Meditation and Happiness

Most of us think of happiness as something that just happens. Or doesn't.
But recent studies are showing that happiness can actually be learned.

How?

Through meditation.

Dr. Richard J. Davidson, PhD, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been using brain imaging to "map" the brain of people while they were meditating. In one study, he mapped the brains of employees at a biotech company after they had completed a course that taught them to meditate for three hours a week. The course was taught by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

After four months, the meditating subjects noticed a boost in mood and a decrease in anxiety, while their immune systems became measurably stronger. Davidson vividly showed that meditation produced a significant increase in activity in the part of the brain responsible for positive emotions and traits like optimism and resilience.

In another study that involved meditating monks, he found that during meditation, certain areas of the brain lit up like the lights in Times Square, showing activity beyond anything he and his team had ever seen.

These and other findings of Davidson's have bolstered mounting research suggesting that the adult brain is changeable. Even for those who have a predisposition towards depression or anxiety, meditation can help our brains incline towards a happier outlook.

Besides, meditation feels great.