Questions that almost every future meditator has: If you meditate, do you actually have greater health and happiness? Mindfulness teacher Stephen Hickman addresses questions from a scientific (and practical) perspective.
Q: I keep hearing that science is demonstrating the benefits of mindfulness meditation. Is it a completely accurate statement? Does research show that in an objectively measurable way, your happiness increases when you meditate?
A: Science can’t clearly state anything, especially when it comes to human experience. It’s not about imposing the value of science, it’s about paying attention to its limits. Science does its best to predict future outcomes based on past observations. In meditation science, there is a large and growing study that suggests that meditation practices can have a general and positive impact on those who practice it regularly.
However, since science normally works with statistics and probability regarding groups, what happens in, say, 80% of the population, does not translate into an 80% chance you experience it. Statistics can be misleading. Roll the die five times and every time it becomes five, then roll it to die again, what is the chance of getting another five? Same as all other times: 6 in 6.
So, putting the statistics lesson aside, we all know that life is uncertain. The same applies to meditation, but research suggests that certain practices and programs are measurable and in some cases appear to have a clearly observable positive effect on mood, happiness, and self-compassion.
My advice is that this science will lead you to skeptics. This means exploring practice with an open, strange mind that lets go of preconceived notions.
Return to your question: Does your happiness increase when you meditate? My advice is that this science will lead you to skeptics. This means exploring practice with an open, strange mind that lets go of preconceived notions. I want to tell my students, but please don’t do anything about what I say. Make your own experience your guide.
This article was featured in the February 2018 issue of Mindful Magazine.
