Research has shown that focused attention (FA) meditation can combat stress, and that open monitoring (OM) can help with emotion regulation. A more advanced technique, known as “nondual” or “open awareness”, begins to dissolve the illusory distinctions between oneself and the rest of the world, and can even provide meditators with flashes of creative or spiritual insight.

Nondual awareness is a state of mind that helps people to think outside their boxes – the “boxes” being our established mental models of how the world works and our place in it.

We build these mental models through learning over the course of a lifetime. They are invaluable, but over time they can become increasingly rigid and unfit for purpose. Rather than helping, they perpetuate old habits and preclude fresh insights.

Continue reading “What happens in the brain during nondual meditation?” →