Matthew D. Sacchet
@MatthewSacchet
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Associate Professor and Director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School / Mass General (MGH) @HarvardMed @MGHPsychiatry @MGHMartinos
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Joined February 2015
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What is jhana?
Announcing our new paper in Mindfulness (
@springernature
):
“Toward a Unified Account of Advanced Concentrative Absorption Meditation. A Systematic Definition and Classification of Jhāna”
We present the most comprehensive review of advanced concentrative ...
🧵
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Delighted to share our new paper in Neuropsychologia entitled:
"Investigation of advanced mindfulness meditation ‘cessation’ experiences using EEG spectral analysis in an intensively sampled case study"
This is the most rigorous study of cessation/nirodha to date.
🧠🧘♀️🔬
🧵
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Delighted to share our new paper in Cerebral Cortex (
@OxUniPress
):
Intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of volitional control of brain activity in deep absorptive meditation states
This is the most rigorous study of advanced concentration meditation (jhana)
🧠🧘♀️🔬
🧵
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Delighted to announce the first study supporting reliability of neural markers of advanced meditation (jhana)
Now in Human Brain Mapping
@OHBM
“Within-subject reliability of brain networks during advanced meditation: An intensively sampled 7 Tesla MRI case study”
🔬🧘🧠💫
🧵
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Thanks to Scientific American
@sciam
for publishing my article on the radical potential of advanced meditation — would love to hear what people think about the piece.
Full PDF:
SciAm website:
🧵
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Announcing the first scientific review of a type of advanced concentration absorption meditation (ACAM) called jhana.
Now in Heliyon (
@HeliyonJournal
)
“Volitional mental absorption in meditation: Toward a scientific understanding of advanced concentrative absorption [...]
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May we realize the radical potential of advanced meditation.
Beyond my wildest dreams Scientific American
@sciam
has covered advanced meditation.
The podcast has been released today, here is the link:
🧵
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Our new paper in World Psychiatry, the highest impact psychiatry journal, and among the highest in all of medicine:
“Modulating self-referential processing through meditation and psychedelics: is scientific investigation of self-transcendence clinically relevant?”
🧠🧘♀️🔬
🧵
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Delighted to announce the first intensive study of brain connectivity of the advanced meditation/meditative endpoint related to 'enlightenment' called cessation/nirodha
Now out in Brain Topology!
🔬🧘♀️🧠✨
🧵
“Neurophenomenological Investigation of Mindfulness Meditation ...
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Delighted to share our new paper in Mindfulness (
@springernature
) entitled:
“Altered States of Consciousness are Prevalent and Insufficiently Supported Clinically: A Population Survey”
We found that altered states of consciousness associated with yoga, meditation, [...]
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Delighted to share our new paper in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews:
"Resting-state fMRI functional connectivity and mindfulness in clinical and non-clinical contexts: A review and synthesis"
Co-authored with Idil Sezer and
@DiegoPizzagalli
🧠🧘♀️🔬
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Our latest scientific paper out now develops a new framework, the “Thin Model”, toward uniting contemplative theory (e.g., from ancient wisdom traditions), with scientific investigation. We believe that this model will inform an increasingly comprehensive science of mind. 1/6
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I’m delighted that Vox has published an article on advanced meditation and highlighted our work and the work of our colleagues.
May the mainstream narrative incorporate the limits and endpoints of meditation for the benefit of all.
🧘🧠 🔬
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Meditation and Depression Postdoctoral Positions at
@HarvardMed
and
@McLeanHospital
(for details: ) -- Join us for research spanning clinical and contemplative neuroscience 🧠🧘♀️🔬
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absorption meditation jhana (ACAM-J) in contemporary meditation manuals to date.
May this research contribute to a science of advanced meditation that benefits all 🙏
I am deeply grateful for my incredible colleague Terje Sparby
@terjesparby
🧠🧘♀️🔬
...
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Contemplative Neuroscience Postdoctoral Position at
@McLeanHospital
&
@HarvardMed
(see: ). Join us (
@dhrosmarin
&
@DiegoPizzagalli
) for new funded projects & your independent studies using
#neuroimaging
to study
#contemplative
practices 🧠🧘♀️🔬
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Delighted to share our new work in Mindfulness
@SpringerPsych
“A Framework for the Empirical Investigation of Mindfulness Meditative Development”
Authors: Julieta Galante, A Grabovac,
@ProfMalcolmNZ
,
@danielmingram
,
@ntvandam
,
@jaysanguinetti
, T Sparby, and R Lutterveld
🔬🧘♀️🧠
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meditators. After cessation, meditators report profound clarity, insight, well-being, and transformation. Our subject, with over 23,000 hours of meditation training, provided invaluable data through 29 EEG sessions with cessations. Key findings include: Cessation was marked ...
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In the field of meditation, jhāna stands out as powerful states of intense focus that are thought to purify the mind through bliss and pave the way for wisdom. While sometimes thought of as meditation states confined to the monastery, these states are now being explored also ...
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power for central, parietal, and right temporal regions were observed pre-cessation, while delta and beta frequency bands remained unchanged. These results underline the ability of experienced meditators to profoundly voluntarily modulate their state of consciousness. This ...
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The complete PDF of the manuscript is linked here from the publisher and also included on the ‘publications’ page of our website:
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practice that unfold with increasing meditative mastery. Cessation events, nirodha in Pali the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism, represent moments of complete discontinuation in awareness, akin to a loss of consciousness, and are reported by highly experienced ...
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We are grateful to the practitioners who have devoted their lives to cultivating advanced meditation states and who have shared their experiences so as to make this article possible. ...
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by a significant alpha-power decrease starting around 40 seconds before onset, and lowest around the cessation. This alpha-suppression shows a linear decrease in occipital and parietal brain regions during the pre-cessation period. Additionally, modest increases in theta ...
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Our research uniquely employs EEG combined with a neurophenomenological approach to understand the neural signature of "cessation" events in advanced meditation, that is, the states and stages of ...
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May our research on meditative endpoints contribute to the benefit of all 🙏
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Open access link to full paper:
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Delighted that
@TheAtlantic
has published an article on jhana highlighting our work, the importance of strong research, and the promise of this field. Thank you
@andersen
for your coverage of this topic. May our work benefit many 🙏
The Meditation Start-Up That’s Selling Bliss on Demand
Here come the Jhana bros.
www.theatlantic.com
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and consciousness. We believe that a scientific understanding of advanced meditation will play a pivotal role in reducing global suffering, offering therapeutic interventions, and promoting health and thriving. We hope that our findings contribute to this dialogue and advance ...
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events to brain activity, we add a robust layer of empirical evidence to never before studied aspects of meditation and human consciousness more broadly. This endeavor broadens the pathway for further studies, enhancing our comprehension of meditation’s impact on the brain ...
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research lays a crucial foundation for a deeper, neuroscience-backed understanding of unique meditative states, reinforcing the potential of mindfulness meditation in consciousness studies and its application for enhancing mental health and wellbeing. By connecting cessation ...
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Meditation 'Cessation' Experiences Using EEG Network Analysis in an Intensively Sampled Adept Meditator”
Grateful to our incredible team of researchers including Remko van Lutterveld, Avijit Chowdhury, and Daniel Ingram
@danielmingram
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Our review of trait mindfulness and the brain published in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
@mitpress
A wonderful collaboration lead by Isaac Treves
@isaac_treves
Congrats Isaac
For my PhD work, I'm combining my interest in mindfulness and brain imaging and investigating whether more mindful individuals have differences in their brains! Happy to announce my first publication on the topic, a systematic review in JOCN:
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by non-monastic practitioners, thanks to modern meditation manuals. While some aspects of the jhānas are agreed upon, there's also a fair share of disagreement. This has called for a closer look, with the intent of creating consistency and clarity in the terminology used to ...
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I am so grateful for the support of my incredible collaborators Maurizio Fava
@MGHPsychiatry
and Eric Garland
@DrEricGarland
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Planning to attend a meditation retreat? Please consider helping us by completing our survey. Delighted by our collaboration with Chris (
@neurodelia
) and ICL (
@imperialcollege
) to better understand advanced meditation and retreat practice 💫🧘💫
Planning to go to a meditation retreat? Please help us understand the psychological effects and impact of these experiences by signing up for this prospective survey here
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mindfulness, and other practices are common, and mostly positive or even transformative, but that for some people, they can be linked to suffering.
May this work benefit many 🙏
I am deeply grateful for my incredible collaborators Malcolm J. Wright
@ProfMalcolmNZ
,
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the global conversation on meditation and its transformative potential.
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eight jhāna manuals, categorize the various types of jhāna, and delve into a discussion of the intricate dimensions that shape the experience of advanced concentrative absorption meditation. The article shows how the experiential knowledge built up by expert practitioners can ...
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Meditation Science Research Fellow/Postdoctoral Positions at
@HarvardMed
/
@MGHPsychiatry
/
@MGHMartinos
(for details: ) -- Join us to contribute to leading-edge science of
#meditation
/
#contemplative
practices🧠🧘♀️🔬
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Available open access on our website and here from the publisher Springer:
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@sashachapin
@kathryndevaney
Agree fully. Our Meditation Research Program at Harvard/Mass General is focused on the study of what might be called spiritual awakening.
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contribute to setting a new standard for the investigation of jhāna. The jhānas hold deep potential for well-being, happiness, understanding, and alleviation of suffering. Unlocking this potential fundamentally relies on clear account of what jhāna means in human experience. ...
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study and share jhāna. If one cannot agree upon the basic features of these states, making scientific progress in the study of them will be hampered, and our ability to share will be limited. In this article, we offer a definition of jhāna that synthesizes the content of ...
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Thanks so much to the team that made this project possible:
Avijit Chowdhury, Remko van Lutterveld,
@RubenLaukkonen
,
@HeleenASlagter
, and
@danielmingram
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May this research contribute to a science of advanced meditation that benefits all 🙏
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We argue for the importance of advanced meditation, meditative development, and meditative endpoints for promoting mental health and well-being.
Presenting this argument in the highest impact psychiatry journal in the world, and one of the highest impact journals in all of ...
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self-transcendence are highly understudied but have incredible promise. We argue for the importance of advanced meditation as a next step for the development of the field of mindfulness/meditation research. We also present psychedelics in this context. Next steps are to ...
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Fig. 3. Linear trends in power differences (cessation - control) conducted at the region-of-interest (ROI) level.
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be integrated into growing academic engagement with advanced meditation states. It may also be of value to those looking for orienting overview of the diverse kinds of the jhāna and the challenges in organizing them systematically. While much work remains, we have aimed to ...
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The complete manuscript is included as attached images in this thread and will be included on the ‘publications’ page of our website:
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PubMed:
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By translating contemplative theories into scientific terms, our Thin Model shows immediate explanatory power, connecting subjective experiences (phenomenology) with objective measurements without making simplistic assumptions. 2/6
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meditation's role in alleviating individual and societal suffering.
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Julieta Galante, Jessica Corneille, Andrea Grabovac, and Daniel M. Ingram
@danielmingram
🧠🧘♀️🔬💫
...
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medicine, is a milestone for the nascent field of advanced meditation research.
The purpose of this article is to raise awareness and interest in advanced meditation and in particular self-transcendence in the context of mental health and well-being. Advanced meditation and ...
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Delighted to share our new paper in Biological Psychiatry: CNNI (
@BiologicalPsyc1
) entitled:
“Individualized Functional Brain System Topologies and Major Depression: Relationships Among Patch Sizes and Clinical Profiles and Behavior”
🧠🔬 🏥 💫
🧵
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The complete PDF of the manuscript is linked here from the publisher and will be soon included on the ‘publications’ page of our website.
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"Beyond Mindfulness" Sacchet & Brewer, Scientific American, June 25, 2024
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The Thin Model allows for meaningful dialogue between different traditions, providing an organizing principle for explanations of mental phenomena, relevant not only to meditation but also to other fields including psychedelics, philosophy of mind, and mental health. 3/6
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and spiritual traditions including ancient wisdom traditions such as Buddhism, Christian contemplation, Hinduism, Jewish Kabbalah, Sufism, and others. These experiences include ecstatic bliss states, insight into different aspects of the mind, compassionate and empathic ...
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Our research team has ventured into the study of jhana, which is a form of advanced meditation that is cultivated through deep concentration and is characterized by profound bliss, calmness, clarity, ego-dissolution/self-transcendence, and open consciousness. These states, [...]
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continue to develop empirical and theoretical work in this space to better understand advanced meditation, including meditative development and meditative endpoints. Mindfulness and meditation research more broadly are on the cusp of a new wave of research and practice that ...
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A single adept meditator underwent 27 sessions of 7T fMRI scanning across 5 days, while they repeatedly meditated to evoke the 8 different jhanas.
We computed brain network ICC, a modified approach of ICC for within-subject longitudinal fMRI designs, from whole-brain ...
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@neats29
Not exactly piti but related to piti our recent 7T whole-brain fMRI study of jhana: what was linked in another comment from Leigh was a hypothesis and not experimental
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focuses on the “deep” end of meditation, what we call advanced meditation, or states and stages of practice that unfold with time and increasing mastery. This includes states and stages of practice that have been described in diverse contemplative, philosophical, religious, ...
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provides a way forward for future investigations into advanced meditative states, with the overarching aim of broadening the accessibility and benefits of these practices to more people. We hope that this research will contribute meaningfully to understanding advanced [...]
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Our approach enables the conversion of subjective accounts of meditative states, including those that have been yet to be studied rigorously using modern methods, into testable (neuro)scientific hypotheses, 4/6
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states and perspectives, and others. We believe that increasing our understanding of advanced meditation will offer incredible new opportunities for improving health and well-being in many different clinical and non-clinical contexts.
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states. Our study provides new links between advanced meditation, consciousness, and the brain including the cortex, subcortex, brainstem, and cerebellum. Our research underscores the intricate layers of consciousness inherent in jhanas and their neural correlates and [...]
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states often do not seek help, and that clinicians are poorly prepared to recognize or support these kinds of experiences. This has contributed to what might be considered a public health issue as a certain proportion of people have difficulty integrating their experiences of ...
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mental health, and well-being.
May our work benefit many 🙏
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We provide a brain network-based review and synthesis of extant literature linking resting-state fMRI to trait/dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness meditation-based training, including in relation to affective and cognitive processes, and pain and mental illness. We also
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about coping with the stress of modern living. It could improve our understanding of and approach to the mind, mental health and wellbeing, allowing each of us to lead a more fulfilled, compassionate and ‘enlightened’ life.”
💫
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Special thanks to
@ProfMalcolmNZ
for leading our efforts, and for collaborators
@JaySanguinetti
and
@ShinzenYoung
6/6
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Notably, these patterns were tied to specific phenomenology/experiences including attention, joy, ease, equanimity, and self-related processing. The distinct neural patterns we have identified during jhana meditation markedly differ from those observed during non-meditative [...]
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events are characterized by dramatic complete discontinuation in awareness – a full loss of consciousness – that may result from a mastery of mindfulness meditation and are thought to result in profound mental shift toward well-being.
We intensively sampled these cessations ...
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while holding great promise for providing insights into consciousness and well-being, have remained unstudied due to challenges related to research methodologies and also scarcity of master jhana practitioners. Here we completed an intensive case study of a skilled [...]
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graded by the participant. Here we employed a unique neurophenomenological approach where systematic ‘first-person’ descriptions of experience are related to objective or ‘third-person’ neuroimaging data. From about 20 s prior to cessations there was a linear decrease in ...
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advanced meditation out of the monastery,” Sacchet said, describing its “incredible promise for moving beyond addressing mental health issues, toward helping people thrive.”
🙏🙏🙏
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mindfulness practice.
The experiences included derealization (the feeling of being detached from your environment), unitive experiences (a sense of unity or “oneness”), ecstatic thrills, vivid perceptions, changes in perceived size, bodily heat or electricity, out-of-body ...
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detailed ratings and descriptions of their experiences. Our analytic approaches, encompassing regional homogeneity (ReHo) united with linear mixed models and correlational methods, revealed distinct brain activity patterns across various brain systems that relate to jhana. [...]
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guidance.
May this work benefit many 🙏
I’ve included several quotes from the article here:
“Meditation science is now entering a third wave, exploring what we call advanced meditation—deeper and more intense states and stages of practice that often require extended ...
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Delighted to share our new paper in
@FrontPsychol
:
“Defining Meditation: Foundations for an Activity-Based Phenomenological Classification System”
A collaboration with Terje Sparby.
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meditator to establish a foundation for the neurophenomenology of jhana. Over a span of 27 sessions across five days, we amassed a substantial ultra-high field 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) dataset as the meditator engaged in jhana meditation, followed by [...]
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We hope that our research will foster further investigations into the mind more generally, and specifically into advanced meditation, meditative development, and meditative endpoint. 5/6
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altered states into their existing conceptions of self and reality.”
Sacchet noted that additional studies are needed to identify individual characteristics associated with experiencing altered states of consciousness, and with potential suffering associated with these ...
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he said. “Similar to psychotherapy, pharmacology, and other therapeutic tools it’s important that we learn to best implement and support people when engaging with these powerful practices.”
He added that “ancient meditation manuals from the wisdom traditions may be useful ...
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2. In a study of adults in the general population, a team including researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital found that a surprisingly high percentage of participants (45%) reported experiencing altered states of consciousness.
3. Strikingly, almost one-fifth of the ...
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the science and practice of advanced meditation, and we’ve recently been approved to develop this center at Mass General, in affiliation with Harvard Med School. And our goal is to be a leader in the education and science of advanced meditation.
🙏
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The complete PDF of the manuscript is included in the ‘publications’ page of our website
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distinct altered states of consciousness that emerges from advanced meditation and therefore may be informative regarding the nature of consciousness in general. Ultimately, we believe that understanding advanced meditation will reveal important insights related to the mind, ...
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Available soon on the “publications” page of our website and here open access online from the publisher:
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