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How Paying Attention to Bodily Sensations Changes Our Relationship with the World:

Meditation from a Cognitive Psychology Perspective| Masahiro Fujino | TEDxKyotoUniversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycYTUyE-U5k

0) Overall Conclusion (What this talk is really saying)

When you learn to place attention on bodily sensations, you become less swept away by emotions and thoughts, the quality of your decision-making improves, and your way of living naturally becomes more balanced.

In psychology, this state is called mindfulness.

1) The Problem Statement (Why This Conversation is Necessary)

Many people work hard “for their health” or “to do the right thing,” yet without realizing it, tension and stress accumulate in both body and mind—and they lose the ability to relax.
At the same time, there is strong bias against “ways of becoming at ease” such as meditation, which prevents many people from accessing them at all.

2) Personal Experience (The Speaker's Transformation)

Before

Worked in corporate planning and management at a healthcare-related company
Held the ideal of “wanting to contribute to people’s health”
Reality: growing tension and stress, with no clear way to release them

Turning Point

Felt drawn to a 10-day meditation retreat in Kyoto and joined
- 10 days of silence
- No smartphone or PC
- About 10 hours of meditation per day

Stages during the Retreat

Days 1–4: Drowsiness, pain, emotional eruptions, runaway thoughts — “hell”

Days 5–6:
Shift from “identification” to “awareness”
- - “My leg hurts!” (self = pain)
  - “There is pain in my leg.” (self as observer)
- Days 9–10: Bodily tension disappears, and the mind becomes astonishingly quiet

After（A Change in Life Direction）

Wanted to share this experience, but people reacted with suspicion
Recognized the depth of societal bias, quit job → moved to Kyoto → entered academia (cognitive psychology, MRI research)
Began attempting to scientifically explain the experienced state

3) Concept Definition：What Is Mindfulness?

“A state of awareness in which one notices experiences happening in the present moment (sensations, emotions, thoughts) without suppressing them, ignoring them, or solidifying them through judgment.”

4) 3 Core Characteristics of Mindfulness (Theoretical Framework)

Characteristic ① It is Not "Emptying the Mind"

It does not mean eliminating sensations, emotions, or thoughts
It means noticing what is already there

Example:
When attention is placed on the palm of the hand, you realize the presence of wind, sweat, subtle touch—things that were always there.

→ Daily life is not lacking sensations; we simply fail to notice them.

Characteristic ②: It Doesn’t Change the Content — It Changes the Relationship

Rather than eliminating pain or anxiety, the distance between the self and those experiences changes (subjective ↔ objective)
Insights from MRI research:
Brain activity does not change so much in sensation or emotion themselves
Instead, changes appear in areas related to being caught up in vs. observing experience
Result:
You are no longer trapped — you can witness.

Characteristic ③ It is not just Relaxation

Physiological indicators show:
- Parasympathetic activity (relaxation) does not simply increase
- Sympathetic activity (alertness) increases
- Cortisol (stress hormone) decreases
In other words:
Not “spacing out,” but being sharply aware with low stress
Analogy: Like Miyamoto Musashi — able to perceive the whole field clearly, without freezing in reaction, and respond appropriately.

5) The Role of Bodily Sensation (How the world changes)

What Are Bodily Sensation

Whenever external stimuli (images, sounds, touch) or internal stimuli (thoughts, images) arise, bodily sensations always occur. (The location varies by person, but patterns are consistent within the same individual.)

How They Are Usually Used

We unconsciously use bodily sensations to automatically evaluate: “Like / dislike” “Trustworthy / not trustworthy”

What Happens When You Become Aware of Them

You can consciously recognize what and how you are feeling
Answers emerge that thinking alone cannot produce Examples: Travel decisions/Career changes/Whether to continue or quit something

6)Applications (Education & Healthcare)

Elementary school example: Instead of only teaching “Lying is bad” intellectually, ask:
“When you lie, what sensations appear in your body?
Do they feel comfortable or uncomfortable?”
→ Integrating bodily sensation into ethical judgment.

7) Caution (Why Training Is Necessary)

- Strong stimuli (e.g., loud or unpleasant sounds) are easy to notice
- Subtle sensations arising from compassion, kindness, warmth are much harder to perceive
Therefore:
- Reduce stimulation
- Cultivate attention through practices such as meditation and observation.

8) Final Message (Proposal)

During the retreat: Stimuli decreased, Intense sensations diminished, Attention deepened, Bodily tension released, The mind grew quiet
In that stillness, the flow of thought → bodily sensation → expansion became clearly observable.
By learning to choose daily life in alignment with deep bodily awareness, one can live in harmony with both oneself and the world.
This is an experience the speaker hopes many people will encounter.