Here at Jesus is Happiness, we think Jesus is the world’s happiest man. But we must admit that he’s not available in a way that enables scientists to study his brain to learn about the benefits of meditation. However, Mathieu Ricard, reknowned as the world’s happiest man, was available. A Buddhist monk, religious scholar and friend of the Dalai Lama, he allowed scientists to study his brain for twelve years to help scientists learn about the benefits of meditation.
Research on meditation and compassion
Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, conducted the study on meditation and compassion. The research involved making a brain scan using 256 sensors while Mathieu was meditating on compassion. The results revealed that his brain produced a level of brain waves linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory at a level ‘never reported before in neuroscience literature.’
While meditating on compassion, the scans also revealed excessive activity in his brain’s left prefrontal cortex region enabling him to experience a large capacity for happiness.
Simple Capacity summarizes the results of the twelve-year brain study.
We’ve found remarkable results with long-term practitioners who did 50,000 rounds of meditation, but also with three weeks of 20 minutes a day, which of course is more applicable to our modern times.
The benefits of meditation takes just 20 minutes a day
Davidson showed that meditation alters brain activity. He believes that it can improve people’s happiness with practice, like exercise strengthens muscles. The more often you practice, the more often you’ll experience happiness.
Mattieu Ricard offers these suggestions for practicing meditation:
- Let thoughts pass through your mind but don’t dwell on any of them.
- Focusing on a sound or your own breath calms the mind, giving greater clarity.
- Pay attention to the sensations of your breath going in and out. If your mind wanders, bring it back to focus.
- Practice will cultivate qualities such as kindness. You can nurture the feeling of love by focusing on it in meditation.
- Practicing for 20 minutes on a regular basis has a powerful impact over time.
- You can use meditation to free yourself from negative emotions by become aware of the emotion and watching it dissipate.
- Regular practice will reduce stress and raise feelings of well-being as your brain changes in as little as a month.
Summary of the benefits of meditation
Meditation requires consistent practice to realize the benefits. As studies prove, happiness is one of the primary benefits of meditation.
Read more articles about meditation on Jesus Is Happiness.
