David Perry: I want to talk about the therapeutic side of mindfulness meditation. He says for someone who has never meditated or attended a silent meditation retreat, that sounds ludicrous. But he says it can help you focus on your feelings in a more objective way. Perry: The calming of the mind is just preparation to view things more carefully.
Robert Wright, author of Why Buddhism Is True, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the psychotherapeutic insights of Buddhism and the benefits of meditation and mindfulness. Wright argues our evolutionary past has endowed us with a mind that can be ill-suited to the stress of the present. He argues that meditation and the non-religious aspects of Buddhism can reduce suffering and are consistent with recent psychological research.