There is a metabolic reset you achieve through deep meditation, breath work, creative flows, etc. The dissolution of a false perceptual filter at a fundamental consciousness level. It may/may not persist. But it’s evidence of what can happen when we change our axis of perception.
But first, a few things to note, which may not be new to you given your interest level in this, but I want to share them for context for anyone else landing here.
- As a society, we tend to invest money in research when there’s a path to profit, and especially if there’s a sizeable one that can be patented and protected. Meditation, breath work, painting, dancing and music don’t offer an attractive ROI to government or corporate interests despite the overwhelming ROI for patients. It costs next to nothing to do them, and the benefits have been proven through society for millennia.
- We are waking up to a new paradigm and people are starting to invest in this research but it’s still early days. Some of the research protocols are heavily skewed toward pharmacological interventions, so there’s deep bias in methodologies that influence conclusions.
- There is no substitute for your own independent research and direct lived experience. We have learned to outsource our understanding to the institutions and people who benefit from our compliance, not our consciousness. I am trained as a scientist. I apply the scientific method (hypotheses, experiment, analyze, conclude, refine hypotheses, repeat) to my own direct experience and I integrate & synthesize research from all domains. But I maintain a detachment from fixed conclusions. Like Bryan Johnson, I am consistently exploring and experimenting to update my pov based on sound research, new evidence and direct experience.
- I do not provide medical opinions or guidance for obvious reasons. The only person who should listen to me, is me. 😉
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3336928/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22377965/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7177919/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/mindfulness-can-improve-heart-health
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.122.028712
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6392805/
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2110455118
A couple of closing thoughts.
Most of the studies are compressed and limited duration - 8-12 week protocols, etc. Despite that short period, they show good evidence to support the reset. Imagine what a year or longer will do.
One of the most overlooked areas is the connection between meditation and sleep. People like Dr Matt Walker (he wrote the book: Why We Sleep - it should be one of the first books we read!) have done incredible research to show how important sleep is to the restoration and healing processes that our bodies undertake each night. What they have found is that the reduced activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN) - basically when our self-referential model goes offline… the idea of personhood that we call “I” fades away from conscious perception for a few hours each night - this reduced activity is like a trigger for our body to start its clean up and fix processes.
Meditation and breathwork, plus our flow states (when we’re so wonderfully lost in creativity that we have little to no conscious self-reference chatter operating in our mind) all involve reduced DMN activity.
Nature has provided us the clues we need. It’s up to us to be open to their application in our own lives.
Wherever possible I have confirmed this research with my own direct experience. Sometimes the order has been: read research → experiment on myself. Other times the order is reversed. I’ve experimented and observed on myself, then gone looking for any research to read and understand what’s happening.
I hope this was helpful, albeit more long-winded than you might have expected. ☺️ I’m passionate about helping people live happier, healthier lives with freedom from the compulsion to pay money for it. That’s a legacy worth leaving for our children.