Many of us are familiar with mindfulness apps like Headspace or Calm, and may have found them helpful for reducing stress. However, these beginner practices represent just a starting point for deeper meditation, a journey that can lead to profound and lasting transformations in how we feel and experience the world. This reality has long been recognized by full-time meditators, and now, neuroscientists are beginning to explore and understand these mental shifts using cutting-edge brain scanning technology.
Exploring the Frontiers of Meditation Research
At the forefront of this new field of research is Matthew Sacchet, director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School. His team collaborates closely with advanced meditators, such as Buddhist monks, to investigate how the brain changes in response to intense, long-term meditative practices, often associated with spiritual experiences. Using sophisticated brain scanners, researchers are pinpointing the neural changes that occur during deep meditation and examining their lasting impacts.
Beyond Mindfulness: The Potential of Advanced Meditation
Sacchet’s team challenges the conventional understanding of meditation, which often focuses solely on mindfulness – non-judgmentally paying attention to the present moment to reduce stress and anxiety. Their research investigates what they term “advanced meditation,” encompassing deeper, ongoing mastery of practice and including altered mental states, and even fundamental shifts in consciousness. “Our research programme studies this mastery of meditation and asks: what are the limits of meditation? What’s possible beyond mindfulness?” Sacchet explains.
Profound Possibilities: What Advanced Meditation Can Achieve
Advanced meditation, according to researchers, can lead to experiences far beyond stress reduction. Practitioners report states of ecstatic bliss, deep insights into their own minds, compassionate states, and shifts in their sense of self. Some describe consciousness as deeply peaceful, mentally clear, or experiencing a state where there’s no distinction between self and other—a state of “non-duality.” These aren’t just subjective feelings; they’re supported by measurable changes in the brain, suggesting enduring well-being beyond temporary stress relief—a pathway towards “human flourishing.”
The Brain’s Response to Long-Term Meditation
A recent review by Sacchet and his team—collaborating with institutions across the U.S., Europe, and Asia—examined scientific literature related to cognition in long-term meditators (with at least 1500 hours of experience). Key findings revealed that long-term meditation alters how sensations and emotions are processed, impacting everyday experiences. Researchers observed that meditators rely less on “top-down” cognitive control – traditional self-regulation involving higher-level brain regions – and instead exhibit more automatic, “bottom-up” processing rooted in sensory information. This suggests that their brains respond more intuitively to emotions and sensations without needing constant deliberate control.
Addressing Skepticism and Opening New Avenues
Researchers acknowledge that the topic of advanced meditation can seem unusual and may be met with skepticism. However, growing acceptance within the scientific community is fueled by the mainstreaming of mindfulness and psychedelic science, alongside advances in cognitive neuroscience. Facing modern crises—in mental health, climate, economy, religion, and politics—has also spurred openness to potential solutions. Sacchet emphasizes the need to balance rigorous scientific methods with studying phenomena historically relegated to the spiritual or religious realms.
The Challenges of Studying Altered States of Mind
Studying advanced meditation presents unique practical challenges. Reliably accessing altered meditative states in a controlled laboratory environment—while hooked up to brain scanners—isn’t easy. Researchers invest considerable time educating participants about the data collection environment and protocols to minimize surprises during scanning.
Examining Advanced States: Jhanas and Cessation Events
Researchers focus on specific altered states of mind, including “jhānas” (deep states of concentration in Buddhist traditions), characterized by arcs from bliss to stillness and eventually, equanimity. They also study “cessation events”—momentary absences of conscious experience during advanced meditation, described as a “falling away” of experience. These events, potentially lasting several days, are distinct from deep sleep and are marked by exceptional degrees of peace and lucidity. Researchers find that different traditions emphasize distinct qualities and experiences associated with these meditative milestones, such as the absence of negative emotions, increased non-duality, or a more peaceful way of being.
What Advanced Meditation Reveals About Consciousness
Research on long-term meditators suggests that the self isn’s as fixed as previously understood. Neuroimaging shows that alterations in brain activity—particularly in areas related to attention, bodily awareness, and self-related processing—are linked to altered experiences. The study of cessation events helps define the nature of consciousness, highlighting the fluid nature of experience. “These states reveal the edges and limits of human experience,” Sacchet states.
Towards Democratizing Advanced Meditation
Sacchet believes the ultimate goal is to make advanced meditation more accessible. “The first step is to make the concepts underlying advanced meditation more accessible,” he says. This could involve leveraging neurotechnology like neuromodulation to facilitate advanced meditation, though ethical considerations are paramount. Ultimately, research aims to meet people where they are and help them experience the transformative potential of deep meditative practices.
Ultimately, Sacchet and his team’s research offers a compelling glimpse into the power of the mind and the potential for lasting personal transformation through advanced meditation, opening new avenues for understanding consciousness and promoting human well-being
