Creating Word Class Brains: How Meditation Enhances the Brain

Description

A large body of research has shown that meditation enhances brain functioning: intelligence, creativity, focus, inner locus of control, and self-actualization. Now, with the advance of scientific instrumentation, it is possible to understand the neurophysiological basis of this brain transformation. This presentation will examine what meditation does to the brain and differentiate between the effects of the three main types of meditation—concentration, open monitoring, and automatic self-transcending. The presentation, using a Johns Hopkins student who has learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, will include a live demonstration of the unique pattern of brain functioning produced by transcending.

The evening will begin at 7:30 p.m. with a 10-minute silent meditation. Please arrive by 7:25 p.m. if you want to join the meditation.

Fred Travis is a leading expert on the effects of meditation on the brain and has been studying these effects for nearly 40 years. He received his PhD in psychology from Maharishi International University in 1988 and is now professor and dean there as well as director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition. His research has focused on brain development from birth to adulthood, effects of stress on brain functioning, effects of meditation on the brain during and after meditation practice (state and trait effects), subjective and objective markers of higher states of consciousness, and brain patterns of peak performance. Travis has published 92 papers and book chapters and has authored or coauthored four books. He has lectured on the effects of meditation on the brain at conferences around the world.