The Blissful Brain

BY SHANIDA NATARAJA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1

Meditation: what is it and why do we need it?
What is meditation?
Variations on a theme
The stresses of modern life
The relationship between body and mind
The traditional Western approach to health
The traditional Eastern approach to health
A holistic approach to healthcare

Chapter 2

Peering beneath the skull: how the brain works
Picturing the human brain
A map of human intellect
Forging connections
More than the sum of its parts
The quantum brain

Chapter 3

Meditation and mystical experiences
The brain’s involvement in mystical experiences
The process of meditation
Important neurobiological features of meditation
Brain wave states during meditation and mystical experiences
The relaxation response

Chapter 4

Bridging science and spirituality
Shifts in perspective and belief
Neurotheology: reconciling science and spirituality
Depths and breadths of the human mind
The neuropsychology of mystical experience
The importance of myth-making
Thwarted attempts to prove or disprove the existence of God

Chapter 5

Hard-wired: a high-performance mind
Tripping into altered states of consciousness
Biofeedback: shifting the threshold of conscious behaviour
Neurofeedback and the high-performance mind

Chapter 6

Meditation and health
Health benefits of meditation
Possible unpleasant side effects of meditation
Studying the impact of meditation on health
Integrating meditation into healthcare
Summary

Chapter 7
Meditation in our everyday lives
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
Mantra meditation

Final thoughts

References
Further reading
Index