. What’s it like for other people?

Reply:

Speaking from my own experience, I too found it easier to meditate in the morning rather than the evening, in the beginning. Not that I didn’t meditate in the evening, it’s just that the morning meditation felt deeper.

However, when I began to focus my morning meditation on setting myself up for ‘dynamic flow’ in my day ahead, and the evening meditation for ‘clearing out’, I found the two meditation sessions complementary.

So if you approach the evening meditation as a chance to ‘clear out’ , which for me entails a footsoak and introspecting the chakras, then you’ll find it a valuable part of your practice.