Nghiên cứu tại NUS khám phá một dạng thiền định mới khác biệt

The practices lead to above-normal levels of physical and cognitive performance and pave the way for a range of potential medical and behavioural interventions

Mindfulness studies have long dominated our understanding of the neurobiology of meditation, with practitioners of mindfulness-related meditation taught to be vigilant of the content of their thoughts so as to experience relaxation and stress reduction to improve attention and focus.

A recent study led by Associate Professor Maria Kozhevnikov from the Department of Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, has discovered a different class of meditative practices that seeks to employ and regulate the state of stress that an individual experiences – rather than to reduce it – to achieve an even more heightened state of focus and attention.

The study is the first to propose a scientific taxonomy of meditative practices that accommodates not only mindfulness-based meditations but also this new class of meditative practices that produces a heightened sense of alertness by stimulating the brain, which is referred to by practitioners as ‘arousal-based’ meditations. It reveals that the latter actually covers a large class of meditative techniques, such as those employed within Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism), by Sufis of the Islamic tradition (“whirling dervishes”), and by many other traditions, including Hindu Tantra and East Asian martial arts. Prior to the study, the mechanisms of these techniques were unknown.

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