How Jhana Meditation Facilitates Insight and Cognitive Flexibility
Dr. John Vervaeke
The Cognitive Shifts in Jhana Meditation
This chapter examines an EEG study on Jhana meditators, revealing how their brain responses during auditory tasks shift under deep meditation. It highlights a diminished surprisal response, indicating changes in cognitive engagement and a movement toward immediate sensory experience. The discussion further explores the philosophical implications of pure awareness and the nuances of different contemplative practices in relation to cognitive flexibility.
Question - "How does Jhana meditation simplify experience to facilitate insight and cognitive flexibility?"
John Vervaeke is joined by Mark Miller, Rick Repetti, to explore the intersection of predictive processing, relevance realization, and embodied cognition in contemplative practices. They introduce PhD candidate Jonas Mago, who discusses his research on Jhana meditation and its impact on cognitive flexibility and insight. The conversation touches on contrasting Jhana practices with charismatic Christian traditions such as speaking in tongues. They also explore how Jhana states temporarily reduce the complexity of perception, allowing practitioners to observe the construction and deconstruction of their experiential models. The neuroscientific evidence provided, such as changes in brain responses during these states, adds depth to this exploration, illustrating how such simplification can lead to profound insights.
Mark Miller, a philosopher and cognitive scientist, holds a senior research fellowship at Monash University's Center for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies in Australia, with affiliations at the University of Toronto and Hokkaido University in Japan. His work, which dives into the interplay between human thought, technology's impact on well-being, and human-computer interaction, is at the forefront of integrating cognitive neuroscience with philosophical inquiry.
Rick Repetti is Professor of Philosophy at Kingsborough Community College, CUNY, USA. He is the author of The Counterfactual Theory of Free Will (2010), as well as several articles on Buddhism, meditation, free will, and philosophy of religion.
Jonas Mago is a cognitive neuroscientist and wellbeing aficionado, deeply invested in understanding the cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms underlying human flourishing. His research explores contemplative practices designed to cultivate wholesome states of mind—spanning meditation, prayer, collective cultural rituals, and psychedelic therapies. I approach these topics from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating cognitive science, neurobiology, computational modeling, and phenomenology to investigate mechanisms of self-regulation and transformation. He is currently pursuing my doctoral studies in Neuroscience at McGill University under the supervision of Dr. Michael Lifshitz, with co-supervision from Prof. Dr. Karl Friston. His academic journey includes a master’s degree in Mind, Language, and Embodied Cognition from the University of Edinburgh (UK) and undergraduate studies in Liberal Arts and Sciences at University College Maastricht (Netherlands).
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Notes:
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(0:00) Introduction to the Lectern. This is the beginning of The Predictive Processing Series
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(0:30) Mark Miller, Rick Repetti, and Jonas Mago joins John Vervaeke
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(1:30) Predictive Processing and Meditation
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(4:00) Inside Jhanas Meditation
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(10:00) Phenomenology and Cognitive Functions of Jhanas
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(11:30) “Is Jhanas essential for the path of awakening?”
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(13:00) Predictive Coding and Cognitive Models
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(18:00) Jhana meditation and the transient nature of predictive models
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(25:00) Analysis of the risks and benefits associated with Jhana practice
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(30:00) EEG Studies on Jhana Practitioners
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(37:00) Jhana versus Pure Consciousness
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(45:00) High Arousal Contemplative States: Jhana and Christian prayer
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(54:00) The Importance of Context in Contemplative Practices
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(1:05:00) Final Words
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Ideas, People, and Works Mentioned in this Episode:
Predictive Processing
Epistemic Vulnerability
Metacognition
Absorption States
fMRI Studies
Sangha
EEG Studies
Relevance Realization
Embodied Cognition
Jhana Meditation
Thomas Metzinger
Michael Lifshitz
Alton
Ram Dass
Buddha
Tanya Luhrmann
Shaila Catherine
Metzinger, T. (2021). The Elephant and the Blind: Insights into pure consciousness experiences.
Lerman, T. (2012). When God Talks Back: A study on evangelical experiences of speaking in tongues.
Quotes:
“What we're trying in, in meditation is starting to model our predictive hierarchy of the brain opaque. So to notice that experience ultimately is not something that's, that's kind of a real grasp on reality, that all we have is this imprint of reality on our experiential or generative modeling, through this, this predictive hierarchy.”
"The interplay between micro and macro perspectives mirrors the flexibility we aim for in meditation and science."
"Epistemic vulnerability can be a doorway to growth if properly framed—or a risk without it."
Mark Miller: Website | X | Podcast | YouTube
Rick Repetti: Website | X | Facebook
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