Narrow Results

Human prostate cancer PC3 cells were treated in vitro with psychosomatic power emitted by a Buddhist-Zen Master. A significant decrease of growth rate was observed as determined by MTT assay after 48 hours. These cells also had two- to three-fold higher levels of prostatic acid phosphatase (PAcP) activity, a prostate tissue-specific differentiation antigen. In addition, the treated cells formed fewer and smaller colonies in soft agar as compared with control cells, which displayed anchorage-independent growth. These observations provide insight into the suppressive effects of healing power through the practice of Buddhist-Zen meditation on tumor progression. The emitted bioenergy may be suggested as an alternative and feasible approach for cancer research and patient treatment.

This paper firstly reports the visual response to the inner light (a form of qi) and the outside stimulus during Zen meditation. It has been reported literally that inner light perception is the common experience for prayers or Zen-meditation practitioners. In this paper, we propose a method to quantify the EEG (electroencephalograph) and F-VEP (flash visual evoked potential) that characterize this experience.

Based on wavelet analysis, we derived a set of parameters that effectively signify the alpha-suppressed EEG pattern. Furthermore, this paper presents our new results of analyzing the F-VEP data, mainly the peak amplitude. The observation of little variation in amplitude during Zen meditation reflects a more stable visual perceptive system during Zen meditation that is contrary to the visual response of the control subjects under eye-closed relaxation.

Most physical and psychological problems in modern people have been proven to be caused by stress. This finding stimulated the demand for techniques that can effectively manipulate the stress perception. The influence of stress on college students lasts longer at the age when there is a fast development of personality and life viewpoint. This survey study thus mainly examines the effect of Zen-meditation practice on stress manipulation in college students. 541 college students were divided into two groups, with Zen-meditation practice in their daily lives and those who do not meditate. To evaluate the perceived stress of participants, DASS questionnaire was used to measure their negative emotional states (depression, anxiety and stress/tension). The results showed that (1) considerably high percentage of college students who did not practice Zen meditation exhibited negative emotional problem (depression: 45%; anxiety: 48%; stress/tension: 50%); (2) a much lower percentage of students with meditation practice encountered the negative emotional problem (depression: 8%; anxiety: 30%; stress/tension: 12%). This study reflects the benefits of meditation on stress manipulation. It may also imply that having more meditation, having longer meditation time, and doing meditation more frequently could further improve the states of negative emotion. It also implies that meditation experience played a considerable role in effectively manipulating some stress symptoms like depression and anxiety. This is demonstrated by the significantly lower scores (p < 0.001) in the group of experienced (> 0.5 year) meditators as compared with the control group.

Innovatively new behaviors of heart rate variability caused by special heart-transition process were observed in the long-term, well-experienced Zen practitioners while practicing the heart-to-heart imprint sealing (HHIS) Zen meditation. HHIS Zen practice involves specific neurocardiac-cardiorespiratory interaction while on the way of realizing the heart-dominant, detached brain. Results of analyzing the electrocardiogram and respiratory signals of 10 experienced practitioners reveal several distinctive characteristics: (1) remarkably linear correlation between standard deviation of the normal R-to-R intervals, SDNN, and total power in very-low-frequency (VLF, 0.0033–0.04Hz) band of power spectrum of the heart-rate sequence, (2) time-varying VLF power dominating over the low-frequency and high-frequency power in heart rate variability (HRV) variations, (3) intermittent transition into slowly, deeply abdominal respiration inducing a boost of heart rates, (4) heart-rate baseline slowly fluctuating at 0.005–0.0067Hz, about 1.5–2 cycles in 5-min period, and (5) remarkable respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) synchrony between heart rate and respiration rhythm. This paper proposes a rational scientific hypothesis for the neurocardiac-cardiorespiratory mechanism. The unique scheme of HHIS Zen meditation involves the spiritual-qi concentration and refinement for pinpointing into the particular energy centers, mailuns. Ignition by a subtle, deepest abdominal respiration, electrical impulses rapidly transmit from solar plexus to branchial plexuses to activate unique heart-transition process. Simultaneously, another branch streams upward the spinal cord to cervical plexus and brainstem that effectively harmonizes neurocardiac interactions. To investigate the underlying behaviors, time-domain and frequency-domain HRV based on continuous wavelet transform were employed.