Effects of long term meditation on perception

Syntax · July 2010

Not sure if I posting this in the right section so please feel free to move it if it belongs elsewhere.<o></o>

<o></o><o></o>I’m a bit curious about the long term effects (years) of meditation on perception, using the term perception more broadly than just ordinary perception, to also including phenomena such as illusory pattern perception, pareidolia, tetris effect and hypnagogia. Both scientific studies and personal experience are welcome.<o></o>

Glow · July 2010

I can only give anecdotal experience, but I've noticed that colors seem more vivid after I meditate. That is really the only perceptual change that I've noticed beyond becoming more cognizant (mindful) of my reactivity and habitual emotional/mental patterns.

newtech · July 2010

Hi.
From personal experience when your mood changes dramatically, perception hits u.
Depending on the scale of the change, u go from intensification to different, being different when the change its biggest.

1)intensification: this is more something (more vivid,more relaxed,more beautiful,.)
2)different: this is different (now i see this, now i dont see this, this is new)

About the phenomenas u mention, i think pareidolia its the closest to what usually can happend only becoming really happy, seeing patterns u usually dont see. U have to make that separation.phenomenas coming from liberty of mind, or coming from stress of mind.
tetris effect comes more of a fixation in a riguid way (stress). I remember experiencing this when i dedicate a lot of time to a 2d architecture plan to my exams, then later that day i was seeing lines in every object,kinda spooky. Hypnagogia didnt get much about what it was.One thing can say its an alterated state of mind, rather than a phenomena coming from conciousness and being alert (buddhism)
About long term cant say nothing yet.

Syntax · July 2010

Glow wrote: »

I can only give anecdotal experience, but I've noticed that colors seem more vivid after I meditate. That is really the only perceptual change that I've noticed beyond becoming more cognizant (mindful) of my reactivity and habitual emotional/mental patterns.

Found some stuff on color:

http://www.vivekanandayoga.com/research_papers/19950101_ivpfyt.pdf

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/21/decreased-perception-of-color-in-depression/15826.html

The second link is unrelated to meditation but the fact that it links mood to color perception could explain why you experience more vivid colors.

Pareidolia is a type of Apophenia, basically a type of erroneous connection of unrelated information, specifically of finding images and sounds in random information. Like seeing faces in a fire or finding clouds to look like animals.
Our brain is on the constant lookout for significant information and when it becomes too sensitive you end up with false positives. The reason I bring this up in relation to meditation is this article:

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;322/5898/115

I find it quite interesting that it links these "Illusory pattern perception" with absence of control. So I was wondering I anyone noticed any such changes from meditation.

I've also noticed a connection between stress and the tetris effect, it usually becomes most pronounced to me under high levels of stress and anxiety, particularly when I have been doing a new task for a considerable part of the day. Like the first week of a new job.

On hypnagogia:
<style>  </style>"In his book, Zen and the Brain, James H. Austin cites speculation that regular meditation develops a specialized skill of "freezing the hypnagogic process at later and later stages" of the onset of sleep, initially in the alpha wave stage and later in theta. "
Cited from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia
Anyone noticed this?<o>
</o>

fivebells · July 2010

I've done about 4,500 hours of meditation over the last 9 years. No obvious shifts in raw perception which I can directly attribute to meditation. I can't rule such shifts out, but they would surprise me. The intent of meditation is to shift the relationship to raw perception. There is nothing magic about it.

ThailandTom · July 2010

May I ask why is it at all important? It is an interesting subject don't get me wrong, but from a buddhist point of view why does it matter? If you start to want to notice shifts in colour or vibrancy, then you are getting attached to a notion and wanting something specific out of meditation. Meditation should be undertaken with not wanting anything in return, simply letting go. Or this is my view anyway.
Before I got on the dharma train, I experimented with many different drugs for a number of years, mainly out of curiosity actually. One of the most mind expanding substances was LSD, acid whatever you want to call it. It also was the least destructive drug in my opinion. It has no physical addiction, no recorded deaths and truly opens up your mind. Now I see however how artificial it is, how impure and lacking in substance it can be. Hunter S Thompson quoted, ''you cannot sell enlightenment and happiness at $5 a tab''. But if you really want to get into shifts of colours and things like that, go buy some acid, meditation should not be used for this purpose in my opinion.

Also I want to add that before I got into buddhism I sometimes looked through drug forums. I found that on an LSD thread there were loads of people who meditated on acid. Now I understand much about the action of meditation, I cannot see why people would do such a thing..
It is an interesting subject though, maybe meditation and the effects of LSD are some how vaguely linked... I don't know.

regards, tom

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