Many of us have practiced meditation, or at least tried to. 
I think all of us have faced the difficulty of just watching the mind without thinking. ie. keep the mind silent and watch the thoughts coming and going.
Some time back, I saw a news article about a western psychologist who had suffered a stroke affecting the left side of the brain. And she had experienced the wonderful experience one has when one only sees the mind, keeping silent. (Naturally, the western psychologists thought she's mad after a stressful experience.)
The functions of the brain are lateralized- meaning, some functions are done by the left half and some are done by the right half. Speech, use of words (therefore thinking in words) are left brain functions. Looking at things as a whole is a right brain function. Usually, left side of the brain is dominant-meaning, its actions are more prominent. That's why we think nonstop.
So, you see, when we try to meditate, we try to switch off the left brain for a while, and let the right brain takeover. And why is it useful?
When we think, we usually think in words. Language is something that was developed to express ideas. Language is not perfect. The words may not explain things as they are. Therefore, when we see something, hear something, or sense something, we use the available language to understand it. Needless to say, our understanding is limited by language. The result: we don't understand the things as they really are.
So when we switch off the talking side of the brain, we see things as they really are, understand things as they really are. That's the path to freedom.
I think all of us have faced the difficulty of just watching the mind without thinking. ie. keep the mind silent and watch the thoughts coming and going.Some time back, I saw a news article about a western psychologist who had suffered a stroke affecting the left side of the brain. And she had experienced the wonderful experience one has when one only sees the mind, keeping silent. (Naturally, the western psychologists thought she's mad after a stressful experience.)
The functions of the brain are lateralized- meaning, some functions are done by the left half and some are done by the right half. Speech, use of words (therefore thinking in words) are left brain functions. Looking at things as a whole is a right brain function. Usually, left side of the brain is dominant-meaning, its actions are more prominent. That's why we think nonstop.
So, you see, when we try to meditate, we try to switch off the left brain for a while, and let the right brain takeover. And why is it useful?
When we think, we usually think in words. Language is something that was developed to express ideas. Language is not perfect. The words may not explain things as they are. Therefore, when we see something, hear something, or sense something, we use the available language to understand it. Needless to say, our understanding is limited by language. The result: we don't understand the things as they really are.
So when we switch off the talking side of the brain, we see things as they really are, understand things as they really are. That's the path to freedom.
