Tag: Buddhist Practice
Study Finds ‘Cannabinoids Hold Significant Potential for Preventing and Treating Brain Diseases’
Conducted by researchers from Qingdao University, the study highlights the impact of cannabinoids on neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, autophagy, and neurogenesis.
According to the study, cannabinoid receptors (CBRs) mediate these functions through several inflammatory pathways, including nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), protein kinase B (Akt), and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). A key focus of the research is microglia, the primary immune cells in the CNS responsible for mediating neuroinflammation. By influencing these pathways, cannabinoids may help regulate immune responses and cellular health in the brain.
The study also presents a table summarizing the role of cannabinoids in various brain diseases, emphasizing their protective effects in neurological conditions. The authors propose that cannabinoids could be useful in preventing and treating disorders related to ferroptosis, lactate metabolism, and mitophagy—three biological processes associated with neurodegeneration.The study concludes:
Medical use of cannabinoids has protective effects in preventing and treating brain diseases; however, excessive and repeated use can be detrimental to the CNS. We propose that cannabinoids hold significant potential for preventing and treating brain diseases, including ferroptosis, lactate metabolism, and mitophagy, providing new insights for further research on cannabinoids.
From what I have been reading over the years, these findings are corroborated by many other researchers. The main takeaway I see is very low dose usage of cannabinoids is beneficial but high doses are not. If cannabis is keeping you away from alcohol or other worse drugs, it would be a good thing. Cannabis does seem to help prevent alcoholism, which is one of the worst addictions. The Buddha strongly advised against the ‘irresponsible use of alcohol’ by laypeople. It’s the fifth precept of the Five Precepts of Buddhism. It is telling that the Buddha did not mention other intoxicants, only alcohol. I say this because too many today interpret the fifth precept as being against all kinds of intoxicants when only alcohol is denoted. Obviously, many other intoxicants are not good either, but I do see plenty of room for judicious use of some psychedelics and/or cannabis for some people sometimes. Both of these drugs were well-known in the Buddha’s day and he would have mentioned them if he had wanted to. ABN
Bravery
Dalai Lama’s elder brother, who led several rounds of talks with China, dies at 97
NEW DELHI (AP) — The elder brother of the Dalai Lama and former chairman of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India, Gyalo Thondup, who led several rounds of talks with China and worked with foreign governments for the Tibetan cause, has died. He was 97.
Thondup died at his home in Kalimpong, a hill town in the Himalayan foothills of eastern West Bengal state, on Saturday evening, media reports said. No other details were immediately released about his death.
Tibetan media outlets credited Thondup for networking with foreign governments and praised his role in facilitating U.S. support for the Tibetan struggle.
The Dalai Lama led a prayer session for Thondup at a monastery in Bylakuppe town in India’s southern state of Karnataka on Sunday where the spiritual leader is currently staying for the winter months.
He prayed for Thondup’s “swift rebirth,” in accordance with Buddhist traditions, and said “his efforts towards the Tibetan struggle were immense and we are grateful for his contribution.”
Thondup, one of six siblings of the Tibetan spiritual leader and the only brother not groomed for a religious life, made India his home in 1952 and helped develop early contacts with the Indian and U.S. governments to seek support for Tibet. In 1957, Thondup helped recruit Tibetan fighters who were sent to U.S. training camps in subsequent years, a report by the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia said.
The deep importance of intentional language
A major feature in language is the importance of asking and how you ask.
The impetus for all speech resides deeply in and around the imperative that we must want and ask for the spiritual development we are seeking. Frivolous asking and mundane desires do not count in this. They are outside of deep language use.
The Buddha only spoke on the Dharma when and if he was asked to do so.
The source and meaning of language and meaning itself can be glimpsed in this. Right Language is a soul-deep operation of the mind.
In this respect, FIML is a profound philosophical answer to what language is, what meaning is, what communication and communion are. FIML is this answer because it reveals and analyzes real-time, real-world speech between honest partners.
You cannot cut that close to the bone in any other way. Two people, true speech, true analysis — the source of linguistic being is revealed. The conundrums of psychology are healed.
FIML speaks to us within language, not from outside of language. With practice, FIML will move the source of your speech and meaning to your true experience. It will remove from you the need to understand yourself through extrinsic language and meaning.
In this sense, FIML is truly a philosopher’s stone. It will take you to the deepest levels you are capable of. ABN
One dog versus six wolves
Emotion versus reason in numbers
My sense is these statistics are roughly correct. They also bolster the Buddhist ethical position that compassion must be based on wisdom. Indeed, the greatest virtue in Buddhism is wisdom, not compassion. Buddhism counsels dispassion and calm reflection on all speech and behavior; I would add perception as well. An argument that appeals to emotion is not necessarily all bad. But one that uses emotion as mind-control is all bad. The wise often lose political debates because their positions are more complex, based on dispassionate analysis rather than single-minded emotion. Women have had many years in power now and the results are not good. This is probably due to greater emotionality among our dearly loved fair sex. Not sure where this will lead but it is always best to place your bets on reason and sound ethics above all else. Of course, emotion and compassion can and should be factors in any complex position, just not the preeminent, leading factors. ABN
Micro-aggression or micro-aguessin’?
Do FIML practice successfully 25 times and you will understand how wrong the notion of micro-aggression is. Not only wrong but also destructive to self and other. Rather than have us probe own minds, micro-aggression asks us to assert a false interpretation of someone else’s mind. From a Buddhist point of view, micro-aggression turns us 180 degrees away from wisdom and enlightenment ABN.
Global Workspace Theory and mistake awareness & correction
Global workspace theory is a description of how our minds work. The word global refers to the whole mind or brain, not the world.
The central feature of this theory—the global workspace—is conscious working memory, or working memory that could be made conscious with minimal effort.
This global workspace is also what a great deal of Buddhist mindfulness attends to. If we focus our attention on what is coming in and out of our global workspace, we will gain many insights into how our minds operate.
The Buddha’s five skandha explanation of consciousness can be understood as a form (or percepta) entering the global workspace.
Consciousness is the fifth skandha in the chain of skandhas. It is very important to recognize that whatever we become conscious of is not necessarily right.
With this in mind, we can see that being mindful of what is entering and leaving our global workspace can help us forestall errors from forming and growing in our minds.
In the Buddhist tradition, ignorance (a kind of error) is the deep source of all delusion.
But how do I know if the percepta or bits of information entering my awareness are right or wrong?
Well, there is science and Bayesian thought processes to help us, and they are both very good, but is there anything else?
What about my actual mind? My psychology? My understanding of my being in the world? How do I become mindful and more right about these?
Besides science and Bayes, I can ask an honest friend who knows me well if the percepta I think I just received from them is right or wrong.
If my friend knows the game, they will be ready to answer me before my global workspace changes too much. If my friend confirms my interpretation of what they just did or said, I will know that my interpretation (or consciousness) is correct.
If they disconfirm, I will know that my interpretation was incorrect, a mistake.
This kind of information is wonderful!
We calibrate fine instruments to be sure we are getting accurate readings from them. Why not our own minds?
This kind of calibration can be done in a general way, but you will get a general answer in that case. If you want a precise reading, a mindfulness answer, you need to play the FIML communication game.
first posted February 12, 2020
Intrinsic motivation is important for sustained creative activity
A recent study shows that An insight-related neural reward signal exists and is more active in some people than in others.
This study also confirms the idea that “intrinsic motivation is important for sustained creative activity.”
Some other findings that may be of interest:
…our findings suggest that individuals who are high in reward sensitivity experience the sudden emergence of a solution into awareness as strongly rewarding whereas individuals who are low in reward sensitivity may still experience insight as sudden and attentionally salient but lacking in hedonic content.
As lifelong autodidact, I wonder if others with this marvelous “addiction” can relate to feeling almost not alive unless there is something to wonder about or figure out. I recently read a biography of Ludwig Wittgenstein. One standout was his strong tendency to seek out simple or humble environments that stimulated his mind.
…Individuals high in reward sensitivity are more likely to take drugs, develop substance-abuse disorders or eating disorders, and engage in risky behaviors such as gambling. The fact that some people find insight experiences to be highly pleasurable reinforces the notion that insight can be an intrinsic reward for problem solving and comprehension that makes use of the same reward circuitry in the brain that processes rewards from addictive drugs, sugary foods, or love.
Getting lost in the woods or on a motorcycle ride, for me, is a highly enjoyable feeling. There have to be slight tremors of fear and agitation followed by finding my way again. I suppose others may experience similar feelings in social settings or as live performers.
…These findings shed light on people’s motivations for engaging in challenging, often time-consuming, activities that potentially yield insights, such as solving puzzles or mysteries, creating inventions, or doing research. It also reinforces the notion that intrinsic motivation is important for sustained creative activity. The expectation of intrinsic rewards from comprehending and creating, rather than from an extrinsic source such as payment, is thought to be the most effective type of workplace motivation…
A society with universal basic income in which no one has to work unless they want to might bring about the greatest flourishing of human talent ever. Then again, maybe not. Inspiration does need a stick on the back sometimes and “joy has no children,” meaning happiness produces few inventions.
Here’s an article about the study: Aha! + Aaaah: Creative Insight Triggers a Neural Reward Signal.
first posted April 10, 2020
Researchers find out some stuff about the brains of meditators
…The results showed significant differences between meditators and non-meditators in three of the four frequency bands studied: theta, alpha, and gamma. “These larger amplitudes are present when measured globally (across all brain regions), but also when we examined the distribution of these brain waves across the head,” Bailey told PsyPost.
Theta activity, associated with attention and working memory, was higher in meditators compared to non-meditators. This increase was most prominent in posterior brain regions, suggesting enhanced neural processes related to focus and information processing in experienced meditators.
For alpha activity, meditators displayed greater overall power as well as a distinctive distribution pattern. While non-meditators showed stronger alpha activity primarily in posterior regions, meditators exhibited higher alpha activity in frontal regions relative to the rest of the brain. This shift in distribution may reflect greater inhibitory control over irrelevant or distracting thoughts, a cognitive function often enhanced through mindfulness practice.
Gamma activity, linked to higher-order cognitive functions and neural integration, was also higher in meditators. The increase was particularly pronounced in frontal regions, indicating potential neuroplastic changes associated with prolonged meditation practice. Gamma waves are thought to play a role in attention and the integration of sensory information, suggesting that meditation might strengthen these capacities over time.
“Since these results were obtained while participants were simply resting (not performing any task), it is not obvious what cognitive processes these differences in brain activity reflect,” Bailey explained. “However, each of these brain waves have been associated with specific neural processes – theta brain waves have been associated with the direction of attention and selection of a specific thing to focus on when distractions are present, alpha brain waves have been associated with the engagement of top-down neural activity to inhibit brain regions that aren’t relevant to the task at hand, and gamma brain waves have been associated with energy intensive processing of sensory information as well as higher order cognitive functions and working memory. The fact that meditators show increased amplitude of each of these brain activities might suggest that they can engage these brain activities more strongly when needed, perhaps providing a potential mechanism underpinning the improved cognitive function associated with long-term practice of mindfulness meditation.”
UPDATE: This research describes some of the valuable, though mundane, benefits of meditation. In Buddhism, meditation fundamentally refers to the samadhi and dhyana states. The eighth element of the Noble Eightfold Path is Right Samadhi. Samadhi is the experience of a different state of mind with many levels of depth and importance. In many senses it is the experiential reward of Buddhist practice, a thing in itself, a practice that is its own reward. More information on samadhi can be found here. Definitionally, descriptively, samadhi is fairly simple. It entails the closing down or shutting off the the senses, while remaining mindful of what remains while that happens. ABN
American Buddhist Net 