You are focused or distracted due to two networks in your brain —
1. The Default Mode Network (DMN) — it makes your mind wander, e.g., when reading a book or when sitting idly.
2. The Dorsal Attention Network (DAN) — it enables you to deliberately focus your attention on something e.g., to read a book. This makes a substantial contribution to your intellectual abilities.
These two are like the brake and accelerator of our attention. If we want to be more focused, we need to train our brain to suppress the DMN and strengthen the DAN.
From the limited data that research has thrown up, it seems like meditation helps suppress the DMN, which causes mind-wandering.
Meditation is like a gym for our brain. Every time our mind wanders during meditation, when we bring it back deliberately to the object of focus, we strengthen the brain’s ability to suppress the DMN and reduce mind wandering in future.
Refocusing in meditation strengthens your mind the way a rep in the gym builds your muscle.
Every time you meditate, you change your brain a tiny bit. In the same vein, when you spend hours scrolling your phone, you degrade your brain’s cognitive abilities.
The more focused you are, the more intelligent you become.
Meditation is not just about lowering your anxiety, giving you emotional control, and self-awareness. It is the ultimate brain training program.
– Rajan