Meditation vs. Perseveration
So I’ve been wondering lately on the topic of meditating specifically when someone says “meditate on that topic.” My brain immediately goes to perseveration, which in my world of behavior analysis and autism happens quite frequently. Perseveration is the repetition of words, actions, and/or thoughts regardless of the situation or circumstances being present. Often the perseveration leads to heighten states (i.e. tantrums, vocal protest, aggression) because the perseveration has not lead to a specific outcome for the individual at hand. However, we can link perseveration with anxiety and the repetition of thoughts that lead to heighten emotional states (i.e. heart beating faster, palms sweating, skin feeling tingly etc…). So where does meditation come in. Meditation is the focused and concerted effort to acknowledge the thoughts that and come and go WITHOUT judgement. The “goal” of meditation is to achieve a calm and stable state of the mind. This is somewhat the opposite of perseveration.
So when someone says meditate on that topic, how is it different than perseveration? Well… can you concentrate on the topic without emotional arousal? Can you focus on the topic without letting the mind wander to the “what ifs” of the topic? Can you bring your mind back to the original topic or question without letting the bodily sensations take over? If the answers are yes, then great! You’ve moving towards meditation and a concentrative state. If your mind is sometimes like mine and spins, keep practicing! Keep noticing the spinning and come back to noticing the thoughts come and go.
Here are some ideas on developing a meditative practice:
If focusing on a topic and you start to feel emotional responses: Name those feelings! If thinking about what to do next in life and you start to feel anxious, say to yourself. I’m feeling anxious. I can feel my hands tingling, I can feel my heart beating faster. Just observe and move on to the next emotional response. By naming our feelings, we are accepting that they are real and are happening rather than trying to run from them. Avoidance of our emotional states typically leads to us as humans experiencing more suffering than if we actual accept the emotions going on within us.
Brain Dump: Take a moment to journal for a couple minutes and write down every thought that comes up on your paper. The thoughts do not have to make logical sense or be connected in topic. Just free think and write down everything that comes up. This helps prepare the mind to “empty” itself. After journaling choose an object or item to focus on. Set a timer to focus on this item, notice if your mind wanders, and just bring it back to the item or object without judgement.
Focus on gratitude: Take a moment to make a list of the things you are grateful for. These can be people, places, things, items, objects, experiences etc… Write this list down. Then spend about 5 minutes focusing on your list. Notice if you mind wanders from the list and gently guide it back to the items you are grateful for.
Happy Practicing!
