The Ishaya Foundation
  • Welcome
  • MSI Books
  • Donate

Is Our Default Mode Set to Suffer?

1/24/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
A study from the University of Virginia discovered that a majority of healthy people would rather administer electric shocks to themselves rather than be left alone with their own thoughts!  The percentage was much higher in men than women. This response went against all data and expectations from the researchers.
When you don’t have a task to focus on, brain areas activaterelated to processing emotions, recalling memory, monitoring the environment, thinking about the intentions of others, thinking about the future, and so on--all things that we often do when we find ourselves just "thinking" without any explicit goal in mind.  Marcus Raichle  University of Washing neurologist discovered that “the brain is actually just as busy when we relax as when we focus on difficult tasks.”  He discovered it involves a particular network in the brain and named it the default mode network.  
 
According to research by Matt Killingsworth, human beings spend almost half their wakeful hours thinking about something other than what they’re doing! His Harvard study confirmed that there's a clear connection between mind wandering and unhappiness.By studying thousands of people he found mind-wandering precedes unhappiness but unhappiness does not precede mind-wandering. In other words, mind-wandering is likely to be a cause, and not merely a consequence, of unhappiness.
 
Those experiencing depression have shown increased activity in the default mode network and a direct correlation to the severity of their negative thinking impacting the severity of depression as well as in increased risk of suicide.  
Default-mode content involves an image of self, one that’s easy to become attached to. “We constantly think that it’s not just another thought, that [the image of self] is something real, not just a mental image.” Says Scott Barry Kaufman a psychologist at Barnard College, Columbia University who writes for Psychology Today and Harvard Review.
When the DMN (default mode network) “predominates, especially out of unawareness, it can very much limit our understanding of ourselves and of what might be possible,” Jon Kabat-Zinn argues.
“Prospection can lead to suffering if it hinders executive attention, the ability to have awe, attention to the present moment,” Kaufman says, emphasizing that, as with so many others ways that our minds get into trouble, the problem is rigidity; research indicates that a disturbed DMN is a mechanism in depression. “Our greatest source of suffering isn’t the default mode,” Kaufman says, “but when we get stuck in the default mode.”
Many studies indicate that meditation reduces activity in the DMN. Judson Brewer, psychiatrist and director of research at the UMass Medical School Center for Mindfulness founded by Kabat-Zinn, has found that extended meditation practice reforms the DMN, so that the default mode itself shifts: The resting state of the brain becomes more like the meditative state, producing “a more present-centered default mode.” 
​
Life in the present moment means we are no longer chained to past experiences or future worries; life can be lived continually in the present moment.
If you are looking for an effortless practice that can change your default mode, or just want to live more of your life in the present moment, the Ishaya Foundation offers beginner to advanced courses in a practice called The Art of Ascension. Ascension simply means to rise beyond our limited thinking.  It requires no belief to work.  You can sign up for a free webinar to learn more about how the Art of Ascension and how to learn this practice.

1 Comment
Faith link
2/5/2019 07:47:26 am

Very deep and interesting article. I personally often try to think about my own thoughts when left alone. This really helps me to set my life goals up and analyze my previous decisions to make some useful conclusions. I don't know why someone is so stressed why left alone.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    News From The Ishaya Foundation

    - Discover great links to scientific research.

    - Keep up to date on the latest news about your favorite non-profit organization.

    - Interact: leave comments or questions on the posts that speak most to you so our teachers can respond.

    Archives

    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018

    Categories

    All
    Health Benefits
    Power Of Thought
    Prayer
    Tips
    Warning Signs

    RSS Feed

Picture





The Ishaya Foundation ~ a non-profit organization

Telephone

573-261-9951

Email

[email protected]
  • Welcome
  • MSI Books
  • Donate