<story><title>Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation</title><url>http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-tuning-brains-benefit-meditation.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>jessriedel</author><text>The real question is whether it&apos;s a good thing to stop &quot;mind wandering&quot; when it hasn&apos;t reached the level of disorder.  From the perspective of evolution, it almost certainly has a purpose. Paul Graham pointed out that its probably useful for problem solving:&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;I wonder if it would be good to have the ability to better focus one&apos;s self when one&apos;s mind is wandering into unproductive subjects (e.g. agonizing over an ex) without necessarily getting to the point where your default mode has been changed so much as to prevent insights in the shower (and instead being deeply aware of the hot water).</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>asmala</author><text>I think we need to differentiate between different types of wandering here. I think we can agree that letting our minds roam looking for creative solutions and creative questions is a good think. But it&apos;s less useful to have our minds stuck in a loop (&quot;Peanut butter or jam? PB or J?&quot; ad infinitum).&lt;p&gt;Anecdotal evidence based on four years of active meditation would in my case seem to indicate that the jittery loopiness lessens while the capacity for creative wandering increases.&lt;p&gt;I would conjencture that our minds are over-stimulated and hence unable settle down to make room for the truly novel.</text></comment>
<story><title>Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation</title><url>http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-tuning-brains-benefit-meditation.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>jessriedel</author><text>The real question is whether it&apos;s a good thing to stop &quot;mind wandering&quot; when it hasn&apos;t reached the level of disorder.  From the perspective of evolution, it almost certainly has a purpose. Paul Graham pointed out that its probably useful for problem solving:&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;I wonder if it would be good to have the ability to better focus one&apos;s self when one&apos;s mind is wandering into unproductive subjects (e.g. agonizing over an ex) without necessarily getting to the point where your default mode has been changed so much as to prevent insights in the shower (and instead being deeply aware of the hot water).</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>aik</author><text>I&apos;ve pondered the same thing.  However, personally from meditation I feel I have greater focus, a clearer mind, and less stress (or a much better handle on stress), which I couldn&apos;t imagine being without today. Concerning shower-insights -- I find myself having less mind wandering in the shower, and instead more deliberate focused insights.</text></comment>