Matthew Sacchet, a Harvard professor, discusses advanced meditation going beyond mindfulness. They explore altered states of consciousness, personal experiences, and the intersection of psychedelics and meditation. The podcast delves into the transformative impact of advanced meditation on mental health and peak performance.
Advanced meditation goes beyond mindfulness to explore deep states like ecstatic bliss and compassionate experiences.
Matthew Sacchet advocates for studying advanced meditation neurologically to understand its effects on the brain.
Deep dives
Understanding Advanced Meditation
Advanced meditation involves practices that go beyond mindfulness for stress reduction, delving into states and stages such as ecstatic bliss, deep insights, and compassionate experiences. Matthew Siquette, from Harvard Medical School, emphasizes the need to study advanced meditation neurologically and empirically to gain a comprehensive understanding of its effects on the brain.
Personal Journey into Meditation Research
Having practiced meditation since childhood, including experiences at three years old, Matthew Siquette's interest in integrating science with meditation grew over time. This led him to pursue a PhD in neuroscience to apply scientific principles to advanced meditation research. His journey involved aligning his passion for meditation with a scientific approach, culminating in leading a program at Harvard focused on advanced meditation.
Research Domains and Potential Impacts
Siquette's research spans six core domains, including theory and philosophy, mechanisms, development, mental health, and applications of advanced meditation. By investigating aspects like concentrated absorption meditation and meditative endpoints, the research aims to uncover the benefits for mental health and personal thriving. The potential impact of advanced meditation could extend to areas such as consciousness, artificial intelligence, and enhanced performance in various domains.
Meditation is mostly mainstream, with many people using mindfulness to manage stress. But dedicated practitioners of advanced meditation move beyond mindfulness into a state where consciousness “entirely falls away.” That’s according to today’s guest: Matthew Sacchet, an associate professor and director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Sacchet tells host Rachel Feltman about his journey from youthful meditator to neuroscience researcher. Plus, they discuss what meditation and psychedelic experiences are unlocking for consciousness researchers.
E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.
Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Matthew Sacchet. Our show is edited by Madison Goldberg and Anaissa Ruiz Tejada, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.