Advanced Meditation Can ‘Reset’ the Brain

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. Recommended reading: Read a feature co-authored by Sacchet in the July issue of SciAm  And see our June issue feature on the neuroscience of near-death experiences 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices