Meditation Amsterdam - Book Review & Summary Mindsight by Daniel Siegel - Part 1

Welcome to a new post by Meditation Amsterdam!!


This time I thought I would dive into a book that made a very profound impact in my understanding of why meditation and Yoga have the effect they do in the practitioner, and which introduces a very modern day definition of Yoga when understood from an "integration" or "joining" perspective.

I will start with a caveat that's a bit cynical, and that is I find the term Mindsight, as coined by the author to be a deliberate marketing ploy since for a huge part it means the same as mindfulness. In the instances where he extends the concept to mean more, since it also speaks to several different aspects of mind/body integration, it only ends up describing the wider meaning of Yoga.

So while the book contains fantastic explanations into which I will dive in this review, it may as well have done away with its current title of "Mindsight, the new science of personal transformation", and been called "Yoga, the ancient science of personal transformation".   None of the techniques offered in it are new, but what is of value is the modern language, and scientific explanations that are given in the book, which allows the reader to do away with much of the mystical language in which Yoga is often shrouded, and open up the topic.

The reading of the book does not require any knowledge of neurology, psychology or Yoga but to the degree that the reader has them, the connections made during its reading become the more enjoyable.



Mindsight Book Review Meditation Amsterdam
Mindsight by Daniel Siegel

INTRODUCTION

The intro to the book contains the main idea in a nutshell as well as some interesting principles that may be new to the reader.

It explains that wellbeing can essentially be defined by the degree of integration that occurs within our brain, between our brain and our body, and finally between ourselves and our environment which includes our physical surroundings, but chiefly our social relationships.

Meditation and mind flow
A mind as a complex system that can be placed in "flow" through integrating its different parts



Some of the principles that underpin this notion are:

1. The idea that our minds are a complex system, which consists among other things, of brains that are (physically!) plastic, and shaped by the things we practice and things on which we focus
2. It takes work to change our brains but this also means we have ownership in the process
3. Mindsight is the fundament to our lives, and in its absence we'll likely be "stuck"

I found this chapter already to be a very exciting opener. In general, the notion of brain plasticity via meditation or other practices, which even include sports, learning languages or any given skill has always been the most exciting idea for me personally.

This is because I've always lived with the impression that we have a huge deal of power to shape ourselves if we only use the right methods.  It's an empowering notion and one that is full of hope both at a personal and societal level. So to see the idea being conveyed on a more mainstream/scientific book was quite a good surprise.  Then again the subtitle of the book does talk of personal transformation so I suppose I self selected as a reader!

The Brain in the Palm of your Hand

This chapter goes into explaining the different areas of the brain from "bottom" being the most primitive, to "top" being the most advanced.

1. The brainstem:

When seen from the side, this area resides somewhere next to our ear.  It is the most ancient part of the brain and it connects it to the rest of our body via the spinal cord.

We have to remember that before the brain became a socializing and planning organ, it appeared to help coordinate movement, hence such strong link to the body.

The brainstem is responsible for the motivational systems (basic drives) of food, shelter reproduction and safety.  What Maslow would call the bottom of the pyramid. These drives are very strong and when we are in fight or flight mode, they can entirely highjack the rest of our mind making us lose any ability for higher cognition.

It is interesting to point out that in yogic lingo, these drives correspond to the lower chakras.  So there seems to be a general feeling among different disciplines that the basic drives belong indeed at the base whether it is Maslow's pyramid, yogic tradition and even the physical brain itself.


Brain stem and Meditation
The Brain Stem


2. The Limbic Brain:

This area is above and around the brain stem and it is the primitive mammalian brain, where feelings are created, mostly in response to reactions from the brainstem which identifies stimuli as good or bad for our survival.

This part is also where emotional attachments are created and where actions driven by those emotions are triggered.

Finally and of crucial importance, this area of the brain is responsible for coordinating and regulating the secretion of several hormones.  This is of interest because the nature of the hormones secreted will be in relation to the emotions felt by the limbic brain.  If they are stressful emotions, hormones like cortisol and adrenaline will be the result.

Part of the appeal of meditation is its ability to create what's known as a "cortical override", in which the higher sections of the executive brain essentially put a stop to limbic reactivity which can run out of control, or continue for periods of time that are out of proportion to the actual danger.

These first two brain sections are the ones that explain the (by now) cliche situation of how we are creatures that live in a modern world that is not life threatening, but we still possess brains that react to stimuli as if it were life or death, causing an adrenalized system that eventually gets sick.

The famous Eckart Tolle put it well when he said that we can be extremely stressed, and hyperventilating, sweating and having tense muscles about a certain problem, as if our life was in danger, when in reality, we're sitting in the comfort of our living room.  Nice music could be playing in the background and in fact freshly baked apple pie could be coming out the oven.

None of it would make a difference. You're lost in thought and your limbic brain has taken over. Your body doesn't know the difference between a real and an imaginary threat and so it reacts with all its resources to prepare itself.  (Funny enough I feel a bit anxious myself just by writing this, as if by some kind of magic, thinking of the symptoms has a somatic consequence. Luckily I know this is transient and how to observe it carefully and lovingly without resistance, while still writing in a hopefully entertaining way!)





Limbic System and Meditation
The Limbic System of the Brain



3. The Pre-Frontal Cortex:

Now before we start painting the two previous areas as the "bad ones" and this one as the "good one" it's probably good to understand that each area of the brain carries out important functions and is critical in its own right. That is to say, instead of aiming to become pre-frontal people, the trick will be an integration, as per the main gist of the book.

So this part of the brain is at the top front, and looks like the folded structure we can see from the outside. The front especially is involved in the most advanced functions of the brain, including a favorite of meditation, which is the area responsible for generating conscious focus of attention.

This area is responsible for planning, inhibiting behavior, assessing moral judgements but most importantly for the focus of this book, it is directly connected to all other areas of the brain, and thus connects everything.  This includes, as the author reveals, areas that connect us to the brains of others (in a manner of speech of course).



Prefrontal Cortex and Meditation
The Prefrontal Cortex



When we meditate, a big part of what we're exercising is what is called "meta-awareness" or the ability to be aware that we're aware, which is a powerful skill to avoid emotional meltdowns.  The author gives us a list that describe the elements of a meltdown in terms of brain functions.


Meta-Awareness is the ability to be aware that we're aware



There are 9 key functions of the pre-frontal cortex, and when it's strong they prevent us from having emotional meltdowns.  These are:

1. Bodily regulation
2. Attuned communication
3. Emotional balance
4. Response flexibility (we'll discuss this later)
5. Fear modulation
6. Empathy
7. Insight
8. Moral awareness
9. Intuition

These are all aspects that are incidentally exercise and strengthened when we practice meditation on a regular basis. I don't know about you but to me the list sounds like a number of things you really want to have...!


Neuroplasticity in a Nutshell


The key point of this section is the idea that our brain's complexity and ability to change allows us the possibility to shape it in endless different ways.  The way to (re)shape our brain is by consciously directing our attention (this is easier said than done which is why meditation must be practiced), and by repetition via the by now old adage that neurones that fire together, wire together.


The way to (re)shape our brain is by consciously directing our attention.


The mechanism proposed is relatively simple:


  • We have a thought pattern, attitude or habit that we wish to change.  The first step is to make it conscious, and bring it to the foreground rather than letting it plain automatically in the background. This is important because this pattern was likely created in an unconscious way, we did not acquire it voluntarily, and though it fulfils a function, it probably does not help us
  • Once the pattern is conscious we then voluntarily modify it every time it arises.  Needless to say this requires both awareness and at first also discipline
  • However habit will always be stronger than willpower, therefore the real objective is to create a new habit, rather than to forever battle the old one
Another interesting nugget of insight in this chapter is the idea that our patterns are not just in our heads. They are in our entire body.  They are a combination of thoughts, movements, hormones and feelings all creating a cocktail that is entrenched into the very fabric of who we are.

One of the beauties of the Yoga system is that it recognizes this, and so instead of being just a mental practice (like say psychology) and trying to change our mind with one practice like meditation, it uses the entire body to foster change.  It embodies term holistic.

The Complexity Choir, Discovering the Harmony of Health

This is where in my opinion the real value of the book resides. 

The author proposes that it is the quality of "integration" that brings health to an individual, by linking and harmonizing the different elements of what he calls the "differentiated system" of the mind. It is composed of specialized parts that otherwise play out of synch with each other like orchestra musicians without a conductor.

Personally I found the following sequence of ideas to be the central point of the book:

  1. Complexity Theory is a mathematical discipline that examines systems that are capable of becoming chaotic and which are open to receiving input from outside of themselves
  2. The mind is such a system
  3. Complex systems emerge and unfold on their own via self organization
  4. A system that moves towards complexity is the most stable and adaptive
Visual example of a complex system


So when the mind increases in complexity and integration, it operates well.  When those qualities decrease, the two "unhealthy" extremes of a complex system can be seen in operation:

A neurotic fluctuation between rigidity and chaos arises and flow disappears.


So then we want to aim at integrating the system of mind across all its different aspects:

1. Horizontal integration: between the logical left brain and the holistic right brain

2. Vertical integration: between the cortex, limbic system, brain stem and peripheral nervous system along our entire bodies

3. Memory integration: integrating events across time so that we're not avoiding them or being haunted by them

4. Narrative integration: developing a coherent narrative of our lives

5. State integration: Embracing our primary needs and wants

6. Interpersonal integration: Learning to relate to others

7. Temporal integration: How to deal with the existential questions




Many of the practices promoted by Meditation Amsterdam address the first elements around integration of mind and hopefully in subsequent articles I will be diving deeper into some of these.  You will notice the author's Psychology background in that he touches on integration elements that require a certain healthy story or narrative to be created behind it all for the individual to operate well in the world.

While you could argue that Yoga is less focused on the narrative, there are elements of Eastern philosophy that do, such as Daoism or Zen, which provide an underlying view of the world from which to operate.


Awareness Training and Stabilizing the Mind

The second half of the book goes mostly into real life examples of how the Mindsight approach has changed lives, but it is nonetheless sprinkled with very useful bits of knowledge.  This one for example, is a subsection of the book but I wanted to expand on it given the relevance to our meditation practice.


In it, the author mentions how there is "a place deep within us that is observant, objective, and open."  The practice then of meditation is one where we want to exercise those faculties:

Observation refers to the ability to not do, and just be and watch. Not to interfere.

Objectivity is the effort to see things how the actually are. To fully trust our senses, and not create psychological stories that distort the facts.

Openness is the removal of expectations and resistance to what is which creates inner conflict.

Siegel mentions that one of the signatures of a resilient mind, is the move toward challenging situations instead of away from them.

"One of the signatures of a resilient mind, is the move toward challenging situations instead of away from them."



Another hopeful message in this section of the book is that the positive effects of the integration of mind can be felt almost immediately and that the emerge almost spontaneously.

However, in the beginning:  "it takes considerable effort and deliberate attention to move beyond the initial engrained, nonintegrated state... this is the intentional work of change. But ultimately the emerging mind takes its natural course toward integration an the ball flows effortlessly down into the valley of coherence.  Integration is the mind's natural state."


So, enough for this entry, in the next one (Part 2) I will describe some interesting passages from the rest of the book before we go on to the following one.


Namaste
Pablo
meditationamsterdam.com



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