Understanding Meditation: How Attention Changes Our Brains

Meditation has become increasingly popular, and at some point we may ask, "Why are we meditating? What does it actually do? What is happening that makes a difference?" This short article can only cover a small portion of the effects seen from meditation, but is meant to highlight an important aspect of what happens. Let us first set the stage.

The brain anatomy we inherit from our parents determines the original landscape upon which our brain's "empire" will be built. We inherit individual tendencies, these are like the weather patterns, and natural resources of an area -- largely predetermined, but can be nurtured or deteriorated by our habits. The landscape-anatomy of our brain determines which skills we perform best, and which habits become automatic, but there's a twist to this story. (MORE)

Source: Washington Post