Mind & Brain

It's the kind of book you wish your Mom & Dad had read before having you. You would be smarter for sure, and more prepared to deal with the adversity of life. Sharon Begley did an excellent job taking the lay person to the frontier of neuroscience in studies of brain, mind and the Buddhist practice of forging the latter through meditation.

What does the book actually teach? Plasticity of the brain! Surprise, it can be rewired. The dogma that the brain (functional domains & circuitry) become fixed after certain age is not true. Modern scientists painstakingly performed experiments with biophysical tools such as TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and PET (positron-emission tomography) to demonstrate that the brain can be changed at any ages and depending on circumstances. In contrast, Buddhism knew for thousand of years without recourse to instrumentions, that brain & mind can be changed through meditation. Moreover, consensus has been reached on both sides that not only the physical environment can change the brain but so can the mind. The mind has control over the brain, so what's new? Don't we all live by the adage "where there is a will there is a way"? Perhaps it's good to have 20/20 hindsight but it's better to realize that what we intuitively know is now rigorously proven. Scientists who are Cartesian by nature, are now talking and experimenting with the more intuitive or spiritually oriented Buddhists (Dalai Lama and associates). The interaction is bound to be fruitful and one can only hope for new ground to be broken. The Dalai Lama said he would readily change certain Buddhist teachings if they can be scientifically shown to be incorrect. That certainly is a breath of fresh air. For the little I know about Buddhism I always thought of it as among the most progressive of religions. The Dalai Lama did not disappoint in that respect.

On the practical side, the book gives us comfort that we can always improve upon personal shortcomings whether physical or mental. If you haven't learnt music at a young age you could still do, if you didn't do math well enough as a teen you can still improve by sheer force of will, etc etc. The possibilities are endless. Obviously, the young brain is still more plastic than the old one. Yes, we can do anything we want, but starting at old age we may have to practice a little bit harder and work a little bit longer.

There is hope! Practice mindfulness every day, meditate and learn to focus your mind at every chance.

A parting shot, Sharon Begley's book reads more like a textbook. Hoping that you won't be discouraged. Take the assignment, if not for you, for your offspring.