"meditation may help regulate sensory input"

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/healt ... imens.html

...or visualise just a bubble.

I believe this is what is what I refer to as a 'well, duh' article, wrapped-up in science. Meditation will teach people to shut-out outside noise and stimuli in general, that's half the point, so in time people's ability to do this will improve. But then maybe this is your point - you seem to be an avid supporter of meditation to aid [some] people with AS/ASD

Avid or rabid?

Yes, it's a 'well duh' article to me, and to you. But there's many people round here complaining of sensory issues, and meditation may or may not be something they'd like to pursue in order to gain some relief.

The timing of this thread couldn't be better. About two weeks ago I had the opportunity to measure how well I could voluntarily regulate alpha and gamma waves in my brain.

I really love the first movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony. When I played that in my head, I was able to control how my brain reacted to rather obnoxious auditory stimulus. There was a screen that showed the stats on my brain waves and sure enough, Beethoven appears to be my "meditation" of sorts. I was there with some other aspies. When I didn't use my mental ipod, my stats were comparable and in some cases higher than the other aspies. Lucky for me, I have a lucid auditory memory because I'm a musician, so I was able to play back the music to relax myself.

Doesn't work for me. It's too chaotic in that moment to just mediate. I try to focus on one object to block everything out and I still shutdown.

Also, this brain never stops chattering, unless I'm recovering from a seizure.

Shinzen Young advocates 'Do Nothing' (Shikantaza) meditation for those afflicted with ADHD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ6cdIaUZCA





I tend to use this meditation mode in situations where I'm being bombarded with stimulus from many directions, or I can't muster any concentration.

Is there a transcript anywhere of that video?
(If not I'll just watch it when I'm on a faster connection.)

I always have a song stuck in my head. And when I get one stuck, it usually stays for weeks. My record is one month for a song I played in a marching band.

How do you learn to meditate? Do you have to take a class or have people generally found that it's just as effective to read up on it and practice on one's own?

I transcribed the instruction here:



It's worth watching the rest, because there's a few subtleties to be aware of.



You can take classes, you can learn from books, you can research via the internet and practice on your own. I find guided (audio) meditations are pretty useful.

Being an independent self teacher can be quite a tough way to go though. It took me a long time to sort out what works from what doesn't. I think you need some faith in it to pursue it to the extent that you begin to derive any benefit. It's very easy to try a few things, find that they aren't really doing anything for you, and then write it all off.

I'm very happy to provide instruction, guidance, support and materials I've found useful. Just PM me if you have an interest.

I also write about meditation on my blog. I try to present something that makes the concepts understandable and usable in a concise form, though I'm never sure if I'm quite getting there... Here's a good post to start with, my meditation 'primer' http://recollection.posterous.com/buddh ... tldr-years

Last edited by Moog on 04 May 2011, 8:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

Zen mods here!
I suggest:
-Meditation indeed
But also (too many people, close together, is the main problem for all that noise):
-Immigration stop
-One child maximum per woman
-Detached houses for everyone (not just for the rich and fortunate)

I've noticed sensory integration improvements since resuming meditation consistently for a month. Sounds don't bother me as much, I don't feel as overwhelmed by them.

Years ago a wierd experience with brainwave entrainment unlocked some super-fierce sensory issues (like Asperger's on steroids). Looking back I just believe it was "fully awakening" to being an Aspie. Cutting back on stimulants and time helped alot.

I must have missed this post before... how fascinating! So you can almost use that piece of music like a mantra to guide your brain into a calmer or happier state?

This sounds a lot like how those 'visualise yourself on a beach' meditations work.

Perhaps the song 'My Favourite Things' is a practical meditation instruction:



In Shinzen Young's system, I guess this would be 'focus on positive', which is a meditation method I've not really explored much: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzRq0iRi ... re=related

Last edited by Moog on 03 Jul 2011, 5:28 pm, edited 4 times in total.

I also found my sensory issues fading significantly after following a consistent meditation practice.

I hardly formally sit anymore, but I carry the benefits of that training around with me still.

i'm able to perform this feat to some extent; but it only allows me to control the 'master volume', and only at that specific time.
i cannot spend some time meditating to prevent problems ocuring later; but i can prevent melting down on the spot, but that costs an insane amount of energy and locks me down completely; so i only use this to escape a dangerous situation.