The Problem
It can be hard to catch a moment of peace in a world full of busy people, noise, and long commutes. Mindfulness meditation has become a popular cure for this, with major proponents teaching how to calm your mind and ease negative emotions through meditative exercises.
Psychologist and science journalist Daniel Goleman is the author of a new book on the topic Why We Meditate: The Science and Practice Of Clarity and Compassion—offering scientific evidence for how the practice of meditation can help improve your life.
“We all experience negative emotions from time to time. But in a world with as much frenzy and pressure as ours, it’s incredibly easy for these same emotions to become destructive. Now, by blending Eastern tradition with Western science, Why We Meditate effortlessly helps you embrace and understand meditation as never before,” says the publisher.
Backing up a Bit
Daniel Goleman has worked in clinical psychology for nearly five decades and wrote his first book on meditation The Meditative Mind in 1973. Since then he has authored numerous books including Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body (2017), Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (2013), and Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (1995)
“I received a post-doctoral grant from the Social Science Research Council to return to Asia and continue my studies of these ancient psychologies, spending time both in India and Sri Lanka. I wrote what became my first book, now called The Meditative Mind, summarizing my research on meditation. I returned to Harvard as a visiting lecturer, teaching a course on the psychology of consciousness—a topic of intense interest back then in the 1970s,” says Goleman.
Possible Solutions
Goleman’s newest book on the topic discusses many of the same themes he’s explored since his first book, digging deeper into modern neuroscience to explore how meditation works and how it can serve as a tool to improve the quality of your life—improving your health and relationships by breaking negative patterns.
Why We Meditate: The Science and Practice of Clarity and Compassion was published on December 6, 2022, by Atria Books.
