Professors study the science of happiness

Another interesting article, this time from the Daily Princetonian.

Professor Davidson has an impressive record of research into the effects on the brain of practicing meditation. If you haven’t read Daniel Goleman’s “Destructive Emotions” then I’d highly recommend it. The book is more positive than the title suggests!

“Happiness can be conceptualized as a skill, not fundamentally different from learning to play the violin or learning to play golf,” University of Wisconsin psychology professor Richard Davidson said, describing his research into whether meditation and other contemplative practices can cultivate positive states of mind.

Examining brain images of subjects during meditative exercises has shown that “even relatively short-term strategies to train the mind in this way can produce beneficial effects that are observed in the brain,” Davidson explained. “It seems like certain positive qualities of the mind, like happiness and compassion, may be benefited by training.”

You can read the full article online.

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