Over the past few years, doctors and millions of people worldwide have widely accepted meditation as a health practice. But as we learn more about meditation, scientists discover a whole new area of study: advanced meditation.
This isn’t your average stress-relieving or relaxation app. Advanced meditation goes into deeper states of awareness, which could change a person’s mind in big ways. It’s more than just a way to deal with daily stress; it can lead to events that change the way you see life altogether.
Over time, meditation study has come a long way. From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, the first wave of research looked into how meditation could help with different health problems. In the second wave, researchers went deeper and looked into how meditation works. As the third wave comes to a head, scientists are exploring the unknown seas of advanced meditative states.
But what does “advanced meditation” really mean? To do it, you don’t have to be a monk in clothes or live in a cave. These are places that regular people living secular lives can reach by getting better at something over time. They can include feeling like time stops, being more aware, or even losing consciousness for a short time.
Scientists are using cutting-edge technology to study these hard-to-define states. Scientists can make a map of the whole brain while people are deeply meditating using high-resolution brain imaging techniques like 7-Tesla MRI. EEG tests are finding brain wave patterns linked to advanced practices. Some researchers are even looking into “cessation events,” which are times when you lose awareness completely while meditating.
There are numerous applications for this study. It could lead to new treatments for mental illnesses like anxiety and sadness that go beyond just masking symptoms and help people feel truly good about their lives. We could combine new technologies and advanced meditation methods with well-known mindfulness practices to create new ways to treat mental health problems.
Furthermore, this study goes beyond its potential applications in medicine. It helps us learn more about consciousness, makes us question what it means to be self-aware, and gives us new ideas about what it means to be human.
As interest in meditation grows, so does the chance to learn about all of its different benefits. Modern study into meditation isn’t just about coming up with new ways to deal with life’s stresses. It’s about pushing the limits of what people can do and showing them ways to live happier, more caring, and “enlightened” lives.
The field is still very new, but what it means is very important. As we continue to figure out the secrets of advanced meditation, we may be revealing completely new ways to understand and improve our mental health, well-being, and basic humanity.
*Matthew D. Sacchet and Judson A. Brewer originally published this article in Scientific American Magazine on June 25, 2024.