“Meditation speeds up the evolutionary process by gradually purifying negative tendencies.”

Master Choa Kok Sui

Meditation has been considered as one of the most useful tools for transformation and productivity since a long time by people who had a spiritual bent of mind. In the recent past, people have started understanding its value beyond spirituality. The credit for the same goes to a lot of scientific researches that have been conducted on the subject.

We all have different objectives in mind when we decide to include meditation in our life. Some of us do it for better health, some for attainment of peace of mind, some to gain more energy, some to get answers to deeper questions of life and others to simply succeed in the pursuit called life.

There are various ways to meditate and they all bring us numerous benefits. What if I tell you that there is one easy technique to meditate which combines the benefits of almost all the meditations? What if I tell you that it will help you to be more intelligent, more kind, healthier, more emotionally strong and phenomenally productive? Also, what if I tell you that all this isn’t just my experience or opinion but is concepts and tools backed by scientific principles from the field of neuroscience, epigenetics and positive psychology?

Excited?

So, let me introduce to you a powerful way to meditate that is “Meditation on Twin Hearts”. It’s a simple yet powerful meditation on Love and Kindness given by the Founder of Modern Pranic Healing, Grand Master Choa Kok Sui.

This article is aimed at decoding the scientific principles and benefits hidden in this meditation. If you have never done this meditation, it’s advisable to do it once and then read the article so that you can understand its essence in a better manner.

Here I highlight various elements of the meditation, explain their scientific validity and state their benefits:

MUSIC

The entire meditation contains beautiful soothing music. It puts you in a calm state. Music has been known to be a great healer.
But is there any science behind it?

The Science – Studies show that music can uplift your mood and fend off depression. It can also improve blood flow, lower stress hormones in ways similar to drugs like Statins do, improve cognitive functions and memory. Music Therapy is catching up in many parts of the world due to the same reason.

Benefit – I’m sure each one of us has experienced the magic of a song that is close to our heart. As you practice this meditation and the hear the beautiful music, you will start experiencing the benefit.

PRAYER

Right at the start of the meditation, GMCKS carries out a small prayer. It invokes the blessings of God, Great Teachers, Saints and Sages. A prayer has been known to create great results and hence it has been a part of numerous cultures since time immemorial.
Does it really work?

The Science – Many studies have affirmed the power of prayers. Less symptoms of depression, better mental health, better self-control, belief in abundance leading to lesser financial worries, and development of virtues like sacrifice, tolerance and patience etc. are witnessed in the practitioners.

Benefit – Prayer reduces limitations and negative thoughts, and ultimately connects you to God as well as Universal Intelligence.

RECALL A HAPPY MOMENT

After being in meditation for about 1 minute and 45 seconds, GMCKS asks us to recall a happy moment of sweetness, tenderness and love, and ask us to re-experience it fully. Most practitioners would have an instant smile on the face as they do this.
Is it of any significance to recall positive emotions during this meditation?

The Science – Positive Psychology has brought a tremendous shift in the way we look at positive emotions. Studies conducted by researchers in University of Cambridge found that recalling positive memories and happy life experiences may increase resilience, mental health and reduce the risk of depression. Research by Dr. Martin Seligman, Father of Positive Psychology highlights the tremendous therapeutic benefits of recalling good events and blessings of life.

Benefit – This meditation will benefit you by increasing resilience, mental health and positivity. These are such powerful qualities to have.

YOU ARE SMILING

At 2 minutes and 8 seconds of the meditation, GMCKS mentions, “You are smiling”. Now there is a high possibility that when you sit for meditation, you may not be in a good or peaceful mood. Maybe you are feeling stress or worry. However, since there is a specific instruction to smile in this meditation, you would end up smiling or even faking a smile.
Does a smile have any benefit even when we are faking it?

The Science – An interesting research shows that even if you fake a smile, the brain notices the muscle activity and assumes that you are having fun. This ends up releasing chemicals like Dopamine and Serotonin, which enhance our happiness and improve our mood. There have been several studies that conclude that a smile also reduces stress, makes the immune system stronger and prolongs life.

Benefit – As you smile during this meditation, you are reducing stress and making your immunity stronger.

SMILE AT THE HEART CENTER

Once one has been into this meditation for 2 minutes and 20 seconds, GMCKS asks us to smile at the heart center. He asks us not just to think about the physical heart but the heart energy center also known as Heart Chakra as per ancient wisdom. Ancient people believed that this chakra or energy center has a major role to play in our spiritual development.
But is there some scientific basis to it as well?

The Science – Researchers at Institute of HeartMath, U.S. have found the presence of a field of energy around the heart. Their extensive research from the last 30 years shows that the heart generates the largest electromagnetic field of energy in the body. The field as measured in ECG is around 60 times greater in amplitude than the brain waves measured in EEG. In addition to it, the research highlights that this field can be detected and measured from a distance several feet away from a person’s body and between two persons in close proximity.

Benefit – When the field of energy around the heart is bigger and stronger, it promotes well-being and brings many positive changes in our life. Meditation is a practical tool to expand the heart’s energy field.

BLESSING OF THE EARTH

At 4 minutes and 12 seconds of the meditation track, GMCKS asks us to bless the earth. This meditation primarily falls under the category of love and kindness meditation as it requires us to feel the emotions of love, compassion and peace, and share it with others.
Does it help in any way if we express our love towards earth and our fellow beings?

The Science – There are numerous scientific studies across the world that show the benefit of love and kindness-based meditations. A study conducted by Barbara Frederickson and her colleagues found that practicing 7 weeks of love and kindness meditation increases love, joy, contentment, hope, interest, amusement and awe in life. It also results in reducing migraine, pain, anger, depression, PTSD symptoms and various other ailments.

Another study which compared loving and kindness meditation to mindfulness meditation, found that people who practiced loving and kindness meditation showed less telomere attrition compared to mindfulness groups. This means loving and kindness meditation increases your biological age as well. Telomeres are the marker of our biological age. These are like the shoelace caps at the end of chromosomes.

Benefit – Did you ever think before that meditation may enhance your biological age as well? How powerful is that!

WHERE THERE IS HATRED

Around 5 minutes and 48 seconds into the meditation, GMCKS reminds us to bless the earth with love, kindness, forgiveness, compassion and peace. In this active process, the practitioner has to raise one’s hand, imagine the earth to be in front of the eyes in form of a small imaginary ball and bless it by using St. Francis of Assisi’s prayer. This blessing continues for approximately six and a half minutes. It is important to note that once the practitioners start experiencing a positive emotional state, they are made to raise their hands to bless the earth with all positive emotions that are consciously created by them through positive thoughts. The processes go on simultaneously and seamlessly.
Can this way of blessing impact the kind of person we are becoming?

The science – One of the principles of neuroscience is Hebb’s law. This theory states, “Neurons which fire together, wire together”. Everything we do, right from thinking, feeling, speaking and raising our hands requires a group of neurons to come together and fire in sync. A behavior is nothing but a group of neurons firing simultaneously.
If we continue firing the same set of neurons (nerve cells), as we are doing in this meditation, it becomes a well-formed circuit in the brain. This is how a habit is formed and eventually a personality is created. So, as we do this blessing guided by GMCKS, we are literally wiring ourselves to become a new, kind, compassionate and loving person. We are not merely doing something superstitious but are following a spiritual practice backed by science.

Another powerful research area in neuroscience is neuro-plasticity. It tells us that our brain is not pre-programmed like a computer, it is changeable. The software as well as hardware both can be changed. It means that a person by adopting new thoughts, new emotions and new behaviors can change the structure of the physical brain too. We all can upgrade the software and hardware that runs us. The meditation does this precisely by helping us in forming new thoughts, new emotions, a new behavior and eventually a new personality.

Benefit – This meditation doesn’t just give you short term gains but also promises a long term transformation.

BLESS PEOPLE WHO ARE SAD, IN PAIN AND DEPRESSED

Around 8 minutes and 24 seconds into the meditation, GMCKS guides us to bless people who are sad, in pain, depressed and reminds us to fill them with light and joy.
Does prayer & blessings have an impact on others without even their awareness and involvement?

The Science – There have been numerous studies which have affirmed that prayers and intentions affect other people at a distance. Double-blind tests conducted on water crystals by Dr. Dean Raddin, Director of Institute of Noetic Sciences have shown such results. Another scientific study showed that women who had been prayed for had nearly twice as high a pregnancy rate as those who had not been prayed for. Another study was conducted on non-human primate species and the sample consisted of 22 bush babies with wounds. The study found the group which was prayed for had a greater reduction in wound size and a greater improvement in haematological parameters. It negated the placebo effect as it was conducted in a nonhuman species.

Benefit – As you pray for yourself and others in this meditation, know this, you are making this world a better place.

BLESS WITH HOPE, STRENGTH AND OTHER VIRTUES

In the entire meditation, we are creating a lot of positive thoughts of kindness, compassion, love, joy, peace and happiness. These thoughts at the level of the brain are nothing but the neurons firing together. These thoughts trigger chemicals of love, happiness and compassion.
Do positive thoughts and emotions formed in the process have a concrete role in improving our life?

The Science – One of the emerging areas of science is epigenetics. In the words of Dr. Bruce Lipton, cellular biologist, “Epigenetics” is the study of cellular and physiological traits, or the external and environmental factors that turn our genes on or off, and in turn, define how our cells read the genes.” This body of research highlights the impact of both nature and nurture in our development and gene expression. In life, our external environment includes experiences which we go through and our inner environment is created by our thoughts, emotions and beliefs. Both of them have a tremendous impact on what genes our
system chooses to express. Expressions of Genes are the expression of life.

Another study at UCLA found that happiness affects our genes in a much deeper way. They also found that different kinds of happiness have different impacts on our genes. People who have a high level of eudaimonic well-being, that is happiness which comes from a deep sense of purpose and meaning like that experienced by Mother Teresa showed very favorable gene expression in their immune cells. Inflammatory gene expression was very low and antiviral and antibody genes expression was quite strong. People who had high levels of hedonic well-being, that is happiness which stems from consummatory behavior (the celebrity, hip-hop culture) had an opposite gene expression that is more of inflammation genes were expressed and less of antibody and antiviral genes showed expression.

Benefit – This meditation is completely focused on creating happiness of eudaimonic nature that is happiness which comes from doing work which involves a greater purpose and meaning. It focuses on the practitioner, practitioner’s family, all beings and the earth.
Human mind seeks reason in everything one does. As you would understand all the abovementioned researches and practice this meditation, you would experience a revived conviction and find deeper meaning in the process. This in turn shall create even more powerful results from the meditation.

A direct study was also conducted on the impact of twin heart meditation. It was led by Glenn Mendoza, M.D. in New York City. The study found an observable increase in brain synchrony, synchronization in brain waves and significant increase in neurohormones in the practitioners. There were a lot more findings establishing the therapeutic effect of this
meditation.
In times to come, more studies will unearth the benefits of this meditation on the practitioner and human consciousness.
The potency, simplicity, science and the transformational impact that this meditation carries makes it a powerful tool that can turn a common man into a more conscious, kind and successful being. Now that you understand the science behind it, practice it with all faith, wisdom and clarity.