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*🌲✨👉The idea that meditation is actually a form of research is gaining respect*
*🧵Meditation has surged in popularity in recent years, from a fringe interest to a mainstream trend championed by therapists, scientists, and celebrities. As part of this shift, misconceptions and dismissals have given way to the emerging recognition of meditation as a science. There are, however, those who would challenge this view. As both a scientist and a meditator, I feel a duty to respond.*
*🧵When discussing meditation as a science and technology, it’s important to acknowledge the ultimate goal is a profound cognitive shift to a more accurate perception of one’s self and one’s relationship to the world. This cognitive shift, is traditionally known as “liberation,” “enlightenment,” or “awakening” (the latter being my preferred term), which in turn, produces a dramatic and persistent increase in well-being. Therefore, both knowledge acquisition and its consequence also serve as outcome measures by which to evaluate efficacy.*
*🧵During the past two decades, more and more scientists have studied mindfulness—a collection of practices aimed at helping us to cultivate moment-to-moment awareness of ourselves and our environment. Their early findings triggered an enormous amount of enthusiasm for meditation.*
*🌲In that spirit, here’s a rundown of questions that seem fairly settled, for the time being, and questions researchers are still exploring*
*🌲1) Meditation almost certainly does sharpen your attention.*
*🌲2) Long-term, consistent meditation does seem to increase resiliency to stress.*
*🌲3) Meditation does appear to increase compassion. It also makes our compassion more effective.*
*🌲4) Meditation does seem to improve mental health—but it’s not necessarily more effective than other steps you can take.*
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