Abstract
Silence is an important aspect of various meditation practices, but little work has focused specifically on the underlying neurophysiology of silence-related meditative practice, and on how it relates to the self-reported experiences of practitioners. To expand current knowledge regarding the neurophenomenology of silence in meditation, we directly investigated first-person reports of silence-related experiences during the practice of Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) and their association with changes in fractional anisotropy (FA). Participants recorded their cognitive, emotional, and physical experiences upon beginning QMT and again after 6 weeks of QMT practice. These reports were evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively. Findings showed that change between the two time points in self-reported silence-related experiences was negatively correlated with change in attentional effort, and positively correlated with changes in the left uncinate fasciculus. These results expand current knowledge regarding the neuroanatomical correlates of silence-related experiences during meditation.
Highlights
Silence plays a role in most Eastern and Western meditative practices, such as Zen meditation and Vipassana (Lin et al, 2008; Shonin et al, 2013)
While many researchers have emphasized the importance of silence in meditation (Vago and Zeidan, 2016; Pfeifer et al, 2019, 2020), to date little work has focused on the self-reported experiences of practitioners and the underlying neurophysiological changes associated with silencerelated experience of meditative practices (Hernández et al, 2018)
Following a session of Quadrato Motor Training (QMT), 36% of the participants reported experiences related to Silence and 27% reported Reduced Mind-wandering
Summary
Silence plays a role in most Eastern and Western meditative practices, such as Zen meditation and Vipassana (Lin et al, 2008; Shonin et al, 2013). In the history of Buddhist doctrines described in Ariya Pariyesana Sutta, for example, the Buddha urges monks to maintain “Noble Silence” (Analayo, 2017) This expression represents a meditative state called “dhyana,” an altered state of consciousness characterized by freedom from thoughts and mental representations, enabling a deep stillness (Feuerstein, 1996). While many researchers have emphasized the importance of silence in meditation (Vago and Zeidan, 2016; Pfeifer et al, 2019, 2020), to date little work has focused on the self-reported experiences of practitioners and the underlying neurophysiological changes associated with silencerelated experience of meditative practices (Hernández et al, 2018). The students who spent more time meditating had higher resilience scores, self-reported improved sleep, happiness, and self-confidence
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