Skip to main content

Meditation: A Link to Spirituality and Health. A Novel Approach to a Human Consciousness Field Experiment

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Meditation – Neuroscientific Approaches and Philosophical Implications

Abstract

Spirituality is an experience that, in large part, comes from within. It is an attitude wherein one intuits the self as being a tiny part of a much bigger whole. Transcendental meditation (TM) helps individuals to deal better with stress as proven by a variety of biologic markers. The physiologic biomarkers, reactive oxygen species production (ROS), ultra-weak photon emission (UPE), electroencephalographic (EEG) data in conjunction with TM can not only begin to document the presence or absence of health, but also the degree of synchronization existing between systems of the body and mind. Much of the data that correlated with the above can demonstrate a reduction of ROS production which seems to facilitate a healthier biologic pathway.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aftanas, L.I., and S.A. Golocheikine. 2001. Human anterior and frontal midline theta and lower alpha reflect emotionally positive state and internalized attention: High-resolution EEG investigation of meditation. Neuroscience Letters 310: 57–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, C.N., R.H. Schneider, F. Staggers, W. Sheppard, B.M. Clayborne, M. Rainforth, et al. 1996. Trial of stress reduction for hypertension in older African American: II. Sex and risk subgroup analysis. Hypertension 28: 228–237.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baremboim, G.M., A.N. Domannski, and K.K. Taroverov. 1969. Luminescence of biopolymers and cells. New York: Plenum.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bassingthwaighte, J.B., L.S. Liebovitsch, and B.J. West. 1994. Fractal physiology. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ben-zvi, A.P., and P. Goloubinoff. 2001. Mechanisms of disaggregation and refolding of stable protein aggregation by molecular chaperones. Journal of Structural Biology 135: 84–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bhasin, M.K., J.A. Dusek, B.H. Chang, M.G. Joseph, J.W. Denninger, G.L. Fricchione, et al. 2013. Relaxation response induces temporal transcriptome changes in energy metabolism, insulin secretion and inflammatory pathways. PLoS One 8(5): e62817.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bujatti, M., and P. Riederer. 1976. Serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine metabolites in transcendental meditation technique. Journal of Neural Transmission 39: 257–267.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cadenas, E., H. Wefers, and H. Sies. 1981. Low-level chemiluminescence of isolated hepatocytes. European Journal of Biochemistry 119: 531–536.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cahn, B.R., and J. Polich. 2006. Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies. Psychological Bulletin 132: 180–211.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Castillo-Richmond, A., R.H. Schneider, C.N. Alexander, R. Cook, H. Myers, S. Nidich, et al. 2000. Effects of stress reductions on carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive African Americans. Stroke 31: 568–573.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chance, B., H. Sies, and A. Boveris. 1979. Hydroperoxide metabolism in mammalian organs. Physiological Reviews 59: 527–605.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dillard, C.J., E.E. Dumelin, and A.L. Tappel. 1977. Effect of dietary vitamin E on expiration of pentane and ethane by the rat. Lipids 12: 109–114.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dillbeck, M.C., D.W. Orme-Johnson, and R.K. Wallace. 1981. Frontal EEG coherence, H-reflex recovery, concept learning, and the TM-Sidhi program. International Journal of Neuroscience 15: 151–157.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dobson, C.M. 2001. Protein folding and its links with human disease. Biochemical Society Symposia 68: 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaylord, C., D. Orme-Johnson, and F. Travis. 1989. The effects of the transcendental meditation technique and progressive muscle relaxation on EEG coherence, stress reactivity, and mental health in black adults. International Journal of Neuroscience 46: 77–86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gebber, G.L., S. Zhong, C. Lewis, and S.M. Barman. 1999. Differential patterns of spinal sympathetic outflow involving a 10-Hz rhythm. Jornal of Neurophysiology 89: 833–840.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerschman, R. 1981. Historical introduction to the “free radical theory” of oxygen toxicity. In Oxygen and living processes, an interdisciplinary approach, ed. D.L. Gilbert. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D.J. 2003. Destructive emotions: How can we overcome them? A scientific dialogue with the Dalai Lama. New York: Bantam Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gutteridge, J.M.C., and B. Halliwell. 1990. The measurement and mechanisms of lipid peroxidation in biological systems. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 15: 129–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hagelin, J.S. 1987. Is consciousness the unified field? A field theorist’s perspective. Modern Science and Vedic Science 1: 29–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagelin, J.S. 1989. Restructuring physics from its foundation in the light of Maharishi’s Vedic Science. Modern Science and Vedic Science 3: 3–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamman, J.P., D.R. Gorby, and H.H. Seliger. 1977. A new type of biological chemiluminescence: The microsomal chemiluminescence of benzo[a]pyrene arises from the diol epoxide product of the 7, 8-dihydrodiol. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 75: 793–798.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harman, D. 1956. Aging, a theory based on free radical and radiation chemistry. Journal of Gerontology 11: 298–305.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herman, P., L. Kocsis, and A. Eke. 2009. Fractal characterization of complexity in dynamic signals: Application to cerebral hemodynamics. Methods in Molecular Biology 489: 23–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heydari, A.R., S. You, R. Takahashi, A. Gutsmann-Conrad, K.D. Sarge, and A. Richardson. 2000. Age-related alterations in the activation of heat shock transcription factor 1 in rat hepatocytes. Experimental Cell Research 256: 83–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Himelstein, S. 2011. Meditation research: The state of the art in correctional settings. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 55: 646–661.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hinault, M.P., and P. Goloubinoff. 2006. Molecular chaperones and proteases: Cellular fold-controlling factors of proteins in neurodegenerative diseases and aging. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience 55: 74–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jevning, R., A.F. Wilson, and J.M. Davidson. 1978. Adrenocortical activity during meditation. Hormones and Behavior 10: 54–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jevning, R., R.K. Wallace, and M. Beldeback. 1992. The physiology of meditation: A review. A wakeful hypometabolic integrated response. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 16: 415–424.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D.H., Y.S. Moon, H.S. Kim, J.S. Jung, H.M. Park, and H.W. Suh. 2005. Effect of Zen Meditation on serum nitric oxide activity and lipid peroxidation. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry 29: 327–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kobayashi, M., B. Devaraj, and H. Inaba. 1998. Observation of super-Poisson statistics of bacterial (Photobacterium phosphoreum) bioluminescence during the early stage of cell proliferation. Physical Review E 57: 2129–2133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, C.D., G.L. Gebber, P.D. Larsen, and S.M. Barman. 2001. Long-term correlations in the spike trains of medullary sympathetic neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology 85: 1614–1622.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Löliger, S.A. 1990. Relationship between subjective bliss, 5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid and the collective practice of Maharishi’s transcendental meditation and TM-Sidhi program. Fairfield: Maharishi University of Management.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, C.R.K., K.G. Walton, S.R. Wenneberg, D.K. Levitsky, J.V. Mandarino, R. Waziri, et al. 1997. Effects of the transcendental meditation program on adaptive mechanisms: Changes in hormone levels and responses to stress after 4 months of practice. Psychoneuroendocrinology 22: 277–295.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. 1963. The science of being and art of living. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. 1975. Inauguration of the dawn of the age of enlightenment. Rheinweiler: Maharishi International University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. 1986. Life supported by natural law. Washington, DC: Age of Enlightenment Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, L.I., C.N. Alexander, F.T. Travis, G. Marsh, D.W. Orme-Johnson, J. Gackenbach, et al. 1997. Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep in long-term practitioners of the transcendental meditation program. Sleep 20: 102–110.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McElroy, W.D., and H.H. Seliger. 1962. Origin and evolution of bioluminescence. In Horizons in biochemistry, ed. M. Kasha and B. Pullman, 91–101. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • McElroy, W.D., and H.H. Seliger. 1963. The chemistry of light emission. Advances in Enzymology and Related Areas of Molecular Biology 25: 119–166.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McEwen, B.S. 1998. Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine 338: 171–179.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nakano, M., T. Noguchi, K. Sugioka, H. Fukuyama, and M. Sato. 1975. Spectroscopic evidence for the generation of singlet oxygen in the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent microsomal lipid peroxidation system. Journal of Biological Chemistry 250: 2404–2406.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Okuda, M., H.C. Lee, C. Kumar, and B. Chance. 1992. Oxygen radical generation during ischemia-reperfusion in the isolated perfused rat liver monitored by enhanced chemiluminescence. Circulatory Shock 38: 228–237.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orme-Johnson, D.W. 2003. Preventing crime through the Maharishi Effect. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 36: 257–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orme-Johnson, D.W., and K.G. Walton. 1998. All approaches to preventing or reversing effects of stress are not the same. American Journal of Health Promotion 12: 297–299.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orme-Johnson, D.W., C.N. Alexander, J.L. Davies, H.M. Chandler, and W.E. Larimore. 1988. International peace project in the Middle East: Effects of the Maharishi technology of the unified field. Journal of Conflict Resolution 32: 776–812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pugh, N.D.C., K.G. Walton, and K.L. Cavanaugh. 1988. Can time series analysis of serotonin turnover test the theory that consciousness is a field? Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 14: 372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapgay, L., V.L. Rinpoche, and R. Jessum. 2000. Exploring the nature and functions of the mind: A Tibetan Buddhist meditative perspective. Progress in Brain Research 122: 507–515.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riely, C.A., G. Cohen, and M. Lieberman. 1974. Ethane evolution: A new index of lipid peroxidation. Science 183: 208.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sapolsky, R.M. 1992. Stress, the aging brain, and the mechanisms of neuron death. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, R.H., S.I. Nidisch, J.W. Salerno, H.M. Sharma, C.E. Robinson, R.J. Nidich, et al. 1998. Lower lipid peroxide levels in practitioners of the transcendental meditation program. Psychosomatic Medicine 60: 38–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seeman, T.E., B.H. Singer, J.W. Rowe, R.I. Horwitz, and B.S. McEwen. 1997. Price of adaptation – Allostatic load and its health consequences. Archives of Internal Medicine 157: 2259–2268.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seliger, H.H., and W.D. McElroy. 1960. Spectral emission and quantum yield of firefly bioluminescence. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 88: 136–141.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Selye, H. 1936. A Syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature 138: 32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selye, H. 1956. The stress of life. New York: McGrawHill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Senders, A., H. Wahbeh, R. Spain, and L. Shinto. 2012. Mind-body medicine for multiple sclerosis: A systematic review. Autoimmune Diseases. doi:10.1155/2012/567324.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shtilerman, M., G.H. Lorimer, and S.W. Englander. 1999. Chaperonin function: Folding by forced unfolding. Science 284: 822–825.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soti, C., and P. Csermely. 2003. Aging and molecular chaperones. Experimental Gerontology 38: 1037–1040.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sugioka, K., and M. Nakano. 1976. A possible mechanism of the generation of singlet molecular oxygen in NADPH-dependent microsomal lipid peroxidation. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 423: 203–216.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tarusov, B.N., N.A.I. Polidova, and A.I. Zhuravlev. 1961. Study on ultra-weak spontaneous luminescence of animal cells. Biofizika 6: 490–492.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tarusov, B.N., N.A.I. Polidova, A.I. Zhuralev, and E.N. Sekamova. 1962. Ultraweak spontaneous luminescence in animal tissue. Tsitologiya 4: 696–699.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teich, M.C. 1989. Fractal character of the auditory neural spike train. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering 36: 150–160.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Travis, F. 2001. Autonomic and EEG patterns distinguish transcending from other experiences during transcendental meditation practice. International Journal of Psychophysiology 42: 1–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Travis, F., and C. Pearson. 1999. Pure consciousness: Distinct phenomenological and physiological correlates of “consciousness itself”. International Journal of Neuroscience 100: 77–89.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Travis, F., and R.K. Wallace. 1999. Autonomic and EEG patterns during eyes-closed rest and transcendental meditation (TM) practice: The basis for a neural model of TM practice. Consciousness and Cognition 8: 302–318.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Travis, F., J. Tecce, A. Arenander, and R.K. Wallace. 2002. Patterns of EEG coherence, power, and contingent negative variation characterize the integration of transcendental and waking states. Biological Psychology 61: 293–319.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Travis, F., A. Arenander, and D. DuBois. 2004. Psychological and physiological characteristics of a proposed object-referral/self-referral continuum of self-awareness. Consciousness and Cognition 13: 401–420.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, R., and E.P.A. Van Wijk. 2004. Human photon emission. Recent Research Developments in Photochemistry & Photobiology 7: 139–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., and R. Van Wijk. 2005a. Multi-site registration and spectral analysis of spontaneous emission from human body. Forschende Komplementärmedizin/Research in Complementary Medicine 12: 96–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, R., and E.P.A. Van Wijk. 2005b. An introduction to human biophoton emission. Forschende Komplementärmedizin/Research in Complementary Medicine 12: 77–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., and R. Van Wijk. 2006. Ultra weak photon emission of human body. In Biophotonics – Optical science and engineering for the 21st century, ed. X. Shen and R. Van Wijk, 171–184. New York: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., J.H.R. Maes, and J.M.H. Vossen. 1997a. Competition between a simultaneous and a serial feature in an appetitive feature-positive and feature-negative discrimination. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 50: 17–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., J.H.R. Maes, and J.M.H. Vossen. 1997b. Interference with potential contextual occasion setting by a conditioned inhibitor in an appetitive discrimination procedure. Learning and Motivation 28: 382–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., J. Ackerman, and R. Van Wijk. 2005. Effect of meditation on ultraweak photon emission from hands and forehead. Forschende Komplementärmedizin/Research in Complementary Medicine 12: 107–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., M. Kobayashi, and R. Van Wijk. 2006a. Spatial characterization of human ultra-weak photon emission. In Biophotonics and coherent systems in biology, ed. L. Beloussov, V.L. Voeikov, and V.S. Martynyuk, 177–190. New York: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., H. Koch, S. Bosman, and R. Van Wijk. 2006b. Spatial characterization of human ultra-weak photon emission in TM practitioners and control subjects. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 12: 31–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, R., M. Kobayashi, and E.P.A. Van Wijk. 2006c. Spatial characterization of human ultra-weak photon emission. Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology B 83: 69–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., R. Ludtke, and R. Van Wijk. 2008a. Differential effects of relaxation techniques on ultra-weak photon emission. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 14: 241–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, R., E.P.A. Van Wijk, F.A.C. Wiegant, and J. Ives. 2008b. Free radicals and low-level photon emission in human pathogenesis: State of the art. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 46: 273–309.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, R., S. Bosman, J. Ackerman, and E.P.A. Van Wijk. 2008c. Correlation between fluctuations in human ultra-weak photon emission and EEG alpha rhythm. Neuroquantology 6: 452–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., R. Van Wijk, R. Bajpai, and J. Van der Greef. 2010. Statistical analysis of the spontaneously emitted photon signals from palm and dorsal sides of both hands in human subjects. Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology B 99: 133–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wijk, E.P.A., J. Van der Greef, and R. Van Wijk. 2011. Photon counts statistics in leukocyte cell dynamics. Journal of Physics Conference Series 329: 012021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vekaria, M. 2003. Biophoton emission and intentionality. Encinitas: Californian Institute for Human Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walton, K.G., and D.K. Levitsky. 1994. A neuroendocrine mechanism for the reduction of drug use and addictions by transcendental meditation. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 89–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walton, K.G., and D.K. Levitsky. 2003. Effects of the transcendental meditation program on neuroendocrine abnormalities associated with aggression and crime. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 36: 67–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walton, K.G., and N.D.C. Pugh. 1995. Stress, steroids, and “ojas”: Neuroendocrine mechanisms and current promise of ancient approaches to disease prevention. Indian Journal of Physiological Pharmacology 39: 3–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walton, K.G., N.D.C. Pugh, P. Gelderloos, and P. Macrae. 1995. Stress reduction and preventing hypertension: Preliminary support for a psychoneuroendocrine mechanism. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 1: 263–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner, G. 2010. Fractals in the nervous system: Conceptual implications for theoretical neuroscience. Frontiers in Physiology 6: 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westerheide, S.D., and R.I. Morimoto. 2005. Heat shock response modulators as therapeutic tools for diseases of protein conformation. Journal of Biological Chemistry 280: 33097–33100.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yadav, R.K., R.B. Ray, R. Vempati, and R.L. Bijlani. 2005. Effect of comprehensive yoga-based life style modification program on lipid peroxidation. Indian Journal of Physiological Pharmacology 49: 358–362.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Samueli Institute for Information Biology (grant number: 2 EA-0000047), the BIAL foundation (grant numbers: 81/04; 71/06) and Het Johan Borgman Fonds.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eduard van Wijk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

van Wijk, E., Ackerman, J., van Wijk, R. (2014). Meditation: A Link to Spirituality and Health. A Novel Approach to a Human Consciousness Field Experiment. In: Schmidt, S., Walach, H. (eds) Meditation – Neuroscientific Approaches and Philosophical Implications. Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01634-4_19

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics