Re: Meditation and ADD

[Anonymous]

Hi Robbo,

I have had a daily meditation practice for many years. I’ve also practiced in different types of meditation (zen, mindfulness, metta, tonglen, dzogchen, mantra, etc). I’ll try to give you an answer as best I can from my own knowledge and experience, and point you in one direction that might be helpful for you. One of my teachers said “many paths, one truth”.

My meditation teacher/therapist once said to me “if you need a crutch to walk, you should use a crutch”. Earlier this year I started using stimulant medication – the crutch – and it has been helpful, but only when I take it. I’ve used ritalin but now I’m on a different stimulant medication for a different reason. I’ve practiced with and without the meds and while it’s different, the challenges and obstacles are always there, just to differing degrees and often appear to be different.

This is quite a technical article for technical people. It’s not really necessary to understand it in order to find out whether meditation would be helpful to you. The only way you will discover that is to just practice meditation, not once or twice, but consistently. It’s really not the length of time you spend in meditation but the quality of time, and the consistency of practice. Try carving out time devoted to this practice.

The article refers to two types of meditation which are common to many schools of meditation:

FA (focused attention) is usually taught as breath meditation. In Tibetan practices it is also referred to as shamatha. It’s a beginners’ practice and also an advanced practice. It’s the foundation of all other practices. It’s also not easy – it sounds simple but in practice it’s more difficult. The breath is usually used as the object since it’s always there to be observed and it’s portable and free, so it can be used in any situation at any time. Other objects could be a lit candle, a religious painting, a mantra, a rock, a plant, etc.

OM (open monitoring meditation) is usually taught as mindfulness, that is, non-judgementally observing one’s experience from moment to moment, in the present, not the past or the future. A practice called dzogchen is similar, although this practice includes the awareness of being aware as well as all of the sensations including thought. Open monitoring meditation is more challenging since it often involves movement, going about your daily life.

One of the Tibetan monks who worked closely with Richard Davison (author of the article and study) and who was part of the study using fMRI, has written several excellent books that are very approachable for a layperson. It’s not necessary to technically understand how the brain functions in order to meditate. That’s called confusing the finger pointing at the moon for the moon, in zen parlance.

His name is Yongey MIngyur Rinpoche and his first book is called “The Joy of Living” http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Living-Unlocking-Science-Happiness/dp/0307347311/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326509293&sr=8-1-spell

It’s a wonderful book, it talks about his experiences growing up in a monastery (his father was a renowned Tibetan master) and his issues with panic attacks and anxiety. He gives many real-life examples of issues that his students have with life and practice, and he also walks you through a number of different practices.

Here’s a quote to ponder: “Meditation isn’t a one-size-fits-all practice. Every individual represents a unique combination of temperament, background, and abilities… The essence of the Buddha’s teachings was that while formal [meditation] practice can help us to develop direct experience of emptiness, wisdom, and compassion, such experiences are meaningless unless we can bring them to bear on every aspect of our daily lives. For it’s in facing the challenges of daily life that we can really measure our development of calmness, insight, and compassion.”

He further suggests “Try the teachings for yourself to see if they work for you. Some of the practices may help you; some may not. Some of you may find a certain affinity with one or more techniques right away, while other methods require a bit more practice. Some of you may even find that meditation practice does not benefit you at all. That’s okay too. The most important thing is to find and work with a practice that produces a sense of calmness, clarity, confidence, and peace. If you can do that, you will benefit not only yourselves, but also everyone around you; and that is the goal of every scientific or spiritual practice, isn’t it? To create a safer, more harmonious, and gentle world, not only for ourselves, but for generations to come.”

I think that just about says it all.

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