Meditation and Memory

It comes with no surprise that meditation has started to entice more interest in western thought and practice. Although meditation is often associated with certain religious practices, the broad variety of techniques has attracted people from all cultures to explore its meaning. Research continues to demonstrate the psychological and physical benefits of developing complete one-pointedness of awareness. In the informational talk given by Dr. Marcia Graboweky, she presented her research on the cognitive neuroscience of meditation. I was particularly interested in this topic because I too practice meditation, although not as much as the monks she includes in her study. She discusses the concept of inattentional blindness, and how we may completely miss something happening if we are not expecting it. She also states that mindfulness is related to paying attention, but is also how to pay attention.

One of the many mental capacities that are improved through mindfulness meditation is memory. I discovered an article about a Jain monk in Mumbai, India who demonstrated this remarkable quality. In the article, members of an audience approached the young man and showed random objects, asked math problems, or merely stated a phrase. After 500 people did so, Munishri Ajitchandrasagarji was able to calmly recall all 500 items that were presented to him. He claims that this act takes no effort, and that all he has to do is dive into his subconscious and retrieve the information. The article also states that Munishri has also been able to recite 20,000 verses of Jain scripture from memory.  

Does Munishri have some superhuman quality? And if so how would we be able to tell that this ‘power’ acquired through meditation or if he was born with it? In other studies, researchers placed undergraduate students into two groups. One group would practice mindfulness meditation for about an hour for eight days, and the other group ate more nutritiously. Their results showed that the students in the mindfulness group had increased scores on the GRE as opposed to the nutrition group. In my opinion, a study like this could prove valuable to everyone, especially students. With the levels of stress that students face in their academic careers, incorporating just as little as 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation every day is significant. Besides improving test scores, students that give themselves time to think about their mental and physical attributes can contribute to their overall well-being.